Alright!
Hey, how's it going?
Welcome back to another episode of TwoSet Violin.
That's right.
Today we will be ranking a list of
30 famous classical music pieces.
A Liszt.
Ahh...get it?
If you don't know all these 30 pieces,
make sure you listen to them after this video.
Time to get educated.
And then go subscribe.
- Let's go! - Classical music!
Alright, first one.
Bach Sonatas and Partitias.
Ohh, six-y Bach,
- definitely not F class! - S.
- S. - Really?
- Yeah, nah, that's true, yes. - Yeah, dude, it's like...
- It's like the Bible of violin playing. - Yeah.
In fact, I think...
...the two hardest things to play in violin,
it's like you have the Paganini/Ysaÿe route,
- and then you have the Bach Six Sonatas... - I thought you're gonna say
"The two hardest things are Sonatas and Partitas."
I mean yeah, basically, right?
Yeah, in case you don't know, get educated!
'Cause it's so freaking hard!
And also you're by yourself when you play.
Yeah.
- Nah, Bach's the best. - Yeah, I agree, I like Bach.
- Alright, Beethoven Symphony no. 9, ooh. - Ohh, okay, it's up there.
I'm thinking...
- Look, S, yeah. - S, it's gotta be S, man.
Because it's so iconic, yeah everyone knows it,
I don't want to insult...Daddy Beethoven.
Boccherini, Minuet for string quartet, E major.
- F class. - Wait, which one is that again?
Yeah, nah.
F!
- Uh... - Stay down, F.
- This just makes... - I feel a little bad for...
- ...Boccherini. - Dude, it's Boccherini!
Alright, fine, fine.
I was thinking E or F, but I'll put F.
- Brahms Violin Concerto. - Ohh!
B for Brahms.
Actually no no no no no no no...
I was thinking A.
I'm a violinist, I'm a bit biased.
Look, okay, put it this way.
I could listen to it a lot.
I can always listen to Brahms concerto.
It's just so hard though.
Oh...yeah, I guess playing is a b****.
I mean, beep!
- Nah, A. A. - Nah, A, A, A, it's...alright.
What's this? John...
- Clearly it's in S class. - It's in S! S class!
That's why...there's a reason why John Cage is
next to Beethoven right now.
Get it?!
Whoaaaaaa!!!
Nah, nah, nah, nah.
I think Cage is E.
- Dude, he...he put no effort in! - The only...the only reason I'll say it's E, not F,
because...it became kind of a meme.
Because...
- I...rather listen to silence than Boccherini...! - Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!
Oh my god!!!!!!
(both) La Mer.
- S, uncontestable. - Oh.
- Really? - If you disagree,
you can get out.
I guess it's helped a lot of charades.
I was thinking like an A.
Nah, S.
Dude, but it's Beethoven and Bach,
- Bro... - look at their faces!
You just like Debussy!
I do love Debussy, you got a problem with that?
Okay, we'll keep it for S for now.
- Dvořák! - Cello concerto.
- Uh... - Well, you know,
- cello starts with C, right? -Yeah, C!
No, I think B, yeah, let's be a bit nice.
Actually nah, honestly,
- I do like the cello concerto. - Yeah.
I'll say B, because I don't think it's better than
Brahms violin concerto.
- Actually, no, it's pretty epic. Yeah, it's pretty epic. - It's pretty epic, bro,
- Yeah...! - it's pretty epic!
- When you sang it...! - Yeah, the moment it's like...
Nah, nah, nah.
- A, A, A. - Okay...okay, no, no...
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue!
It's nice, but...nah. C.
No, bro!
C!
Why?
'Cause it's jazz.
Nah, nah, nah, nah,
this is at least A rank, man.
You know this piece is literally known as
the musical portrait of New York?
I would've even put it [in] A.
I mean S.
- But I think I'll put it— - You would've put it in S?
Le Mer and Gershwin?
Even I would put Le Mer above Gershwin.
- I mean, Le Mer above Rhapsody in Blue. - Okay, maybe not.
But there is this one bit in the Rhapsody in Blue
that's so epic, you know the part? That's like...
- Ooh! - It's so nice.
But still a B, for me.
