Boris Berezovsky - he's HAPPENIN!

[stevie]

yep, this guy is getting more and more exciting.

his career has gone from strength to strength, he won the tchaikovsky competiton, then went along steadily, producing quite a few great recordings of the virtuoso repertoire.

is there ANYTHING this guy doesnt play?

he plays alot of chopin, liszt, but more recently he has been influenced by hamelin in particular.

he is playing ALKAN , MEDTNER, and GODOWSKY

and i think he is especially TREMENDOUS at medtner, the most incredible night-wind sonata.

he is surely one of the most exciting pianists in the world today, in many ways, i hope he gets even more fame, his virtuosity is astounding.

he outright OWNS the liszt TEs and his live recording of ISLAMEY is the best ive ever heard.


'I pwn JOO'

[pianistimo]

wow!  you're right. (just listened on amazon to some of the trancendental etudes).  he plays like a man, too.  i really liked the first etude.  occasionally his pedalling in mazeppa wasn't as clear as i've heard others, but that's ok.  because he has feeling.  barry douglas will have to step aside a little bit.  if i had a chess board, i'd just switch them back and forth.  if he ever comes to pennsylvania (kimmell center) i'll go listen for sure.  kinda worried though.  i happen to fall for russian anything.  the dark eyes.  the passionate playing.  oh dear.  if i like his playing i'll probably end up milling around afterwards.  some of the best concerts i've been to i stay at least 15 mintues afterwards just sitting in my seat smiling.  people have to walk over me to get out. 

[stevie]

if i think about it, he is the MOST masculine pianist out there today.

hes alot like richter, a very manly non-nonesense approach.

his mazeppa is actually the fastest on record, and a live recording of his feux-follets is also the fastest of that piece(just over 3 minutes)

he has an amazing technique and lots of power, the blurring may be because he uses a different legato fingering for a section in mazeppa

in fact, since youve showed some intered, i thought you guys would be interested in seeing this:

https://datazz2.free.fr/berezeppa.avi

be warned, some INSANE FURY lies within...

[pianistimo]

it's too blurry for me.  because i hear it possible from my teacher, carl cranmer, to play difficult pieces like that a bit more clearly.  but, insane fury.  yes!  that's incredible.  liszt would be proud. 

with the pedalling, my teacher (and previous too) has shown me a lighter pedalling method that is more effective in pieces like this.  you have to have some practice - and sort of flutter your foot more lightly - it takes a lot of ankle strength.  (he's putting the pedal farther down than it needs to be).  of course, who am i to tell him how to play liszt...if liszt would be happy.

piano technique has come a long way!  you can avoid the mushy sound on recordings by this pedalling - and you can hear the singing of the notes better.  i am so pleased by carl cranmers playing.  have to ask if he put his newest cd anywhere on the internet. you'll hear the difference in CLEAN and CLEAR playing.

[pianistimo]

if you only listen for pedalling - you'll be surprised what you can hear.  usually about exactly how far they are putting their foot down on the pedal - and the gauged effect. 

[maul]

Great video. I agree with pianistimo about the pedal, but it doesn't take away too much. The guy is definitely a badass.

[stevie]

actually boris uses this innovative technique, the flutter pedalling.

he is a master of technqiue, its all about taste really, i dont think he chose to play mazeppa that way because he couldnt do it any other way, he simply prefers to play it that way.

also, the blurring may be due to the sound quality of the file...

i have the original DVD of the complete liszt trancendental etudes

they are all STUNNING, and this is probably my 2nd most watched DVD in my collection(the libetta DVD is first, because of more varied repertoire)

[stevie]

also, if enough of you guys want it, i can provide the video of the 10th TE too

[maul]

Yes please

[pianistimo]

sure, why not.

something i have learned in the last few years is exactly what i was told years ago (good advice for a woman especially) is that for endurance pieces you can let the piano itself be it's own strength.  for instance, if you play lighter, the larger amount of notes within the measure actually sound louder than playing less notes at the same dynamic.  so, if you want to sound a bit more 'french' you can play at lesser gradations and have the same effect but less 'russian.'  it's not a pounding sound (which is still thrilling to audiences) but more of a clear clean sound.  

the flutter pedalling i've heard of - but he's flutterring too deeply (even forgetting at times and putting his foot past the 'mark.'  he has to listen more closely.  recordings can't cover everything.  this is an amazing thing i've learned listening to my teacher play.  it seems that everyone has a certain talent.  i think boris's talent is guts and passion.  my teacher has passion and a listening ear.  he's more maybe conservative - but not really.  every sound he makes (down to the smallest note) is audible clearly.  i thought this wasn't possible in chopin, or in liszt, but it is.

i've also learned there is something even lighter than flutter pedalling.  it is the highest possible point that you have a slight connection between note to note.  this very light pedal doesn't have to be used continuously, only in places that you really need it.  optimal learning of pedalling, means using it more sparingly than you were previously attuned to.  try to connect more with your fingers alone, and your pedalling technique will improve.  then you only add it where necessary and not ALWAYS.  some pianos inherently ring after you play a note, too, and this can be a little secret.

