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  • Ling Ling, be with me!

  • Mm, we're definitely gonna need Ling Ling's hearing skill

  • - for today's episode because we have... - Yes.

  • the ultimate challenge of a classical connoisseur.

  • We will be guessing...

  • the violinist just by the recording.

  • So this...

  • will be a test in how well we understand

  • the playing styles and interpretations of great violinists.

  • We have 20 audio files.

  • Over here, we have a list.

  • So we know what we're listening to,

  • otherwise it will be very very difficult.

  • Yeah, see which one we can guess, right?

  • And the consequences of losing this challenge...

  • is posting on TwoSet Violin Instagram, admitting...

  • you love the viola.

  • So "hey guys, I had a change of mind."

  • "I really love the viola. "

  • "I think I'll become a violist."

  • - Like betraying your own kind. - I know.

  • First one.

  • Oh, I know this.

  • Ah yeah, I know.

  • - Okay, answer reveal? - Yeah.

  • (both) 3, 2, 1!

  • (both) Gitlis. Yeah!

  • - Yeah! Ivry Gitlis, Bach Chaconne. - Yeah, woo!

  • He's very like, old school, and just very... kinda rough.

  • It's rough, the way he breaks the chord.

  • - Yeah. - Oh man, that's awesome.

  • -That's massive! - Ooh...

  • Whoa...

  • Who is this?

  • Dude, I don't know!

  • Dude, this is insane!

  • Okay, okay.

  • Oh, I don't know.

  • I'm doubting myself.

  • It's very aggressive style of playing for sure.

  • Oh... okay.

  • Oh, I don't know.

  • oOohH..

  • Yeah, okay.

  • 3, 2, 1.

  • Really?!

  • What do you think?

  • I thought Midori,

  • - but then I changed my mind last second. - Ohh... Let's see, let's see.

  • The way he speeds the bow up at the end,

  • - Oh, that's a Vengerov thing! - that's something Vengerov does.

  • You can imagine...

  • Damn! Okay, that's wrong.

  • So I'll just put a cross next to it.

  • Number 3.

  • Oh!

  • Alright.

  • Okay.

  • - Yeah. - We got it.

  • 3, 2, 1.

  • Podger, yeah.

  • Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.

  • Who is Rachel Podger?

  • Alright, number 4.

  • It's so good.

  • Okay.

  • Is this the 4th, dude?

  • Yes.

  • Okay.

  • Okay, I think it's- I think I know.

  • I don't know. It's risky.

  • I feel like it's an old... violinist.

  • You know, I don't know.

  • But mine, I'm just gonna go with my gut feeling.

  • 3, 2, 1.

  • Both are very good violinists though.

  • S**t! I thought Szryeng!

  • - Szeryng! So silky and- - I was like Szeryng or Oistrakh.

  • We-

  • We're not worthy of hardness.

  • This is so offensive.

  • Okay.

  • 3, 2, 1.

  • (both) Kavakos.

  • Yeah...

  • - If we had heard that earlier... - Yeah, would've...

  • Yeah.

  • Oh.

  • Whoa, it sounds very old.

  • Yeah.

  • Are you looking at all the grey photos?

  • - Do you want to discuss? - I'm thinking Heifetz,

  • - Yeah, I was thinking- - but I don't wanna call it wrong

  • because that's a big bomber.

  • - Yeah, cos it's so insulting to guess Heifetz wrong. - Yeah.

  • My initial thought was Heifetz, then Menuhin, then Stern.

  • - Yes, exactly! - Yeah, yeah!

  • Stern is too...

  • Nah, okay, Heifetz.

  • Heifetz.

  • Mutual discussion about that one. 3, 2, 1!

  • IT WAS STERN!!

  • Stern!

  • Stern...

  • Part of me was just saying

  • "it just might be Stern."

  • It sounded sticky.

  • - Yeah, he never leaves the- - It means Stern sounds sticky.

  • No, the pieces are also...

  • they trick you.

  • - Cos you associate Wieniawski with Heifetz. - Exactly!

  • - You don't associate Wieniawski with Stern. - Oh, okay. Oh...

  • Alright, alright, I see what game we're playing now.

  • Let's do this. Next one.