- Fine, I'll go with B. - B. B!
- I feel like it's an A, but whatever. - Yeah.
Händel Messiah!
I'm sorry, like it's probably a good piece, but like...
No wait, that's Ode to Joy.
Ooh!!!!
- No!!! - I'm tired! It's been a long d–
Oh!! Oh!!!
*screaming*
Brett: Our triangle just died.
Brett: Oh my god, it just fell off.
- Brett: This light was...yeah, the light... - Eddy: Blanket hit the light,
Eddy: the light nearly fell...
Brett: And our light, this is just chaos.
Dude, this place's a freaking hazard, man.
Brett: Oh, dude, I'm actually nervous.
♪ Hallelujah! ♪
I guess it's in D major, so it could be like a D, max,
but like, nah. F.
Get out of my face.
Or maybe you just can't Händel it.
Ahhh...!!!
Guys, please don't be offended.
I know we're probably offending everyone,
we're gonna get cancelled for this video.
- I feel— - Guys, we're in a savage mood today.
we spitting fire, let's go.
I also agree here, Händel is just...meh.
- Holst, The Planets. Alright, I like this one. - Okay, I think A.
In my opinion.
- A. - Yeah.
- I'll put an A. - The only thing is it's...too overplayed.
- Jupiter is way overplayed. - Yeah.
Mars...yeah.
The Planets is the father of...
film music,
- without The Planets, there would be no film... - John Williams.
Ahh, actually now that you put it that way,
I don't like film music, so...
Nah, just kidding, just kidding.
I like Saturn and Venus a lot.
- Jupiter is like a D, for me, - I...uh...
- it's so overplayed. - I hate—actually, I like playing it,
- I just hate listening to it. - Yes, I agree.
- A. - Yes.
- The Blue Danube! F! - Oh, f***ing...
I mean...
Sorry!
I just imagine...Mr. Someone playing,
and everyone's going, "Ooh...!"
It hurts me to say it, but it's a great piece...
...to get people kind of listening to it.
(both) Classical music.
But, damn!
People just don't go further than that,
- so what's the point anyway? - Yeah.
You all suck!
Mahler 5!
- Okay, that's A. - Come on, S.
- Oh, S, yeah sorry, I didn't see the S, it's S, yeah yeah. - Yeah, yeah.
- That's top tier. - Eddy was about to start an argument,
- when I said that. - I was like, "What?"
- Nah, I agree, that's an S. - Dude, you even recommended it!
Yeah, yeah, S.
What's the next one?
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
Let me be very honest about Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
- I wonder where you're gonna take this. - Yeah.
'Cause I have thoughts.
I think, Mendelssohn to me is like,
it can be like, A,
or it could be like E, 'cause it's in E minor.
- No, I think it's like a B or C, to be honest. - Same!
- Same, I was gonna say the same thing. - Same, right?
Even though it's like,
glorified as one of the greatest concertos...
No offense to people that play it.
- But even if you play it, you know what I mean... - No, it's still great, like we play it as well.
- Yeah I love it, I'll play it. - It's a great concerto,
it's very enjoyable to play.
- But... - But as a piece to listen to,
or even to play, it's just not the most epic.
Like compare it to Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Brahms.
Mendelssohn, I don't think it's up there.
- I wanted to say B, but then like there's nothing in C, so... - Yeah.
Oh, I feel sacrilegious.
Nah, nah, B, B, B, B.
But only because come on,
S and A is like, they're so good,
- Yeah. - Like, Mendelssohn is still good but like,
we're literally comparing them with like
- the master pieces of all... - Oh...
...like the Western music of the last 400 years.
- Yeah, I don't like it either now. - Nah, nah...
I think it goes to C.
I actually will put Mendelssohn's concerto
- above Rhapsody in Blue. - Nah!
- But... - Nah!
- But! Because I was like... - Nah!!!!
Nah!!! Nah...!
Do you even know Rhapsody in Blue?!
- Have you even listened to it? - Yeah...I've played it, I've played it.
How does it go? How does the main theme go?
I don't feel anything, I just feel jazz.
Look, I think we're dissing it too much,
but it's staying at C.
Next one, Mozart!
