what the heck just happened

[mjames]

WHAT THE HELLLLLL:

At first I was like "pretty weird interpretation, i like it"

AND THE LAST 2 AND HALF MINUTES
Holy crap
This is so good. You guys should listen to it, all of you.

[pianoman53]

There aren't loads of Hoffman on YouTube, but the ones that are there. Oh. My. God. They are soooo cooooool!!!

[xdjuicebox]

Yeah I don't get it either

Particularly that damn coda

[amytsuda]

Insane. We need more pianists like this - these days everyone plays so ordinary. Maybe, because of so much emphasize on competitions.

[jimroof]

I have scoured my edition of this Ballade and the notes (Paderewski).  I see no mention anywhere of artillery shell salutes...

[chopinlover01]

I have scoured my edition of this Ballade and the notes (Paderewski).  I see no mention anywhere of artillery shell salutes...

My thoughts exactly. Several great moments were spoiled here by an overwhelming amount of muddy sound..

[piulento]

This has a very interesting sound. The main association I had with this - church bells. I think pianists need to put more of this type of sounds in their playing.
Nevertheless, I'm afraid it's hard to enjoy the sound because the playing is quite sloppy, and is way too extroverted for my taste for this type of piece. This is one of the highlights of Chopin's maturity, and I'd expect it to be dealt with a more introverted fashion.

[richard black]

Absolutely extraordinary. You don't get passion like that every day.

[klavieronin]

Hofmann was an alcoholic, right? Phenomenal technique though. It's interesting how much more conservative pianists are these days.