  • You know, it's so bad that part of me thought

  • "it sounded just a little bit not good enough for Heifetz."

  • - I was thinking that as well. - You thought that as well?

  • That's why I considered.

  • - I thought Heifetz would've sounded a bit more clean. - Because it wasn't as clear.

  • - Yeah, clean, clean. - It sounded- yeah...

  • We should've trusted our instincts!

  • Whoa, this is hard. This is hard.

  • Very hard.

  • Alright, I think I know.

  • I mean I don't know, but I've just given up.

  • - Yeah, you've just given up! - Yeah. This is so hard to tell.

  • That was a very just kinda standard,

  • - tasteful interpretation. - But I'm trying to go by articulation,

  • the sound, the phrasing.

  • Would Ray play it like that?

  • Hahahahahaha!!

  • There's Gidon Kremer as well.

  • Ooh...

  • He's a Bach guy...

  • Oh, look at the way Perlman's looking at you.

  • Ahahaha, yeah!

  • It could be him as well, he's like

  • "Hehe!"

  • "It's me all along."

  • Alright, what does the playing style remind you?

  • Ooh...

  • - Yeah, I thought Hilary. I think Hilary. - I think Hilary Hahn.

  • - I think Hilary. - Yeah, okay.

  • (both) YEAH!!

  • I got Hilary, yes!

  • Oh, we didn't insult Hilary.

  • Thank you.

  • Sounds like a girl to me.

  • Yeah, I think so! I'm thinking the same thing!

  • I thought Anne-Sophie Mutter first. I was like m...

  • Dude...

  • - Should be practicing, not doing this game. - I know.

  • It does sound feminine though.

  • It sounds feminine.

  • - So Midori, Janine, or Anne-Sophie. - Yeah.

  • It's very, just "bam!" Going through, right?

  • It's got a bit of Janine Jansen.

  • - Fi- like the... sizzle. - The fire, right?

  • That's what I thought.

  • - The last note reminds me of Anne-Sophie Mutter. - Yes!

  • - Alright, Anne-Sophie Mutter. Stop changing. - Anne-Sophie... Anne-Sophie!

  • YES!!

  • YES! YES!

  • - The last note. Woo!! - Only-

  • - Only Anne-Sophie would go... - Yeah... would do that.

  • - "BAM" on such a high note. - She's like...

  • - I don't really listen to Vivaldi, so I would- - No, me neither.

  • But look at Itzhak Perlman's face.

  • Looking at you.

  • I think I know who it is.

  • Alright.

  • 3, 2, 1.

  • I say Gidon Kremer.

  • I thought Gidon Kremer or Joshua Bell, those two.

  • YES!! WOOHOOoOooOh!

  • I thought Kremer, but then the light bow strokes

  • - reminded me of Joshua Bell. - Woohoo!

  • Oh yeah- I mean, Joshua Bell was close.

  • No!

  • I lost my lead!

  • Yeah! We're even now.

  • Yeah, yeah, yeah...

  • I think I know.

  • Yeah, I know.

  • I got it.

  • Dude, it's so fast.

  • Heifetz.

  • Yeah, Heifetz.

  • - Only Heifetz plays it that fast... - Yeah.

  • with every note in tune, and freaking perfect.

  • He's the original 15-notes-a-second, but musical, and-

  • - And every accuracy. - accurate.

  • Yeah, the OG!

  • There's two in my mind.

  • Oh... this is hard.

  • I've got...

  • - two on my mind. - Yep.

  • Lock yours in first?

  • Yeah, I've got it, yeah.

  • Okay, what were the two on your mind?

  • Ray chen,

  • Or?

  • and Joshua Bell.

  • I thought Ray or Janine. I chose Ray.

  • I chose Ray as well.

  • Oh...

  • I thought Ray or Janine!

  • Sorry, Janine- just kidding!

  • We suck!

  • - At least we're on the same mark. - Yeah, okay.

  • It's very...

  • gentle approach there.

  • Feels like they're playing in the upper half of the bow a lot.

  • Mm!

  • I've made my bet.

  • I've placed my bet.

  • Give me a second.

  • But I'm completely guessing.

  • It's just- It was like intuition.

