Music you want to hear more of

[noskates]

Old music, perhaps, but Out of Africa or Legends of the Fall are beautiful lyrical pieces and very skateable.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Here are some nice alternatives for little juniors so they don't have to skate to 'I am sick in French' or cork-popping innuendo:
-Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (not Swan, that's overused - I was thinking more Aquarium or Elephant )
-Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf (Here is a nice example by a young boy )

For the slightly more grown-up skaters:
-Non-Firebird Stravinsky (e.g. Tomoki Hiwatashi did Petrushka in 2019-20; Nathan Chen's 2017-18 LP had a Rite of Spring step sequence)
-Late Romantic French composers not named Faure, Debussy or Ravel (Poulenc had a better sense of humour but I don't think anyone has skated to him yet)

Adam Siao Him Fa with a medley from Two Steps from Hell: (If I am not mistaken, Meagan and Eric skated a program with their music, but I could be wrong.)

Another Adam Siao Him Fa music choice (from the same season in fact!): "Weight of Love" by the Black Keys.
For some reason he ended up ditching this programme shortly afterwards, but he's improved so much as a skater since then that I wish he'd revisit it.


Also, Carolina Kostner did this short programme to Kitaro's God of Thunder and Bonzo's Montreux (the latter piece was also used by Kurt Browning). Weather is one of the few sound effects I don't mind!

Same is true of Tchaikovsky probably..
His “Dreams of a Winter Journey” is a classic long piece, little used and could be used multiple ways..

Alena Kanysheva skated to it as a Junior.. wish we could have seen her more but this is wonderful!

Tchaikovsky's 3rd symphony would probably work well too. It was used for Act 3 (Diamonds) in Balanchine's Jewels ballet.

Speaking of ballets, I hope a Georgian skater considers Sagalobeli (score seems to be arranged from pieces by Quintet Urmuli if anyone is wondering)

 

[Diana Delafield]

Old music, perhaps, but Out of Africa or Legends of the Fall are beautiful lyrical pieces and very skateable.

I've skated to Out of Africa, and still swoon when I hear it! Right back on the ice. Same with Somewhere in Time.

 

[Mathematician]

(Poulenc had a better sense of humour but I don't think anyone has skated to him yet)

A Poulenc program would certainly be curious to watch

I'd be impressed with someone who could pull that off well. Maybe... Petrosian? She seems pretty sophisticated and vivacious in that way. But perhaps still a bit young?

Speaking of ballets, I hope a Georgian skater considers Sagalobeli (score seems to be arranged from pieces by Quintet Urmuli if anyone is wondering)

Georgian music is definitely a gem. Have you seen Frolova's Tango? Good program. Its Georgian tango; not like the Nuevo Tango you encounter without rest in figure skating.

 

[gkelly]

Here are some nice alternatives for little juniors so they don't have to skate to 'I am sick in French' or cork-popping innuendo:
-Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (not Swan, that's overused - I was thinking more Aquarium or Elephant )
-Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf (Here is a nice example by a young boy )

These are probably more appropriate for pre-teens, too young for junior international competition. Some kids probably did already use these or similar pieces when they were young and skating and lower levels.

By the time they become teenagers/juniors, they'll probably want to be a little more mature, to come across as teenagers and not little kids.

Agreed that the younger teenagers, especially if still physically immature, should avoid anything overtly sexual.

 

[Mathematician]

Agreed that the younger teenagers, especially if still physically immature, should avoid anything overtly sexual.

Not "especially if" anything. They're kids. It just shouldn't be a thing ever.

 

[Ichatdelune]

Old music, perhaps, but Out of Africa or Legends of the Fall are beautiful lyrical pieces and very skateable.

Dabin had a lovely FS to Legends of the Fall!

2023 동계 유니버시아드_최다빈 프리 프로그램 FS '가을의 전설'

#최다빈 #피겨스케이팅 #유니버시아드 #동계유니버시아드 #피겨 #피겨선수 #평창올림픽 #피겨스케이트 #DabinChoi #universiade

youtu.be

 

[gkelly]

Not "especially if" anything. They're kids. It just shouldn't be a thing ever.

Define "kids."

Does that include 17-year-olds and does it make a difference whether they are competing in senior or junior competition?

