Cziffra video. Friggin incredible

[lombardian]

This is a hoot.

&search=cziffra

[franz_]

This is a hoot.

&search=cziffra

Saw it already, increadible the octaves huh?

[lombardian]

no doubt

[henrah]

Man that is such a nice melody in the octaves!


And Cziffra-- WOWOWOWOW


I am truly envious...

[instromp]

Wheeeeeeeeewwwww!!! WOW!!

Octaves..like freaking amazing!

I think next to Cziffra this guy has some HUGE a** Hands
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r6B1yQVOo5Q

[kriskicksass]

Cziffra amazes me, but his tone is so hard! 

[palika dunno]

Argerich's is so much better!

[franz_]

Argerich's is so much better!

So untrue. Cziffra is tha master for Liszt.

[jason2711]

that was phenomenal 

[henrah]

Cziffra is tha master for Liszt.

Cziffra is Liszt.

[franz_]

Cziffra is Liszt.

Haha I don't totaly agree, what I've read about Liszt. He must be the best pianist EVER. Can you imagine he write so much music, so difficult music, and he could all those music play!
But, Cziffra brings Liszt alive. They are both dead.

[stevie]

from objective judgement, i believe cziffra had a better technique than liszt did.

[henrah]

Objective judgement? How so exactly? What accounts of Liszt's technique are there?

[alejo_90]

Cziffra amazes me, but his tone is so hard! 

That is so true. There's something contradictory with Cziffra Imo, when he plays sometimes he seems like he only wants to play at double BPM, and it gets to amaze me with his friggin technique, but it disappoints me musically. But then I heard his Chopin's second scherzo and I swear it almost made me cry.

BTW, Cziffra's octaves where amog the craziest, with Horowitz, Lhevine and Gilels.

Best
Alex

[mephisto]

from objective judgement, i believe cziffra had a better technique than liszt did.

You cannot be sure that Cziffra`s technic was better tha  Godowsky`s only based on his recordings. Altough I bet that Cziffra`s was better, but everybody who heard Godowsky(Horowitz being one of them) said that Godowsky was much better in private assemblings. Pluss he might have been to old.

[kriskicksass]

That is so true. There's something contradictory with Cziffra Imo, when he plays sometimes he seems like he only wants to play at double BPM, and it gets to amaze me with his friggin technique, but it disappoints me musically. But then I heard his Chopin's second scherzo and I swear it almost made me cry.

BTW, Cziffra's octaves where amog the craziest, with Horowitz, Lhevine and Gilels.

Best
Alex

I happen to think that his musicality is rather good actually. His famous recording of Rachmaninoff's 2nd should be enough to testify to his musiciality. I also love his Liszt, except for a few HRs that he bangs the sh*t out of.

I have a theory, and I think it applies to Czif. There are certain pianists who can't sound musical if there aren't enough notes. I've heard a few pianists live who astounded me with their wonderful expression and taste in virtuoso works, but when they play something technically simpler they overdo their phrasing and rubato and it just ends up sounding like they're bored and trying to make it sound interesting despite their own disinterest.
I'll never forget listening to Read Gainsford play the 24 Chopin Preludes absolutely terribly (except for the b-flat minor and d minor) and then turn around and play 2 Chopets reasonably well and a Scriabin left-handed etude that almost made me fall out of my chair. The second he had something to hold on to he was great, but before that... And I think Cziffra may be the same way.

[franz_]

from objective judgement, i believe cziffra had a better technique than liszt did.

And you forget that Liszt could play all the works he wrote down? Just in 1 life. Is there one pianist on earth who played ALL of Liszt works?
Anyway, I think Liszt could do everything on a piano. But also Cziffra, and fro mthe last one we have prouves 

[henrah]

Is there one pianist on earth who played ALL of Liszt works?

Christina Kiss.

I went to New York a couple of years back (can't remember when, but definately after 9/11) and my mum bought tickets to a Liszt recital by Christina Kiss. It stated that she was attempting to perform and record every single Liszt piece (transcriptions, own works, orchestral and choral works etc) which amounted to something over 1000 pieces. Supposedly it's going to take her many years, and she'll be performing all of them at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, which is where I saw one of the cycles.

From her website (click to go there):

Internationally acclaimed as an artist of world class stature, Christina Kiss is recognized as one of the foremost Liszt interpreters of our time. In 1990 Ms. Kiss introduced the Liszt Cycle World Premiere at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall,where she has received rave reviews from the New York Times and the New York Post.

Over the following fifteen years Ms. Kiss has played her "Cycle" exclusively at the Weill Recital Hall, culminating into more than 30 performances. The last three seasons she was invited to continue her Liszt Cycle at the Consulate General of the Republic of Hungary in New York City. To the present time Christina Kiss has performed over 550 works by Franz Liszt.

Christina has already played more Liszt works in concert than any other pianist, thus making her series one of the truly important and historic piano cycles of all time. Her remarkable project includes performing all of Franz Liszt's original works, transcriptions, paraphrases and orchestral works live in concert. Ms. Kiss is scheduled to finish her monumental Liszt Cycle around 2015. Christina Kiss has performed numerous times at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the United Nations and Carnegie Hall. Concert tours have taken her to Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Israel and the United States. She is a frequent soloist with the world's leading orchestras, including the Barcelona, Cincinnati and Budapest Philharmonic.

