Yo, wassup.
Welcome back to another episode of...
TwoSet Violin!
Today we'll be watching some orchestral pranks.
Logan Paul, step aside.
These are the real artistic and talented pranks.
Pranks that are good for society—
nah, I'm just joking...
*Beethoven Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"*
*Orchestra begins playing arrangement of "Happy Birthday"*
That's sick!
Whoa...
Whoa!
That's actually clever, that's so good.
Someone took the time to actually
arrange "Happy Birthday,"
- but also orchestrate it, - Yeah!
- so it goes to the different instruments, - instruments...
- and it fits the two different harmonies, right? - Yep.
It's so clever.
Dude, that conductor had the time of his life!
Eddy: He looks so happy!
Brett: Sir Roger Norrington.
I don't know if they rehearsed it,
but it sounds thought through...
That's really good...
Damn.
It's counterpoint!
- Yeah, I was gonna say, so much counterpoint! - It's actually counterpoint.
- That is a high-intellectual, - Dude!
artistic prank.
Very good for society.
Next one.
*Haydn Symphony No. 94, "Surprise"*
Can I just say,
- that is some real pianissimo playing. - It's so pian—
- It's so soft! - I'm, like, having to turn the volume up!
Musicians: AAAH!!
Dude...
Pranked!
They really went for it, "AAH!"
- That was a prank on a prank. - Yes.
Haydn was the original prankster,
but they remixed it to be Prank 2.0.
How soft is that? Imagine playing in orchestra.
You're almost not even touching the string.
Well, I mean...
you play first, so let me teach you
a secret of the second violins:
- the key is to just not actually play. - Brett: Yeah...!
Let the first two desks play, and you just, like...
- Yeah, just... - hover your bow above.
You guys get this joke, right?
We don't need to explain.
Yeah, you guys are talented enough.
If not, somewhere in the comments,
- just ask, and they'll... - Exactly.
*Bizet "Overture" from Carmen*
Hahaha, they just went...!
I mean, the caption says "The guy deserved it..."
If it's an outdoor concert, then, yeah,
he kinda deserved it.
If it's just at a cafe, then,
- he's technically allowed to be on the phone, right? - Yeah.
I feel like it's one of those, like, relaxed places.
But it's funny.
Still good for society!
*Opening trumpet solo of Mahler Symphony No. 5*
That's good, hey?
Yeah, that was very good!
That's one of the most iconic and difficult trumpet solos.
And that was so smooth.
- I mean, it's Berlin Phil, right? - It is, yeah.
*Orchestra begins playing "Happy Birthday"*
- Yay! - Yaaay!
Dude, the trumpet carried that!
It's not as impressive to me as the first one.
This was just, like, A to B.
- The first one was, like, A and B at the same time. - Yeah... Yeah. Dude, that...
The first one was, like, genius mode.
This is more like... clean, pleasant.
- It was just a transition, right? Like a cut. - Yeah, nice cut, nice tone, nice sound.
But the other one was like...
- That's some Jordon He stuff. - Yeah, that's just... Jordon He style.
Oh, I've heard of this story.
*Orchestra begins Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor*
- That's so good! - Dude.
To explain the context for people
that might not get it here,
they're meant to be playing Prokofiev Violin Concerto,
and so the soloist practiced very hard for that piece,
and the orchestra decides to prank him on the spot
and play a different concerto,
- and he had about two seconds... - Yeah...!
...to adapt, but he did it!
- He was just like... - And he sounded so good.
That was literally one second, man.
How does the Prokofiev first violin concerto start?
It's also... orchestra comes in for two bars,
- so, both of them... yeah. - Well, that's the perfect prank! Yeah.
Yeah, there's so many, like, stories of soloists
being able to whip out stuff on the spot.
It's like, imagine, like...
Mendelssohn 4 mil subs coming up, right?
By the way, we've got some really exciting plans for that.
- Ohh, it's gonna be so epic! - We won't confirm it yet... it's gonna be epic.
But can you imagine, like, on the spot,
you hear, like, the intro to Brahms Violin Concerto?
Even if it was Tchaikovsky,
I would still be freaked out.
- That's just how good these guys are. - Yeah.
Their baseline is so high.
- Is that— didn't you play with...? - Yeah, David Robertson!
I don't think he still is,
but he was the chief conductor of Sydney Symphony Orchestra
- when I was there. - Yeah.
Oh look, Gil Shaham!
Oh, nice!
That's Britten Violin Concerto, right?