  • Really?

  • I'm probably completely wrong.

  • Alright, me too.

  • Oh, it's gonna be so wrong.

  • No, dude, so off, nah.

  • This is the biggest guess of my life.

  • Alright.

  • Oowhoa!

  • Ah, I forgot about him!

  • I wrote James Ehnes.

  • Yup.

  • Yeah, okay.

  • - I thought him. I thought him. - I thought him, but you said gentle,

  • - so I was like "Nah... Zukerman's not gentle." - Yeah. Yeah.

  • Ahh! I thought him!

  • I thought him as well. I thought him-

  • I thought- I-

  • Yeah.

  • Zukerman, I thought you like to catch the string!

  • And who would do that?

  • Alright, done.

  • - Done? - Yeah.

  • What the hell?

  • - Who do you think? - Perlman.

  • Oh...

  • I thought Ray.

  • I thought Ray as well, but-

  • I thought Joshua Bell as well!

  • I thought Joshua Bell or Ray.

  • I swear I thought Joshua Bell or Ray.

  • Dude, we suck!

  • What?

  • This doesn't sound like a very professional recording though.

  • I might- I think I know.

  • Yeah, okay.

  • Alright, I'm gonna take a guess.

  • - I said Menuhin. - Same.

  • Imagine it's Oistrakh.

  • I thought so. I thought so.

  • - Me too. The D string, the D... - I thought so.

  • That D sounds Oistrakh, right?

  • Wow, okay, we're both sucking.

  • Let's keep going.

  • Okay, okay.

  • I don't know! That was so quick!

  • Oh, you've been listening to Mendelssohn recordings.

  • No, no, I just- just intuition.

  • I don't wanna listen too much.

  • Wow...

  • Wow...

  • - Alright, who do you think? - Ray.

  • OH!

  • Oh! Oh, I forgot about Ray!

  • No!

  • What did you say?

  • Oh... it might be Ray. I thought Ehnes.

  • - Yeah!! Ray Chen! Mwah, mwah! - You were right. It was Ray, it was Ray.

  • I was like straight up Ray.

  • Okay, I know.

  • MIDORI!! BOOOOM!

  • - Nine! - How did you know?

  • The fire sound.

  • - Ah dude, I think I'm just panicking. - Power- Hahaha, you're panicking, yeah.

  • I know.

  • Yeah, okay.

  • I thought Perlman-

  • You know, I'm gonna stop saying I thought.

  • - Dude, Perlman's smile, look, he's like... - It doesn't matter.

  • "HaHAhAHahaHa!"

  • Oh, this is hard...

  • - There's two people I'm thinking. - Okay, I think so.

  • I can visualise this...

  • - That was the two... - Finally, yeah.

  • - That was the two. - That was the two, that was the two. I was thinking-

  • This is the deciding one.

  • If Brett can get this wrong, and me right,

  • then it'll be a tie.

  • Who's left? I don't even know.

  • Should've marked your thing properly.

  • I'll be honest, I don't know if it is right though.

  • You've played this piece, no?

  • Yeah, but I don't know who this is.

  • - Okay, okay, take a guess. - Alright.

  • I say Gil.

  • Same, Gil.

  • - Yeah. - Yeah, it was Gil.

  • YES!!

  • I WON!! I won!

  • Oh, that was a tipping point.

  • I'm impressed you got that many right.

  • I know.

  • But then,

  • if you think about it, we still got less than half,

  • - which is pretty sad. - I know.

  • I love...

  • viola.

  • Why?

  • It's just...

  • The viola...

  • makes...

  • you understand the inner workings of um...

  • composition more.

  • I think there's a reason why Mozart and...

  • Haydn, and Beethoven all opted to play the viola,

  • even though many of them started on the violin.

  • I think violin is...

  • somewhat attention-seeking,

  • and violists are truly the real musicians, yeah.

  • And that's why I've gained a new appreciation for viola.

  • Mm, nice!

  • Feel so dirty.

  • There you go, guys.

  • Hope you enjoyed guessing along.

  • Please subscribe and like.

  • If you like this video, we'll do another one

  • cos this is actually really fun.

  • Bye!

Ling Ling, be with me!

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