wow! incredible piano videos on youtube!

[visitor]

Yes he still plays it /recorded it again ,dang I love this arrangement, I've been needing to start learning it I get so distracted and forget to !

[visitor]

Actually let's add this since Tal did such a groovy job of sticking a fugue in there at the end ,let's let Nina Simone show how's done too

[jimf12]

Lisitsa play the 3rd movement of the War sonata...

[visitor]

Dang it's so good piano,the group, pletnev conducting
Videography everything wow

[visitor]

Wow he's so good already but them he went and arranged this and just I'm loving this do dang much

[klavieronin]

[ranjit]

Lisitsa play the 3rd movement of the War sonata...

Wow, it sounds so... jazzy.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

The original recording is justly famous, but being of 1923 vintage, very crackly.

I used specialist noise reduction, and now:

[visitor]

Hayato up to his genius shenanigans again

[ronde_des_sylphes]

One of the greatest competition recitals I've ever seen. The pianist is just 18 and we're going to hear a lot more of him.

[julill]

Incredible...

[liszt-and-the-galops]

This is very much a necropost, but this thread definitely should be brought back into the limelight.
In terms of the topic, here's one that never gets old:

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Another necropost on this thread lol...
Yi-Chung Huang has some insane recordings of some of the most difficult pieces out there...
Liszt - S. 140 no. 4b (one of the hardest piano Etudes ever written)

Alkan - Op. 17 Le Preux (the octave section at the end is just absurd)

Liszt- S. 253 Spanish Fantasy (possibly the single most difficult individual piano piece, pre-Sorabji)

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Cziffra's complete recordings of Chopin:

Nothing special, I just feel like this video was getting less attention than it should. Happy listening!

[essence]

The original recording is justly famous, but being of 1923 vintage, very crackly.

Sounds great fun to play. I will search for the score.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Cziffra playing Brahms' Variations on a theme of Paganini feels very underappreciated compared to other (IMO worse) performances by other notable pianists.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Necro-ing this thread again, but IMO Elina Akselrud's Scriabin Sonata no. 8 is severely underrated:

So is Alicia de Larrocha's Schumann Fantaisie:

[essence]

Yes, it is good, but it seems to me to lack momentum?

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Yes, it is good, but it seems to me to lack momentum?

Which one?

[essence]

Sorry - the Scriabin 8. I have played it in an amateur public performance (with music!) and it has great complexity. It can appear to lack structure, but in my view there should be an inexorable drive throughout.

Maybe unfair to compare with the master.

i=TTdRUZR1FuVlCGTW

[essence]

Some seem to not rate Ashkenzy, but he is my goto for current pianists. Note his little accelerandos.

i=zl61dl_EwGqSAZ9-

[liszt-and-the-galops]

I necro this thread a lot, lol :D. Cziffra playing his own improv/Fantasy on William Tell; I'd listened to the finale before, but the rest of it is just as good and just as horrifyingly difficult.

Introduction + Orage

Pastorale + Finale

[gasplamey]

Cziffra playing his own improv/Fantasy on William Tell; I'd listened to the finale before, but the rest of it is just as good and just as horrifyingly difficult.

Introduction + Orage

Pastorale + Finale

Cziffra just moved up about 50 spotsa in my ranking of 'best pianists'.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Cziffra just moved up about 50 spotsa in my ranking of 'best pianists'.

Where was he before?

[dizzyfingers]

i was just amazed by this video, and there are many more, even some by hamelin and cziffra that are even nearly as good!

The first post of this thread. 2006 !  And the video is still there.  Though the sound quality is horrible, partly because it's been sped up.   Wonder what the original sounded like, and if that was sped up as well.  Such a funny post, "hamelin and cziffra that are even nearly as good!"

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Yet more Cziffra, lol. Complete Cziffra transcriptions of Brahms' Hungarian Dances (*to my knowledge; I don't think he transcribed nos. 7, 11, 14-15, 18, or 20).

[lelle]

The first post of this thread. 2006 !  And the video is still there.  Though the sound quality is horrible, partly because it's been sped up.   Wonder what the original sounded like, and if that was sped up as well.  Such a funny post, "hamelin and cziffra that are even nearly as good!"

There was a while this thread seemed to be about "incredible" videos rather than incredible videos, if you get my drift. I remember getting a good chuckle out of some of the stuff posted here back in 2008/2009, but some of those are unfortunately taken down now.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Perhaps the "strangest" Liszt piece, played masterfully by Goran Filipec.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

We got a record here boys

i=_ksEUCRdvhLIHEjh

[dizzyfingers]

Taking a step away from WOW and toward deep artistry - - ->

Zhu Xiao-Mei

This pianist made waves for her interpretation of Bach, albeit in a smaller circle than was deserved, and is doing the same with her Mozart.  I've never heard such perfect Mozart technique, let alone musicality.  (I can see Uchida pulling her hair out.) 

