Berezovsky - Liszt - Transcendental Etude No 4, Mazeppa

[faoria]

Watching the sweat fly off of his face just goes to show how piano really should be considered a sport.

[Commientator]

03:17-04:30 This part is essence of pure amaziness, if you can understand what I mean...

[SmileMinwooKim]

@Commientator I totally get your point, mate... especially the last 20 seconds of that part is truly amazing.. felt almost faint. suppose he's playing unconsciously after 4:30.

[pwoeckener]

Holy crap that's freaking impossible to play. My fingers hurt, and I am not even attempting that!

[Tu16]

@pwoeckener My fingers hurt, too. I have been practicing what you hear at 0.50-1.07 like too many times. Keep having inaccuracies in the 0.50-0.58 part, because I want to play it at the tempo Berezovsky uses =P

[fapestar]

@Tu16 How is it you can play 0:30 - 0:50 but have problems with :50 - 1:07?

I read the sheet music, and it I can't even comprehend how I can get my fingers to move that fast.

[Tu16]

@fapestar Have to admit that I do have my inaccuracies there as well. Point is, in the 0.50-1.07 there are some jumps that are not necessarily hard to take - but at that tempo, I tended to miss a few ones. Because the jumps are at the end of the 'sentences', missing those makes the entire run sound awkward. Problem's fixed now.

[WhiskersInc]

He lost about 1200 calories during this performance. :D

[Valk72]

@WhiskersInc

Only? XD

[FountainofFire]

@WhiskersInc lol, i bet

[TheAthery]

he is absolutely amazing!!!! The speed and the emotion put into it makes it an absolutely amazing piece when played by him!!!

[TOMMY900315]

good

[TOMMY900315]

123

[gwozdezzz]

berezovsky on fire!

[hanbitability]

6 minutes///

[MrDrifting360]

bravo si ma che paaaalleeeee!!!

[valbernz]

Now a days, he is certanly , the most in piano consertit, virtuose, heplays everything iwith hart and soul unlees jazz.Thank God, at least and now, after hearing the intering contet of his work throw the internet, and once in a play i Spaulo, Brasil, more, i want more.

[LiliaAkhmetzyanova]

Really transcedental performance! And the middle part is gorgeous. I'm in love with the recording!

[elloproguy]

amazing *_*

[DancerAndMe123]

@RegnisKire.. maybe he's not human! :o

[RegnisKire]

Human hands should not be able to move that fast!

[classicalhero7]

There is a reason why he is considered to be one of the finest, if not the finest pianists going around. The way how the musicality shines in such an extraordinarily difficult piece shows the wonders of this guy.

[grequilio]

1:32

BREAKDOWN!

[sunyuloveu]

stunning!

[giuseppe76761]

litzzz tu sei un pazzo scatenato anzi eri ma lode alla tua grandissima e infinita arte e virtuosismo e a berezosky altrettanto i tuoi sudori sono indice di coinvolgimento e fervore 

[kcarollee]

4:52  great save.

[amantedipiano]

very good

[cloudkill94]

This piece certainly transcends my playing ability. Heeheehee...

[forgottenbooks]

Fabulous, but I personally like this version more: /watch?v=v_oOQ1eDaso

Can someone tell me which was first composed?

[SanctumZero]

@forgottenbooks The one you link to is from 1837 and the above is from 1852.

[dsthorp]

Beauty! I could not listen only once.

[dsthorp]

Beauty!

[fredmex65]

Bereszovsky is a giant!!! I still remember his rempdition at Bellas Artes (México City) of the Godowsky left hand variations on the Chopin Études.... No one like him!

[amantedipiano]

He has an incredible technique!! his hands are precise and quick. after this performance he lost 3 kg of sweat

[konigstephan]

Absolutely brilliant playing. And absolutely brilliant video editing. At last, there were some musicians in the editorial team!!!

