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Béla Fleck — Moonlight Sonata
Album: Perpetual Motion
Avg rating:
7.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2605









Released: 2001
Length: 4:58
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(Instrumental)
Comments (344)add comment
 eyke wrote:

Bela is a master of many forms of banjo. This is a most excellent, maybe even outstanding, arrangement.  



it's beautiful.
 liveaudio608 wrote:

Of course Bela is a master but why oh why did he choose such a ghastly instrument?  No one knows.  He would be such a delight on any other instrument!  Okay now bring on the banjo lovers!

Peace


Read the Wiki.  It will explain it ALL for you!
 liveaudio608 wrote:

Of course Bela is a master but why oh why did he choose such a ghastly instrument?  No one knows.  He would be such a delight on any other instrument!  Okay now bring on the banjo lovers!

Peace


I'm far from a banjo lover - I mostly skip to avoid anything involving a banjo but I find this beautiful - embarrassingly
Of course Bela is a master but why oh why did he choose such a ghastly instrument?  No one knows.  He would be such a delight on any other instrument!  Okay now bring on the banjo lovers!

Peace
Bela is a master of many forms of banjo. This is a most excellent, maybe even outstanding, arrangement.  
 rhlrstn wrote:

This song always reminds me of a particular romance in my university days... He was teaching himself to play Moonlight Sonata on the guitar at the time I met him. It was a lightning bolt romance, the kind that burns with such intensity but doesn't last very long. It took a long time for me to get over him... several years later and we're both in stable relationships now, he's back in my life as a friend, but I still can't hear this song without remembering the passion we shared as careless 20-somethings in my dorm room...



Well you can't leave us hanging - tell us more about the passion.
this is the price you pay for being creative and pushing the boundaries
 sjccroquet wrote:

^^ This has to be meant ironically. 
That is, unless he has the original vinyl printings of Beethoven's works.




Very funny!  And too true!!
 Johnny-smooth wrote:

I’m pretty sure Beethoven would have appreciated this rendition of his classic. He was all about pushing boundaries which Bella has done here with his accomplices.




I Agree!  GREAT!!  Thanx RP!   
 ExecutorQ3 wrote:

Hate covers (and even more if it's cover of a classic music).
Don't you bloody have your own ideas?


^^ This has to be meant ironically. 
That is, unless he has the original vinyl printings of Beethoven's works.

I’m pretty sure Beethoven would have appreciated this rendition of his classic. He was all about pushing boundaries which Bella has done here with his accomplices.
Like the piano version better of course as that was what it was written for. This is still nice. This song may be my favorite piece of music ever. 
Perfect for a windy and rainy Vancouver evening. 
 ExecutorQ3 wrote:

Hate covers (and even more if it's cover of a classic music).
Don't you bloody have your own ideas?



It's not a cover, it's an arrangement.
This song always reminds me of a particular romance in my university days... He was teaching himself to play Moonlight Sonata on the guitar at the time I met him. It was a lightning bolt romance, the kind that burns with such intensity but doesn't last very long. It took a long time for me to get over him... several years later and we're both in stable relationships now, he's back in my life as a friend, but I still can't hear this song without remembering the passion we shared as careless 20-somethings in my dorm room...
 ArrayMac wrote:


Accordions, perhaps.  Given banjos are African in origin, this might be racist.



I really hope this is sarcasm.
Feh. A novelty version of a magnificent piece of music, but all in all pretty dull.  This is neither a wonderful interpretation nor funny enough for a good laugh.
Hate covers (and even more if it's cover of a classic music).
Don't you bloody have your own ideas?
 LizK wrote:
Well, that was plucky. 
 
Ha!
Keeping an open mind because of RP!
 sub-arctic wrote:

 

Accordions, perhaps.  Given banjos are African in origin, this might be racist.
 dwlangham wrote:oh MY ....you can not tell banjo !? oh dear
I just recognized the melody. It's Moonlight Sonata. I couldn't tell for the banjo.
 

Interesting......in a nice way. Mmmm...
 dwlangham wrote:
I just recognized the melody. It's Moonlight Sonata. I couldn't tell for the banjo.
 
you mean it isn't an harpsicord?!?!?
I just recognized the melody. It's Moonlight Sonata. I couldn't tell for the banjo.
 sub-arctic wrote:


Still funny after 10 yrs....   

Masterpiece of a masterpiece.
 pope183 wrote:
a quote from Goethe's Faust: “That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee, earn it anew if thou wouldst possess it." 

nice try Bela banjo but no cigar


Goethe could read Shakespeare‘s plays , but bis own work he wrote in German

Was du ererbt von deinen Vätern hast,
erwirb es, um es zu besitzen!
a quote from Goethe's Faust: “That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee, earn it anew if thou wouldst possess it." 

nice try Bela banjo but no cigar
Wow ... I've never heard a banjo treated in such a melodic way before. Very unique song!
Unusual and fantastic arrangement with unlikely strings, just beautiful, and perhaps even more haunting than the standard piano version.
Kudos to the violoncello player
truly a unique interpretation. i miss the piano but this is beautiful and worthy of deep respect.
the Liberace of the banjo
kitsch fair :(
I'm partial to the piano and strings of a classical rendition. But Fleck is a fine player and Ludwig van is incandescent, even through a banjo, so I like it. 
Banjo el classico...el No No! This is the first sad banjo I have ever heard. Should not happen.Banjo equates happy.
 oldsaxon wrote:

It's a lovely melody and sounds good when anyone plays it well. this is played well, I suppose. I just don't think that the banjo is the lead here and the other strings are carrying the day.

