Ignacy Grzelazka plays Ligeti cello solo sonata 2nd mov.

[jtrstrings]

phenomenal cellist without a doubt!!!

[runo94]

you're awesome :P

[MATTDUNCAN1]

regardless of other comments i see here....i thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this performance..well done

[anisometropie]

stupid tempo choice

[larryjohnny]

looks like a difficult piece, wow! I guess Ligiti is an acquired taste for most and maybe experimental in nature. I hate it when people think they are going to hear Mozart and then complain when hearing Ligiti..hmmmmana's comment ... I am not a fan of this music either but am forced to study it at school ! To me it's the same as studying some biologists formula at school and then watching the procedure, neither is really meant for the general public, or is it ?

[hmmanna]

lol he sounds so messy!

i legit loled

[chuggos]

einfach nur scheußlich wer mag so was sich anhören

[nikospiliotis]

This is very weird. I'm sure that the speed of the video is fixed to go faster than real time.

Lie.

[DrFattyJr]

Then it would sounds a lot higher wouldn't it? It wouldn't sound like a cello.

[bigboy3322000]

youre wrong

[fortune32]

5th best cellist? Since when are musicians ranked? whats his name?

[traisgiats]

Er spielt unwahrscheinlich schnell. Manchmal klingt es wie beim Fensterputzen. Dann und wann wird es auch langsamer. Das kann nicht die Intention von Ligeti sein. Er bezeichnete die Noten ziemlich präzise, gab auch die Dauer an: 4'50''

[bbbartolo]

pretty dazzling!

[smeeeeed]

does this piece actually direct you to use your thumb?

[tedgoh]

yes

[FutureMoth]

Can anyone tell me when this piece was written?

[volk410]

According to Grove Music Online, it was written over the period from 1948 to 1953.

[FutureMoth]

So it was written around the same time as the Musica Ricercata.  Partially earlier, I guess. That's interesting.

[maliluha]

I really liked the ending! Such an expression!

[MasisShahbazians]

too fast!ligeti didn't want it so fast.the time of the esecution must be 4,50 minutes

[G0ttL0S]

you are right. I aggre. It kills the sonata...

[bodine1975man]

its ok but therz no feeling here

[cobaltjones]

Picture a witch flying in and out of cloud shadows, now visible against the moon with a stolen child bundled close to her. She's taking it far across the mountains to devour it with a nice Chianti and fava beans, while her pet Gargoyle plays his cello.

[Tomasiba4you]

witches don't eat children. nor do we eat fava beans silly :P

[Thomascello]

Wondering how he needed to learn that tremolo?

[Thomascello]

i meant how long

[pancheksz]

it is so annoying watching this played so fast...its pointless

[TsarApe]

Yes, bit slower, get some shape and help us to understand the phrases. I couldn't picture the story from this. Find some meaning for everything. By the way, the first snippet from the first movement about half way through is p in my score! I have the Schott edition. Do you have something else - you do it ff!!)

[mike7931647]

Great playing of a great piece. Personal taste, just a tad too fast? Would like to have heard more defined articulation of the fast semiquavers. Might have made made the piece more comprehensible too. just a thought

[voltron909]

How can i get this song on audio? I have been looking all over, and I can't find it, I love it.

[octipi]

if you havent already found it you can get it on itunes or maybe amazon. its on "ligeti: clear or cloudy" i believe

[fanofjapanandmusic]

thats a nice cello who is it made by?

[grzelazka]

Hi, my cello is a 17th century bass viol or gamba that was cut to a cello size as a common practice in 19th century in Germany. Maker unknown.

[fanofjapanandmusic]

wow.how did you get that?

[fanofjapanandmusic]

wow.how did you get that?

[nkip9230]

is that a 5 string Cello?

[HIMspaz]

uh no

[PiosonDemonSquirrell]

i love the sound of cellos. for some reason i'm drawn to them and thier brothers- the violin, viola, and bass violin.

[ouch154]

who wouldn't be? =D

[PiosonDemonSquirrell]

a retarded person who hates the sound of classical music?

[dredrawen]

is his cello like really expensive?