I think so.
*Orchestra begins playing "Happy Birthday"*
Oh, that's a good arrangement!
Oh, that's sick.
- Oh, and a cake as well! - That's sick!
- Wow, happy birthday! - Wow.
That was very good for society.
You even had Gil Shaham playing for you!
Dude, can I just say, like,
this moment was my favorite?
And then this bit...
- That chord. - Yeah!
It's meant to be just, like, an inverted F major, right?
Wooh!
B, D, F, A♭, D!
- It's like a jazzy chord. - Yeah, it's like a ninth or something,
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, - something ninth...
Ooh!
Dude, Gil Shaham was the only one that played the F...
You can hear his... soloist's...!
- The soloist vibrato? - Wow!
That's a powerful F!
He forgot they were meant to stop
before the tonic.
- Nice, I like that one. - Good for society!
Very good for society.
Dude looks like Mark Zuckerberg,
just the thumbnail.
- Mark Zuckerberg?! - Mark Zuckerberg...!
When did you conduct?!
The top comment:
He's like, "I will not be pranked!"
"I am going to create a social network!"
- We got pranked, just watching it. - Yeah!
Whoa, dude, that's a massive...
- It just seems like a lot of people. - ...orchestra?
Is it Mahler?
Yeah, what piece is this?
This is some freaking epic piece.
*Wagner "Ride of the Valkyries"*
Ah, Wagner, of course.
*Orchestra and choir begin "Happy Birthday"*
- That's nice. - That's pretty good, that's pretty epic.
Oh, wow, even the choir!
- The choir's singing as well, that's sick! - Woohoo! Yeah, dude!
That's sick.
You ever want a whole symphonic orchestra and a choir?
That'd be so epic.
Can I just say, like...
The *trilling* that trill, the piccolo,
is from the original Wagner.
- Ahh... - So, these type of details
- really show, like, the musicians cared about it. - Yep.
It's not just black-and-white "Happy Birthday,"
it's like they mixed it into Wagner.
I love that bit, that, when the first D comes in,
and the...
It's that suspense of like,
"Is this prank gonna be received well,
- or are people gonna get pissed?" Right? - Brett: Yep.
And then the conductor's like,
"Oookay, keep going...!"
- Brett: Oh yeah! - Eddy: Oh-ho-ho, he like, kind of just went autopilot!
It's pretty scary for conductors if something goes wrong like that.
- 'Cause that's in a actual concert, too. - It's a concert! You don't, like...
You just keep going!
That's a big commitment.
Dude, I actually love it!
So good.
I also love that it's...
like, it's not like that,
it's, like, overlapped.
Oh, yeah.
You know, when that organ-sounding thing
comes in, electric organ,
it's like, slightly offset with the Mii theme,
it's kind of groovy. I like it.
- Good for society! - Good for society.
*Cadenza from Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17*
*Pianist begins "Happy Birthday" theme*
- Hahaha! Yes! - Ohhh! You pranked...!
- Dude! - Ohh, that was so genius.
*Singing Happy Birthday* ...nah, not yet!
Cadenza is where, historically,
especially in Mozart's time,
the performer just improvised some virtuosic stuff.
It's a flex time.
And then, so halfway through, she goes,
*singing "Happy birthday" melody*
- ...but then she doesn't finish the theme, right? - Yep.
And then you'll hear, she gets to that bit
where she's trilling.
And usually the trill is an indicator that,
"This is the end of the cadenza,
orchestra, get ready."
And then, so, the conductor gets ready
- to cue the orchestra, - Brett: Yeah, the violins all came up...
Eddy: and then she goes,
- "Nah! I'm gonna finish the..." yeah. - *Singing next part of "Happy Birthday"*
- Everyone's like, "Aw, okay." - Yeah... yeah.
Continue the "Happy Birthday"—
so she pranked the conductor twice!
Good cadenza.
Good for society!
*Orchestra and audience begin "Happy Birthday"*
Eeey...
Wow.
That'd be such an amazing feeling,
with the whole full concert hall
- singing along, "Happy Birthday." - Yeah.
That orchestra was, surprisingly, really together,
- like, with the rubato and stuff. - Yep.
The brass, strings all came together.
- That was some high-quality "Happy Birthday" playing, dude! - Yeah!
That's it for today!
These videos make the world a better place,
bonus to society!
And you know what else is good for society?
If everyone practices.
And next time your conductor has a birthday,
you guys can prank him, too.