Obviously liked, though not commented.

So, I'm kicking it up for those tuning in late...

That's the right way to play it. She is showing off and having fun, speeding up and slowing way down, playing very soft and very loud, etc. Just what Liszt intended.

You can't tell from this video, but Valentina Lisitsa is gorgeous as well as talented.

She also plays serious music.

Her arms seem to tremble over the keyboard....

And yet this wonderful music emanates from that chaos...


Truly amazing.

And the fact that she got there at exactly 6:00 minutes speaks of that casual speeding up and slowing down and yet..., somehow, being at the right place, at the right time for this climax...

Like Gwyneth Paltrow with the super blonde, fair look.

A Sunday am kick!

More people need to see this miracle of talent!

She's amazing.

Sometimes called La Campanella on steroids...

for my chimney.

My piano is a Kawai, not a Bösendorfer. The Kawai is plenty good enough for me.

It doesn't bother me that Valentina Lisitsa can do what I will never be able to do on the piano.

Excellent.

Last edited Wed Jun 20, 2012, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

and start playing. Nowadays they often say a few words about the music before playing it. This time, Valentina Lisitsa spoke more that a few words, mostly about her personal experiences before becoming famous. This was a real treat for me.

What she described as "the real concert" began (at 36:35) with Mozart's Fantasy in C Minor, and continued (at 48:10, after only the briefest of pauses) with Schubert's song "Des Mädchens Klage", as arranged by Liszt for piano solo.

On edit: I finished watching the first half of her recital. It consisted of two more Schubert-Liszt transcriptions:
(at 52:18) "Der Doppelgänger" & (at 56:38) "Erlkönig", followed (at 1:01:40) by Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

I haven't watched the rest of her recital, but the contents (described in a review) are as follows:
(intermission)
Rachmaninov Etude-Tableau (Op.39, No 6)
Rachmaninov Preludes: G major (Op.32, No.5), G sharp minor (Op 32, No.12), B minor (Op 32, No. 10) & G minor (Op. 23, No. 5)
Scriabin: Two Poemes (Op. 32) & Two Etudes (Op. 42 No. 3 and Op. 65 No.1)
Chopin Nocturnes: C minor (Op 48, No. 1), D flat major (Op 27 No.2) & E flat major (Op 9 No. 2)
Liszt: Totentanz (S.525)
Encores: Schubert: Ave-Maria & Liszt: La Campanella

I'll bet her fingers were tired after all that!

Unfortunately he died at the age of 35 in 2005. He unanimously won the Van Cliburn competition in 1989, when he was 19.

I thought I'd get onto Amazon and maybe order a CD from Valentina. And that raised another question (OT, BTW)...

If you look at this URL

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Recital-Valentina-Lisitsa/dp/B00677JL5K/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1339450975&sr=1-2

you'll see a 2-disk set for $999.99. What the hell is this about?

I've seen this before when something that should be a few bucks cost hundreds or when a new copy is readily available but someone has a used copy for 10 times the price.

OK, rant over.

That is if I had an 88 string bass and four arms.

She's awesome.

"Stunning" is not too strong a description of her playing. Not by any means.

I have been a bassist for 40 years and am considerably better than most. I saw Stanley Clarke with George Duke last night. I just have to accept that Stanley is a god and I wouldn't be able to do 35% of what he does if I practiced eight hours a day and could manage to live to be 200 years old. It is a humbling experience to see genuine artistic greatness up close.

THANKS for this. I had no idea who she is.

I do now.