Frank Zappa's "G-Spot Tornado"

This video clip is for me of one of the most beautiful and moving musical moments in history! 17 September 1992: 14 months before his death from the cancer that had been growing inside him for years, Frank Zappa finally realised his dream of having this and other complex compositions of his played by an orchestra capable of executing them to perfection. Six years earlier, Zappa had recorded G Spot Tornado using a synclavier (early computer system for music programming) for the album Jazz From Hell because he believed that it was too difficult for his musicians to play it. When it was finally performed and recorded by the Ensemble Modern (this clip) for the Yellow Shark album, Zappa was a very happy man because he had previously believed that it would never be played to his satisfaction by human musicians. Every time I watch this clip I get all teary-eyed. Watching Frank conduct the piece and the thundering applause it receives from the audience always affects me in this way.

Performed By Ensemble Modern on 17/09/1992

1986 Synclavier Version as it appeared on "Jazz From Hell"

Yesterday, I was surfing youtube and came across a clip of a Russian pianist called Viktoriya Yermolyeva playing her own solo piano arrangement of G Spot. The piece is extremely hard to play and she admits that she didn't play it perfectly and mentioned that she recorded the video after only two days of practice. She added that she still needs to work on it. I respect the fact that she chose this particular piece to play. Not only is she very courageous to attempt playing it, but also, she has excellent musical taste!

Solo Piano arrangement by Viktoriya Yermolyeva

Enjoy!