Haha, when I played this it felt weird. There was not much rubato or any self expression that was needed to be applied. This sonata was simply masterfully crafted.
...to my amazement, the Poles arranged this for a brass band and played this for our President during the recent Warsaw visit...did Mr. Obama congratulate them on the quality of the arrangement? I have my doubts...what would Chopin have thought of this?...well, Chopin was not much of a Democrat...
@fredericfranc what does democracy has to do with chopin? Democracy is something invented by the greeks and has nothing to do with the modern times. It means Demos+Kratos meaning that the demos=citizens, krato=hold goverment. In those times the biggest city was not more than 60.000 adults. After you lost connection with the greek language you adobted the failed roman translation res+publica. So republicants or democrats are the same thing. A fake memory of what once existed brightly original.
@AkaMouTinn ...definitely appreciate the wonderful Comment. Chopin, who was formidably educated beyond anything achievable anywhere today, and who had a great grasp of the Antiquity's dead languages...nevertheless had no use for Democracy...hearing his Sonata played by a Brass Band in Democratic Poland would have made him vomit all over himself...well,probably...he was a...passionate(?) person...perhaps the better word is "febrile"...
get your glasses on people. You are watching chopin alive. This pianist is incredible genious. Quit commenting or making comparisons. Watch carefully and everything will change. Forget what you are accustomed to. This is reality.
I agree with a few of the posters here—yes, it is an interesting rendition, but that there are many distortions in the voicing that are not integral to the piece, and moreover, often distracting. keep in mind though that Cortot adds the same line in 02:15.
the one praise I have is that the major sections (B) are not as slow as many others', even Lipatti. also, 01:18 is truly genius
And if at times Katsaris drifts into a kind of cocktail piss elegance that challenges conventional taste, no matter; he is, at the very least, as colorful as he is fastidious. As for his faces, well, that shouldn't really bother anyone, any more than Gould's bovine visages should. . What matters is how he plays. He does bear an uncanny resemblance, however, to Richard Simmons. Separated at birth, perhaps?
One can only admire Katsaris.. Much of his playing is very much in the French tradition, valuing a sec approach and a crystalline tone. But he is nothing if not imaginative, no matter his penchant for bringing out structurally insignificant inner voices as if they mattered. At the very least, his playing is alive, vivid, and always fascinating, if not always convincing in strictly compositional categories.
I really really really LOVE Katsaris' playing!! He always shows the voices that other pianists ignored! He must be one of the legendary pianists in this century!! (M. A. Hamelin must be one of them, too!!)
I feel like I am in a museum being dragged from one attraction to the next. The playing is technically beautiful and he displays great mastery in voicing the polyphonic elements. But the interpretation is incoherent; the wild shifts in tone just seem to scream "look at me I'm playing the piano!". What is he trying to say?
@silentplummet :: I would want to be able to look happy and selfconfident, when playing piano! :-) I don't think that there is anything incoherent in his playing though I have heard other interpreters play this beautiful first movement with another kind of dynamics. The main thing for me is that the dynamics work with the voicings.
it can't be a different piece at the beginning, so it must be the first repeat. glad he is one of the few pianists that chooses to execute it. just because it may weaken the movement is not an excuse...
at 1:18 you will see why katsaris is a genious. The way he ends the 1st phrase to begin the melody of the next in such an EASY way proves that NO other pianist feels SO calm and self confident when playing chopin. Chopin can be only played by heart. Chopin is OUTSIDE of ANY classical music. Forget about bach mozart beethoven when you play chopin. Forget about tempo as you know it. Listen to Keith Jarret to see what chopin did 200 years ago
Personally I don't like the way he doesn't let each phrase be uttered and heard in its fullness, hinting at them with and approximate tempo. I prefer those versions where the different voices dialogue...I don't know if this is clear enough in English...
@Allegro11Maestoso you will not hear the phrase in its fullness from youtube quality. Buy a cd and you will listen 100% all the phrases. Katsaris is the only master of chopin even more than Pollini. I spoke to him in Cyprus and he told me everything you will ever need to know about chopin. Chopin is the jazz pianist of the 19th century.
As a performing artist, I get a little nervous just looking at Carnegie Hall, LOL. What a beautiful theater! It must be so much more amazing in person. I hope I get to go there some day.
Anyway, great peice! Gotta love Chopin! I think this Interpretation is a pretty good one.
I like this pianist. Excellent technique, refined touch, and within his context, great taste. Interpretation? Very personal, more joyful than introspective, maybe different from what Chopin intended. But with thousands interpretations of Chopin third Sonata, I'm happy to listen to Katsaris's one.
I just had to clean out my ears and listen to Lipatti play this, highly recommended for anyone who suspects this work actually has a structure, requiring an artist capable of plumbing the depths and raising to the heights of expression, not this trivialization.
Thanks for letting us know there are inner voices in Chopin's music. Horowitz used to bring them out as well but with subtlety and charm, not "in your face" like here.
inner voices or not... thats not the worst movement done by Katsaris here. He has a nice sound, a good technique , is melting with the piano like Argerich. But a real egoist who does not take care of the composers intentions always looking to make sensation and being unique... arrogant person who does not have the greatness of a Lipatti for example.... Rubinstein would not even have noticed this guy....
its not a question of ego but a question of taste and respect in front of the work and the author..... But I can understand that Katsaris has his public . It still is an interesting event when he plays, nevertheless I don t like this way of playing, but I do like his way of touching the piano... so there is not everything wrong.... he is intelligent and knows how to play, is already a lot and despite of this he controls the different voices and demonstrattes them in a nice way....
Maybe you just don't like his hair or his facial expressions... lol. You might confuce his playing to Rubinsteins if not seen who is playing... ;) just kidding.
Dang, are all you bitches highly acclaimed music critics? Let's see you play this stuff. If you've got the balls let's hear your credentials before you bash, or else it means nothing.
I have already commented on this performance. But now that I hear it again, I am reinforced in my opinion that this is a finicky, capricious, flaky, silly interpretation of a master piece that many pianists play not only with equal or greater skill but also with respect.
I'm surprised nobody threw something at this clown!. Again I think that at the end he prays for forgiveness, haha.
