What music should Caroline Zhang skate to next season? | Golden Skate

What music should Caroline Zhang skate to next season?

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
What kind of music do you think Caroline Zhang should skate to in this upcoming Olympic season?

I'm thinking something energetic and dynamic, at least in parts, but which also has great melodic phrasing, since that seems to be her strength.
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Since it IS Olympic season, I think any one of Tosca, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen or Turandot will fit the bill...

Ok, I kid. I fervently hope the top skaters will avoid the old warhorses (I'm looking at you, Evan).

Anyways, for Caroline, I think something from the Amelie soundtrack by Yann Tiersen will make a charming program. It's not excessively princessy and some of the faster pieces may make her skate faster to keep up with the music. Granted, most of the pieces from the Amelie soundtrack are not terribly bombastic or energetic, but Caroline seemed a bit overwhelmed with the energetic La Bayadere music she's been using this season.

Something Spanish-esque may also be a good idea, she seemed so much more comfortable with her Spanish Gypsy SP than with her La Bayadere SP this season.
 
Last edited:

Andalusia

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Anyways, for Caroline, I think something from the Amelie soundtrack by Yann Tiersen will make a charming program. It's not excessively princessy and some of the faster pieces may make her skate faster to keep up with the music. Granted, most of the pieces from the Amelie soundtrack are not terribly bombastic or energetic, but Caroline seemed a bit overwhelmed with the energetic La Bayadere music she's been using this season.

Good recommendation. The most popular piece from Amelie, the Waltz, is slow and fast at parts, while being very melancholic overall. I think Caroline could do wonders with it if she'd be more expressive.

And I saw what you posted in the other thread, feraina, about Caroline taking music suggestions. I'm glad I was able to work on you to work on her. ;) I'll take some time to think of new ideas, but I'm sure to be back. :)
 

LeCygne

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Good recommendation. The most popular piece from Amelie, the Waltz, is slow and fast at parts, while being very melancholic overall. I think Caroline could do wonders with it if she'd be more expressive.

I'm not sure what the Waltz is, but if it's what Tanith/Ben used for their 2007 FD, I love that music and agree that Caroline could do a great job with it.

Also, the Tchaikovsky violin concerto (the only one he ever wrote, sadly) has a great main theme that I will look for a video of later. EDIT: Haha I lied, it starts at 6:22 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATK_pj2iMqg
 
Last edited:

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
For Caroline, a sophisticated piece that would really showcase her growth in terms of look, style, fashion and maturity!

She is one of the skater who I believe can medal

(Kim, Mao, Rochette, Zhang, Kostner, Ando, Flatt)

So she really needs to up the ante

Lyrical skating is beautiful! To see her perform "Meditation of the thais" this year and showcase her growth would be my dream! The music fits her so much!


Nice musical pieces for her could be

"Malaguena"
"Tosca"
"Saint Saens-music"

"Turandot" wins but it's too redundant

"Schindler's List" is ok for an LP
SP: The Secret Garden


Other nice musical choices

"The Mission"



No more R&J, Carmen, Turandot please heeheheeheheh!


Swan Lake, Giselle may be ok!




Anastacia would be nice, Mulan, Legends of the fall

Dark Eyes
 
Last edited:

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
I love Amiele and I think she could skate to it so well. I also liked the Mission idea, but I am rather sick of that music.

No Tosca, no Malaguena, no Dark Eyes. Please. The latter too will make her look like a sasha wanna be.

I like Saint-Saens' Violin Concerto in B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iwAzZ4U7wE
 

Andalusia

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
I'm not sure what the Waltz is, but if it's what Tanith/Ben used for their 2007 FD, I love that music and agree that Caroline could do a great job with it.

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aip3836VtZ0

My suggestions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd9rg9v25bo&feature=related (Adagio movement)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS8Lhv-PipI&feature=related (Rondo movement)

Both the above are from Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto. The 1st clip is rather long, but one need only listen to the first few minutes to hear the relevant parts. Picture Caroline doing her spiral as the piano comes in. :love: The Rondo movement is the fast and dramatic section. Caroline doesn't strike me as the type who does bombastic very well, though, so she might want to find another piece for the parts where she has to skate faster.

I suppose the 3 choices above are a bit too mature and sophisticated for a 16-year-old girl to skate to, but I think Caroline would leave an unfavourable impression in comparison to skaters like Mao and Yu-Na if she were to skate to 'little girl' music at the Olympics, so I figure if she has to have her Salome-like breakthrough, she might as well do it next season. However, if she wants something slightly more age-appropriate, she could go for the below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1Ln-ctn5E

'Walking In The Air' by Howard Blake from the film 'The Snowman', as sung by Peter Auty. The song is so popular that I'm sure a faster, instrumental version could be found. ;)
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
:)



I suppose the 3 choices above are a bit too mature and sophisticated for a 16-year-old girl to skate to, but I think Caroline would leave an unfavourable impression in comparison to skaters like Mao and Yu-Na if she were to skate to 'little girl' music at the Olympics, so I figure if she has to have her Salome-like breakthrough, she might as well do it next season. However, if she wants something slightly more age-appropriate, she could go for the below:



Yup, she needs a Salome like program, i think she can do it next year! GO CAROLINE!
 

