Valentina Lisitsa

I love this woman! Here she is playing Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto. Incidentally, she made a DVD of the Chopin Etudes Opus 10 and 25, I solved many technical problems by watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBS-W4sU ... ed&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDmnk0Kx ... ed&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAHEdD30 ... ed&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23dDDdfd ... ed&search=

Lang Lang, eat your heart out!

 

Here's a sampler of her DVD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNpmeuX3 ... ed&search=

Pete

 

have you seen the movie of her playing 5th pianoconcerto of beethoven? the second part its soo fast.

 

Yes, it's stunning! I like her style.

BTW, isn't she a dead ringer for American actor, Gwyneth Paltrow?


Peter

 

I don't like how she playes beethoven second movement. The second pianoconcerto of rachmaninoff she was to fast with the big chords around minute 6/7

 

Valentina is my idol and favourite pianist, if anyone doubt her talent they ought to watch her DVD's. She's so freaking amazing, perfect arpeggi and scales, jumps she handles like no one else.

- and she is very pretty.

 

Valentina L

Yes, I have been watching her for some time now. she is one of my favorites. So underated. check out this vid of her playing Rach etude in a minor...truly unreal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAb2nI2hVqk

 

Stunning, freaking amazing, truly unreal, yes all of these apply.
Reminds me of Horowitz - it's all about keyboard wizardry and self-conscious effects, and not about the music. This will be controversial, so I'd better duck and run :lol:

She's pretty though, I give her that....

 

Pete

 

Re: Valentina L

And I thought Cziffra was fast with octave jumps. :shock:

 

I can't stop listening to Op 39 no 6 - the link just before my post. I have to go lie down and wait for my heart to start beating again

 

That was unbelievable good! Yes a technical miracle indeed but I do not think, contradicting to what Chris says (yes hide away!), she overdoes it. Every note is crystal clear which is more than you can say about Horowitz who sometimes really play a lot wrong notes and hide them in washes of sound. She is the other way around. The played very detached but yes, make a lot use of the dynamics but I doubt that Rach would disagree. Even the inner voices was perfectly audible and she does not do too much rubato. I loved this and must look into a lot more of her incredible playing!!! ...yes pretty too .

Does anyone know in which DVD set this movie resides? I want to buy it if the remaining material is of interest. Also, from where do you get a fair price?

 

WHAAAT?!?!?!?!?

How does she do that?!

That performance gives me chest pains.

It defies explanation. (or at least any I can can come up with.)

And here's the sheet music. See no6. http://imslp.ca/images/imslp.ca/4/49/Ra ... _Op_39.pdf

I think she goes even faster in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OICSVujrtJU
It's like watching somebody run a three-minute-mile.

 

Are you emailing her yet ?

 

Maybe she will join the Society :shock:

 

Rach etude

What a surprise to see this video! University of Miami Gusman Concert Hall is just over two blocks from my house. I happened to be there for this performance. I'm just as impressed seeing this video as I was when I saw her in person. "It's a small world after all." :lol: Thanks!

 

I watched bits of the Rach #2 concerto, and though I'm not intimately familiar with it, I enjoyed her performance. Then I listened to her Chopin 25/12 etude (minus the bits at the beginning and end that were cut), because I'm working on it. She lost me there. I'm not sure how to describe what I thought was bad about it. It's like it was very mechanical and to uniformly loud through the whole thing. Her phrases did not flow with the wave/undertow analogy like I imagine they should be. Perhaps it only sounded that way because she played it on a Bösendorfer? Does she always play on a Bösendorfer? Also, I heard several wrong notes in there, which makes me wonder how much she practiced it. It can't have been very much, because she's obviously got a lot of technical ability. The Ashkenazy recording I have makes me wonder the same thing, because he plays it so slow.

 

The 25/12 (and all Chopin's etudes) is one of those pieces that tests the pianist's limits. About VL's performance, she played it very "safely", if you know what I mean.

Pete

 

Oh my, yes. :wink:

 

Yes, I believe I know what you mean. But I find that most pianists who go for anything "complete" - whether it be all 27 Chopin Etudes (or just 24, or 12), or the complete Chopin works for solo piano, like Ashkenazy did - there are always sacrifices/compromises that are made, where some pieces get the love and attention they deserve, while others are only given the attention necessary to make it through the piece. So, I guess I feel like this one wasn't really loved by either Lisitsa or or Ashkenazy, at least by the recordings I've heard.

There were some recordings that Ashkenazy greatly improved from the "Complete" publication to the "Favourite Chopin" recording, though, especially the B-flat Minor Sonata. Aside from what I feel is excessive liberty with the tempo, that recording of that sonata is probably the most impressive I have heard. The recording from the session that was used for the complete publication was only decent in comparison.