Derek Paravicini

[mezzoforte]

I am completely blown away by this guy. Check this out: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...ntBody;housing

[peter5992]

I've seen this guy before on a TV program - I love him.

Had a discussion about him on the Sibelius chat page and some people commented on his playing chops (in that it wasn't quite up to par, not up to scratch with some jazz standards). I said then that I would just *love* to be able to play piano like this guy. And I still do.

The more compelling story however is how a mentally severally impaired person can achieve such levels of performance and music appreciation. That is awesome.

[mezzoforte]

Originally Posted by peter5992

The more compelling story however is how a mentally severally impaired person can achieve such levels of performance and music appreciation. That is awesome.

"Compelling and awesome because mentally impaired," yeah, right. Your remark really saddens me. WHAT makes you call him "a mentally severally impaired person?" It is self-evident that, for objective reasons of physical nature, his development in certain directions has been obstructed - something that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Derek. So, given that he is NOT responsible for his physical shortcomings (yes physical, something malfunctioning inside a physical organ doctors call brain), then why should you mention them when talking about him? Is it necessary? Does that make you feel superior? Would it be necessary and self-gratifying to mention that Stevie Wonder is a great songwriter/pianist/singer, but a lousy driver? or: "that deaf composer, Beethoven." Would you call Derek, in his mother's presence, a "mentally severally impaired person?"

This guy is a person that has achieved astounding musicianship and overcome incredible odds by years and years of practice. On top of that, his capacity to understand and express music in a way that touches people and improve their lives - these are things far beyond anything you, me, and almost everybody on this planet will ever achieve. Mentally severely impaired person says you?? Are you a psychiatrist? Is this a medical board?

I'll tell you what: given that communicating-music-through-playing-meaningfully is a highly intellectual skill, also given that not-talking-publicly-about-a-person's-physical-shortcomings is a sign of human sensitivity - given these two, how about calling you "a musically, intellectually, and humanly severely impaired person?" That would be technically correct, wouldn't it? But would that be necessary? And how would you like to hear that? How would your mother like it?

[OneThrow]

The tick tick tick Derek boogie! Yeah!

Good one.

Focus on the music.

[peter5992]

There was a PBS / NOVA series by Oliver Sacks on Derek and others where the theme was how music helped them battle severe neurological disorders: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/musicminds/about.html. The theme was how people who have great difficulties living living a normal life like you or me take for granted, can excel in other ways, and the angle was one from a neurological perspective (Oliver Sacks is a famous neurologist who has been researching this his entire life). I'm not a shrink and do now know how to define neurological or mental deficiency, and I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful to Derek or belittle his musical abilities (wish I could play piano like that), but the point of the series was to explore the relationship between music and mind and how music might help people who are otherwise challenged function in their daily lives.

[mezzoforte]

Imagine yourself doing these things:
playing My Favorite Things originally, then switching on the spot to Oscar Peterson style, then to Dave Brubeck;
playing a random song (Ain't No Sunshine), in a random key (B), and in a random style (ragtime), on the spot;
improvising a blues on random notes (C Bb F#) and make them sound meaningful. That truly is composing in real-time.

These are high creative skills that great musicians like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and others, mastered. From this point of view, Derek is in very select company.

Also, can you imagine how hard must be to interact with an orchestra while blindfolded?
Btw, notice the horn's C wrong note at the beginning of that fragment. Failing to reach the right note during a public venue? and, mind you, when playing quarter notes on the beat, in a medium tempo... Professional musician? Who's the "severely impaired person?"

On the "tick tick tick Derek boogie" - do you think it's easy to play fast swingy quavers in sync to straight quavers? And do that while busying your mind with improvising on the spot...

These above are things I hoped you might observe and discuss. Or other ideas like:
music being our first language, and the last to go when we're old;
Derek being a warm person loving to entertain people through music;
the "musical jokes" that made him smile while playing;
...

[peter5992]

Oh, Derek is a genius allright, there's no question about that, I wish I had 1% of his piano chops and his native ability to absorb music and run away with it in an arrangement in any style. And certainly he is a natural entertainer, being able to relate to people of all walks of life through his music and his personality.

[PaulR]

Is Derek really 30 now????/ Jesssussss time just flies!

[mezzoforte]

Originally Posted by PaulR

Is Derek really 30 now????/ Jesssussss time just flies!

Yeah, time and bananas may fly, but he doesn't care about such trivial things as 20, 30, etc. - he's got his piano and that's all that counts. He's an eternal prodigy child, knowing all about musical timing and probably very little about time. For the rest of us, as the song goes, every year is getting shorter...

... tick tick tick tick - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYiahoYfPGk

[JCL]

You would think Sampled Orchestras would exponentially expand the world and musical possibilities for savants. I wonder if the people who produced and were featured in this remarkable series are even aware of our world. I'll bet these artists could even master a sequencer - with a little assistance; they seem to get plenty of that.