Richter plays Ravel

[lung7793]

This is one of the most entertaining clips of a performance I've seen!  Anyone played Alborado?  I hear those double glissandos are difficult!

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[nanabush]

I tried them for fun and chipped my fingernail 

[lostinidlewonder]

The double gliss are the least of your worries, hardest part are those repeated groups of notes int he RH imo. The gliss is impossible on some pianos or at least very painful, I tried it on a Boston full grand and nearly cut my fingers but on a Yamaha and the Stienway uni glides with ease.

Too bad the Richter video isn't complete. I also don't like how he plays it, its so choppy, even though Ricter was/is a piano titan.

[mikey6]

Lipatti's is intersting in that he doesn't slow down at all on the repeated notes like SO many others so - that's not to say that he get's them all, but...

[nanabush]

Ya I'm on a young chang, pushing the keys down is similar to pushing down a hydraulic piston that can't go down any more 

[ravel]

Just heard Thibaudet playing Alborado del Graciaco....
The repeated notes in that were carried to perfection.....
which brings me to my question.. which maybe i should post as a separate topic... but I ll try here first.......
Someone please help me with REPEATED NOTES....
like the ones in Alborado sound insane............ sometimes i get the feeling that its almost physically impossible for the notes to repeat that quick...
does the piano have anything to do with that??? as in which piano is it...
Would thibaudet be able to play those repeated notes the same way on my Technics Digital piano hahahaha....
I guess he could.........
I know its all about technique and not the piano............
I know the 4-3-2-1 fingering and playing it at a slow pace... but the pace doesnt get faster ....with me.......... its so frustrating........
someone please.... any tips?

[ramseytheii]

Just heard Thibaudet playing Alborado del Graciaco....
The repeated notes in that were carried to perfection.....
which brings me to my question.. which maybe i should post as a separate topic... but I ll try here first.......
Someone please help me with REPEATED NOTES....
like the ones in Alborado sound insane............ sometimes i get the feeling that its almost physically impossible for the notes to repeat that quick...
does the piano have anything to do with that??? as in which piano is it...
Would thibaudet be able to play those repeated notes the same way on my Technics Digital piano hahahaha....
I guess he could.........
I know its all about technique and not the piano............
I know the 4-3-2-1 fingering and playing it at a slow pace... but the pace doesnt get faster ....with me.......... its so frustrating........
someone please.... any tips?

Perhaps the piano's mechanism was adjusted, after all K. Zimerman said that much Ravel was impossible on normal pianos.  When I play repeated notes I often imagine that the changing of fingers reflects playing on different keys, so that you are not repeating a note, but going up and down a five-finger scale.

Another thing is that there has to be a certain rotation of the elbow, which cannot stay in the same place.  I would describe the elbow as making little circles.  In the right hand, if you are playing 4-3-2-1 repeated notes, the elbow is makign small coutner-clockwise circles.  In the left hand 4-3-2-1, clockwise circles. 

I think this is useful information just to be aware of, that the elbow can go clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Another way to practice repeated notes is to have each finger touch the key at exactly the same spot.  Just make sure your arm is not held in one position.

Walter Ramsey