[PiosonDemonSquirrell]

somke of them are but it depends on the company that makes them and what model it is. but cellos usually exceed 100 dollars. but this is my opinion, i don't know for sure.

[KrnBlackWannabe]

100 dollars? Some of the cheapest ones sell for a thousand. If the price is any lower, it probably a very poor quality one.

[KaitlynHooligun]

Yeah, I don't think there are 100$ cellos. $800 is about as cheap as you can get.

[alotofcheese76]

well that's not necessarily true. You cant get a cello for 100 dollars but you can get cellos cheaper than 800 that are playable.

[PiosonDemonSquirrell]

then my school officals have been lying to me. but trye, it would be a poor quality cello. but it also depends on who's selling them.

[theoriesandclockwork]

well, they might me talking about rental, or the school subsidizes it.

[ciaputa]

i love the tip of the hat to bach's cello prelude at 2.43

[art4dstressing]

Only fools feel the need to "understand" art...

[bruckner26]

Quite right, however "fool" is a little strong, don't be so dogmatic, it's up to everyone to decide what music is. You can't impose your own vision of what art should be, in this sense you're slandering the very essence of art: freedom.

One may state that understanding is nothing and experiencing is everything, I tend to agree, but it's a matter of faith.

[PiosonDemonSquirrell]

i agree 100%

[KrnBlackWannabe]

Very nice comment/reply.

[bigboy3322000]

word salad

[juan486]

This piece is complicated to understand. That's the main reason why so many people criticize it. It's awesome, excelent interpretation.

[karlkrall]

looks like u know what ure talking about.. ;)

[ruitye75ir94444]

It is not complicated. Ligeti's music makes just as much sense as say Bach's when put into context. In the counterpunctual chromatic phase of Western Harmony, Ligeti simply uses thematic ideas and harmonic structures, just as Bach did 200 years earlier. The only difference is the use of the chromatic scale.

[juan486]

I understand you, but I meant that it's complicated to understand as much of contemporary and modern music composition's, so, it's complicated to be appreciated musically by a a simple person....

I don't know if I made my point, haha.

Greets.

[ruitye75ir94444]

No, I see what you're saying. For many, the last 100 years of art music are unimportant, all overshadowed by popular music. It's sad to think so many great composers will never be understood by the public...

[juan486]

Yeah, that is it pal...Most of the people who lack of even the most basic music education usually tend to criticize classical music and most of it's sub-genres mainly because they are used to music which doesn't demand any mental activities (thinking...) while listening to it...Those people say classical music is boring because they do not have the necessary intellectual comprehension neither to appreciate it nor to understand it, and as a result of it, it's disposed and cornered...

[ruitye75ir94444]

Or, they call it too dissonant. From Debussy on, the idea of dissonance totally changed. As a whole, Western Harmony has no need to resolve tensions. Some people just can't accept that, and they're stuck in 1775. Even worse, people who still can't accept equal temperment. In general, most classical listeners either don't understand modern music, or completely shun it. It's terrible.

[juan486]

Exactly...people who haven't understand that there's something else appart from the tonal music are thoose ones...Unbelievable that even the people who do have a high music education are doing exactly the same thing as the people we've just talked about who do not have any musical education and also criticize it...

[ruitye75ir94444]

In my mind, a Webern tone row isn't different than a Bach fugue theme. They're devolped in equal ways, whether it be an inversion or a variation. I can't agree more: people try to seperate tonality from atonality. Tonality exists from music, not as music. Both a Mozart song and a Ralph Shapey song are tonal, in different ways. I too just dispise people who are scared of dissonance and counterpunctualism. It's just shameful to the classical world...

[Muaguana]

"This piece is complicated to understand."

Have you ever tried listening to Indian classical or Arabic classical music? THAT is hard to get your head wrapped around, especially when you've grown up listening to Western scales and musical devices.

That said, this piece is brilliant.

[nkip9230]

exactly.

Im studying world music now with IB, and compared to the different tuning systems of the world etc...

this would be simple when put in context with it all.

[principalbass]

This piece IS complicated to understand. It's written in a very different style than most people are used to, and if you're not familiar with the stlye, of course it will be hard to understand. Yes, eastern music is complicated as well, but don't try to make it seem as though any idiot can understand ALL modern Western music.

