Liszt -- Andre Watts -- Paganini Etudes Nos. 3 (La Campanella) and 4 (Arpeggio)

[Naltino]

Simply amazing!!!

[gtizzle101]

I can't even finger tap this INCORRECTLY on my desk  -_-

[kuleyonMania]

That was really really good technique but really really lousy playing.

[karmakanic]

oops! slip up at 4'13"

[AcousticDude17]

thats real music right there. practicing so much and nail it so flawlessly that all there's left to do is play with pure emotion. hes focussed on the emotion right now not the technique

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

wtf his hands!!!!

can they take a 12th!?!? O_O

[mrmonkeybuns]

argerich does a count with her mouth while playing, just alot more subtle...

[dfmpgh]

I heard Watts play this as an encore after an all Liszt program in Boston in 1986. He broke a string. One presumes the high d#.

[LoverOfDebussy]

Strange body and facial movements are par for the course - ie Glenn Gould, Rudolf Serkin, many others. I can live with it as long as the camera is focused on the pianist's hands at the most important moments, which it all too often is not. Here the camera work is mostly fine, except at the absolutely most important moment - the last measures of La Campanella. Makes me want to take a baseball bat to my monitor.

[Cancrizans]

@LoverOfDebussy IDK, personally I've always identified with the facial contortions and mannerisms artists display during performance...to me it is just a deeply human response to emotion and transcendent feeling. I don't get what bugs people so bad that they rant about it tbh. Well I always found Gould's singing to be a wonderfully human touch in the recording process so maybe I approach things from a certain perspective that is more personal than anything else hehe.

[ElRioYunque]

it is bizarre but is the passion and concentration that happens when it can not be contained. watch steve vai for example, he is an incredible guitar player but makes ODD expressions.

[mikex01234]

I think I would have liked it more if he had not been doing weird things with his mouth. It was bizarre. I've never seen him perform before.

[Cancrizans]

@mikex01234 It's music not performance art...you are supposed to LISTEN to it.

[TaterGumfries]

Fake.



[AcousticDude17]

@TaterGumfries youre a very ignorant person, arent you?

[TripleRhu]

@TaterGumfries Your existence is fake, you mocker!

[yokochaso]

やってもたw

[rickideemus]

For all intents and purposes perfect (maybe TOO perfect, if you know what I mean) -- until you get to 4:14, which unhinged him and led to 4:16 . But honestly, you have to wonder if this has ever been done without a fumble or three in a live performance. I know I've never seen it.

But I'm sure if anyone could do it, it would be Watts. Sloppy -- hmph!

[Cancrizans]

@rickideemus sorry perhaps you have a better ear than I, are you referring to the pause? No joke could you please detail your comment, I am just wondering where you see the problem, I am not really too familiar with this piece. Thanks! :)

[rickideemus]

@Cancrizans I did give specific times. In my browser, you can just click on them.

There is no way you can hear the fumbles unless you've played the piece, or listened to another top performer over and over to the point you've nearly memorized every note. Nevertheless, that's the standard people hold the likes of Watts / Horowitz / Rubinstein ... to. If you asked Watts, I guarantee you he would name the same exact spots. He holds himself to a ridiculously high standard.

[geschwitz4]

He's awfully sloppy, but he seems to be having a very good time, and isn't that the whole point? Heard him play it live when he was younger (and better). Time was not his friend.

[piano1996No1]

I think that this version lacks emotion and that Valentina Lisitsa version is much better, but this is only my opinion.

[DonGugos]

nothing to say......

the best!

[kasyapa]

thank you for this marvelous restoration. when he is still, he has a dignity of carriage in profile that reminds me of horowitz.

[tombennettpiano]

Amazing!

[bb0ysmiley]

I haven't checked the other videos, but this is from the Grandes Études de Paganini S.141 =)

Very good doh!

[TheTucsonJeff]

This performance is almost unbelievable! Actually, it is unbelievable!! I've never seen so much pianistic energy! He has the utmost control over his instrument.

[Anthony0086512]

He is definitely the very best La Campanella player. his ending is just sooooo perfect in the CD recorded version, but a little defect in this live performing.

[cakeman1955]

I must also take offense to the use of the lord LOUDEST! I lived in Baltimore for forty years and was privilidged to se andre perform many times with the Baltimore Symphony. He is very strong when necessary but this serves him extrememly well when performing with the entire orchestra. He can also ply very softly with deft touch when the musicv calls for it. I think that maybe some of what. you refer to as loudness is simply a microphone placement issue. Note the applause harshness,

[ZnesJuampii]

Orgasmmmmmmmmmm

[Elayas31]

Simply The Best!!

No doubts, Andre plays La Campanella sublimely... Better than anyone I've seen or heard.

[jarosemann1228]

@Elayas31 I agree with you COMPLETELY, better than Kissin, Cziffra, AND Lang lang (Despise). In Andre Watts recording of La Campanella you can hear him put out a rough yell right before the big ending. Ive always found that funny, and awesome to see how into it he gets.

[Dynaz100]

@Elayas31 i vote evgeny kissin does

[fabioso82]

Clown

[michaelnyman1]

@fabioso82 Why?

[hadsell1962]

Who could play this better than Watts - I started listening to his recording in 1972...There is NO match on his trills - they are the fastest that I know of....

[concerto35]

This is one of the best performances of La Campanella I have heard.  It is very wise to play some of his earliest recordings. It will show you what a super-virtuoso Andre Watts was. He has a beautiful sound and his playing is unique. His recordings of the Liszt-Pananini Etudes and the Liszt Sonata in B minor are incredible. I wish they would put these on youtube.com among other recordings.

[nelsyeung]

Thank you so much for sharing this footage of Watts! I thought this was lost forever! :) My favourite interpretation

[jcgallandyt]

Awesome... Absolutely awesome...

[assindiastignani]

I find the use of the word "loudest" (in capitals, no less) more than just a little disrespectful, almost offensive. Watts has a very big sound - hence his great success with the big, densely orchestrated romantic piano concerti - but it's never ugly, as the word loud implies.Possibly I'm over-reacting, but I sincerely believe that one should be very careful in one's choice words when speaking of the greats, as Andre Watts is, and has been for half of a century already.

[debrucey]

@assindiastignani I'm not so sure that he meant that as a criticism. The 'loudest' pianist I've ever heard in person was Louis Lortie, and that is far from being a criticism, it was a much welcome attribute, being able to produce a big sound.

[Cancrizans]

@assindiastignani You aren't over reacting at all, simply defending language against the degrading force of the modern "being human means let's all be stupid together" ethic. I'll give you a big hug for caring enough to make a comment like that on Youtube.

[pocketaffairs]

It's awesome to watch the speed of his hands, which the camera is not able to capture with 24 slides per second. I have his record of the Paganini Etudes, but it's exciting to see how he is able to play this by himself. Thank's a lot for sharing this video!!!

[Doc10Nemo]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful performance of these pieces by the incomparable Andre Watts! In La Campanella, the fortissimo which he is able to achieve with his double trill at 2:39 is phenomenal. The speed he is able to achieve at the end of the piece is also amazing, although I did detect some wrong notes at the end. His performance of Arpeggio comes off as almost effortless.