John Rusnak - Stunning Virtuosity

[stevie]

https://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1712115

or should i say...STUNNING LACK OF VIRTUOSITY

hahahahaha, lets all have a good laugh at how much this guy sucks 

[al]

yeh i've heard these.  they're pretty terrible (although better than anything i can do at the moment). 
the reviews on amazon.com really puzzle me - people are basically praising the mistakes, saying things like "I love the fact that it isn't edited, this adds warmth and realism to these pieces."

[Etude]

Oh God, the 10/2.

[stevie]

yeh i've heard these.  they're pretty terrible (although better than anything i can do at the moment). 
the reviews on amazon.com really puzzle me - people are basically praising the mistakes, saying things like "I love the fact that it isn't edited, this adds warmth and realism to these pieces."

im surprised john himself has enough time on his hands to write all those reviews himself.... 

[al]

seriously though, who is he.  when i search for john rusnak in google i just get loads of stuff about bank fraud.

[stevie]

to be fair, look up the record label he has recorded for.

i wouldnt be surprised if he owns it...

[stevie]

''Effective September 1, 2005, all artist and label proceeds from the sale of this CD on Amazon.com will be donated to America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. This donation of $7.65 per CD is made possible through Visionmark Records and John Rusnak. Recorded in legendary Ocean Studios in Los Angeles, this dynamic CD is presented without digital editing. Pianist John Rusnak recorded these entire works live in studio in 1997, performing these etudes on a Yamaha C7 Concert Grand piano. As this CD is presented without digital "fix-ups" or computer alterations, it stands as a bold and daring version of Chopin's Etudes. Popular in the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Finland, it was among the Top 20 most downloaded Chopin CDs on iTunes(US) in August, 2005. In addition, John Rusnak was among the Top 10 most downloaded keyboard artists on eMusic.com in August, 2005. A reviewer on eMusic writes about John Rusnak's Chopin Etudes: "Passion, Sturm und Drang, true romanticism. It does not get much better than this." The third track of this innovative disc, "Opus 10, No. 3 in E Major: Lento, ma non troppo", was featured on the WB Network TV show "Smallville" in 2004/2005, beginning the episode "Bound". Rusnak's playing of Chopin's etudes was also featured in the Showtime movie "Down Came a Blackbird", and in the USA TV series "Highlander". Along with the Chopin Etudes, pianist John Rusnak's CD of Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 on Visionmark Records (VM-7271), was also recorded live in studio without digital editing. It is now available on iTunes, eMusic, Napster, MSN Music and Rhapsody Music. ''

 Blasting it in my car..............,

HAHAHAHAHAHA BLASTING, insane

[vladhorwz]

Oh God, the 10/2.

I thought the same thing until I listened to the 25.10.  He is the Huey Lewis of classical piano, how in the *** did he get a contract?

[JCarey]

Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from John Ogden  - Fantasia from the OC

Seriously though, what the hell was he thinking? I burst out laughing after hearing his tempi in most of them.

[stevie]

hahaha, dude...

check the CD cover, i mean....



'hahahahaha, yeah i suck and i DONT GIVE A ****'

hahaha, gotta love this guy

[da jake]

Spend $6 on Gavrilov's Chopets and donate the money to charity that you saved from buying the more expensive Rusnak recording.

Heck, why not feel good about yourself AND end up with a good recording? 

[pianohopper]

Although he seems to be hitting the proper notes, his tempo is inconsistent, particularly in Op. 25 No. 6.  Even though he's no Pollini, I say, good for him, at least for breaking into the recording industry, and it's good to see that he's not doing it only for his own personal profit.  Since Chopin etudes are like scales in that everybody knows them and they are staples of the repetoire, though, maybe he should have started with something a bit more obscure and that people are less likely to nitpick over. 

[vladhorwz]

Maybe he is trying to do that Weird Al Yankovich thing and redo them with a crap twist

[rimv2]

Is he even playing all the notes in the 10-11?

HAHAAHA

Notice the random change in tempo of the 25-11.

Oh God, the 10/2.

Ah can play it (by it ah mean the first line) faster than that.

But seriously. It sounds like he was juss content with learning the etudes and not mastering them.

In order for these recordings to be truly

authentic

he would have to play at the speed he desired and not the speed limited by his technique. Wrong notes and all

[sevencircles]

The old Van Cliburn didnīt play better then that and many people would love to pay a lot to see him.  The old Richter wasnīt very impressive either.

[Waldszenen]

While this idiot Rusnak is being paid good money to record his lack of technique, there are thousands of gifted pianists, jobless and penniless.

Lovely world.


On a more serious note though, he probably plays better than most of us here anyway... sad fact.

[thierry13]

While this idiot Rusnak is being paid good money to record his lack of technique, there are thousands of gifted pianists, jobless and penniless.

Lovely world.


On a more serious note though, he probably plays better than most of us here anyway... sad fact.

No. A lot of records in the audition room OWN this dude. I can't believe how slow he is. A 6 year old kid can play faster than that.