He's highlighting so-called 'inner voices' that Chopin does not call for. The result is an interesting performance, but is an illegitimate one, as those 'inner voices' do not mean anything musically. Chopin's score does not indicate those notes to be highlighted.
Chopin is full of voices and poliphony. Chopin himself write the inner voices in a poliphonic writing, so I think it's right to evidence these voices. That's why I appreciate this interpretation, but IMHO Katsaris, in this performance, enhance too much and also where Chopin not writes inner voices. The result is that often this poliphony it's artificially and unnaturally enhanced. The concept is right, but realization is....too much. IMHO.
Thank goodness for a pianist such as this to cause the equally self-righteous and conceited self-declared classical critic to furrow his brow and clear his throat.
LOL OMG!! gooo katsaris...stirring up some strrroooooong opinions herrrre! peeps gotta show katsaris more love man! oh, keep in mind, none of you will ever be as good as him! lolol! :) (you know it's true, just accept the fact) :D
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Chopin has borrowed his ideas from Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata (Op.106)!! Give me Beethoven any day... this romantic style makes me want to throw up!!!
Although I've preferred the more "classical" approach to Chopin (e.g. Lipatti's version of this sonata), I have to say he's got quite some flair and originality!
Katsaris' creativity is also evident in his recording of Beethoven-Liszt Symphony #9, in which he added many of his own ornaments/voicing to Liszt's transcription. Check that out on YouTube---it's a moving performance!
Although his voicing are somewhat originally and interesting, I personally do not adhere to the idea that everything(or so much) needs to be voiced out. A- it can get a bit predictable and B - some of the voicings don't always go anywhere or are an integral part of the structure. Having said this, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion on this and I welcome it because that's how we all learn. I learn quite a lot from reading intelligent comments here!
i disagree, with you with all due respect, Chopin's voicing is 99.99 % perfect, he was a great student and admirer of Bach, almost all Bach's music is contrapunctual. Katsaris is using somewhat this approach in Chopin, that in my opinion, he is right, that is the way it should be, he is right in sining all the melodies including the inner voices, and yes, in Chopin the inner voices ALWAYS go somewhere, they have a beginning and an end. Listen to Arrau's Chopin, the master of polyphony
There's nothing wrong with presenting inner voices, provided they're supposed to be there and are indicated by the composer. This performance highlights so-called 'inner voices' that are not indicated by Chopin in the score, making me disagree very strongly with Katsaris' version of this movement. As for Arrau, he was one of the supreme artists who practiced fidelity to the score. Unlike Katsaris, Arrau never 'created' inner voices that weren't there and were not indicated by the composer.
i disagree completely with you, 1) inner voices DO NOT have to be marked by the composers to be brought out,... if you know how to "read" music propertly everything is in the score. This practice goes from Bach to Debussy/Ravel even Stravinsky, and ALL the composers in between, 2) Arrau OFTEN brought out many "inner" voices out that were not marked by the composere, i would even dare to say in each and every piece he played. He taught it that way, and that came from his Bach uprgringing
Thanks for your reply. I was referring to notes in the score that don't mean anything musically. They may give a semblance of a melody when highlighted temporarily, such as what Katsaris did, but they're not true melodies presented and developed within the composition by the composer. Notice that these so-called 'inner voices' that Katsaris used go nowhere in the piece, are not developed anywhere else, and are not repeated. They're not real inner voices. They're interesting, yes, but not real.
As for Arrau, he was very careful in bringing out inner voices - only legitimate inner voices called for by the composition. In the book Conversations with Arrau(p.40), Arrau's belief on this was very clear when he said, " I always got so angry when I heard Hoffmann, or Shura bringing out so-called inner voices that didn't have much importance." Katsaris' performance is an example of this practice, using 'so-called inner voices that didn't have much importance' , which Arrau disliked severely.
youre wrong, Arrau meant that those pianists bring inner voices at random without any beginning nor end, however, when Arrau brings out a voice is to bing the polyphony out. Chopin had perfcet voice leading, his writing was completaly polyphonic even though his melodies are alsways glorious!!!! Arrau brings out "inner voices" (polyphony) in every piece he plays,... i would dare to say that if he would have heard katsaris would have liked it and agreed on his playing.
You just illustrated exactly what Katsaris did: 'inner voices' at random, without any beginning or end. If you listen carefully to what Katsaris did, those 'inner voices' go nowhere in the piece, are not marked and developed anywhere else by Chopin, and are not repeated. They are random. They are not real inner voices. He did exactly what Arrau was referring to in his quote above.
arturon111: I'm an ardent admirer of Arrau. He's one of my idols, and I know his art quite well. I don't have any disagreement with you about Arrau and polyphonic playing - Arrau was one of the supreme artists who successfully brought out inner voices, creating that very rich Arrau sound . He was quite careful in discerning which voices are real or not, and presented inner voices indicated only by the composer. Katsaris did exactly the opposite: random voices without regard to the composition.
Beautiful and rich inner voices. Exciting performance out of the ordinary 'Chopinistic' approach. He gives a breath of fresh air to this old war horse, even if one does not agree with everything he does.
I like when he stands out some notes, that give other "melodic version"..and it´s like wau!, those notes are here, and just discovering that they are here, but we don´t pay atencion. (He composes doing his own version of the piece)
Well... good for you if this performance provides all that what you care for.
As for me, this performance provides a lot of fun, hearing and watching this clown create some "inner voices" and funny syncopation to make a "better" Chopin. Hahahaaa
All I care about in a performance is that it is good. And this one does not reach such threshold.
These days, all I really care about in a performance is if it's well thought out, well executed, and most of all - expressive. This performance provides that for me.
The fact that you would have booed this master goes to show what an idiot you are. You know NOTHING of music. Weird syncopations? Occult voices? Alterations? What the hell are you talking about? So an alteration is a bad thing? You're OBVIOUSLY a complete moron, and in case you didn't realize, you will NEVER come CLOSE to playing the piano as well as Cyprien Katsaris. You can not produce a performance of this piece that's even .0001% as good as Katsaris's. And those are the cold hard facts.
