KATSARIS Liszt Csardas obstiné

[thomasgagemontgomery]

This piece is beautiful music but I cannot hear the beauty. I can see and hear the virtuosity in Katsaris but I do not hear the beauty of Liszt's composition here. This performance stinks to my ears.

[DjProdKK]

As Liszt would have said. "He is mixing salad again"

[aliciagugliucci]

mal caracter

[nleytman]

I never heard such fast actives - unbelievable.

[lovesGenet]

Catsaris has the wrists of horowitz and cziffra. Unbeleivable!!

[WENCHINGTON]

Liszt makes many bad songs does he not. I use a period instead of a question mark because I do not care about any of your opinions, and a question mark would entice you to answer almost as much as this enormous explanation.

[Tacitus87]

I listened to Leslie Howard s version after this (the complete piano musc of F L)and it made me laugh.This guy is unhuman.And he has small hands but devil-like virtuosity

[felix0911176727]

He makes me think of Cziffra...

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

@felix0911176727 me too

[pianocanival]

... Been hearing this video over and over and over and over and over... and finally i got it.... He is way too good for me.... I didnt realize he was that spectacular .... I mean WOW!!!!!!, but i had to hear it several times ;)

[GeorgeOfZala]

With our comments we are just all jelous of his technique ... We may need to keep practicing :-) I prefer to listen to him and enjoy every second of it. Don't we sometimes just want to beat up the piano? ... and other times be romantic and emotional. It is the matter of the mood of the moment.

[xtiminator]

I saw Katsaris perform this live and it was a jaw-dropping experience! Too bad this isn't the full piece (his own transcription). It has really cool parts in the beginning, which is about 2 minutes longer than what we see here. Maybe more would enjoy this video if all of it was here. It's like reading a book starting 2/3 the way through. The CD recording of this is much better audio quality and is also from a live performance.

[pianocanival]

he plays awfully!!!!!!! too much speed, ZERO MUSIC!!!!!

[Roelekok]

This is not ment to be beautiful! I would be overwelmed in a live concert...

[pianocanival]

maybe so, but its not only the music part, the notes cant be

heard, its just too fast!

[sanctusignis]

Wrong. That's it.

[pianocanival]

Ok... i admit it, i was completely wrong. Total technique and incredible speed, but still is too fast.

[sanctusignis]

That's a better way to express it. I actually see the point behind your reasoning, and I have much more respect for it.

Also, keep in mind, this is just Katsaris's style. Just completely mind-blowing! If you want to hear some of his more fluid playing, check out the vids of the Chopin Sonata No. 2.

[pianocanival]

Thanks for the advise .... and you are right, it is katsaris´s style

[MusicDirector25]

Sheeeit!!! Wow. Amazing speed.

[shilloshillos]

Katsaris is as expressive and sincere in his interpretations as he is transcendental in his technique. Sometimes he goes a little bit overboard but in no way anyone can base a critique on those rare moments (of which this clip might be one), unfortunately.

[Chopiniana]

Katsaris MAY BE the greatest living technician. I have recordings of his that are galvanizing. His octaves are faster than Argerich's and Horowitz's and his passage work is non pareil.

[Praxsedius]

Katsaris, is, as usual, the consummate virtuoso. His octaves are hairraising, ala Horowitz, and his temperament is certainly suited to the piano works of Franz Liszt. HOWEVER, he sometimes lets his speed get the better of him as Martha Argerich often does. I have heard better Liszt interpreters.

[Razaak]

Those are some of the fastest octaves you'll ever see, a truly incredible technique.

[busoniliszt]

So what, does that make this performance worthwhile? Late Liszt-pieces are not about technique. And if you want to hear amazing octaves, listen to Alexei Grynyuk on this site.

[Razaak]

erm....I don't recall saying they were, though if you're stating that this particular work could be as convincingly interpreted by somebody with a markedly less proficient technique than Katsaris' - and yes, I have heard the entire performance - then please provide some proof. It was just an observation in regard to the work of a pianist whom I believe is one of the greatest of his generation, if not of all time.

[Razaak]

erm....I don't recall saying they were, though if you're stating that this particular work could be as convincingly interpreted by somebody with a markedly less proficient technique than Katsaris' - and yes, I have heard the entire performance - then please provide some proof. It was just an observation in regard to the work of a pianist whom I believe is one of the greatest of his generation, if not of all time.