[SetAi]

kool

[S3Suggs]

I would've broken all my bow hairs playing that.

[blahbagale]

dang fast.

[howaboutapples]

that was great. 5 out of 5

[GraigRussell]

Phenomenal! I'm not a trained musician, but this was beautiful. Thanks for the post!

[mooseytwo]

WOW!

[bibbib13]

OMG how fast is he going for playing so fast he sure sounds great!!

[omarshahryar]

Well played! Very charismatic performance, and touching intepretation.

Ligeti really knew how to write! I've got to say this sonata rivals any guitar solo ever played. And who says classical music is boring?

[cpanati]

Absolutely beautiful playing. Gorgeous interpertation. Such talent. And good looks.

[63b187]

disregard all comments from keetheman, mediocrity attacks excellence

[keetheman]

garbage...can't hear the notes and it's not even well in tune!

[juan486]

How can a deaf bastard tell that, hu'h Keethman?

[keetheman]

dude who are you

[juan486]

Der Rote.

[Matarsefkan]

faaaaat

[klippdachs]

Hi Ignacy,

thanx for posting this vid. Great music and great performance...five stars for you!!!

[elbouiss]

Very Beautiful !

[Zeroun2687]

I'm working on this piece now, and although I agree he seems to be doing this a TAD fast, it's not out of the realm. The piece is based in set theory it seems...and actually, his interpretation isn't at all bad. I just have a question. How do you recommend doing that quasi-glissando right before the final moto perpetuo part?

[grzelazka]

Hi. Thanks for comments. The glissando I see as bridge between fast fingered notes and a long sounding glissandi from the first movement. Therefore I suggest to play it moving the first finger in constant glissando and "bluring" the "notes" with other fingers. It could be also just random pitches with three fingers going down on the with a shifting hand slide. I hope you understand me.

Best,

Ignacy

[trejo567]

not in my taste, but I can tel that this person played repulsively.

[juan486]

How can you tell Trejo?

[rakeasdf123]

bad

[jiamo]

I like it a lot. Very well played....considering you are probably under the pressure of the camara.

[amicelloac]

horrobly played Ligeti...as well technically (bow is not articulated) as musically...no changes what so ever

[jfb1030]

I love the piece (just as well, as my daughter has just started working on it), and liked some things about the performance (great sound, for one thing), but, with respect, I felt this was played a bit too fast. I have two recordings of this, by Emanuelle Bertrand and Matt Haimovitz, both of which are a lot steadier and, for me, more convincing as interpretations. Having said that, the 'athletic prowess' dimension has more of a role in a live performance, and it obviously went down well.

[jfb1030]

Actually, having listened again to Matt Haimovitz, it is pretty quick, although not nearly as quick as this.

[Sibarit1973]

This reminds me of Julian Carrillo a Mexican composer of the 1880-1820s... he invented a new system to make music and sounds like ligeti...

see wikipedia/Thirteenth_Sound

[lucianodomenico]

oh, BTW, GREAT performance !!

[lucianodomenico]

Hey guys, why discuss about the value of contemporary music ? Some people love (me for example), some people hate it.

I believe that music is what you DECIDE to be, contemporary music brings pure textures and colors, not "verbal" melodies. If you prefer poems, go and listen to romantic stuff. If you like colors and textures, listen to Ligeti, stravisnky, xenakis, and so on...

My two cents...

[egapnala65]

Interesting point about Bartok. His string writing was, I understand, rooted in Folk music, I wonder whether the same "rough and ready" sense shaped Ligeti's thinking.

[arko823]

the music is an extension of Bartok, very abstract

[Zeroun2687]

actually, this sonata was based on beliefs of Bartok and Kodaly, so good catch :)

The pizzicatos of the first movement show Bartok more than the second movement.

[rceretta]

"The usual Ligeti´s trash" they say...

I say: You must study very very much. Go read about Ligeti's life and musical work instead of typing those craps. Go listen the silly and dumb Mozart's music.

[danielsferguson]

It wasn't meant to be musical, it's a showoff piece like the Pezzo Capriciosso by Tchaikovsky. It is supposed to, and does, make other musicians and those that appreciate talent just say "wow."