"PianoMan" does not fit you. You are an obvious MORON as prophesier of my piano playing, and a complete idiot trying to measure goodness in percents. Has one ever seen such dumbness?
Unfortunately for you, what is a cold hard fact is that you have a quite bad taste for Chopin or a complete ignorance of how well others play his compositions. Perhaps you like occult voices in other than Katsari's interpretations, hahaha. I hope that doesn't cause you alterations.
You are welcome, PianoMan. I don't know how my estimation that you are a moron and an idiot proves your point, but then it is not for me to understand the points of morons and idiots.
For your information, I recommend that you make a round through youtube and listen to this piece interpreted by Blechacz, Pogorelich, Lippati, just to name a few, to get a variety of serious performances. After that, you hopefully see this funny clown in perspective.
Look, really great playing. I felt so relaxed and it changed my mood. What a wonderful way he can effect teh listener! Thank God for the inner voices which can almost hardly be heard when various other pianists play this piece as Chopin obviously meant them to be heard or he wouldn't have written them like this. Speaking of God, was he praying at the end of this? Hmmm... Maybe it could have something to do with the movement he is about to play...
He puts uneeded emphasis on things, this guy, Its like going to a resteraunt and making a huge fuss about the napkins instead of the food, so the resteraunt is more about napkins than food. Inner voices my big toe. I can hear them already without you giving them the spotlight, he gives so much attention to his "inner voices" that the rest deteriorates as a whole.
There are some people who propably call this interpretation "innovative", "unique","original", "fresh" - maybe it is in a degree, and yes, there are plenty of "inner voices" but I find difficult to hear CHOPIN here.
It was an interesting experiment to find in this sonata something nobody found before but I still prefer the conventional interpretation as Pogorelich's - more emotions, less trying to be original.
As I said I don't particularly like this guy's interpretation. Try Rafal Blechacz. Slightly nauseous last name but wonderful playing. You could even try gould. This man is pretentious.
This is good just to enjoy it in the moment, but it is not inmortalized, will not be remembered, entretains de audience but lacks that mystical musical spirit. In my opinion, I prefer Richter.
Apparently, your remarks were aimed at some I made 5 months ago here, according to the e-mail I just received from YouTube. Never allow yourself to labor under the delusion that I could "care" about what you said regarding my "high standards" It is apparent that you of course have none and moreover, not well versed in listening intelligently and correctly to outstanding piano playing.
If I hadn't grown to appreciate the conventional, pious, Chopin-y interpretations of the Third Sonata, I'd probably come away from this performance being unimpressed by the piece itself.
What a whimsical interpretation. It's interesting, very unserious. Very very different. Convincing? Probably not, but he sure seems to have fun with it.
In spite of his cavalier musicianship, Charlie Chaplin mannerisms, and his insistence on bringing out "inner" voices that are not only irrelevant, but don't actually exist in contrapuntal categories, I say, give the man a break. He just mixes and matches arbitrarily this pitch with that in the interest of making things "interesting". If he wants to play Chopin as if it were cocktail music, let him; the music is strong enough to survive. For him, Chopin is only a puerile entertainment, alas~!
Are you sure this exaggeration of the secondary melodic elements isnt being exaggerated itself by mic placement? I'm sure there is bias towards the bottom half of the keyboard. I see your point though.
reminds me of some other nocturnes of chopin and sometimes even of debussys claire de lune...i dont know why!!this guy looks funny somehow! he's smiling all the time,i like that most.
This is truly the most sickening playing of this [or any] piece I have ever heard. Chopin would be APPALLED at the way this man is HAMMERING OUT the inner voices - as if the educated listener doesn't know they are there. This is poison.
So you're saying that people -even experienced musicians- can hear every note that a pianist plays? When Rachmaninov writes huge chords in a piece for both hands at the same time, 99% percent of people wouldn't have a clue that the pianist is playing 10 or 12 notes at the same time and could never hear all the voices.
Yes. And - if one plays the piece oneself, every note is heard - or should be. I have taught eartraining for many decades. One of the 'exercises' I give has to do with handing out a series of block chords with as many as ten notes, but leaving one or two of the notes out. The student is then asked to identify the notes that are NOT being played.
With PROPER ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music, ANY combination of sounds can be recognized. Rachmaninov's massive chords can be heard with crystal clarity, if the listener is trained how to listen properly. What's more, Rachmaninov's chords often contain multiple doublings, so it's rather easy to hear.
"With PROPER ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music, ANY combination of sounds can be recognized."
Not true. Proper ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music merely facilitates recognition of combinations, but they do not guarantee it. It requires many, many other things in addition, such as the right mental state and enviroment. For example, Schoenberg, who claimed to have absolute pitch, admitted that bad tuning prevented him from identifying all the sounds.
I know why you're not interested in enlightening people... anymore. It's because you have no talent for it. That didn't stop you from trying, though. Take your pseudoscientific garbage elsewhere.
Suppose there was a chinese monk, who had never seen baseball before, sitting in the audience, and he wouldn't know when the pitcher needs to be replaced. You're like that chinese monk - except the chinese monk doesn't pretend to know how baseball is played.
You are obviously a devil's advocate, therefore, you are an evil, jealous, delusional person. If you write to me again, I shall not respond. You are sickening.
And yet, organman, I have read that Chopin held a great respect for the contrapuntal music of Bach. Therefore, maybe Chopin did want emphasis on the inner voices.
That is absolutely bogus. If Chopin wanted the inner voices pounded out, he would have written FFF and sforzando all over the place. He obviously didn't, therefore, your assertion is baseless.
Well, not FFF, but rather he would insert accents, which most of the time he has. I think Katsaris plays this piece amazingly. His interpretations are the reason he is where he is/was. He's an amazing pianist.
Are you to say that Horowitz was a horrible pianist because he added octaves in the bass all the time throughout his performances, even though the composer did not intend them? I mean, even the not-so-well trained ear can recognize the unexaggerated bass -- no, it was just to his liking. And that is why we have the freedom to perform as we wish.
I agree with lhiasczkter. Katsaris' Chopin recordings are unique because he finds lots of inner voices and countermelodies that you don't hear with other players (his cd of the Chopin Scherzos and Ballades is a must for this reason). I also respect him for adding in a few trills that weren't written in the score. It shows he is not afraid of these irrational purists who will slam people for not treating the score as if it were some holy book.