 
I feel that the banjo line (piano usually) was always secondary to the "other strings" in this Beethoven classic.
Almost like the foundation upon which the rest of the orchestral arrangement plays upon. 
This sort of stuff better suits him. Never dug his stiff, overly formal, faux bluegrass playing
 Kokoloco53 wrote:
 Absolutely, but let's not quarrel with the master. Simplicity in music, easy to play notes sometimes are not as easy as it seems to make them come out perfectly. You can't hide or muddle through. The essessence is bare, pure, deep, unflawed. But best of all is what peace and happiness it can bring to your soul. Wonderful.

Dude, that's the song.  I think your quarrel is with Beethoven.

 

 
Simple, uncluttered notes played with exquisite timing, phrasing, & dynamics - that is why someone like Luther Perkins can be thought of as highly as technical noodlers.
Its just amazing I wish i could give 20 to this masterpiece
Oddly enough, this works.
It is Classical for a reason.  Classic, Classy, it got Class.  Well written music.
Well, it wasnt U2 so deserves more than sucko barfo, but, this is only here because the karate kid did that piece in front of Vai, then Vanessa Mae did tocatta & fugue, next week it'll be Younger Brother doing Steve Reichs Music For 18 Musicians.
I like it
Not a good song to start a weekend - and it's not even a full moon.  Just to kick this back into a normal drive it should be followed by Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
 The_Enemy wrote:

I give Béla full points for trying.  I think this is "interesting" music but I can't say I like it.

And double points to Bill for playing it.  I love being exposed to new stuff on RP.
 
It's a lovely melody and sounds good when anyone plays it well. this is played well, I suppose. I just don't think that the banjo is the lead here and the other strings are carrying the day.
 meinthecorner wrote:
This is sweet. not everyone's cuppa', for sure, but it's just that kind of little surprise that keeps me listening here on RP.
 
I give Béla full points for trying.  I think this is "interesting" music but I can't say I like it.

And double points to Bill for playing it.  I love being exposed to new stuff on RP.
Pretty Cool. I like it!
un massacre insupportable
An unbearable massacre !!!   {#Ass} 
Interesting to try this with a banjo, but as one who has played it on the piano for many years, I just think piano is more fluid for Beethoven.
This is sweet. not everyone's cuppa', for sure, but it's just that kind of little surprise that keeps me listening here on RP.
 dedawson wrote:



 


Hahaha!
So beautiful...thank you!
 cohifi wrote:

Don't say harpsicord......nobody plays that

 
well except on the Stranglers Golden Brown.(~_^)

impressive - banjo completely robs this song of it's ethereal sense
aaaah.
's why i will love RP to my dying day.
Definition of a gentleman:  One who knows how to play the banjo but doesn't.  

Well, if he plays as well and with as much artistry as Bela than I'm glad that he does.
sweet
 cohifi wrote:

Don't say harpsicord......nobody plays that

 
I laughed.

Love the accompaniment, but not so much the banjo.
Good schhhtufff!!{#Music}
 sub-arctic wrote:


Couldn't have said it better.
 


Play me the third movement on a banjo and I'll be impressed {#Tongue}

 jpfueler wrote:
anybody know if this is around on Harpsicord or Spinet?
 
Don't say harpsicord......nobody plays that

This has a really boring plucked string backbeat.
anybody know if this is around on Harpsicord or Spinet?
The strings here are very nicely done. Too bad about that damn banjo, though.

Well, I love this.
Hard to believe that this man could play so beautifully, and in so many styles, and still have put on such an appallingly ugly concert in NL some months ago, that my friends and I walked out. Never did that in a concert before. What WAS he thinking?


Well, that was plucky. 
Fits right in there with the symphony for the jews harp https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/12/orchestral_jews.html
 sub-arctic wrote:

  {#High-five}


 jhorton wrote:
I keep waiting for the kazoo section to kick in, but alas, it never comes.........
 

This song is completely hilarious.  You are so right, substitute the violins with kazoos and it would be perfect.

bela wide by *phil-light
©2004-2010 *phil-light

Bela Fleck, 10/27/2004. Stubb's BBQ, Austin.

.

Nope.  He went too far with this one.  Just stay with your regular schtick, Bela.  You can drive a Kenworth at Le Mans but it won't compete with the Ferraris.
 sub-arctic wrote:
 
Hahaha! How freakin' perfect is that?
 cayenne wrote:
Banjo and cello together are like drinking corn whiskey in a Scottish castle.
 