 

[Diana Delafield]

Not "especially if" anything. They're kids. It just shouldn't be a thing ever.

And could someone please ban that gesture used by so many many many skaters of all ages, male and female, of stroking themselves with a hand starting at their head and running down one side of their bodies? All themes, any kind of music, and just something that makes me cringe every time.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

A Poulenc program would certainly be curious to watch

I'd be impressed with someone who could pull that off well. Maybe... Petrosian? She seems pretty sophisticated and vivacious in that way. But perhaps still a bit young?


Georgian music is definitely a gem. Have you seen Frolova's Tango? Good program. Its Georgian tango; not like the Nuevo Tango you encounter without rest in figure skating.

If we're talking about female Russian skaters, maybe Kseniia Sinitsyna. She's always had a range of original music choices and decent maturity of interpretation (e.g. 'Alfonsina y el mar', 2018-19 SP). Speaking of Frolova, she also had an interesting short programme in 2021-23 ('Shahmaran' by Sevdaliza), though a lot of the choreo was watered down post-injury.

Funnily enough, I think Yuhana Yokoi might have suited Poulenc's 2 Piano Concerto if she hadn't retired. She's done Tom and Jerry which is similarly energetic/cheeky/slightly eccentric with abrupt musical changes

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Ahhh Legends of the Fall. Boitano had an amazingly beautiful program to it in the 90's. Will always be a favorite program for me.

 

[Mathematician]

Define "kids."

Does that include 17-year-olds and does it make a difference whether they are competing in senior or junior competition?

Ugh, I know its so hard to determine absolutes when it comes to age; people will always say: "18 years old is ok, but 17 years and 364 days isn't?" so I won't even get into that.

For now, since I'm not in the mood for any complex debates, especially on this topic, lets just say any junior performance with sexual themes is disgraceful.

But personally, I don't like sexual themes in anything ever, especially art.

 

[Mathematician]

If we're talking about female Russian skaters, maybe Kseniia Sinitsyna. She's always had a range of original music choices and decent maturity of interpretation (e.g. 'Alfonsina y el mar', 2018-19 SP). Speaking of Frolova, she also had an interesting short programme in 2021-23 ('Shahmaran' by Sevdaliza), though a lot of the choreo was watered down post-injury.

Yes! I was going to mention Kseniia! I think shes so underrated, and in her Lullaby program she demonstrated a great sense of complex rhythm and musical sophistication. Totally agree. I decided on Petrosian instead just because I think she has moreso the technical prowess in addition to the inherent musicality. But, I heard Kseniia is working on some triple C, so I have lots of hope and excitement for her this season!

And yes, I am a fan of Frolova in general, I think shes so underrated and exhudes a very unique kind of elegance - like she is from a much earlier time.

 

[TallyT]

Not a bad suggestion. We (at least I) don't actually see much Mozart despite plenty of Bach and Beethoven. Problem is, most skaters probably don't have the right artistic disposition for Mozart; he is a composer you need to specialize in quite strongly to be effective with, at least from what I understand.

However, I don't know how much I buy that theory of his music benefitting cognitive function.

I can see it for a lot of music. I saw a study not long ago that showed that rewatching your favourite films or TV shows is actually good for you, so why not skates as well? Hope and Legacy, Notte Stellata and others definitely make me both more serene and more creative. Even just the music (which some kind folk used to created mp3 versions of on youtube) do it.

And I am not sure if anyone else has done it... but Kevin Reynolds and The Armed Man. Of course, one of my guilty pleasures is Kevin's music choices and the costumes that he put with them...

 

[TallyT]

I would love to see a program to Korean music that is not K-pop. We have other music genres to skate to. We have nice ballads, rock music, folk music, hip-hop, jazz... the list goes on. Some Korean skaters have skated to said non-Kpop music but they are far and few between. Some examples on the top of my head:

Yes yes yes! Also soundtracks, both Korean and Chinese dramas have some wonderful instrumental soundtracks.

 

[Mathematician]

I can see it for a lot of music. I saw a study not long ago that showed that rewatching your favourite films or TV shows is actually good for you, so why not skates as well? Hope and Legacy, Notte Stellata and others (not all by Yuzu, there are some others who can do decent cuts!) definitely make me both more serene and more creative. Even just the music (which some kind folk used to created mp3 versions of on youtube) do it.