Haha, when I played this it felt weird. There was not much rubato or any self expression that was needed to be applied. This sonata was simply masterfully crafted.
Vesivian 3 weeks ago
incribibleeee, es muy por fuera de lo normal esta interpretacion, llega a sacar sentimientos inexplicables. bravo
vivianbalerina 1 month ago in playlist Liked videos
1:11-1:16 is brilliant
fledgehog 2 months ago
Immortal technique, but questionable performance sobriety
mdoub 3 months ago
Does he pray at the end of the movement? Very good performance, but i think that this movement requires more dynamic contrasts.
sissichopin91 4 months ago
KRUSTY THE CLOWN......LOL...LOL.
kgiven100 5 months ago
i think this is the greatest sonata in the history of music...
beats beethoven dead
19871014 5 months ago
chopin 很好！
xtrdiv 5 months ago
nul tres mal joué
kalachnikovable 7 months ago
@kalachnikovable Argumentez.
nicoejz 3 months ago
...to my amazement, the Poles arranged this for a brass band and played this for our President during the recent Warsaw visit...did Mr. Obama congratulate them on the quality of the arrangement? I have my doubts...what would Chopin have thought of this?...well, Chopin was not much of a Democrat...
fredericfranc 8 months ago
@fredericfranc what does democracy has to do with chopin? Democracy is something invented by the greeks and has nothing to do with the modern times. It means Demos+Kratos meaning that the demos=citizens, krato=hold goverment. In those times the biggest city was not more than 60.000 adults. After you lost connection with the greek language you adobted the failed roman translation res+publica. So republicants or democrats are the same thing. A fake memory of what once existed brightly original.
AkaMouTinn 8 months ago
@AkaMouTinn ...definitely appreciate the wonderful Comment. Chopin, who was formidably educated beyond anything achievable anywhere today, and who had a great grasp of the Antiquity's dead languages...nevertheless had no use for Democracy...hearing his Sonata played by a Brass Band in Democratic Poland would have made him vomit all over himself...well,probably...he was a...passionate(?) person...perhaps the better word is "febrile"...
fredericfranc 8 months ago
get your glasses on people. You are watching chopin alive. This pianist is incredible genious. Quit commenting or making comparisons. Watch carefully and everything will change. Forget what you are accustomed to. This is reality.
AkaMouTinn 8 months ago
impressive!
FolderFILEneT 8 months ago
the greatest sonata ever written
308813062 9 months ago
Can someone tell why it reminds me of his es-dur (e flat major) polonaise (Andante spianato)?
szellajos 10 months ago
I may be showing my ignorance, but what hall is this being performed in? It doesn't seem quite ornate enough to be Carnegie.
AldenHardaway 10 months ago
@AldenHardaway It's Carnegie, in 1999 I believe.
Broopster5 10 months ago
I agree with a few of the posters here—yes, it is an interesting rendition, but that there are many distortions in the voicing that are not integral to the piece, and moreover, often distracting. keep in mind though that Cortot adds the same line in 02:15.
the one praise I have is that the major sections (B) are not as slow as many others', even Lipatti. also, 01:18 is truly genius
CaradhrasAiguo49 11 months ago
La miglioreversione su youtube?? ahahahaha!!!!
sugarve 11 months ago
Like his voicing, especially at the opening.
Elicgt 11 months ago
Does a really nice job bringing out the inner voices, and non-melody lines. Very enjoyable to listen to.
ewallt 1 year ago
best version on youtube.
dus8580 1 year ago
Assomiglia ad un Hobbit ma suona come una Fata
ludolxx94 1 year ago
And if at times Katsaris drifts into a kind of cocktail piss elegance that challenges conventional taste, no matter; he is, at the very least, as colorful as he is fastidious. As for his faces, well, that shouldn't really bother anyone, any more than Gould's bovine visages should. . What matters is how he plays. He does bear an uncanny resemblance, however, to Richard Simmons. Separated at birth, perhaps?
banaliltes 1 year ago
One can only admire Katsaris.. Much of his playing is very much in the French tradition, valuing a sec approach and a crystalline tone. But he is nothing if not imaginative, no matter his penchant for bringing out structurally insignificant inner voices as if they mattered. At the very least, his playing is alive, vivid, and always fascinating, if not always convincing in strictly compositional categories.
banaliltes 1 year ago
I really really really LOVE Katsaris' playing!! He always shows the voices that other pianists ignored! He must be one of the legendary pianists in this century!! (M. A. Hamelin must be one of them, too!!)
felix0911176727 1 year ago
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Amazing and brilliant performance, unique voicing and phrasing indeed
Kelimu 1 year ago
Amazing and brillian performance, unique voicing and phrasing indeed
Kelimu 1 year ago
この人ならピアノ弾きながら左手から鳩が出てきそうな手品しそう。
左手がかなり余ってる。なんとも余裕ですばらしい
doubutudddd000 1 year ago
I feel like I am in a museum being dragged from one attraction to the next. The playing is technically beautiful and he displays great mastery in voicing the polyphonic elements. But the interpretation is incoherent; the wild shifts in tone just seem to scream "look at me I'm playing the piano!". What is he trying to say?
silentplummet 1 year ago
@silentplummet :: I would want to be able to look happy and selfconfident, when playing piano! :-) I don't think that there is anything incoherent in his playing though I have heard other interpreters play this beautiful first movement with another kind of dynamics. The main thing for me is that the dynamics work with the voicings.
AlfaAxel 1 year ago
Looks like richard simmons.
mrjkdeyoung 1 year ago
his hair is a bird...your argument is invalid
andyy91 1 year ago
What's with the hair?
akissgr1 1 year ago
i love his face expressions but i love his playing too!