ROTFL ... LMAO!!!
I keep waiting for the kazoo section to kick in, but alas, it never comes.........

 scottflory wrote:
hopefully he does something other than just arpeggiating chords....nope - not much
 
 
No, not on this cut.  Other cuts show his prowess on his instrument.  All in all an excellent album, one of my favorites.


 horstman wrote:
I feel like I'm tip toeing through a hilly billy town on my way to stealing all their presents.
 
{#Lol}  Like the violin, though ...

Thank goodness I happened to be wearing my smoking jacket and holding my brandy-snifter.  Otherwise, I might not have enjoyed this.
I feel like I'm tip toeing through a hilly billy town on my way to stealing all their presents.
I saw this dude open for Lyle Lovett at Mud Island Amphitheater in Memphis, 1996 I think it was. He does some amazing things with the banjo. Excellent.
 nate917 wrote:

Dude, that's the song.  I think your quarrel is with Beethoven.

 

LMAO
 Absolutely, but let's not quarrel with the master. Simplicity in music, easy to play notes sometimes are not as easy as it seems to make them come out perfectly. You can't hide or muddle through. The essessence is bare, pure, deep, unflawed. But best of all is what peace and happiness it can bring to your soul. Wonderful.

Dude, that's the song.  I think your quarrel is with Beethoven.

 


Amazing. Bela Fleck is not just for hippies anymore.


WooHooo!  This is splendid!  I must have been living under a rock ...
 scottflory wrote:
hopefully he does something other than just arpeggiating chords....nope - not much
 
 
Dude, that's the song.  I think your quarrel is with Beethoven.

hopefully he does something other than just arpeggiating chords....nope - not much
 
 colt4x5 wrote:

amen! 

after listening for a few minutes, it sounds more like a harpsichord than a banjo. 
 

Considering the fact that the harpsichord is plucked rather than struck, your observation is rather apt.
 SuzenJueL wrote:
This is like Classical Bluegrass. The banjo is just GENIUS in this!
 
amen! 

after listening for a few minutes, it sounds more like a harpsichord than a banjo. 
 inindian wrote:
I previously rated this a 7...perhaps mostly on the melody, but today it feels like "just because you can doesn't mean you should".
 
Pretty much.

It's not bad, and the novelty effect is certainly there.  Calling it a 5 though.  I just find that the sound of the banjo detracts from the feel of the piece rather then adding to it.  I would have been much more impressed had he taken the core of the music and modified it to fit the timbre of the instrument to produce something that worked together.

An 8, because and despite the banjo.
 
10 for chutzpah, though.
this is just so cool......
Thanks RP for such a beautiful segue from Lost at Last.

This is beautiful. So inventive with the banjo- it works.
ya know, I really enjoyed that
A little off. But still, The Master...
What a wacky, yet novel idea.  Generally, I find that Fleck material comes off as easy-listening muzak, but they pulled this off quite well.
 inindian wrote:
I previously rated this a 7...perhaps mostly on the melody, but today it feels like "just because you can doesn't mean you should".
 

I agree. There seems to be something a little off about a banjo accompaniment.
Well stated!
 
cayenne wrote:
Banjo and cello together are like drinking corn whiskey in a Scottish castle.
 

I previously rated this a 7...perhaps mostly on the melody, but today it feels like "just because you can doesn't mean you should".
SNORE!! {#Moon}
i find this.....odd but fascinating....

the banjo he is playing sounds like my 120 year old antique....a very soft, comforting sound


This is like Classical Bluegrass. The banjo is just GENIUS in this!
Banjo and cello together are like drinking corn whiskey in a Scottish castle.


this is the tune they play when you are touring auschwitz i think.
This doesn't rank in even the top thousand version of Moonlight Sonata.

Lovely fiddle though. 
 Hannio wrote:

Oh yeah, I'm waiting for the kazoo version, myself.
 
Took the words right out of my mouth!

I vaguely recall a distorted version of this in one of MTVHD VTR's. (the one with crow).


 Rotterdam wrote:


I cannot agree with you. The Moonlight Sonata is played beautifully here. It makes no difference what instrument is being played. The piece is done justice.
 
Oh yeah, I'm waiting for the kazoo version, myself.
This just needs a jew's harp and a washtub bass and it would be perfect.


 sub-arctic wrote:
{#Eyes} This must be the definition of blasphemy!

 

I cannot agree with you. The Moonlight Sonata is played beautifully here. It makes no difference what instrument is being played. The piece is done justice.
the violin carries this song.
anyway, it lacks the intensity of the piano.
9 ~> 10
{#Eyes} This must be the definition of blasphemy!

Been a fan for years and seen him several times.  This classical CD just didn't do it for me despite numerous playings.  He plays the selections perfectly but with no flair or individuality.  Which is strange because he's so creative and lively.
Sounds very fine but I expected more.
Charles Schultz said that upon birth every child should be given two things: a puppy and a banjo.