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Hey, thanks everyone for your input so far! :)

I just listened to several waltzes on Amelie's soundtrack. While I love the music (and loved the movie too), I think most of the belong to the tinkly, cute music category that are not going to help her look mature and athletic. Tanith & Ben are powerful skaters and can carry off a tinkly waltz, I'm not sure it'd work for Caroline.

The Beethoven concerto adagio movement is really slow (last thing she needs for the music to slow her down), and the rondo movement is really overpowering. Ditto the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. She had two such orchestral pieces this year (Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere) and neither really worked out. She ends up looking rushed and behind all the time.

The Saint Saens piece is beautiful, but it is rich in rhythmic texture, which she's not particularly strong in, and relatively short on melodic phrasing, which is her strength. Besides, once the orchestral parts set in, I worry about the overpowering issue again.

Meditation of the Thais she already skated to three seasons ago.

Since she has had the most success with something a little different from classical, namely Spanish Gypsy, which is kinda of a modernized version of flamenco, I wonder if she wouldn't do well with a tango. Not an over-dramatic ballroom tango, but a nice melodic, lyrical Argentine tango.

Maybe this classical tango (two versions, so you can see the different possibilities of musical interpretation):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kpq5MB-kF0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0syEzTstp20

The faster rhythmic accompaniments are great for spins and footwork sequence, and otherwise she can skate to the melody carried by the violin.

I also like Palomita Blanca (Garufa version), which is nice lyrical rendition of a fast tango-waltz, not unlike the Spanish Gypsy, but with tango flavor instead of flamenco. Unfortunately I can't find it online.
 

Andalusia

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
feraina, overpower Caroline with all the choices and see which ones she picks. :biggrin:

I agree the Adagio movement of the Beethoven concerto might be a tad too slow - if she ever uses it, maybe she could just utilize the beginning piano section. And while Amelie's waltz is piano music (she might want to avoid the tinkliness that comes with a solo piano piece and pick something with more oomph), I wouldn't say it's cute.

I like the tango pieces you posted, but everyone and their Aunt Annie seems to be skating to tango pieces these days, to the point that they're getting to be overkill. I agree Caroline might want to go for something other than classical...we'll just have to rack our brains to come up with more choices! :laugh:
 

Alicja

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
I'm thinking Grieg would suit Caroline well. The Holberg Suite is quite light and youthful, with irresistible melodies and lots of energy. Here's the first number.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwb4kpOKw9I&feature=related
Some more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_O-LPPIws&feature=related

His piano concerto is certainly a wonderful, romantic piece - very familiar, but perhaps not so much in the skating world.


I was thinking about Grieg as well! :) Maybe even something from the Peer Gynt Suite like Anitra's Dance or Solveig's Song.
 
Last edited:

luvsasha

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
I know this will sound weird, but i'd love to see Caroline skate to A Little Princess soundtrack by Patrick Doyle. I know it sounds like another princessy-princess program, but the score is a lot more than that. I could also see her doing a program to maybe Legends of the Fall, and maybe Sound of Music (why hasn't anybody skated to that yet???)

Anyway, you can listen to some of the score here: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Prince...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1240667812&sr=8-1
 

nubka

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
I know it's been used a lot, but the Love Theme from Spartacus is a very powerful peice of music, with lots of strong passages and smooth, dreamy ones as well.

Any selection from A Misummer's Night Dream would be enchanting. The scherzo is bright and sparkling, while the nocturn is lush and swoon-worthy...:thumbsup:
 

Simone

Match Penalty
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Björk "All is full of love" I'd love for someone to pull this off... if someone has I am out of the loop...
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
OK, I've got it. Feraina, please make sure Caroline or her choreographer listen to this.

http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Tan-Dun/dp/B0002S945W

Tan Dun is a famous Chinese composer now living in the USA. Listen to the snippet of the "For the World" theme and imagine that mixed up with the wonderful rhythm Hero overture or Swift Sword.

He also did Crouching Tiger... but it should be especially inspiring for Caroline to skate to "Hero" music in an Olympic season!
 

LeCygne

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Okay, I think I've got it. The Barber violin concerto is a very lyrical 20th century composition that could very well suit Caroline's needs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCj8Gg4h1Wk&feature=related

It has a great melody that carries through the entire piece, and it's convenient because it starts right at the very beginning (no long intro). It first starts picking up the tempo around 2:30, and the climax starts around 5:15 (Caroline's spiral would be great at 5:40).

But if it's a bit much (there is a lot of percussion there), she can just skip over that section, the piece has plenty of other good parts. The only other fast part is 8:15 (recap of 2:30) and Hilary Hahn plays a bit faster than it should go, IMO.

The rest is all beautiful melody that Caroline can skate to her heart's content. The woodwind phrases that end the piece (10:20) would be perfect for Caroline's style as well. That way she can start lyrically and end lyrically but show some big climaxes in the middle.
 

ANW

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
I maybe alone on this one but I think Tara Lipinski's 98 SP (Anastasia) and LP (Rainbow) would fit Caroline Zhang perfectly :laugh:
 
Top