I think I saw her on Oct 23rd, 2004; and on the website they talk a bit about that concert. I remember her performing the 'God Save the Queen-Concert Paraphrase' but I don't remember people joining in and singing. I do remember her finger bleeding - and it was quite freaky - but I don't really remember the Chopin encores. I remember she did an encore, but I can't remember if it was Chopin or not. Either way, I fell asleep during quite a few of the pieces as they were quite tedious, and I wasn't really enjoying it.

Also afterwards I bought four of her CD's (well my mum did actually) and the piano she played them on was very hard and sharp, in the fact that even when she was playing quietly, you could hear the key hit the board. Also I hate her interpretation of Mephisto Waltz and HR2. Though maybe I should listen to her again just to be sure...

[soliloquy]

Someone recorded the complete works of Liszt.  Someone really bad.  I think it's on Hyperion.  Someone with an H in their name, and it wasn't Henck or Horowitz (duh).

Anyways, Liszt said Alkan was the greatest technical pianist he had ever seen, and with an ego like Liszt's, Alkan must have been some sort of awesome.  So, we much decide if Cziffra is better than Alkan 

[Kassaa]

Someone recorded the complete works of Liszt.  Someone really bad.  I think it's on Hyperion.  Someone with an H in their name, and it wasn't Henck or Horowitz (duh).

Anyways, Liszt said Alkan was the greatest technical pianist he had ever seen, and with an ego like Liszt's, Alkan must have been some sort of awesome.  So, we much decide if Cziffra is better than Alkan 

Yeh, Leslie Howard. He plays a bit sheeyaat, but his recordings are perfect for reference.

[mephisto]

Someone recorded the complete works of Liszt.  Someone really bad.  I think it's on Hyperion.  Someone with an H in their name, and it wasn't Henck or Horowitz (duh).

Anyways, Liszt said Alkan was the greatest technical pianist he had ever seen, and with an ego like Liszt's, Alkan must have been some sort of awesome.  So, we much decide if Cziffra is better than Alkan 

But Alkan started to cry when he saw how good Liszt was.

[instromp]

I just noticed in the vid, that he uses he fourth and fith finergs when he does octaves..well thats what it looks like .....does that ensure better accuracy?

[stevie]

I just noticed in the vid, that he uses he fourth and fith finergs when he does octaves..well thats what it looks like .....does that ensure better accuracy?

some might say its cheating, but its not really - since he strikes just about all of the lower keys in the octave too

it just gives it a better sound, NOONE can match cziffra's HR6, some may get a little faster, but his sound is unmatched, and to those who say he is too bangy - this is like criticising a painter for using too much red, or such extremes....this expresses what he intended to express, do not limit his pallatte..possibly ic..

You cannot be sure that Cziffra`s technic was better tha Godowsky`s only based on his recordings. Altough I bet that Cziffra`s was better, but everybody who heard Godowsky(Horowitz being one of them) said that Godowsky was much better in private assemblings. Pluss he might have been to old.

cant be absolutely certain, but godowsky's recordings dont contain anything that hasnt been equalled since, and bettered - in terms of dexterity, by cziffra...maybe this is an opinion though.

this is in no way to disrespect liszt's technique, which must have been astounding, but i feel it has been bettered since, and this is something that i wish some people would realize.
hero worship and legend are dangerous things sometimes.

[emmdoubleew]

I just noticed in the vid, that he uses he fourth and fith finergs when he does octaves..well thats what it looks like .....does that ensure better accuracy?

Most everybody i know uses the fourth fifth AND third fingers when playing fast octaves.

[alejo_90]

it just gives it a better sound, NOONE can match cziffra's HR6, some may get a little faster, but his sound is unmatched, and to those who say he is too bangy - this is like criticising a painter for using too much red, or such extremes....this expresses what he intended to express, do not limit his pallatte..possibly ic..

Gilels' HR6 had also insane octaves, but his version is not as well known as Cziffra's.
And yes, I noticed he uses fourth finger when playing octz, and i agree, it does give it a better sound.

Best
Alex

[henrah]

When Cziffra alternates his fourth and fifth on the octaves, it gives it a sound of lots of two-octaves, rather than lots of single octaves, and I think it sounds much better

[donjuan]

haha great video!  I like Cziffra's quiet moments even more than the virtuosic stuff, because he really respects the importance of silence. he also has excellent taste in his own ossias and cadenzas.  If anyone -and i mean anyone- tried to pull some of those things other than Cziffra, it would have just sounded cheap.

of course, those octaves are incredible!  I'd injure myself if I tried to play like that..

[henrah]

Yeah I'm starting to wonder how he kept relaxed during those octaves. I noticed that in some parts (where he's playing a single continuous octave, not moving about) that he moves his wrist up and down, each cycle of up/down being four octaves. Maybe that's how....

[apion]

Incredible, seamless octaves.

@ cziffra: U DA MAN!

[stevie]

Yeah I'm starting to wonder how he kept relaxed during those octaves. I noticed that in some parts (where he's playing a single continuous octave, not moving about) that he moves his wrist up and down, each cycle of up/down being four octaves. Maybe that's how....

yep, its basically cycling the motion to lessen fatigue