[stevie]

https://datazz2.free.fr/TE10-divx.avi

hope you enjoy, this is one of the best performances ive ever heard of this piece.

he takes a generally fast tempo, possibly one of the fastest of all, but it all makes sense, and its very passionate.

this is my joint favourite TE along with no11(which berezovsky also OWNS)

[BoliverAllmon]

thank you very much.

[pianistimo]

that sounded like my french piano prof. jean-paul billaud.  was it a french pianist like claudio arrau instead?  he's very light, clear, passionate, and i love it.  who was it??

ps i grew up in alaska and kind of stumbled over the best teacher who JUST HAPPENed to be at U of A.  that was jp.  he helped all his students really get to a much higher level than normal at bachelor's level.  there was one lady, beverly holt, who took from him for many years and played chopin better than any of the concert artists i've ever heard.  i just don't know why she doesn't make cd's.  maybe she has, who knows?  anyway, between her hands and her adept feet - she made the piano like part of her body.  i still sort of see her as attached to the piano in some way (like clara schumann)

[stevie]

they are both videos pianonut!

you need the latest DivX stuff to make it work, i think

[m]

Stevie,

Any chance you could post Feux-Follets?

[da jake]

Mos def.

Berezovsky & Hamelin are the two best pianists in the world today, I think. 

[pianistimo]

i have windows and it played only the music without the video.  hamelin you say.  well, i guess i change my mind about him.  i heard him live (playing the busoni concerto - and hated it because the piano wasn't spaced far enough from the orchestra and was sort of overshadowed at times - and i hate busoni)  but, now that i've heard hamelin play this, well, i really like him.

[maul]

It's not Hamelin. It's Berezovsky. Get Divx and you would know this. 

[pita bread]

Berezovsky is a legend.

[pianistimo]

maybe it depends on what he plays, then.  he sounded like a different pianist on that last one.  not so heavy.  maybe he just plays as he feels.  this was definately a different character.  i really like his playing.

[pita bread]

I've seen the videos for his Mazeppa, Wild Jaguar (hehe), Chasse Niege, and Feux Follets, and they all floor me everytime I watch them.

[musicsdarkangel]

there's no way in hell that Boris has a faster Feux Follet than Richter!


I'm going to check this out, but I just don't think it's possible.



Richter = FAST

[thierry13]

I've seen the videos for his Mazeppa, Wild Jaguar (hehe), Chasse Niege, and Feux Follets, and they all floor me everytime I watch them.

He nick named it wild jaguar, but he nick-named chasse-neige chasse-neigre ... wich, in french, mean - chase-black person ... haha

[thierry13]

Berezovsky is a legend.

true  Seriously, I love his playing. He is amazing.

[pita bread]

He nick named it wild jaguar, but he nick-named chasse-neige chasse-neigre ... wich, in french, mean - chase-black person ... haha

Chase-da-brotha, heh.

[maxy]

Berezovsky has a very interesting Chopin op 25#12.

Early Richter has faster TE 8 and 10.

[thierry13]

Berezovsky has a very interesting Chopin op 25#12.

Early Richter has faster TE 8 and 10.

Berezovsky can play faster 

[thierry13]

Berezovsky has a very interesting Chopin op 25#12.

Early Richter has faster TE 8 and 10.

And I heard no worse Te 8 than richter's live ... a true murder. .

[brewtality]

Berezovsky's live night-wind sonata is amazing, it easily puts Hamelin's studio performance in the shade. Actually, I pretty much like everything I've heard him play except his Rach 3. He's a wonderful pianist.

[Nightscape]

His recording of the Rach3 actually happens to be my personal favorite.  Although, he does take an optional cut (one Rachmaninoff specified) in the 3rd movement, reducing the time by a minute - however I never noticed it for years since the cut is so smooth and the material cut is repeated material.

