Talk:Vuvuzela Concerto (Matthews, John-Luke Mark)

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 ?!

I guess this had to be done by someone, after all the fuss about those blaring noisemakers at the World Cup in South Africa.

I laughed when I saw the title "Vuvuzela Concerto", thinking it *had* to be a joke. I must admit the solo part didn't look all that promising when I saw it, but knew it couldn't be any other way. (Aren't any harmonics at all possible on the vuvuzela?) But the score itself looks like a serious, properly-written concerto in Bb major, as against a joke; so it would be interesting to hear this and see how it comes off.

It reminds me that, at one point many years ago, I was interested in writing a concerto for didgeridoo and orchestra; but I think that would be a very difficult thing to bring off successfully, so I never really went ahead with it. (A few works have been written for didgeridoo and orchestra, although I haven't heard them.) But making a vuvuzela concerto succeed would surely have to be even more difficult still.

Just curious: did you have some particular reason for writing this? Is it a joke of some kind, or a perfectly serious composition? M.J.E. 08:18, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

If you ask my friend Mike, he'd say he's the inspiration for it. As we watched the World Cup game when that referee made that bad call against the USA team, Mike said something to the effect of "I'm virtuoso, write me a concerto!" after blowing a couple of notes on the instrument. He reminded me about it a month ago when it was still warm enough for a pick-up game.
I've thought of a didgeridoo concerto: I have it at a higher priority than a violin concerto but not as much as an ondes martenot concerto. Picardy Third 00:56, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

This is wonderful!

I just had a look at this ground-breaking work and I think you are a genius. I would love to hear a performance if an orchestra could be persuaded to take it on.

Are all vuvuzelas in B-flat? I have one which I bought on E-Bay, which I was assured was the genuine article and not a cheap imitation, and the note it produces is between an A and a B-flat. Not very tuneable, either...

Keep up the good work - looking forward to maybe some chamber pieces - vuvuzela with strings, with wind quintet, with brass in various combinations. The possibilities are endless!Aldona 09:22, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Thank you.
It was on Wikipedia that I read that the vuvuzela sounds Bb below middle C, so I knew it had to be taken with a grain of salt. My friend Mike has a vuvuzela that sounds more like Bb a quartertone sharp.
If an orchestra plays this concerto, I hope they post the recording here. Picardy Third 00:59, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Inquiries

There have been a number of inquiries, well, okay, just two, about performing this piece. Its alright to play in a concert with tickets in which all the proceeds go to charity. It's also alright if it's for-profit. My only stipulation is that they post a recording to the IMSLP, regardless of whether or not I go to the concert. Picardy Third 02:29, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Piano reduction?

I'm having an elective recital (I am a saxophonist in college at the moment) filled with joke music. Chances are, I will not be able to get a full orchestra together - is there any chance you could make a piano reduction? And on another note, can you provide a MIDI recording? --Ahwitz 04:42, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

If it's alright by you, John, I could do the piano reduction. I need a distraction from my own concerto. Alonso del Arte 20:45, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
Come to think of it, I'd like to do a whole other edition of this piece, providing also a figured bass realization. Alonso del Arte 20:47, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
Knock yourself out, man. I would appreciate it very much, as it's really difficult for me to think about any of my compositions other than the one I'm currently working on.
And again, anyone should feel free to put this piece on a concert. The only thing I demand is a recording be posted to IMSLP. Picardy Third 01:50, 17 June 2011 (UTC)
Alright, I will get to work on it as soon as I can. Your concentration reminds me of Keith Buckner, he's like that too. Me, I need to have a couple other things running at the same time. Alonso del Arte 22:10, 27 June 2011 (UTC)
That's probably the end of my similarities with that guy. If I ever take myself that seriously, shoot me. Picardy Third 02:19, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Authorship verification

Robert Soupe says anyone could claim to be the author of my Vuvuzela Concerto. Well, here's a way anyone can validate that if that ever happens: The true author of the Vuvuzela Concerto can answer these questions about the Vuvuzela Concerto:

  1. If you accept mm. 65 - 96 as a development section, then the first movement of the Vuvuzela Concerto uses a specific deformation of sonata form which has existed since the Baroque period. What is this deformation called and what chapter does it get in a book edited by Paul Hawkshaw?
  2. The slow movement pays homage to an Italian Baroque composer and a 20th century British composer. Who are they?
  3. The rondo finale references the horn through the use of a topic. However, it will be the first violinists, if they have any experience with chamber music repertoire, who will be in a position to recognize how the horn topic is invoked and what transformation is applied to the melody to thinly disguise it. What is the source of the melody?

But that's not all: the true author of the Vuvuzela Concerto also knows how to decrypt this number

32,667,412,814,139,852,730,752,490,966,405,430,384,344,518,561,830,544,512,803,828,149,073,891,719,578,179,112

in such a way that their answers to the questions above are confirmed as correct. The decryption requires knowledge of a year of composition completion (and also someone's death, question 1), a Verzeichnis number (question 2a), another year of composition completion (question 2b) and another Verzeichnis number (question 3). The decrypted string will concord with those numbers. (Only the number corresponding to question 2a is prime). I also thought of sticking a confirmation into the Bible Code, but that would have been over the top. One final test: if they're not laughing as they give the proper answers, then they're not the true author. Picardy Third 02:24, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Congratulations for arguably one the most eccentric comments entered on this Wiki! Cheers, Philip @ © talk 03:35, 30 June 2011 (UTC)