[busoniliszt]

I don't know this piece very well and never saw the notes, but I know enough of the style of late Liszt to state that this piece is played in a way that is hardly recognizable. It's not the first time that this "great" pianist rapes a masterpiece for his own showy purposes. I suggest the recordings of Nyiregyhazy and Arrau for the older Liszt.

[Razaak]

It is, in fact, his own arrangement of the work, and might I suggest that your claim of "hardly recognizable" could well stem from the fact that the sound has been recorded with a video camera's onboard microphone, not the best basis on which to judge the performance of a piece of music one has never heard before. Granted, Katsairs' playing can often be both willful and idyosyncratic, though what some might deem to be bad taste, others find original and exciting.

[Razaak]

I have heard plenty of Arrau and though I respect him enourmosly as an artist, I confess to finding most of his Liszt profoundly uninspiring. I would never, for instance, choose his B minor sonata over Barere, Gilels, Argerich, Pollini or Horowitz.

[busoniliszt]

Indeed, you name willfull, idiosyncratic, original and exciting as characteristics for his playing; I would rather replace them for tasteless, showy, hollow and insincere. And Pollini more inspiring than Arrau in the Sonata? I disagree strongly with you there, too. How difficult to talk/write about music!

[Razaak]

Again, it may simply be down to the recording, I don't know what else you have heard of his, on or off Youtube, but I do believe one has to be a little tolerant of overt virtuosity when it is being applied in music that could be said to have inherently virtuosic qualities, as I believe this has.

[Razaak]

May I ask if you've heard him play any Chopin? If you have and still attribute those terms I'd be very surprised. To my ears, his phrasing, tonal command and poetic temperament are as close to Friedman, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Rosenthal etc, as can be found in almost any "modern" readings of say, the preludes, waltzes, sonatas and ballades.

[busoniliszt]

No, Razaak, it's not the quality of the recording, it's his interpretation and attitude that bother me. I'm sorry to "surprise" or disappoint you, but I've heard quite a number of other recordings of K., also on this site, his Chopin I find far-fetched and insincere again. You better skip the comments I wrote there. To my eyes and ears, Friedman, Rosenthal and Hofmann are no comparison at all with this charlatan.

[busoniliszt]

Hofmann also took certain liberties in Chopin but in my opinion he had taste and culture and knew the meaning of the word integrity. This sounds vague perhaps, but I feel Katsaris is more comparable to Liberace, only with a much better, almost transcendental technique.

[busoniliszt]

With those old masters, it's never virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity, as is the case with K. His Bach-transcription is abominable in musical terms. In my opinion it's a pianist/virtuoso that goes for the cheap effects. He never moved me, because he doesn't play from the heart.

[Razaak]

Well, we are certainly NEVER going to agree here. To compare Katsaris to Liberache is, in my view, tantamount to blasphemy - might aswell compare Charlotte Church to Maria Callas - as is the assertion that he does not play from the heart, utterly unfounded. His rendition of the Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise is awash with color, charm and imagination that at no point evolves into what you'd probably call arrogant self-indulgence.

[Razaak]

Many might criticize Friedman's Chopin for all its various eccentricities. Elastic rubato, overly expressed dynamics, not to mention many small but

significant alterations to the original score(s). I however, find it, for the most part, refreshing and deeply moving.

[Razaak]

I've had more discussions on the subject of "crude virtuosity vs elegant musicianship" than I'd care to remember. The one thing they all have in common is that ultimately, nobody ends up agreeing with anybody! So have a nice day and thanks for the Alexei Grynyuk reference, most impressive.

[busoniliszt]

Well, at least we discovered we both find Friedman's Chopin very moving. And you're right, we will never convince each other about Katsaris. But it was a finally a "polite" discussion, without calling e.o. all sorts of names, as so often happens on Youtube (see f.o. if you're interested the "discussion" on K. playing the funeral march of Chopin, or, more substantial, Kissin playing Scriabin etude op. 8 no. 12). Best wishes for you too.

[datruzepp]

ahahahaha diz recummendation iz TRU :motel:

[Tinaw19]

hes good