- Oh, I slipped. Symphony no. 40. - Ohh!!! Nah, nah, it's not...no!
It's not that bad, it's better than John Cage!
- John Cage is like E, man! - John Cage is...
Okay, maybe a D.
It's quite iconic, though.
I have to admit,
I don't even know how the other three movements go.
Do you?
I played it, but I forgot it.
That's how bad it was.
I mean nah, it's great.
But I'm sure if you listened to the whole thing,
- it's probably alright...yeah. - It's probably very genius, actually.
- Knowing Mozart. - Yeah, okay.
C, put it C.
Mozart's a genius, so it's C.
You ready for the next one?
- Oh I slipped. - Yeah.
Even if you're watching this, we all agree.
I'm sorry if you played this in your wedding,
you can probably still agree.
- Can you imagine getting married, - No.
- to Canon in D? - Never.
- I would get a divorce right there. - Yeah, I'll be like, "Nope!"
- Canon in D... - I'll play Canon in D on my divorce day.
- Yeah...! - When we're signing the divorce papers...
Canon in Divorce!
Ohh!!!
Ohhhhh!!!!!!
There you go!
Alright!
Oh, Pag 24.
I feel like it's an...A.
Depends, if you think of it as a playing, virtuosic piece,
- it's like A or S. - Yes.
- But if you think of it as something to listen to musically, - Oh, yeah, I know what you mean,
- it's like a C or D. - Yeah, that's why I'll put it as an A.
I feel like it's iconic because everyone's making
variations out of it.
Every composer's like, "You know what, I'm gonna do it as well."
So it's got that history behind it.
I was gonna put B, man.
Nah, dude, Paganini Caprice is so much better than
Rhapsody in Blue!
To me, they're about the same.
- Nah...!!! - Uh-uh.
Alright fine, A.
Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev!
- That's pretty good. - It's pretty good.
I'll say it's like a B or A.
- A. Ooh, B. - Okay.
It's better than Rhapsody in Blue.
Bro...
- Everything's better than... - That's right.
There's no biases, guys.
Oh wait! It's not Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet,
- it's Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet. - Yeah, it's Prokofiev.
Oh!
Oh...oh...oh...
I can feel like every grade 7 AMEB,
- I...ABRSM... - Nah, it's going down to C.
Ravel Boléro. Oof.
You know, Boléro's one of those pieces like the first time
you listen to it, it's like magic,
but then you listen to it like 50 times,
and then you hate yourself.
- 'Cause it...just keep going, it just keeps going... - It's so repetitive.
I'll say it's a C or D,
- let's put D 'cause there's nothing there. - Oh, C, C, C, C, C.
- Okay. - Nah, it can't be Ravel.
I wonder who's gonna be D.
I mean, Tchaikovsky will be D,
'cause Tchaikovsky liked the D.
Sorry, is that too much?
Don Juan!
I hate the excerpt.
I feel like it's okay to listen to,
- I feel like the excerpt killed it for me— - C.
- Yeah, me too. - Yeah.
- Alright, Flight of the Bumblebee! S class! - Flight of the Bumblebee!
For sure.
- S?! - Yeah. F*** yeah.
Nah, that can be D.
I hate it!
- Nah, make it E. - E.
Yeah, no.
It's not even a piece anymore,
- it's just sacrilegious. - Yeah.
I love that Flight of the Bumblebee is above Messiah,
like Händel Messiah,
- one of the greatest like, religious works... - That's okay, guys.
It's purely subjective and our personal opinion,
don't judge, go along with it.
What's next?
Carnival of the Animal...oh.
- That can be a D. - I think it's a D.
Like, there's some good ones in it, like The Swan...
Like The Kangaroo, have you heard it, guys?
Listen to Kangaroo it's so depressing.
Adagio for Strings.
I love Adagio for Strings.
I think B.
It's probably not the most...substantial piece,
but it's just emotionally like...oh...
I agree, the reason I'll say B as well,
because it depends on who plays it.
- It can be very beautiful, - It can be played very beautifully.
- it can be very boring. - It's a B for me, yeah.
Navarra.
Uh...it's nice.
We played it, it's kind of fun.
- Actually, no, it's very hard to play together, actually. - It's so hard!