[thierry13]

I give him a prize for worst record artist ever.

[maxy]

The old Richter wasnīt very impressive either.

Take that back... he did have presence and vision in his interpretations even if the mecanical aspect was not up to standart.

But sheesh, even I can sightread op 10#2 faster than the Rusnak rec...

[sevencircles]

Take that back... he did have presence and vision in his interpretations even if the mecanical aspect was not up to standart.

Ok I take it back then.

I still think Richter should have stopped performing in public a few  years earlier then he did.

[fiasco]

His winter wind doesn't sound half-bad.  He pulls it off better than the 10/2 anyway.

Amazon will say what they need to to get people to buy their stuff I guess.  If I could play these etudes like Rusnak does, I would be, uh, happy with my progress so far, but certainly wouldn't consider them ready for recording.

I personally like the John Browning recording the best.

https://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1131399/a/Chopin:+Etudes+%2F+John+Browning.htm

[sharon_f]

to be fair, look up the record label he has recorded for.

i wouldnt be surprised if he owns it...

Well there's nothing on the VisionMark Records site (www.visionmarkrecords.com) saying who the owner is, however...................

The owner of the domain visionmarkrecords.com is listed as none other that JOHN RUSNAK!

[chromatickler]

But sheesh, even I can sightread op 10#2 faster than the Rusnak rec...

If you are seriously able to, without ever having seen the score or attempting the piece beforehand sightread the full opus10 #2 to the same level of accuracy and evenness of the rusnak recording but faster on your very first try, then you are without a doubt one of the best pianists who has ever graced these boards. easily the equal of meiting sun, koji attwood, robert henry and jonathan powell. At the very least, please reconsider your use of the word 'even' as to not insult the rest of us.

[thracozaag]

I give him a prize for worst record artist ever.

   
  That dubious honour goes to Robert Laniewski, imo.

koji

[arensky]

Well... this is obviously someone with a musical sensibility, but the sloppy technique is inexcusable and inexplicable; what did he think he was going to accomplish? Well....he certainly got our attention...guess people are buying it, he's making money? Gee...he should have practiced or waited until he had it together. He COULD play well if he tried; there might be a very weird but interesting (maybe) story behind this guy.

                                                                 

[chromatickler]

hahaha da excuze 

[rimv2]

Well... this is obviously someone with a musical sensibility, but the sloppy technique is inexcusable and inexplicable; what did he think he was going to accomplish? Well....he certainly got our attention...guess people are buying it, he's making money? Gee...he should have practiced or waited until he had it together. He COULD play well if he tried; there might be a very weird but interesting (maybe) story behind this guy.

                                                                 

A guy I met asked me if I wanted to make a recording of my playing after I told him I played piano. He wanted to show it to some people he knows. I told him I sucked and it really wouldnt be that good (an unfortunate truth). Now I regret that choice.

This guy is like the gansta rappa of classical music. His stuff is so simple, stupid and sloppy that it appeals to the masses while the truly artistic (all other sub genres of rapclassical music) have to work thrice as hard

[leahcim]

A guy I met asked me if I wanted to make a recording of my playing after I told him I played piano. He wanted to show it to some people he knows.

He was winding you up. "Hey look at this CD, it's shiny, it excites" "Oooh..."
I'd say wait for someone to come along who wants folk to listen to it.

This guy is like the gansta rappa of classical music. His stuff is so simple, stupid and sloppy that it appeals to the masses

He's playing Chopin Etudes - badly perhaps, but if they appeal to the masses, there's no reason an excellent rendition of them won't, is there?

The guy is demonstrating that anyone can publish and record their playing these days and find an audience through the internet - that could be seen as both good and bad, but for those thinking about a career it's a reality.

e.g I'm usually stunned when outstanding pianists are willing to release the most #$%#$ terrible wmv or worse realvideo recordings of their playing on the internet. If you're an amateur fair enough, but these folk are the ones you'd suppose are "truely artistic" - so why release something where the piano sounds like someone whacking their $$#% on a cheese grater? It's pointless learning to play for years if the result is bad, irrespective of whether it's sloppy playing or neglecting something else.

[Etude]

("deleted"  )

[zheer]

Hi its John Rusnak, thanks for your complaments.

[thierry13]

Hi its John Rusnak, thanks for your complaments.

No problem dude.

[Waldszenen]

LMAO!

[yoshiki]

Hi its John Rusnak, thanks for your complaments.

Is he the real John Rusnak?

[sharon_f]

LMAO!

[mrchops10]

I think he's brilliant!

Produce your own album, sell it on Amazon for full-price with a charity tie-in, and then write a bunch of positive reviews and it sells...you probably easily make back your investment. Shamelessness is a repulsive yet fascinating trait. So, in honor of shamelessness, here's a review of his playing. Witness the danger of sarcasm, and the power of selective quotation.

