Danny Boy – as never heard before

Danny Boy – as never heard before

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norman lebrecht

November 04, 2016

A new setting by the pianist and composer Stephen Hough:

danny-boy

Comments

  • daveferre says:

    How wonderful is this! We’re all fortunate such creative people are with us. Terrific!!

  • La Verita says:

    Here’s another terrific version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ9W5bxJs3w

  • Jeffrey Biegel says:

    This is lovely! Stephen is a dear friend of over thirty years, and I have always been in awe of everything he does, at the piano, and in the writing process. As Rachmaninoff has done with his piano concerti, and Earl Wild as well with his fabulous piano concerto, the ‘Doo-dah Variations’ for Piano and Orchestra, I hope the day will come that there will be works for piano and orchestra by Stephen Hough. A “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” by Stephen Hough. Yes!

  • Keane Southard says:

    Certainly one of the best melodies ever! I still prefer both Grainger settings of it, which are completely different from one another:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF5Bv64PW7Q (The more popular version)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QIez-qXwzg (The very chromatic one!)

    Carter Pann has also made a wonderful setting of it for piano, here it is played by the late Joel Hastings:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH_Q0d0vlEE

  • Keane Southard says:

    Certainly one the most beautiful melodies ever! I still prefer both Grainger settings, which are completely different from each other:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF5Bv64PW7Q (The more popular version)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QIez-qXwzg (The very chromatic version)

    Carter Pann made another beautiful settings as well, and here it is performed by the late Joel Hastings:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH_Q0d0vlEE

  • richard carlisle says:

    Not one to worship everything Jackie Evancho does but her version accompanying a military funeral is tough to outdo.

  • Kathleen Ross says:

    An even more innovative version, by Simon Wallfisch, singing cellist:

    https://youtu.be/j160rwDt-m4

  • clarrieu says:

    …but does anything really beat the sheer beauty of Bill Evans’ rendition?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Sg0WGy9YA

  • John says:

    I’ll stick with Percy Grainger’s classic

  • usedpianocenter@gmail.com says:

    To Jeffrey Biegel: I so agree with your sentiments.
    Years ago, I told Earl Wild that the only younger pianists alive who truly embody the romantic tradition that he espoused was both Stephen Hough and Marc-Andre Hamelin. When I first heard Stephen’s masterful and heartfelt transcriptions of the Roger Quilter songs, so many years ago, I was convinced of his ability to follow in the steps of the great Liszt, Rachmaninoff and others who could realize beautiful renditions of old favorites.
    Stephen’s compositional gifts go further than transcription but embodies, much like Earl Wild and the aforementioned giants of music, the ability to push the boundaries to realize new pianistic vocabularies to evoke new musical expression and perpectives — always with a razor sharp keen intelligence, probing spirituality and humanity that always includes a wry bit of humor as well! That is Genius! Bravo, Stephen!!

    • Jeffrey Biegel says:

      They are indeed. Add Andrew Gentile to that list. His Broadway Album is like the reincarnation of Chopin and Liszt, and he has done some other wonderful arrangements.

  • Branimir says:

    Thank you for this Danny Boy anthology.
    However, it shouldn’t stay short for these two:

    Keith Jarretts’s classic
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0osQW5LRhkU
    and this haunting rendition from Fargo (music starts at 0:53) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eKo6iL8P68

  • EricB says:

    ANY thing coming from Stephen Hough is good news to the world ! 😉

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