Will84ABA 1 year ago
it can't be a different piece at the beginning, so it must be the first repeat. glad he is one of the few pianists that chooses to execute it. just because it may weaken the movement is not an excuse...
mathpianist93 1 year ago
at 1:18 you will see why katsaris is a genious. The way he ends the 1st phrase to begin the melody of the next in such an EASY way proves that NO other pianist feels SO calm and self confident when playing chopin. Chopin can be only played by heart. Chopin is OUTSIDE of ANY classical music. Forget about bach mozart beethoven when you play chopin. Forget about tempo as you know it. Listen to Keith Jarret to see what chopin did 200 years ago
AkaMouTinn 1 year ago 2
man,, these comments are too funny,, haha
sirpazhan 1 year ago
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any Christians up in here? check my video out, I was born Red(u weren't born gay).
LordsLight 1 year ago
What was he playing before and finishing at the start of this clip?
neversroad 1 year ago
@neversroad he was just playing the part before he repeated back to the beginning.
xcherizzle 1 year ago
Awesome playing, this guy has expressed very good understanding of this piece!
BTW wouldn't it be great to have a hairstyle contest between Katsaris and Kissin? hhaha jk jk
QuikSapphire 1 year ago
Personally I don't like the way he doesn't let each phrase be uttered and heard in its fullness, hinting at them with and approximate tempo. I prefer those versions where the different voices dialogue...I don't know if this is clear enough in English...
Allegro11Maestoso 1 year ago
@Allegro11Maestoso you will not hear the phrase in its fullness from youtube quality. Buy a cd and you will listen 100% all the phrases. Katsaris is the only master of chopin even more than Pollini. I spoke to him in Cyprus and he told me everything you will ever need to know about chopin. Chopin is the jazz pianist of the 19th century.
AkaMouTinn 1 year ago
このオッサンの演奏は、癖になるね。この動物的な演奏が、なんともいえないｗ 言葉にしにくいけれど、造詣の美しさというより、チーターってかっこいいよねみたいな感じだろうか（笑）
ootaka1970 1 year ago
this guy has 3 hands, look at 1:18, left hand in the air and playing all those notes
pianotuner101 1 year ago 4
he really brings out the thick polyphonic texture of this movement, sounds so gooooood!
mikejr41387 1 year ago
As a performing artist, I get a little nervous just looking at Carnegie Hall, LOL. What a beautiful theater! It must be so much more amazing in person. I hope I get to go there some day.
Anyway, great peice! Gotta love Chopin! I think this Interpretation is a pretty good one.
HillbillyJ 1 year ago
Is this in the Carnegie Hall?
felix0911176727 2 years ago 2
yes
there is the Carnegie
namopiano 1 year ago
He looks a litlle on krusty the clown of the simpsons, but well done.
timzza12 2 years ago 78
LOL!
dasol111 2 years ago
@timzza12 HAHAHA! Funny comment I must say. Made me laugh real loud! :)
roarul 1 year ago
@timzza12 I am sure he would be delighted to hear you approve.
CrawlingAxle 1 year ago
@timzza12
ha ha Lov it :)))
akissgr1 1 year ago
@timzza12
true, that's how i feel ~
mark6842 7 months ago
he even has a classic hair style
wedgyman1 2 years ago 5
Chopin's music can be improvised a lot.
gleetooth 2 years ago 6
lol so true
vbatuhan 1 year ago
I like this pianist. Excellent technique, refined touch, and within his context, great taste. Interpretation? Very personal, more joyful than introspective, maybe different from what Chopin intended. But with thousands interpretations of Chopin third Sonata, I'm happy to listen to Katsaris's one.
mebbio 2 years ago 23
@mebbio absolutely 100% what Chopin intended ^^
AkaMouTinn 1 year ago
i hate ppl who say we cant bash something if we dont like it or cant play it as well as they can.
thats kinda like telling roger ebert he has to make a better movie before he critisizes one.
Or having to be in the NFL before you can say that that QB made a shitty pass.
fucking crackheads
asianwhitenigger 2 years ago 3
I just had to clean out my ears and listen to Lipatti play this, highly recommended for anyone who suspects this work actually has a structure, requiring an artist capable of plumbing the depths and raising to the heights of expression, not this trivialization.
zamyrabyrd 2 years ago
Thanks for letting us know there are inner voices in Chopin's music. Horowitz used to bring them out as well but with subtlety and charm, not "in your face" like here.
zamyrabyrd 2 years ago
inner voices or not... thats not the worst movement done by Katsaris here. He has a nice sound, a good technique , is melting with the piano like Argerich. But a real egoist who does not take care of the composers intentions always looking to make sensation and being unique... arrogant person who does not have the greatness of a Lipatti for example.... Rubinstein would not even have noticed this guy....
uhartchristian 2 years ago
haha, you think Rubinstein had smaller ego...
Ironscriabin 2 years ago
its not a question of ego but a question of taste and respect in front of the work and the author..... But I can understand that Katsaris has his public . It still is an interesting event when he plays, nevertheless I don t like this way of playing, but I do like his way of touching the piano... so there is not everything wrong.... he is intelligent and knows how to play, is already a lot and despite of this he controls the different voices and demonstrattes them in a nice way....
uhartchristian 2 years ago
Maybe you just don't like his hair or his facial expressions... lol. You might confuce his playing to Rubinsteins if not seen who is playing... ;) just kidding.
Ironscriabin 2 years ago
I wish I had his hair!
sooshi27 2 years ago
Dang, are all you bitches highly acclaimed music critics? Let's see you play this stuff. If you've got the balls let's hear your credentials before you bash, or else it means nothing.
cucucachoo 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
plastic and tasteless
ink245711 2 years ago
I have already commented on this performance. But now that I hear it again, I am reinforced in my opinion that this is a finicky, capricious, flaky, silly interpretation of a master piece that many pianists play not only with equal or greater skill but also with respect.
I'm surprised nobody threw something at this clown!. Again I think that at the end he prays for forgiveness, haha.
Ernesto7608 2 years ago
this is a flimsy reading
mdoub 2 years ago
He's highlighting so-called 'inner voices' that Chopin does not call for. The result is an interesting performance, but is an illegitimate one, as those 'inner voices' do not mean anything musically. Chopin's score does not indicate those notes to be highlighted.
mozartian18 2 years ago
Chopin is full of voices and poliphony. Chopin himself write the inner voices in a poliphonic writing, so I think it's right to evidence these voices. That's why I appreciate this interpretation, but IMHO Katsaris, in this performance, enhance too much and also where Chopin not writes inner voices. The result is that often this poliphony it's artificially and unnaturally enhanced. The concept is right, but realization is....too much. IMHO.