[lerp3254]

Well I don't know about you, but I don't care about the talent of the performer, I care about the music!

[Zeroun2687]

True...but there is some theory involved, just like Pezzo Capriciosso. By the time Ligeti began writing...twentieth century theory dominated.

[zreaves]

Jesus celeronde... I think you're the asshole.

[tjhammond]

You got to remember this is live, and a live hall dosn't always respond to the tempo taken.

Brilliant, well organized playing

[sonnencrememaedchen]

well, you play really great. but I must say thta this kind of playing so wonderful music is killing me!!!!

[HubertK28]

Sorry for saying this, but the tempo is absurd. Just to show the technical ability, nothing more.

[laurion69]

The usual Ligeti's trash.

[BlackestEye]

Why then bother watching the stuff and writing the same comment over and over again?

[lerp3254]

You're a robot. no thanks.

[lerp3254]

I don't deny that it is musically structured but I don't like it MUSICALLY.

[lerp3254]

It was more of an athletic event than music. Speed doesn't make good music.

[lerp3254]

This could be compared to thrash metal.

[lerp3254]

This music lacks emotion. I disagree with your statement that performers of music should go beyond melody. Melody is everything. The SLOWEST melodies are often the most aesthetically pleasing.

[lerp3254]

This music is "musically verbose." Too many notes diminishes the emotion. EMOTION IS EVERYTHING, no matter what it is.

[celeronde]

asshole, stupid opinion

[Zeroun2687]

Well...I agree emotion is important, but once you try playing this you will see the rush you get. The constant feeling of pushing forward past thresholds and arriving at the moment of arrival (the final G major chord) shows emotion after a barrage of virtuosic set theory patterns.

[isherwood]

Thank you, Lord Byron.

[patrickloiseleur]

You could say the same thing about Paganini's caprices. The concerts would be rather boring if everything was nice and slow and romantic...

[Gollam12]

hey.. too fast, it's slower!

[noodlechick10]

i think he was amazing.*_* he was so freakin good!!! i wish can play like that, but i havent even started playing cello. im still working on the violin.

[xhmoobx]

maybe he need to shit tats why he play fast...lmao

[chaparita99]

he should play somewhat slower, his quickness is amaizing but you can't get the FEEL of the music.

[tjhammond]

Ignacy has a great talent for showmanship but much of the music's details get lost because of the fast tempo.

I would assume that since this was a live performance of a very demanding piece the adrenaline took over and produces this turbo charged performance.

Also the sound quality contributed to not hearing some details as well.

[SoCalTrojan]

fUCKING FAST DUDE.... WOW. XD

[236260]

I am very happy to have found this. Thank you, Mr. Grzelazka.

[rceretta]

Music From a Horror movie. If you associate the Ligeti's music with this kind of image, sorry. You may play the Cello Very good, but you still have a rookie mind.

[Cayo255]

i think that there are 2 positions about contemporary music, the one who says it is s shit, and the ones who says its the greatest music, but we must be critical, not because is modern is a shit or is cool, this is a very interesting piece but there are shits and cooler stuff.

[isherwood]

THe expression is "play the cello very well". It is an adverb.

[rceretta]

Admires me a celloprof speakin' like that. Ligeti is amazing. Contemporary music is amazing. I think he can't play like that and he envies the player.

[DarkDungeonofDeepWoe]

Holy Shit...I play the cello as well, but this is fricken awesome!

[dazzaagee]

ur hot....! lolzz...*blushes*

[kaikobird]

...it helps to hear a better performance of this work.

[grzelazka]

Hi, I am the guy on the video and I am very happy to discover that this performance developed to such a great discussion about Ligeti's music. I think to understand Ligeti we need to dive deeper then just listen to the "melodies". Ligeti does not use melodies. He wants a performer to go beyond "notes" and to create a "blur" of colors, harmonies and expressions. I think that is why some of his pieces ar marked "as fast as possible".

[celloprof]

I guess, especially with this piece.

[isherwood]

An excellent performance - great choice of music.

[celloprof]

He can play good and all, but there is just no harmony what so ever in that piece of music. It's just noise.