[werewolf50505050]

Its almost as if Berezovsky, Kissin, Horowitz, and Wilhelm Kempff are (or were, in some cases) reincarnates of great composers. Kissin would be some variation of Chopin, Horowitz would be Rachmaninoff, Berezovsky would be Lizst, and Kempff would be Beethoven.

[MertBozdemir]

very nice vey good congratulations

[lenrfrjyatnrfq]

He looks a little bit like Stephen Fry, by the way

[lenrfrjyatnrfq]

He and Nikolay Lugansky are my all time favorites!!!

[Liszt31]

Con i decilitri e decilitri di sudore che schizzano sul pianoforte, La Rouque D'Antheron avrà buttato questo Steinway......

[Alinutza97]

the most beautiful part is from 0:00 to 6:02

[invertedchords]

more cowbell

[marcohorowitz8]

does anybody know of a recording where the pianist uses the fingering as written 2-4 2-4 2-4??

[twooffour]

@marcohorowitz8

Cziffra seems to do that, judging by the sound of it.

[chipncharge94]

@JazzAce340 hahaha :D okey!

[chipncharge94]

@JazzAce340 but maybe i should upload "wilde jagd" in some weeks so that you dont think im a bloody amateur ^^

[semicroma]

@chipncharge94 Do it!

[chipncharge94]

@JazzAce340 oh I couldnt play the hole mazeppa... but this part at 1:56 is no too difficult.. just play chromatic scale with your thumbs :D

[takman5646]

Eargasm.

[Bochum96]

4:10 pleeeeeaaaaase don't die Berezovsky!

[DadoD999]

Wow thats impossible



[OcioMan666]

hay 9 weones que no saben nada de musica

[Nurav7]

@cammywatt95 yeah freaking amazing that he's doing all 12 in one sitting...i think the last time someone did these all in one sitting with this level of skill was probably liszt himself

[krisevan1]

he's a damn monster lol

[Zsolti861224]

uuhh.....absolutely awesome man!



[seriously50times]

lol at the headbanging XD ... but great performance though :D

[music19225]

BRAVO!!!

[GingerCockBeard]

I always wander why I don't see him playing Mozart or Bach?

I am impressed that he can move hands at a million miles an hour (musically?/Liszt?!) but I am very content Glenn Gould will out live him and me also.

[KSmoothSaxG]

1:56-2:01

I can't believe my ears.

[BlazeKenny]

@KSmoothSaxG have you ever played this piece ? the thirds in the left hand in the main theme are way harder. what you mentioned is something "easier" there

[chipncharge94]

@KSmoothSaxG it actually sounds more difficult than it is.

[MartinVanBoven]

@KSmoothSaxG Then ty to listen to Arrau; he recorded the absolute definitive version of the whole set of studies. The difference mainly being that on top of all the technicalities, he managed to make music out of all of them. watch?v=TwJciQk9gDI

[dalcazar96]

@MartinVanBoven Agreed. This guy can pound the keys and give it drama and speed but it sounds messy and hurried. It takes arrau to show depth and feeling in a piece as violent as this one.

[LuizVotto]

@KSmoothSaxG I suppose you meant your eyes too O_O

[enricoshyster]

@KSmoothSaxG As impressive as it is, it's actually among the easier technical issues of the song. The reason why it sounds so complex and difficult is because it's a bunch of notes being played fast, but they're being played by both hands alternating. All that is done is just two alternating whole tone octave scales that form a ridiculous chromatic run :)

[enriquem90]

@KSmoothSaxG Listen this Ciffra´s octaves¡¡¡ ;)

[MrUnforgiven066]

@KSmoothSaxG 0:00 - 6:02

I can't belive my ears.

[Ellinidara]

@KSmoothSaxG Me too.

[Ellinidara]

@KSmoothSaxG Me TOO...

[CsFace98]

finally something that I can enjoy while im losting my mind

Look!!! he is sweatty !! a sign that this i so mother fucking kuksuck fanastic

[chipncharge94]

Berezovsky is born to play liszt!