Navarra on C.
- I'm thinking C. - Yeah.
- Oh, the amount of times we tried to get it together on concert. - Yeah.
Holy moly, so stressful!
Alright, to be fair, I think Navarra is a great piece,
it's just probably like,
- we've been traumatised by it so much, now it's just... - On touring, oh my god,
it's so hard.
And then like we practiced so hard,
and it doesn't...happen, you're just like...
Next one, Satie.
That's top tier.
A for me.
Really?
You know Satie only eats white...food?
That's being racist.
No, like...
Food that's the colour white.
And he doesn't call...he doesn't call himself a musician,
calls himself like a, sound phonologist or something,
I forget the...
Maybe it goes down to an A.
But it's nice.
It's such a nice piece.
Ooh, Trout Quintet!
Oh, that's nice.
- Very prestigious, but I'm not the biggest fan of it. - B or A.
- Yeah, I'm not a big fan. - Alright, oh well.
It should be called a Salmon Quartet.
- Can someone make a sap—smoked salmon... - Smoked Salmon Quartet!
Agh, I'm so hungry!
Shostakovich Symphony no. 5!
- Ooh I like it, I like that one. - A or S.
- I think A. - Feeling A, yeah yeah.
A, 'cause I still like...
...feel like Mahler's still like a little bit above, for no. 5.
- A bit more refined, yeah. - Yeah, a little bit more refined.
- Sibelius Violin Concerto, S. - Oh, S.
Yeah.
Rite of Spring!
I think A.
Actually, the storyline's a bit weird. B.
Actually I like playing it,
I just hate it when the...
- You know when we went on tour with it once? - Yeah.
The viola section always screwed up.
Every time.
I feel like A or B.
B.
- Oh wait no, it's A, it's meant to be. - Oh...!
A!
Oh come on, dude, that bassoon solo in the beginning.
How does it go again?
Oh yeah!
I love how you're coming in, it always sounds like there's like...
Like, where's that high C?
Do you guys hear it?
It literally sounds like this.
- It's like... - You can't hear it in the audience,
but you hear it when you're near the bassoon.
- Alright, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. - S!
Don't question.
Now alright, okay, confession time.
- It is a bit overplayed. - I think Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto...
...has moments when it's a little bit repetitive.
Did I just offend everyone?
- Like, it's so long though! It's like 45 minutes! - The video's done!
Brett: Nah!
You're just a p****!
Nah...!
You can't play it!
No, I get it, I think I agree.
The first movement's f***ing repetitive, like bro,
why do you have to write the f***ing second half
- in a different key? - It's so long!
I'll give it S for its respect of its place in violin repertoire.
I want to say it right now on camera,
in a thousand years, two thousand years,
however [long] humanity survives for,
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto will always be
- a part of violin repertoire. - Yeah.
Yeah, it's on camera now,
lock it in for ten thousand years!
Vivaldi Four Seasons.
Oh.
Is there a G?
Oh, it is a G, it's just left there!
Don't touch it!
Bro, we already made like,
- TwoSet Apparel with Vivaldi Four Seasons. - Yeah.
Oh, because it's in Apparel so it's like an A now.
Look, I think the concept behind it is great, how like,
- kind of... - Ah, it's just overplayed.
- I like how it reached to a lot of people. - Yeah.
But I can't stand it when it's just...
...it's just way overplayed.
D.
And...it's not even that,
I feel like sometimes people that play it...
...make it way too complicated than what it actually is.
Yeah, because... it's been played so much that
- people start playing it weirdly, just trying to stand out. - Yeah, so it's not really their fault.
It's just been played so much they're trying to
make it sound different and interesting.
- And it goes a bit too far. - Yeah, and then you get people on America's Got Talent like...
"Oh no, I was bullied at a school.
My life is so hard!"
- "When will the mainstream audience get it?!" - Stop...
Alright guys, there you have it!
The definitive classical music famous piece ranking list.
We're probably going to change our minds tomorrow, whatever.
- I don't care, nah, you know what? - Yeah.
Please like and subscribe.
Accent the like button.
Ooh. I'm out.
That's not me, Eddy...Eddy did that.
Long live Bach!
- Long live Bach! - Yeah.