[isherwood]

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about, nor ears to hear. It's even old-fashioned folksy Ligeti!!

[celloprof]

Nope, it just sounds like noise to me. It sounds almost as if he's playing notes at random really fast, I've done it before. I'm not such a bad cello player myself, I like playing really fast music and listening to it, but this is just crap, sorry.

[isherwood]

Yes, but the difference here is that he ISN'T playing notes at random. This is quite evidently a proper composition - a sonata, no less. It is simply your lack of familiarity with Ligeti's idiom. There is a marked difference between random fast note-playing and Ligeti's structured approach. Listen more closely and you will hear sonata-form principles giving shape to what seems - on a superficial level - to be merely fast-moving streams of notes.

[isherwood]

Perhaps you shouldn't signpost your ignorance so readily...?

[celloprof]

I even listened to some of those Ligeti Piano pieces here on YouTube and it sounded like music I heard from a horror movie. Something tells me that Ligeti guy wasn't a happy person, I mean you've heard of music Composers 150ish years ago comitting suicide, their music was always sad. I'm not saying his music isn't composed correctly, I don't care it he's the son of Beethoven, I'm just saying that his music is CRAP!

[MatthewMingLi]

I don't think you should judge whether Ligeti is a happy person or not based on what YOU hear about his music. Is sounding "good" or "bad" all you can hear? Must music be either "sad" or "happy" and nothing else? You shouldn't compare Ligeti with composers 150ish years ago because the aesthetics of art at that time is totally different from today. It's okay if you don't like it, but you don't have a right to bash it if you don't know anything about it.

[celloprof]

Ha, it sure seems that way to me.

[MatthewMingLi]

Like you said, it "sounds almost as if he's playing notes at random". But have you ever thought that all those notes are written down and there is a structure to this piece? There are still general shapes to this music. BTW, simply playing really fast without dynamic change, phrasings, etc. is simply not music.

[celloprof]

So in other words, its crap if you start playing notes really fast at random that has structure in it, or his other piano music for that matter in front of people, but it's a beautiful piece of music if it's written down first by a famous composer? So it's O.K. if the music was written by a computer with no feeling or anything, just as long as it has structure, dynamic change and the other necessary technical music stuff in it.

[MatthewMingLi]

It's not a question of OK or not. Music is not all about sounding "good" and "bad". Yes if the composer has a point of questioning art to the basic level of affects of aesthetic experience, then he has the right to use the computer to generate random notes in random dynamics, phrasings, etc. (in fact it's been done already, but not by Ligeti). The point is, Ligeti's music is NOT randomness.

[sextetband]

This isn't structured by or even like a computer though, it's guided by an author's aesthetic inclination. I think saying something has no harmony or no implicit harmonic structure because it's not tonal(or specifically diatonic, descended from greek tetrachords)is something that people have argued since Carlo Gesualdo and it defies logic. Japanese music has no harmony? Gagaku isn't music? It's very dissonant by western standards and conforms to a different structure. Is it noise?

[celloprof]

Well, that specific one to me, and some of the other pieces that Ligeti made.

[celloprof]

Oh and this guy also screeches too when playing this piece. It could be his cello, or not enough rosin on his bow, or he presses down too hard sometimes with his bow. The sound quality of this video isn't exactly the best either.

[MatthewMingLi]

Contemporary music has gone far beyond the limitations of traditional harmony. It's simply not practical to describe Ligeti's music in terms of harmony. Even if it sounds random, there are still order to it since all notes are written down on the score.

[celloprof]

Yes, probably to a person who doesn't play a stringed instrument. He obviously written all of that down on the score correctly along with his other music, but that doesn't mean it's any good.

[MatthewMingLi]

Woah, are you saying that stringed instrument players don't use music score and they are the only ones that uses harmony? It doesn't really matter what instrument you play, they all play MUSIC. I'm a pianist BTW, is piano not a "stringed" instrument? :)

[pionata]

Ahh Ligeti, Everyone should know that name.

[manossg]

Oh, my god! Can somebody play that fast on the violoncello? Simply amazing!

[celtikmontoya]

Gran composición, buena interpretación

[qtpipi]

very fast playing. almost too fast.