And I am not sure if anyone else has done it... but Kevin Reynolds and The Armed Man. Of course, one of my guilty pleasures is Kevin's music choices and the costumes that he put with them...

In regards to short term bursts of inspiration and the consequential hightened state of mind, then totally. Figure skating inspires my pianistry oftentimes, and even stimulates me intellectually. And I'm sure its "good for you" psychologically in regards to your mood and the like. However, I meant moreso that in regards to foundationally benefitting your general cognition (a common supposed effect of Mozart) - its unlikely accurate. I know there was some experiment that demonstrated Mozart producing certain brain waves as opposed to Mahler, in which case the Mozart generated brain waves were supposedly more correlated to quick mindedness while Mahler brain waves were indicative of "slower" thinking. Take from that what you will - I don't have the knowledge to deconstruct that experiment.

From what I understand, there's no concrete evidence that suggest any intellectual practice (memory games, creative tasks, logic puzzles, etc...) have any long term cognitive health benefits at all. The only truly proven way to maintain and possibly improve your cognition is actually through regular physical activity and fitness!

 

[Diana Delafield]

Here are some nice alternatives for little juniors so they don't have to skate to 'I am sick in French' or cork-popping innuendo:
-Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals (not Swan, that's overused - I was thinking more Aquarium or Elephant )
-Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

And I've seen a couple of cute programs by children from the same coach who liked Ralph Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, which has a variety of choices within it. For older skaters I'd like to see Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' (as long as they're not too literal with the costumes).

The Cleo Laine/James Galway CD Sometimes When We Touch has some great selections for dancers, maybe better for exhibitions; the title song and Keep Loving Me are my favourites.

 

[TallyT]

And just about anything by Two Steps From Hell. I discovered them used as a soundtrack for a clip from one of my favourite films, The Light Horsemen, and wanted to grab my skates and my partner, drop about twenty years, and get on the ice.

Oh yes, Two Steps has a lot of music that would work, also a couple of the other similar providers - no, it's not 'great' music, but its whole mandate would make the best work a treat for skating (imo, of course)

And could someone please ban that gesture used by so many many many skaters of all ages, male and female, of stroking themselves with a hand starting at their head and running down one side of their bodies?

No. At least, not my menfolk.

But personally, I don't like sexual themes in anything ever, especially art.

I do like them, and I still agree with you about the juniors.

 

[skatesofgold]

I know Nutcracker is a warhorse, especially the Pas de Deux, but Scene in the Pine Forest is my favorite song from the ballet and I think it's less often used in figure skating, so I want to hear more of it. Also, Cyrano and Dear Evan Hansen.

 

[4everchan]

I will say something shocking but I do like some of the classical music warhorses they are used and abused because they work well for skating... However, without getting rid of them, I feel that choreographers. music editors and coaches could reach out and use similar pieces that are a bit less-known to the skating world.

Here are a few examples on how to replace a warhorse with something just as nice but rarely done.

Waltz alternative :

Rachmaninoff concerto alternative (Sara-Maude Dupuis is using this for her LP this year) : (I chose an easy to skate to excerpt up to about 13 minutes there are tons of good things to skate to)


There are tons or baroque pieces that could be just as fun as the 4 seasons... just one short example. Lully's Ballet de la nuit

Aranjuez could be replaced by Rodrigo's (same composer) Fantasia para un gentilhombre

Chopin nocturne alternative : Field (Nocturne in A major)

So many skaters use music from movies... the music can be good and fun to skate to, but it certainly brings the storyline of the movie into the program... what about using symphonic music just as effective but without being linked to a strong narrative context ? For instance, Brahms 3rd symphony, 3rd mvt.

I could go on and on.. the point is that there is SO much music but very little is used.. and of course, some people may think, well this is hard to skate to... Well not always and some of the pieces chosen by skaters also have awkward parts to skate to... but those parts are simply cut LOL.. So do not imagine that all 30 minutes of Rachmaninoff concerto number 2 are perfect for skating... Most people skate to the same 10-20% of its content.