Valentina Lisitsa

[chopininov]

Anybody heard of her? If you have, what do you think?
I think her technique is amazing 
But as we all know, that's not everything.
She's also has very relaxed playing.
Here's some vid's:
Rach-Etude Op. 39 No. 6 http://youtube.com/watch?v=DAb2nI2hVqk
Liszt-La Campanella http://youtube.com/watch?v=0TV1Np1VXKI
Chopin-Thirds Etude http://youtube.com/watch?v=HM4pXNYwQjA
Ravel-Gaspard de la Nuit, Scarbo http://youtube.com/watch?v=LdpRDq5_558

[amelialw]

I think that she is a very accomplished pianist, no doubt her technique is excellent but I find that she occassionaly lacks a little musicality.

[counterpoint]

I only heard her with romantic, virtuosic repertoire.

Does she play some real music too?   

[chopininov]

Well what do you mean? If by "real" music you mean late classical, then yes.
Beethoven-Emperor Concerto http://youtube.com/watch?v=7aVpCK4hDsk
But if you mean some boring composer like Haydn, then I don't think so.

[pianowolfi]

 some boring composer like Haydn

 

[counterpoint]

if you mean some boring composer like Haydn

lol   

Yes, I meant Bach, Haydn, Mozart, (early) Beethoven, but also some interesting works by Schumann, Brahms, Schönberg.  I don't have a problem with the pieces Lisitsa plays, but mostly it's about virtuousity. I would like to hear some slow pieces with interesting articulation as well.

[zheer]

  She is what you would expect from an intrenational, concert pianist.

[infectedmushroom]

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMR_D6G_Sw


Quite an amazing technique

[amelialw]

Haydn is not boring at all, he is an interesting composer, you just have to get to know him. In fact he is one of my favourites.

[pianowolfi]

Haydn is not boring at all, he is an interesting composer, you just have to get to know him. In fact he is one of my favourites.

Yes that is my opinion as well and that is what I wanted to express with the angry and crying emoticon.

[chopininov]

Haydn is not boring at all, he is an interesting composer, you just have to get to know him. In fact he is one of my favourites.

Haha guys, I did not actually mean Haydn was a boring composer. It was a sarcastic reply to counterpoint's request for "real music."

[invictious]

Yes that is my opinion as well and that is what I wanted to express with the angry and crying emoticon.

What about Bach? he is even boring. no emotion at all










































sarcasm.

I personally think that Lisitsa is a great pianist. I like her way of playing, althugh some would argue it's too...technical.

[arensky]

I heard her play a hefty duo recital with Hilary Hahn a few days ago. They played the Franck Sonata, the Ives 3rd Sonata and the Brahms A major as well as a Mozart Sonata; Hahn also played the Ysaye solo Sonata in G major. Difficulties do not seem to exist for Lisitsa ( or for Hahn) and she played her part without overpowering the violin but she never "accompanied", her playing was always the equal of the violin and she took center stage in the appropriate places. She has plenty of power but uses it sparingly, and she never made an ugly sound. The Mozart was the best piano Mozart I've heard in a long time; her scales and passage work were astonishingly clear and precise and the whole Sonata sang out and danced along without ever sounding dry or mannered; a great performance. The Ives Sonata was incredible ( the piano part is MUCH harder than the violin unless I'm mistaken); her phrasings and colorations were superb. There's an inner movement of the sonata that has some very rapid repeated note and scale passages of extreme difficulty; she tossed these off as if they were nothing at all. They both understood the piece and dove right into it; for me it was the highlight of the evening, a real musical adventure. Of course there were those in the audience who were were audibly grousing about "the damned modern music"  but hopefully they were assuaged by the rest of the program, which was superb as well. Hopefully I'll hear her in a solo recital someday.

[houseofblackleaves]

There are also videos of her playing Islamey, Totantanz, Ondine, Appasionata, etc... http://youtube.com/user/ValentinaLisitsa

And on her website (once they get the audio page up again, I guess) there are craptons of samples of her playing, like the Chopin Variations op.2, all of his etudes, Rach 2, Prok 3, some of everything from Scarlatti to Godowsky.

I do wonder what modern music would sound like if she played it.  In her style of playing, I mean.  (like Corigliano, Rzewski, Xenakis etc.)