TheEngraver 2 years ago
perfect expression,
perfect performance,
perfect hall (LOL) :D
5stars, of course!
dragons454 2 years ago 4
Thank goodness for a pianist such as this to cause the equally self-righteous and conceited self-declared classical critic to furrow his brow and clear his throat.
I love it. Every minute.
Yourenigma 2 years ago 4
hehe :)
agreed.
phynesse2000 2 years ago
LOL OMG!! gooo katsaris...stirring up some strrroooooong opinions herrrre! peeps gotta show katsaris more love man! oh, keep in mind, none of you will ever be as good as him! lolol! :) (you know it's true, just accept the fact) :D
PianoManSteve 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Chopin has borrowed his ideas from Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata (Op.106)!! Give me Beethoven any day... this romantic style makes me want to throw up!!!
ilaconix 2 years ago
Is this a DVD??!
Jamespianista 2 years ago
what hall is this?
Irelandlass7789 2 years ago 2
very original and interesting
ennodios 2 years ago 4
yep! It is terrific!
Irelandlass7789 2 years ago
Although I've preferred the more "classical" approach to Chopin (e.g. Lipatti's version of this sonata), I have to say he's got quite some flair and originality!
Katsaris' creativity is also evident in his recording of Beethoven-Liszt Symphony #9, in which he added many of his own ornaments/voicing to Liszt's transcription. Check that out on YouTube---it's a moving performance!
ajlee1216 2 years ago
ziet er uit als een old componist
fr4545 2 years ago
love his original voicings
slavinaz 2 years ago 9
Although his voicing are somewhat originally and interesting, I personally do not adhere to the idea that everything(or so much) needs to be voiced out. A- it can get a bit predictable and B - some of the voicings don't always go anywhere or are an integral part of the structure. Having said this, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion on this and I welcome it because that's how we all learn. I learn quite a lot from reading intelligent comments here!
Grigor99 2 years ago
i disagree, with you with all due respect, Chopin's voicing is 99.99 % perfect, he was a great student and admirer of Bach, almost all Bach's music is contrapunctual. Katsaris is using somewhat this approach in Chopin, that in my opinion, he is right, that is the way it should be, he is right in sining all the melodies including the inner voices, and yes, in Chopin the inner voices ALWAYS go somewhere, they have a beginning and an end. Listen to Arrau's Chopin, the master of polyphony
arturon111 2 years ago
There's nothing wrong with presenting inner voices, provided they're supposed to be there and are indicated by the composer. This performance highlights so-called 'inner voices' that are not indicated by Chopin in the score, making me disagree very strongly with Katsaris' version of this movement. As for Arrau, he was one of the supreme artists who practiced fidelity to the score. Unlike Katsaris, Arrau never 'created' inner voices that weren't there and were not indicated by the composer.
mozartian18 2 years ago
i disagree completely with you, 1) inner voices DO NOT have to be marked by the composers to be brought out,... if you know how to "read" music propertly everything is in the score. This practice goes from Bach to Debussy/Ravel even Stravinsky, and ALL the composers in between, 2) Arrau OFTEN brought out many "inner" voices out that were not marked by the composere, i would even dare to say in each and every piece he played. He taught it that way, and that came from his Bach uprgringing
arturon111 2 years ago
Thanks for your reply. I was referring to notes in the score that don't mean anything musically. They may give a semblance of a melody when highlighted temporarily, such as what Katsaris did, but they're not true melodies presented and developed within the composition by the composer. Notice that these so-called 'inner voices' that Katsaris used go nowhere in the piece, are not developed anywhere else, and are not repeated. They're not real inner voices. They're interesting, yes, but not real.
mozartian18 2 years ago
As for Arrau, he was very careful in bringing out inner voices - only legitimate inner voices called for by the composition. In the book Conversations with Arrau(p.40), Arrau's belief on this was very clear when he said, " I always got so angry when I heard Hoffmann, or Shura bringing out so-called inner voices that didn't have much importance." Katsaris' performance is an example of this practice, using 'so-called inner voices that didn't have much importance' , which Arrau disliked severely.
mozartian18 2 years ago
youre wrong, Arrau meant that those pianists bring inner voices at random without any beginning nor end, however, when Arrau brings out a voice is to bing the polyphony out. Chopin had perfcet voice leading, his writing was completaly polyphonic even though his melodies are alsways glorious!!!! Arrau brings out "inner voices" (polyphony) in every piece he plays,... i would dare to say that if he would have heard katsaris would have liked it and agreed on his playing.
arturon111 2 years ago
You just illustrated exactly what Katsaris did: 'inner voices' at random, without any beginning or end. If you listen carefully to what Katsaris did, those 'inner voices' go nowhere in the piece, are not marked and developed anywhere else by Chopin, and are not repeated. They are random. They are not real inner voices. He did exactly what Arrau was referring to in his quote above.
mozartian18 2 years ago
arturon111: I'm an ardent admirer of Arrau. He's one of my idols, and I know his art quite well. I don't have any disagreement with you about Arrau and polyphonic playing - Arrau was one of the supreme artists who successfully brought out inner voices, creating that very rich Arrau sound . He was quite careful in discerning which voices are real or not, and presented inner voices indicated only by the composer. Katsaris did exactly the opposite: random voices without regard to the composition.
mozartian18 2 years ago
Agreed 102%.
GeorgeMaxwellDuPre 2 years ago
Beethoven had the same hair...lol
danishpride1 2 years ago 3
do you guys think he should shave his head?
cjla1987 2 years ago
Gulda and Richter should grow their hair, but this guy should shave his.
IQ40000 2 years ago 3
You know what, I agree with you. He should shave it. Looks very bad his hair..
cjla1987 2 years ago 5
yeah it's terrible.