[stevie]

Stevie,

Any chance you could post Feux-Follets?

ill see what i can do, my source for these videos is https://www.dasdc.net/

for the guy who mentioned richter's feux follets...the performance on dvd clocks in at about 3 08, and ive heard another live recording around 3 03 i think, and with very very teasing rubato at the end, proving he could so easily go sub-3 minutes

[thierry13]

for the guy who mentioned richter's feux follets...the performance on dvd clocks in at about 3 08, and ive heard another live recording around 3 03 i think, and with very very teasing rubato at the end, proving he could so easily go sub-3 minutes

Berezovksy OWNS richter 

[stevie]

he also plays, according to one of my friends, one of the best goldbergs ever.

he played complete beethoven and rach concerti in concert, and much much more

his repertoire seems limitless

[m]

he also plays, according to one of my friends, one of the best goldbergs ever.

It is actually very hard to believe. I heard him live many times, including Tchaikowsky Competition all three rounds. No doubt, he is a wonderful pianist, with the most transcendental technique and a spirit of a true virtuoso. His touch is beautiful and recordings I heard do not do him justice.

However, unlike Richter, or some other music "thinkers" he does not strike me as the one with greatest musical mind, or greatest intellect. His interpretations are quite standard and very often I feel them superficial. His Beethoven I heard, although musically correct, is very unexciting, and in a sense immature. His Tchaikowsky no.1 and Rachmaninov no. 3 are surprisingly dull and highly uninteresting.
His Schumann and Chopin are not very inspired, lacking poetry and romantic feeling.

Most of all, he is a great PIANIST, and feels the most comfortable in highly pianistic and difficult repertoire. I don't think it is good or bad--that's who he is and that's what he does, and he does it wonderfully. He has a unique abandon in his playing, that's for sure.

It would be very interesting to hear his live FF, as the studio recording of complete TT on Teldec does not seem something extraordinary. I remeber him playing FF on Tchaikowsky Competition. The whole audience took the breath with the first note, and breathe out only with the last one.

[stevie]

i actually agree with most of what you say, but he is still relatively young(not 40 yet) and can maybe mature into more of a 'thinker'.

you talk his abandon, and whilst i havent fully heard his studio TEs i can imagine they are more reserved and less exciting as the ones on the 'la roque d'antheron' DVD.

incidentally, his FF on the DVD is one of my favourite interpretations, i like kissin's alot too.

[burstroman]

Boris is an original player.  His interpretations are obviously well thought and never a copy of the current fashion.  Keep on!

[rob47]

I got tickets to go see him play Rach piano concerto 4.  Should be legendary.

[stevie]

recent picture of him and my french friend alexis.

[stevie]

And I heard no worse Te 8 than richter's live ... a true murder. .

i actually disagree, rape is a necessity for this piece, murder is optional, but preferred.

[pianistimo]

?  don't you think you're getting a little carried away.  i prefer more conservative renditions.  say, are those 'B's' on boris's shirt?  cute. 

[ahmedito]

In february I played at masterclasses with Alexander Satz, listened in on all that I could.

He was Boris' teacher. They were some of the most memorable clases of my life. Anyone here know him?

[m]

In february I played at masterclasses with Alexander Satz, listened in on all that I could.

He was Boris' teacher. They were some of the most memorable clases of my life. Anyone here know him?

His teacher was Eliso Virsaladze. With A. Satz he had private lessons.

[ahmedito]

I correct myself, one of his private teachers.

[piazzo23]

Berezovksy OWNS richter 

I don´t think Berezovsky has even nearly the touch Richter had.
Both are too different...

[piazzo23]

was it a french pianist like claudio arrau instead?  he's very light

French Arrau?
Light Cortot?

I don´t get it.

[piazzo23]

if i think about it, he is the MOST masculine pianist out there today.

hes alot like richter, a very manly non-nonesense approach.

Oh... he´s light..
You´re confused because of that brittle piano voicing. Listen to the phrasing.

Hear him when playing a forte chord. There´s only a fraction second of his hand´s momentum and thats all.

I bet he cannot play even a singing legato line.
And if he wanted it, he would need to begin with Clementi´s sonatinas...

[piazzo23]

Berezovsky can play faster 

Yeah, faster, with a tiny tone

[stevie]

https://knar.free.fr/sdc/whale/ff.avi

 

[pianistimo]

dear piazzo,

ok.  was arrau argentinian or something?  i forget now.  it's terrible. 
cortot was wasn't a HeAVY player was he?  my french prof.  had taken lessons from him.  and, because of his manner of playing, i sort of assumed that cortot had a similar technique (sort of wild, yet lighter than most).  the sounds he could get from the piano probably sounded loud because of the speed, but he didn't aim for volume, i don't think.  prove me wrong.

[cherub_rocker1979]

Where can I buy the DVD of Berezovsky playing the Transcendental Etudes?