[chipncharge94]

4.10 is outstanding and one of the most dificult parts of the hole zyclus...

[chrism216]

hehehe

he really did a nice job to get out of his MAJOR miskate at 5:04

excellent performance! although i really disliked the slow part

[bb0ysmiley]

@chrism216 It's nice to see someone on youtube who dosent call a performance bad because he didnt like everything. I see many good performances wich I do not like of personal taste, but the fact that it is a great performance will still be a fact =)

What do I feel of Berezovsky's Mazeppa? Extraordinary! I 5/5

[tibbzWoW]

he plays the soft part too fast

[ariarix5523]

non ho parole.

je n'ai pas mots.

i haven't words to say.

o.o  ...

[MartinVanBoven]

@ariarix5523 At least you do not have words in THREE languages! :p

[MrBabayaga83]

@babayaga44 oui je le confirme !

[davidbaker03]

memory slip! yikes!

[Feemelinopiano]

magnifique et impressionnant. Excellente interprétation !

[OriginalBasaliskos]

I thought this was the best interpretation I had ever heard until I stumbled across the Miroslav Kultyshev video.

[andrewzador]

Oops, big mistake at 4:47. He started playing the same thing as 1:47, and lost it for a while. I guess no one noticed anything. Otherwise, it is a fantastic performance.

[sawasdeepiano]

เพลงนี้ได้รับการจัดให้เป็นเพลง­ที่ยากที่สุดในโลก..

[tanatee13028]

@sawasdeepiano สวัสดีครับชาวไทย 55+ ส่วนที่ถามผมก็ไม่รู้ -*-

[pamelais0nline]

:O fantastic.

[AmalgamOfMeat]

I hate the crappy camera angles. Just a plain overhead view would be fine.

[poll6666]

@AmalgamOfMeat All "professional" piano videos have these camera angle changes so the video is not too static. But it also help to not have people complain "hey it's not really live" when they retouch mistakes in studio. They show the hammers inside the piano while the performer screws things up on the keyboard :D

If you notice, when there are camera angle changes in a piano video, it's always a "perfect" execution blah

[SilentViolins]

@poll6666 This execution isn't perfect, you can hear plenty of wrong notes, but it's still ridiculously good.

[tramina50]

Extraordinaire !

[gerardbedecarter]

A wonderful performance.

[OverFjell]

@gerardbedecarter Let's hear your interpretation then.

[maxdesp]

Memory slip near the end or different interpretation?

[StanislavRodionov]

-good!

[yingru511]

amazingggggggggggggggggggggggg­

[eyeballnick]

BORIS IS A MACHINE!!!

[OrangeSodaKing]

Alkan was so good a pianist, he made Liszt nervous!

I'm sure if Liszt could here Berezovsky play his Transcendental Etudes, he'd be nervous around him, too. ;)

[1811FranzLiszt]

This is my favorite music!

[paulostroff99]

awesome!  TY

[katoezuiver]

FAKE!

[jojobanjo]

I couldn't possibly hate this camera work more...but the playing is the opposite :)

[dantheman4917]

Those 3rd and 6th and octavas OMG

[TTakach999]

no words..

[TipheretV]

ORRIBILE!

[Darksephiroth901]

just outstanding...

[skit0906]

haha hes sweating so much :) but its played very well

[pyrorca]

4:10 at 4:30  OMFG

[jielunfan92]

im trying to play this piece now but the melody becomes so muddy cuz of the mid-voice ascending chords.... i wanna know how this guy plays it so clear

[Scorpio7500]

@jielunfan92 voicing?

[DDzOne8]

OMG..i've juz check this sheet out..KILLER SHIT!!

[dsaasdman]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaaaaa

[cafity]

OMG... 1:56 :-S

[Skygrapped]

The so called "difficult" chopin etudes are nothing against THIS !

[mansell3454]

Chopin etudes are diferent... listen chopin concertos... thats DIFFICULT... and doesn´t matter if its difficult or not, only listen the magical music of all etudes.