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mm4GTpOTX2UHO6LZ-koHvbAkS0rQWrsPY

We've all heard about Mozart's innocence, but I've never heard it rendered so clearly in music.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

No words.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Alkan's true "magnum opus" (along with Op. 31 Preludes), played by Laurent Martin.

Also, his Symphony never gets old. Played by Jack Gibbons.

[essence]

No words.

It's amazing how the pp is the same volume as the f. But still amazing. would I go listen? No.

[thorn]

We got a record here boys

I've never been comfortable with this sort of thing. We're obsessed with child prodigies but this stuff comes at a huge cost in terms of development in every other area of their life. I think that's why the majority of new pianists are "meh" nowadays, they have nothing to say because they've never left the practice room.

And the videos I came here to share were Alicia de Larrocha teaching a couple of pieces from Iberia (in Spanish I'm afraid, but still valuable insights into her thoughts on this music).

https://www.escuelasuperiordemusicareinasofia.es/en/canal-escuela/alicia-de-larrocha-albeniz-iberia-rondena/

https://www.escuelasuperiordemusicareinasofia.es/en/canal-escuela/alicia-de-larrocha-albeniz-iberia-triana/

[essence]

Excellent. It is incredible to hear her, and compare her with the student (poor chap - must be intimidating).

Until I hear a good performance of late Beethoven or late Brahms or late Schubert. these young and very young tyros bore me. My best test is slow movement of Hammerklavier.

But I am also jealous of their facility.

[ranjit]

It's amazing how the pp is the same volume as the f. But still amazing. would I go listen? No.

I think it's weirdly mastered or something.

I like this video more. The etude is at 37:04.

[frodo12]

No words.

No words. - It's that bad?   Just kidding. 

I'm thinking of maybe a new sport:  Piano boxing.  Not sure of rules yet.  maybe something like:

Play op 25 no 6 as fast as you can.  win by 30 seconds - a knock out
followed by a 3 minute round of boxing
Play op 10 no 1 as fast as you can. win by 30 seconds - a knock out
followed by a 3 minute round of boxing
Play op 10 no 2 as fast as you can. win by 20 seconds - a knock out
followed by a 3 minute round of boxing

At the end if no knockout - judges make a decision on the winner.

This player of op 25 no 6 has a fantastic start!  the question: how well can he box?

[gasplamey]

No words.

Cziffra wsas propably the seopcnsd ebst technician in hjistorhy.
Shame he couldn't play muscialy if uhsi livfe decepended onites.

[frodo12]

I think it's weirdly mastered or something.

Your post is in response to the seeming lack of dynamics in the posted Cziffra's op 25 no 6 recording of Chopin. Mastering may be a part of this.  But I suspect Cziffra's "crazy" fast tempo is mostly the blame.  He's doing all he can to get all the notes to sound cleanly and he doesn't have the ability to control dynamics at this tempo.  It's hard to play soft when playing extremely fast and difficult passages. This is just my opinion.

[thorn]

Excellent. It is incredible to hear her, and compare her with the student (poor chap - must be intimidating).

Until I hear a good performance of late Beethoven or late Brahms or late Schubert. these young and very young tyros bore me. My best test is slow movement of Hammerklavier.

But I am also jealous of their facility.

It was nice to see these pieces being taught with the same level of care as you normally only see with standard repertoire.

And the bottom line for me is I don't want to hear technique. There's an old 90s video of Perlemuter playing Gaspard where he makes it look so easy, chewing away on some gum/tobacco like someone doing their Hanon exercises while reading a book/watching TV. Give me that over someone playing it as loud and fast as they can any day.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

To be fair, 25/6 is an Etude and a very technical one at that. Even the "best" interpretations aren't very interesting musically. Cziffra also remarked at one point that he plays for his audience rather than critics and doesn't really care what people think about his bravura-y-ness or whatever.

If a bit of relevant self-promotion is acceptable, I made a video not too long ago compiling every live performance of Liszt's Feux Follets (the S. 139 version) that I was aware of at the time. If any of you have seen Es Bahn's videos on e.g. Brahms' Paganini Variations, the Schumann Fantaisie, Albeniz Lavapiés, et. al. it's the same idea. Cziffra's performance (actually on the slower side, believe it or not) is very musically interesting IMO; It's one of the few that makes that Etude "click" for me. Yunchan Lim's is right after, and the difference is night and day.