Title: "John Rusnak: Stunning Virtuosity"

"...Obviously someone with a musical sensibility," John Rusnak "appeals to the masses."If I could play these etudes like Rusnak does, I would be...happy," one member writes. "Oh God, the 10/2!" agrees another, "He pulls [the "Winter Wind" Etude] off better than the 10/2!" exclaims a third in disbelief. "Van Cliburn didnīt play better then that;" "he certainly got our attention."

--the members of piano forum, with quotes from: stevie, arensky, fiasco, rimv2, etude, sevencircles

[thalberg]

ROFL

[nanabush]

HAHA I read two of the reviews, get this:

"Obviously much practice is needed, and I can't understand how, even with the advantage of being able to edit out wrong notes, he leaves them in so we can all suffer. "

"Dessert comes in the middle of the meal in the form of the C minor etude of Opus 1"

I'm guessing opus 10 for the second one.  O god they sound like they were recorded on a computer mic... I can play the winterwind better than that...   

[orlandopiano]

To Mr. Rusnak's defense, he is actually a composer/songwriter FIRST, and a concert pianist second. Could it be that just maybe he has a love for the Chopin etudes, and that's why he decided to record them all? (a feat pretty much none of you have done, nor probably ever will).  I think Rusnak is quite aware of his limitations as a pianist, but maybe he had a lifelong goal of recording them all- something I would like to do as well.

And besides, the guy is apparently donating almost half of the proceeds to charity. I don't see Kissin or Yundi Li doing that.

[Waldszenen]

I'm sure there are far worse recording than Rusnak's CD anyway.

[thierry13]

I'm sure there are far worse recording than Rusnak's CD anyway.

In fast pieces, speed is essential. So, he lacks the POINT of the etudes. It simply sounds really bad so slow.

[Etude]

In fast pieces, speed is essential.

 

[stevie]

I'm sure there are far worse recording than Rusnak's CD anyway.

of the chopin etudes? id like to hear them

[leahcim]

of the chopin etudes? id like to hear them

So there's a market then....

I'll put them on ebay

[Waldszenen]

of the chopin etudes? id like to hear them

Idil Biret's can't be that much better.

[vladhorwz]

Move over John Rusnack, enter Ignat Solzhenitsyn.  Saw him this weekend, he is in the same concert seires as Yundi Li, Radu Lupu and Hamelin.  It was bad enough the audience didn't know when to applaud and not to applaud, people were walking in and out during his performance, many left before his encores and his ovation was an akward 10 second, unenthusiastic token clap.  I felt bad for him, but it sounded like he didn't warm up becuase the first set was missed notes and off.  He was not much better then Rusnack.

[arensky]

Move over John Rusnack, enter Ignat Solzhenitsyn.  Saw him this weekend, he is in the same concert seires as Yundi Li, Radu Lupu and Hamelin.  It was bad enough the audience didn't know when to applaud and not to applaud, people were walking in and out during his performance, many left before his encores and his ovation was an akward 10 second, unenthusiastic token clap.  I felt bad for him, but it sounded like he didn't warm up becuase the first set was missed notes and off.  He was not much better then Rusnack.

He played Beethoven Concerto #5 "Emperor" here a few years ago; dreadful. I remember thinking it must be nice to have a famous father, people bend over backwards to help you in the hope that they might gain some kind of influence; I think father (Alexander of Gulag Archipelago fame) is gone now, though; hope Ignat has the rights to his father's royalties, he's gonna need 'em

I feel sorry him too, being in the same company as Hamelin Yundi and Lupu. Maybe he's delusional

[lisztener]

Hi
Call me a newbie, but I seriously don't get why you don't like his music.  He plays them quick and few wrong notes. I have never heard any of the Chopin etudes accept for 10, 3. And the nr 3 I have to admit that it was too jumpy. At one moment he was playing so slow I almost thoght he had passed out, and at another point he played it too fast.

But the rest of them was ok= and definitly not as bad as you make it sound.
Tell me what he does wrong. Is it that he plays them to slow??  I enjoyed listening to them, and they are certainly not rubbish!   

ps. I will listen to some other recordings of the etudes and see if I notice any difference ds.

[lisztener]

Is there any difference between the WMA and the REAL recordings? Just checking

[thierry13]

Hi
Call me a newbie, but I seriously don't get why you don't like his music.  He plays them quick and few wrong notes. I have never heard any of the Chopin etudes accept for 10, 3. And the nr 3 I have to admit that it was too jumpy. At one moment he was playing so slow I almost thoght he had passed out, and at another point he played it too fast.

But the rest of them was ok= and definitly not as bad as you make it sound.
Tell me what he does wrong. Is it that he plays them to slow??  I enjoyed listening to them, and they are certainly not rubbish!   

ps. I will listen to some other recordings of the etudes and see if I notice any difference ds.

He plays them TOO SLOW! All other pianists plays them way faster than that. And there's no difference between real and wma.

[stevie]

compare his etude no2 (op10no2) with this -

https://www.msk.tsi.ru/~ruden/Rudenko1MP3.wav