Haydenbrooks83 2 years ago 3
i sense a lot of bad manners.
mdoub 2 years ago
for a second in the beginning i thought the keys were rediculously long but it was just the reflection... lol.
staronciceli 2 years ago
Although his playing is very beautiful, I absolutely don't like his hair...
shaermy 2 years ago 2
It seems to be very difficult. How can he played it so easily?
syss127 3 years ago 2
lots of practice
organman42 2 years ago 5
I think that it was the performance that such, is splendid that it is made to realize some other time when it is "a famous tune".
fancy1222jp 3 years ago
Comment removed
fancy1222jp 3 years ago
He's totally drunk.
MissChopin 3 years ago 2
yupp
Mkamalid 3 years ago
someone needs to shoot the cinematographer
mdoub 2 years ago 5
Beautiful and rich inner voices. Exciting performance out of the ordinary 'Chopinistic' approach. He gives a breath of fresh air to this old war horse, even if one does not agree with everything he does.
stephenjoeagi 3 years ago
I didn't know Richard Simmons played piano!
BachScholar 3 years ago 3
I like when he stands out some notes, that give other "melodic version"..and it´s like wau!, those notes are here, and just discovering that they are here, but we don´t pay atencion. (He composes doing his own version of the piece)
VERY GOOD VERSION! ;)
erickalk 3 years ago
To me it is good. Where do you see these distortions.
GeorgeMaxwellDuPre 3 years ago
I think he's referring to the distortions in tempo.
GlennMagusHarvey 3 years ago
Well... good for you if this performance provides all that what you care for.
As for me, this performance provides a lot of fun, hearing and watching this clown create some "inner voices" and funny syncopation to make a "better" Chopin. Hahahaaa
All I care about in a performance is that it is good. And this one does not reach such threshold.
Ernesto7608 3 years ago
k. i respect your viewpoint. i don't agree with it...but to each his own.
PianoManSteve 3 years ago
These days, all I really care about in a performance is if it's well thought out, well executed, and most of all - expressive. This performance provides that for me.
PianoManSteve 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I wish I had attended in person this concert.
I would have booed the guy to the top of my lungs. For all the bullshit he mixed in this wonderful sonata. He seems a person of absolutes.
Absolutely weird syncopations, occult voices, alterations...
I think his praying at the end is to ask for forgiveness, hahaha.
Ernesto7608 3 years ago
it's a cool interpretation haha
filthysoap 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
it's a filthy soap interpretation, hahaha
Ernesto7608 3 years ago
The fact that you would have booed this master goes to show what an idiot you are. You know NOTHING of music. Weird syncopations? Occult voices? Alterations? What the hell are you talking about? So an alteration is a bad thing? You're OBVIOUSLY a complete moron, and in case you didn't realize, you will NEVER come CLOSE to playing the piano as well as Cyprien Katsaris. You can not produce a performance of this piece that's even .0001% as good as Katsaris's. And those are the cold hard facts.
PianoManSteve 3 years ago 4
"PianoMan" does not fit you. You are an obvious MORON as prophesier of my piano playing, and a complete idiot trying to measure goodness in percents. Has one ever seen such dumbness?
Unfortunately for you, what is a cold hard fact is that you have a quite bad taste for Chopin or a complete ignorance of how well others play his compositions. Perhaps you like occult voices in other than Katsari's interpretations, hahaha. I hope that doesn't cause you alterations.
Ernesto7608 3 years ago
And there you have it. To all the readers out there, he just proved my point for me. Thank you good sir!
PianoManSteve 3 years ago
You are welcome, PianoMan. I don't know how my estimation that you are a moron and an idiot proves your point, but then it is not for me to understand the points of morons and idiots.
For your information, I recommend that you make a round through youtube and listen to this piece interpreted by Blechacz, Pogorelich, Lippati, just to name a few, to get a variety of serious performances. After that, you hopefully see this funny clown in perspective.
Ernesto7608 3 years ago
moron.
bookguy12000 3 years ago
you are right.
bookguy12000 3 years ago
Look, really great playing. I felt so relaxed and it changed my mood. What a wonderful way he can effect teh listener! Thank God for the inner voices which can almost hardly be heard when various other pianists play this piece as Chopin obviously meant them to be heard or he wouldn't have written them like this. Speaking of God, was he praying at the end of this? Hmmm... Maybe it could have something to do with the movement he is about to play...
GypsyPianist 3 years ago
I hear catsaris live here in Finland, and it was absolytely fantastic !
JakeMcTakku 3 years ago
He puts uneeded emphasis on things, this guy, Its like going to a resteraunt and making a huge fuss about the napkins instead of the food, so the resteraunt is more about napkins than food. Inner voices my big toe. I can hear them already without you giving them the spotlight, he gives so much attention to his "inner voices" that the rest deteriorates as a whole.
PlatypusofCalifornia 3 years ago
PlatypusofCalifornia,
Your Metaphor is a little extreme but very keen.
There are some people who propably call this interpretation "innovative", "unique","original", "fresh" - maybe it is in a degree, and yes, there are plenty of "inner voices" but I find difficult to hear CHOPIN here.
It was an interesting experiment to find in this sonata something nobody found before but I still prefer the conventional interpretation as Pogorelich's - more emotions, less trying to be original.
ananhiskia 3 years ago
As I said I don't particularly like this guy's interpretation. Try Rafal Blechacz. Slightly nauseous last name but wonderful playing. You could even try gould. This man is pretentious.
PlatypusofCalifornia 3 years ago
This is good just to enjoy it in the moment, but it is not inmortalized, will not be remembered, entretains de audience but lacks that mystical musical spirit. In my opinion, I prefer Richter.
ilshatt 3 years ago
He actually smiles at times during the movement. I think maybe Katsaris tends to seek festive or happy/playful moments everything he plays.
garrickohlsson 3 years ago 2
another great video by sciso, YOU'RE THE BEST!!!
beryllium2 3 years ago 3
To organman57
Apparently, your remarks were aimed at some I made 5 months ago here, according to the e-mail I just received from YouTube. Never allow yourself to labor under the delusion that I could "care" about what you said regarding my "high standards" It is apparent that you of course have none and moreover, not well versed in listening intelligently and correctly to outstanding piano playing.
janicezany 3 years ago
And gould makes fun of chopin the whole time he plays this.