Timestamps for some of the more notable ones IMO:
0:00 Cyprien Katsaris (this is an absurd tempo if there ever was one lmfao)
0:34 György Cziffra
1:15 Yunchan Lim
2:31 Ivo Pogorelić (one of the best "standard" interpretations, IMO)
3:09 Sviatoslav Richter (the most ethereal)
4:59 Vladimir Sofronitsky (another one of my favorites; also emphasizes the LH a lot more)
5:35 Nikolai Lugansky (more notable for how much he struggles)
6:50 Kevin Chen (similarly, his interpretation just falls completely flat for me)
9:53 Lazar Berman (not very fast, but still good)
I attached links to the full individual performances in the description and pinned comment of the above video.

If you still aren't convinced about Cziffra's musicality, then all I can offer is his recordings of the Chopin and Liszt B Minor Sonatas, which are among the very best for each IMO (the best for Liszt Sonata).

And also his live performance of Liszt's Mazeppa, which is the best one by far IMO. Though the same can be said for most of the Transcendental Etudes.

[ranjit]

I think it's weirdly mastered or something.

I like this video more. The etude is at 37:04.

i=RUhJFrRnKWR_R9x1

[ranjit]

Your post is in response to the seeming lack of dynamics in the posted Cziffra's op 25 no 6 recording of Chopin. Mastering may be a part of this.  But I suspect Cziffra's "crazy" fast tempo is mostly the blame.  He's doing all he can to get all the notes to sound cleanly and he doesn't have the ability to control dynamics at this tempo.  It's hard to play soft when playing extremely fast and difficult passages. This is just my opinion.

Listen to the video I posted. He actually plays with an impressively wide dynamic range in this recording, so I do think it was an issue with the audio quality.

[frodo12]

Listen to the video I posted. He actually plays with an impressively wide dynamic range in this recording, so I do think it was an issue with the audio quality.

TEST

EDIT:  I posted to this a few minutes ago and it did not appear.  Not sure what happened.  So here is what I said:
I spent 30 seconds on this:
op 25 no 6 - sounds better (first 15 seconds)
Op 10 no 1 - sounds like a nightmare IMO.  Not good IMO. This is a gorgeous piece that is being played poorly IMO.  ALL IMO. Second marker 8-10???  Please slow down.

[frodo12]

i=RUhJFrRnKWR_R9x1

TEST.  this is the one I actually quoted originally that did not go through.  Will this go through this time?  I will find out now.

[frodo12]

I don't want to offend anyone with my comment about Cziffra playing the above posted performance of Chopin op 10 no 1.  I'm not saying Cziffra isn't a great pianist.  I'm just saying that I find this performance of op 10 no 1 to be very poorly played in the first 15 seconds.  I may listen to more of his Chopin etudes in a few months after I get over my shock.  But I won't listen to this performance of op 10 no 1 any more.  15 seconds was enough for me.

Here is a pianist that posted op 10 no 1 here at pianostreet audition room that I like.  Can you hear the difference?  I am looking for this work to be played with a beautiful sound.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=72432.0

Hey - we all have different opinions.   

[lambosoa]

Sasha Dovgan at twelve playing Rachmaninov like she was born in the composer’s Steinway.

i=dDjs5iJuSAXvuEjY

[ranjit]

I don't want to offend anyone with my comment about Cziffra playing the above posted performance of Chopin op 10 no 1.  I'm not saying Cziffra isn't a great pianist.  I'm just saying that I find this performance of op 10 no 1 to be very poorly played in the first 15 seconds.  I may listen to more of his Chopin etudes in a few months after I get over my shock.  But I won't listen to this performance of op 10 no 1 any more.  15 seconds was enough for me.

Here is a pianist that posted op 10 no 1 here at pianostreet audition room that I like.  Can you hear the difference?  I am looking for this work to be played with a beautiful sound.

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=72432.0

Hey - we all have different opinions.   

Don't apologize! This is a forum where we bicker back and forth, or so I like to think. I was on Reddit a while ago and couldn't stand it, so I'm here now. Lol.

I'm curious to hear what do you think of the Chopin etude op 25 no 6, because I personally think it's a great recording and more musical than most.

I know what you mean by Chopin etude op 10 no 1. It is a very different recording. I personally don't like the piece all that much, and the beautiful sound most modern pianists play it with bores the heck out of me. So I like how Cziffra plays it harsher, exciting and with longer melody lines (since the tempo is faster). But if I liked Seong Jin Cho's playing of it, I would hate Cziffra's.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

But if I liked Seong Jin Cho's playing of it, I would hate Cziffra's.

Lol, I like Cho's but love Cziffra's. To be fair, this is also one of about six ChopEts that I don't find incredibly boring and trite at this point (the others being 10/8, 10/9, 25/1, 25/9, and 25/12).

Anyways somehow Katsaris' Liszt S. 464 hasn't ever been mentioned on here, so I'm fixing that lol.
No. 7, my personal favorite:

No. 9, for obvious reasons:

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Jack Gibbons plays his arrangement of Gershwin - Rhapsody no. 2 live.