Tag Archives: Classical Music

“Setup Madness!” Episodes 03 & 04 are live on ‘Brian Grimm’s Cello Zone’ youtube page! feat. Jargar Superior A D (medium)

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Episode 03: Jargar Superior A string (medium)

In Episode 03 and 04 of my new series “Setup Madness!” we’ll be changing from Pirastro Perpetual Soloist A & D (med) to the Jargar Superior A & D (med)! I was very excited to try this new Superior string set from Jargar because I grew up playing on Jargar’s Classic A & D strings (med). I have high hopes for their new developments in string making (and honestly think it’s a little overdue!). You’ll be listening to me make observations, noting crucial differences between the Pirastro and Jargar strings. For episode 03, I’ll still have the Pirastro Perpetual Soloist D (medium) and Cadenza G C strings (light) on my cello; and in episode 04, I’ll be switching over to Jargar’s Superior D (med) string.

Special Thanks again goes out to the Dane Arts Council for awarding me one of their 2021 ‘DANG! Arts Grants’ which funded the purchase of my new camera setup and all of its accessories! http://www.danearts.com

Episode 04: Jargar Superior D string (medium)

I’ll be taking a vacation for the next 2 weeks, so there’ll be no new ‘Setup Madness’ episodes until the end of January, next year… But! Here’s what you have to look forward to in the next few episodes!

Episode 05 will feature the Larsen original C string (heavy gauge)
Episode 06 will feature the Larsen original G string (heavy gauge)
Episode 07 will feature the Pirastro Passione gut G string (strong gauge)
Episode 08 will feature the Pirastro Passione gut C string (strong gauge)
Episode 09 will feature the Pirastro Oliv gut D string (light)
Episode 10 maaaayyyy possibly feature the Pirastro Eudoxa gut A string (medium) with the Passione GC and Oliv D… we’ll just have to see…. but it looks like I’m moving back to gut….

Annnd, starting with Episode 07 you’ll finally get to see some footage from my new camera!!

Lots already filmed, as you can see, so subscribe to the “Brian Grimm’s Cello Zone” youtube channel to keep up to date when each episode as it comes out (I post on Monday or Thursday).

Happy New Year,
Stay safe out there!
~ Brian

New “Setup Madness!” Series Launched on Cello Zone YouTube!

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Hey There Cellists!
I just launched Episodes 01 and 02 of my new video series “Setup Madness!” on the Brian Grimm’s Cello Zone! youtube page! My goal is to eventually put out videos on Monday and Thursday – but I need to get faster at editing my videos before I can stick to that schedule for the long haul. So even if I can’t hit my mark of two videos a week, I’ll at least only upload on those two days, for consistency’s sake.

Episode 01: Series Introduction

Don’t worry, I won’t do this much talking in all of my future videos… But, I had to introduce this particular series in the first episode so y’all know what is going on and what to look for in the future!

In Episode 01 of my new series “Setup Madness!” we’ll be listening to the sounds of Pirastro Perpetual Soloist A D (medium) strings in combination with their lighter gauge Cadenza G C strings. These strings had been on my cello for about 10 months when I recorded this C minor warm up session back in late October, 2021. I’ll be switching the strings out one by one over the next few episodes with the Jargar Superior A D (medium) and Larsen Original G C (strong). The original music you are hearing in the background while I’m talking was composed and recorded a year ago, and I had just switched to the Perpetual Soloist string set while recording for that project. So you are also hearing the sounds of the strings when they were fresh too!

Original music in the background of this video is from the “17th Unniversary Suite” and is exclusively available on my GrimmusiK Records bandcamp page:

Episode 02: Pirastro Perpetual Soloist AD and Cadenza GC Deep Dive

In Episode 02 of my new series “Setup Madness!” we’ll be listening to the sounds of Pirastro Perpetual Soloist A D (medium) strings in combination with their lighter gauge Cadenza G C strings. These strings had been on my cello for about 10 months when I recorded this C minor warm up session back in late October, 2021. I’ll be switching the strings out one by one over the next few episodes with the Jargar Superior A D (medium) and Larsen Original G C (strong). Episode 02 is essentially a more in-depth continuation of Episode 1. It’s longer with more playing and you get to hear my observations and thoughts on the strings as I go. I still play through the open strings with each bow (incase you missed that in Episode 01); after which I continue to explore, warm up, and improvise in C minor. This is not meant to be a performance, but an open window into my warmup process and thoughts on the strings as I prepare for a recording session later that day.

More “Setup Madness!” episodes are on the way soon! Let me know what you think, this is a pretty loose, open format video style. I will definitely be putting out some official review videos where I lay out my thoughts in a concise manner. This is meant to be a little more free flowing, open-session style of video.

Let me know if you have tried the Perpetual sets and what you think about them in the comments down below!

Best Wishes,
~ Brian

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17th Unniversary Suite

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This Valentine’s Day we’re celebrating
Susan & John’s 17th Unniversary!

Recently, I was commissioned to write some original music for Susan & John’s 17th “Unniversary”. Susan (aka “Aunt Mickey”) is a dear friend of my partner Anne’s family (Anne is featured on viola!). Susan is a flutist with a great sense of humor who loves everything from Jazz to Experimental Improvisation to New Music and anything deemed whacky by ordinary standards!

Movement I the “Scorpio Serenade” (title suggested by Aunt Mickey) starts on a bit of a reflective note and somber tone. This waltz (again per the suggestion of Aunt Mickey) leaves some space to think back on how difficult a year 2020 was for most of us. Susan and John who had some especially terrifying, exciting & life threatening events transpire. On top of the fact that we are a bit stuck in the home and stuck in the moment, as represented by the flute’s continuing ostinato line… It is a bit somber because were are unable to be in each other’s physical presence to enjoy or celebrate life’s moments together. But as you will experience during the solo section, we are passionate none the less!

As we keep moving forward with hopeful energies, we find ourselves in Movement II, the “Joyous Dance”! Here the foreground cello and viola parts represent the two souls of our lovers, intertwined in a celebratory dance. The flute soloing in the background represents the pure energy of their joy radiating off of the dancing souls. Special thanks to Iva Ugrčić for her spirited flute contributions to this track!

In Movement III, a “Tapestry of Moments”, we find the friends and family who make up the small irreplaceable, separate moments of our lives sewn together into the single, unbroken, continuous, forward moving melody that is our existence here on this earth. Our life as a “tapestry of moments”. Aunt Mickey requested that I involve a number of good friends and so I reached to everyone to help me form the “17th Unniversary Unsemble”! If you listen closely, you can hear individual melody notes played by many separate players which have been carefully pieced together to form this single, minimalist melody line. There is also a surprise element to this musical, life collage.

Susan and John, we hope you enjoy it & can’t wait to debut it for you during the Zoom celebration this Valentine’s Day!

Happy 17th Unniversary to Susan and John,
And a big special thanks to everyone who contributed their musical talents to this project,
~ BCG 

performance credits listed on bandcamp: https://grimmusik.bandcamp.com/album/17th-unniversary-suite