[AlexandraPiano92]

@Skygrapped Chopin etudes are more difficult. Sometimes a pianist who can play Liszt and Rachmaninov perfectly, can't play Chopin at all. Because Chopin doesn't give you even one moment to relax, you have to be so focused all the time. And you have to be really really clear. It is often ( not always) more difficult for pianists than playing "stormy Liszt". In my view, if someone is able to play Chopin etudes without much effort, he/she is able to play everything

[jackbackjack9]

@AlexandraPiano92 but liszt sightread chopins etudes with no difficulty, and said to chopin that he was trying to be too much like him

[AlexandraPiano92]

@jackbackjack9 But it was LISZT :P come on guys, probably Liszt played his etudes without any effort as well .

I just write what I see. For almost all pianists playing Chopin's Etudes is more difficult. I mean, proper and professional playing, not sightreading or playing just notes. For me also Liszt is far more easier. Anyway, it always depends

[OriginalBasaliskos]

@AlexandraPiano92 I think it depends on what technical abilities you're best at. Some people will find Liszt easier, others Chopin will be easier.

[madsholmbom]

@AlexandraPiano92 This is far more demanding than Chopin's etudes. You have no idea what you are talking about :)

[callenishss]

@madsholmbom there is no comparison between liszt and chopin. listz involves jumping and torso control, chopin involves small details between fingers. for me, choping more difficult

[1234567bryce]

@callenishss certain elements of playing Chopin’s etudes are difficult... his third’s etude is brutal for many pianist, for example, even ones who could accomplish Mazeppa. But in my opinion, Liszt is generally more technically demanding, but because he doesn’t focus on one element of technique for 5 minutes straight, it isn’t as tiring... a quality which certainly adds a degree of difficulty to Chopin’s etudes.

[BlazeKenny]

@1234567bryce well, out of the two, Liszt was the one who tried to show he can get the most out of the piano which can be handled by a mortal human. He wrote transcendental etude no.4 when he was 14 years old (ftw)

Chopin mostly focused on music (generally) but yeah...no.3 etude ? fantasie impromptu, op 10 no 12...all the stuff. people say nocturnes arent technically hard, but at least 2 of them are almost unplayable

[bb0ysmiley]

@BlazeKenny He wrote the études Op.1(S.136) when he was 14 years old.

They where published in 1826.

It was not until 24 years later he ended up with the well known transcendental études(S.139). First he published a version of the études as the Grandes études(S.137) around 1837-1839. Mazeppa allso got revised in 1840(S.138). The Grades études where so hard, that Liszt reviesed them to make them easier, and ended up with the Transcendental études, but Mazeppa acctually became harder, but why not?

[BlazeKenny]

@bb0ysmiley yeah sorry i forgot. S.136 were sort of easy (you cant say something is easy in music)

it was an error, you are true.

[bb0ysmiley]

@1234567bryce Thirds might be really akward for some, and easier for others, but in general a timeconsuming thing to master, but Op10 No.2 is REALLY akward! The chromatics in the 3rd, 4th and 5th finger is a bitch for most.

When comparing the technical challenges in Chopin and liszt, it's better to focus on the bigg and hard pieces like the polonaises and the scherzos etc, instead of the small etudes wich focus on one thing for several minutes. =)

[AlexandraPiano92]

@madsholmbom how many of these etudes have you played? I've played all Chopin's etudes and 5 of Liszt transc. , including Mazeppa.

Try to listen to young and adult pianists and compare. If you are professional, you should hear the difference :)

[alexggable]

Alexandra: I agree with skygrapped. Chopin etudes are high level of difficulty, to be precise, you need to play them not only with adequated technique skills rather of right accentuation, rubato, etc. However, this particular etude requires a foundation that probably only Chopin etudes as a base can give. This is the highest difficult level of a piece which deserves a great amount of musicallity only achieved along with the greatest possible technique.