PlatypusofCalifornia 3 years ago
SUPRISINGLY I like how gould plays it better.
PlatypusofCalifornia 3 years ago
are you crazy?1u blind gould fan?!
gould is the worst performer for mozzart and chopin as far as i know
amirmot 3 years ago
That is precisely why I wrote "suprisingly" all in caps my freind.
PlatypusofCalifornia 3 years ago
GREAT!
If I hadn't grown to appreciate the conventional, pious, Chopin-y interpretations of the Third Sonata, I'd probably come away from this performance being unimpressed by the piece itself.
(But I did, so I wasn't.)
sshuck 3 years ago
it was perfect .. just not for me.
misotoma 3 years ago
What a whimsical interpretation. It's interesting, very unserious. Very very different. Convincing? Probably not, but he sure seems to have fun with it.
garrickohlsson 3 years ago
OMG, Garrick Ohlsson! When are you coming back to Detroit? Hurry!
CabriniPink 2 years ago
where is this hall he's performing in? and what hall is it?
pianogurly 3 years ago
In spite of his cavalier musicianship, Charlie Chaplin mannerisms, and his insistence on bringing out "inner" voices that are not only irrelevant, but don't actually exist in contrapuntal categories, I say, give the man a break. He just mixes and matches arbitrarily this pitch with that in the interest of making things "interesting". If he wants to play Chopin as if it were cocktail music, let him; the music is strong enough to survive. For him, Chopin is only a puerile entertainment, alas~!
dobrivecher 3 years ago
couldn't have said that better
pianogurly 3 years ago
what the hell is wrong with his hair
QuentinJammer23 3 years ago 2
Are you sure this exaggeration of the secondary melodic elements isnt being exaggerated itself by mic placement? I'm sure there is bias towards the bottom half of the keyboard. I see your point though.
RobertTBear 3 years ago
reminds me of some other nocturnes of chopin and sometimes even of debussys claire de lune...i dont know why!!this guy looks funny somehow! he's smiling all the time,i like that most.
2Iryni 3 years ago
This is truly the most sickening playing of this [or any] piece I have ever heard. Chopin would be APPALLED at the way this man is HAMMERING OUT the inner voices - as if the educated listener doesn't know they are there. This is poison.
organman52 3 years ago
Probably played one too many transcriptions :). But other than that I quite like his performance.
pianoAndEngineering 3 years ago
So you're saying that people -even experienced musicians- can hear every note that a pianist plays? When Rachmaninov writes huge chords in a piece for both hands at the same time, 99% percent of people wouldn't have a clue that the pianist is playing 10 or 12 notes at the same time and could never hear all the voices.
pianoAndEngineering 3 years ago
Yes. And - if one plays the piece oneself, every note is heard - or should be. I have taught eartraining for many decades. One of the 'exercises' I give has to do with handing out a series of block chords with as many as ten notes, but leaving one or two of the notes out. The student is then asked to identify the notes that are NOT being played.
organman52 3 years ago
With PROPER ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music, ANY combination of sounds can be recognized. Rachmaninov's massive chords can be heard with crystal clarity, if the listener is trained how to listen properly. What's more, Rachmaninov's chords often contain multiple doublings, so it's rather easy to hear.
organman52 3 years ago
"With PROPER ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music, ANY combination of sounds can be recognized."
Not true. Proper ear training and a strong intuition/affinity for music merely facilitates recognition of combinations, but they do not guarantee it. It requires many, many other things in addition, such as the right mental state and enviroment. For example, Schoenberg, who claimed to have absolute pitch, admitted that bad tuning prevented him from identifying all the sounds.
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
'Not true' for YOU, perhaps, but why do you generalize?
organman52 3 years ago
I fail to see how I generalize in any way. Please, enlighten me.
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
I'm not interested in enlightening you.
organman52 3 years ago
I know why you're not interested in enlightening people... anymore. It's because you have no talent for it. That didn't stop you from trying, though. Take your pseudoscientific garbage elsewhere.
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
WRONG - the reason is that individuals such as yourself are not worth the time.
organman52 3 years ago
That doesn't mean you have any talent, though.
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
Any spectator in a baseball game knows when the pitcher needs to be replaced. Does that mean that every spectator is a great pitcher?
Your assertion is baseless.
organman52 3 years ago
Suppose there was a chinese monk, who had never seen baseball before, sitting in the audience, and he wouldn't know when the pitcher needs to be replaced. You're like that chinese monk - except the chinese monk doesn't pretend to know how baseball is played.
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
You are obviously a devil's advocate, therefore, you are an evil, jealous, delusional person. If you write to me again, I shall not respond. You are sickening.
organman52 3 years ago
And yet, organman, I have read that Chopin held a great respect for the contrapuntal music of Bach. Therefore, maybe Chopin did want emphasis on the inner voices.
Haeronthegreat 3 years ago
That is absolutely bogus. If Chopin wanted the inner voices pounded out, he would have written FFF and sforzando all over the place. He obviously didn't, therefore, your assertion is baseless.
organman52 3 years ago
Well, not FFF, but rather he would insert accents, which most of the time he has. I think Katsaris plays this piece amazingly. His interpretations are the reason he is where he is/was. He's an amazing pianist.
bluegrandpiano 3 years ago
Are you to say that Horowitz was a horrible pianist because he added octaves in the bass all the time throughout his performances, even though the composer did not intend them? I mean, even the not-so-well trained ear can recognize the unexaggerated bass -- no, it was just to his liking. And that is why we have the freedom to perform as we wish.
bluegrandpiano 3 years ago
Horowitz? Why did he do this?
kristopaivinen 3 years ago
ok...you guys there...
would you please press play and enjoy the music?
thank you, that way i can do the same without having to read all your smart-ass comments.
LukZen 3 years ago
I agree with lhiasczkter. Katsaris' Chopin recordings are unique because he finds lots of inner voices and countermelodies that you don't hear with other players (his cd of the Chopin Scherzos and Ballades is a must for this reason). I also respect him for adding in a few trills that weren't written in the score. It shows he is not afraid of these irrational purists who will slam people for not treating the score as if it were some holy book.
whatsmylogin 4 years ago
FYI - every score of every masterwork IS a ho