[jazzevans]

This is one of the fastest recordings of this piece I've heard... it's almost inhumanly difficult even when played slower!

By the by, this is one of the only etudes that was harder than in the second edition - the removal of all large stretches means the hand positions change a lot.

[melishca]

i'm amazed by how well he plays. very few people know how to play liszt this well. eccellent job :)

[FranzLisztian]

I really like the last theme, the horse galloping sounds so awesome (whosh whosh swosh swosh)

[christeva9497]

i am speechless! just amazing!

[eggplant1994]

less than three.

[Classicmozayfull]

Quite epic.. No wonder he sweats so much.. where else could he dispose of excess awesome?

[Attila19101960]

Spectacular! He's the best! He does very well Trascnendetali Studies. So divine.

[FranzLisztian]

I rank Mazeppa as one of the greatest pieces in classical music.

[winkandrun]

I second that. You're not a fan of Liszt or anything are you?

[FranzLisztian]

Not at all *smirks*.

I am kind of an addict, Liszt is my favorite composer followed by Alkan and Paganini.

[winkandrun]

Haha, I love the dark, deep sounds of Liszt. The Mephisto Waltz, if you like Liszt, listen to Nyireghazi! You may or may not like it, but I looove his interpretations. Never listened to Alkan or Paganini ('cept the violin capricces).

[llamasownyou]

You've never listened to Alkan? Wow, you're REALLY missing out.

[FranzLisztian]

Alkan is awesome ain't he?

[FranzLisztian]

Hey sorry for the long answer but I don't like the Mephisto Waltzes (They are practically the only pieces by Liszt I can't stand)

You should really listen to Alkan, listen to his étude Le Preux.

[OrangeSodaKing]

Alkan is pretty cool. Some of his great musical works are the Symphony and Concerto for solo piano (especially the first movements of both works!), and some of his most entertaining works are Le Chemin de Fer, Le Preux, and Allegro Barbaro. Another personal favorite of mine is Scherzo Focoso.

[MrRosfordKjaerulff]

Check out his Grand Sonata "Les Quatres Ages" as well, it's awesome!

[OrangeSodaKing]

@MrRosfordKjaerulff

I actually have a hard time wrapping my head around that one completely, but yes, it is great! I've also recently gained a very high appreciation for the Sonate de Concert Op. 47.

[Gys6]

Incredible

[Juan19312010]

Formidable!!!

[luisfrodrimaz]

Espectacular!!!

[39myteens]

liszt and he is a great great great pianist!!!!

[cammywatt95]

epic ending

[TheOfflain]

greatest song ever !

[Denya001]

It is really brilliant masterpiece and incredible performance!

[cammywatt95]

no wonder he's playing the transcendental etudes in one fucking concert, in a row. must be exhausting

[Azuresong]

@cammywatt95 this post makes no sense

[Joooo94]

hilariously good. if that makes sense.

[NeonVomit]

Fantastic. I really like Berezovsky's interpretation. Doesn't sound muddy to my ears. It sounds like just the right amount of chaos, which is exactly what imagine being tied up to a galloping, bounding horse is like (since this is what the piece is about).

People at this level don't do anything by accident. They do things for a reason.

[Raakim322]

Who says people at any level do anything by accident?

[kasyapa]

duhrrrrrr.

[Raakim322]

Well thats not nice

[Giovanni222]

I'm pretty appalling at piano, and believe me, I do a LOT of shit by accident.

In general even the right notes aren't on purpose.

[FredilYupigo]

I need to agree with that last part. My right notes happen too rarely to be considered on purpose!

[afertyus1000]

@NeonVomit i think at 4.53 he had a slight memory loss but great all the same

[TheJoyfulPianist]

the pedal is fine and you couldn't play this with your eyes closed

[2mamabird]

Thank you for posting this, my daughter is learning this!

[FredilYupigo]

Good luck to your daughter! This is an incredibly difficult piece.

[MusartJD]

Yea this is one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano.