Valentina Lisitsa plays Rachmaninoff Etude

[triplexxxsatyr]

That piano's in therapy now.

[mattisheretonight]

this piece, is one of the most incredible pieces i've ever heard.

bravo, rachmaninoff, bravo.

and bravo to valentina, pulling it off!

[DEathTOanaLysis]

HOLY BAJESUS O.O THAT WOMAN IS NOT NORMAL.

[binhoservice]

oh my God!!!!!! impossible

[flyurway]

Holy sa-mokes! You run out of breath just watching her...think I'm in love with this woman! :)

[retrocareermelted]

I CAST you EVIL satanic DEMONS OOUUUUTT THAT PIANUH!!! in the name of JESUS!!!!

[robertgift]

Fantastic performance!

Such skill and speed and freedom.

Unfortunate thathe video doesn't always match the audio.

Thank you, Piano, for posting this.

[horekar]

Wow this is the sickest ive ever seen...

Thats some skilled fingers! ;D

[rolfeder]

What's the motivation behind the thousands of hours of practice leading up to this?

[nubsiwubsi]

@rolfeder It is art.

[MikomiShizuka]

My hands cramp just by watching this..

[superjam18]

holy crap she's fast

[typhoonjax]

-jaw falls off-

'Nuff said! WHEW!!!!!!!

[JimmieBluffdweller]

All 'etudes' are 'studies' in something...this one is about playing in three and it is ferociously so. Here Lisitsa executes it with fluency and deep musicality.  (It is sometimes referred to as Red Riding Hood and Wolf.)

[IntoxicBabe]

oha

[Xcelerate2]

What morons gave this less than 5 stars??

[tdepreacher]

wow... manic and vibrant sounds like madness

[jorgeliebermann]

Wonderfull!Bravo!

Jorge Liebermann

[sumimimi0]

comparing with another version which is 20 seconds slower, i think the piano that she is playing over here, needs tuning.

[pokey303]

time for your annual ear-check

[PopcOrnDeVilPD]

haha

[shadowxofxhearts]

Damn! She is scary fast!

[Eonizm]

Black dress, Long blond hair, I can not even see her eyes definately, Long thin white fingers that play piano......scary...

but this proves that she is absolutely a supervirtuoso

[yoyo135]

she looks scary. i wonder wot was goin through her mind while playing this song.

[ShermanClay88]

she looks like shes really concentrating but, idk cause when i play a really hard piece, i dont think about it, i sorta just let it come to me

[eethove]

My G-d, this is amazing! She moves so fast!!

[lecheparavaka]

I saw her live once, she is very funny and plays like an angel!, btw, she is pretier in person!!!

[Weakleydrake]

can she jam?

[478493]

who is this woman? I want to marry her!

[lecheparavaka]

i saw her play in monterrey mex, and she is amazing!!! she dominates the hammerklavier sonata very well!

[Tromminator]

She is incredible. After seeing some of these videos, I had to order the three she has on Amazon.

[arcy65]

i can't believe, simply wonderful

[dawggonecrazee]

her chopin etude dvd,magnifico,now we need a rachmaninov one please

[romanfyngerz]

Absolutely SPELLBINDING!! Magnificent in everyway! 5 HUGE STARS!

[golfrick007]

I have seen her 2 times she is AW-SUM

[Chopianist3]

WTF is this possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[xcheery3x]

wow I am in love with this

[codonauta]

Why this is only with 4 stars now?

There is some saboteur here.

This is 5 stars all life.

[catgumart]

it doesnt seem possible, it doesn't even look real, though I know it is! Amazing!

[coolVeeyan]

Wow, incridible speed!

[matthewwoolfrey]

be still my beating heart!

[icedragontt]

rachmaninov had extremly large fingers, all the more perfect to play the piano with :]. i love listening to valentina, as close as Perfection comes to these days.

[gozhn]

this gets me hard

[lixdexical]

I SECOND THAT

[snapsoidpablo1]

why the hell are people down voting your comment?

[hopskipnfall]

wow.  wow.

[AlessioElia]

Extraordinary

[ytfarmer90]

the piano probably had to go to counseling after that performance

[3cplantin]

Or it needed a cigarette.

[fredjmp]

Maravilhoso! És uma virtuose!

[AnnaderWald]

Une technique éblouissante.

Un jeu vraiment impressionnant.

Bravo à vous, Valentina.

Техника ослеплений фортепьяно.

Чтение относительно внушительной ясности.

Браво вам Валентина!

[perdipe]

Why have only 4 stars?

[jisu4271]

wow !! she shows us demonical technic!!!!Rachmaninov was revival....

she's perfomance looks like Maksim Mrvica's but different.

and... i think she has big fingers....

[jisu4271]

wow !! she shows us demonical technic!!!!Rachmaninov was revival....

she's perfomance looks like Maksim Mrvica's but different.

and... i think she has big fingers....

[dawggonecrazee]

another favourite,she plays this sooooooooo well,very exciting!

[chibiskuggi]

i see this video every day;

[xcheery3x]

wow she is my idol. does anyone know the name of this piece??

[bluebr5]

Etude Tableau Op 39 No 6

[soulmach]

Wow. Great playing!

[DanUSC818]

This is what I call: great talent from Heaven...

[konzolmester]

0:54 we can see,she could reach easily more than an octave.

[inricheetos]

I can reach 3 octaves

[Pianist1232]

no you can't wtf, your hand would be like a foot wide. -.- u can at most stretch 11 keys, I'd say if you have long fingers.

[ahchamna]

liszt coudl reach 12 keys

[bunnyoneedge]

It's common of professional pianists. They practice so hard and much that their hand spans are considerable.

Well that makes Lisitsa more Rachmaninoff :p

[Michael326]

Rachmaninoff would probably drop his jaw at how fast you play it. My goodness. Bravo!

[chrisdonnel]

Every time I lay eyes on a fantastic performance such as this, I can only think Valentina. Such years of practice and and a love of the art makes her the world's best.

[julywapo]

chopingenius...

Rachmaninoff & Rachmainov to.. =)

[chopingenius]

is it spelled Rachmaninoff or Rachmainov??? Are they the same person or different people.

[TysonMS]

Both are correct except you meant to spell it Rachmaninov.  Its definitely the same Rachmaninoff/ov. The ov ending is a more Russian way of writing it.

[MathijsGiltjes1993]

It is Rachmaninoff, but Rachmaninoff prefered writing it like: Rachmaninov. Check Wikipedia;)

[MJGriftz]

But "Rachmaninoff" is how he spelled it himself...

[ExVash]

"off" is the correct pronunciation of the word, and therefore Rachmaninoff preferred to spell it that way when he came to America.

[starfalco]

the octave part is actually not as hard as it looks...once the jumps are in your muscle memory, its not hard. i'm not really a big fan of valentina or rachmaninoff....i'm more of a gould/bach guy.... but i do play chopin etudes op.10,4 and 25,12. she plays number 4 really well....although i can play 25,12 better :] this comment has strayed from this video so i'll stop now. lol

[darkkerrigan]

I love how she can take such a technical Etude and make it so musical. I myself have performed this before and only wish that I had the balance that she does. Wonderful performance and truly the complete package. 5 stars!

[COLONDsuperb]

She looks possessed @_@

[sanjosemike]

Of course it is possible for pianists to play Rachmaninoff better than the Master himself. He himself was aware of this, and ironically, was not intimidated by it. This is one of those circumstances.

It's not just a matter of technique or clarity. This performance perfectly reflects on the nature and character of this horrendously difficult etude.

sanjosemike

[eurasian7crustacean]

wooow...left hand at 1:25. it's amazing how she can make it into real music way beyond just the crazy tough notes.

[Lilmissdevo]

Id like to see any of you do better, fear mongers

[triplexxxsatyr]

Damn.

Rachmaninoff ought to be an Olympic event onto itself.  It's a very athletic piece.

[triplexxxsatyr]

There is an understated elegance in her powerful playing.

Magnificent!

[jordaniraz]

her interpretation is INCREDIBLE! The only thing I would have liked to see is more of a crescendo leading up to the crash at 1:51 - especially those chords that lead to the bottom of the piano.

[salvbot]

Somehow while watching this, I find her skill more terrifying, maybe even inhuman, than worthy of any mundane sort of praise.

[callenishss]

sometimes i get that feeling when i watch martha argerich` videos.

[4ubi]

this is gorgeous !

[snevets123]

Where are six stars

[topspin03]

fear.

[filsdulalune]

This prelude should be interpreted imaging as a kind of Evil rider coming out of flames of hell who is chasing an innocent soul for taking to inferno. Hunting at forest on darkness in a crazy pursuit, thirsty of blood.

Finally (0:44) he finds what is he looking for,an innocent soul. The pursuit is merciless, but the prey knows to hide pretty well (1:30) but nobody can escape of Devil. He's ironic and he funs with his prey (1:58). (2:15)and finally they go straight to HELL!! NO MERCY!! HAHA!

[blackgamma12]

its an etude!!:D

[innerswedish]

dude you need jesus

[georgecziffra]

Actually it's a story of Little Red Riding Hood.

[filsdulalune]

I have heard the same recording of Rachmaninoff etude; interpreted by Rachmaninof himself and Valentina and I can't distinguish the differences. The "Reiter Teuflisch" is a tremendous difficult etude; specially if you consider the tempo and the real impression of a Devil rider.

This interpretation is simply perfect.. SIMPLY PERFECT!! period!!.

[frunzillo]

At 1:15-1:18 ...... Incredible!

I think that she's much better than Lang Lang!!

[MatteoTessarolo]

She IS better than lang lang!!!!!!!!!

[teresahan1991]

lang lang is a kid...

[AngelinaTaylor]

Oh god of course she's better than Lang Lang.. he's nothing.

[konzolmester]

Rachmaninoff Etude at full Glory. Shines like the sun when shes playing it.

[matto36]

Oltre ad essere carina sei un mostro , complimenti ^^

[peduzzi89]

This is supposed to be the story of little red riding hood and the wolf. It's quite amazing when you think about it that way.

[heroesinpatria]

is that real??

[blissery]

good lord. that was fantastic.

[danenhod]

she reminds me of sally from the nightmare before christmas. (definitely not in a bad way... don't get that impression)

[cpdavidzas]

its interesting how slow rachmaninoff begins this piece but he still only comes about four seconds late behind Valentina...

[Swanoplus]

wow...

[tibe2003]

one of the most powerful and one of the greatest technique ever for a woman... Imperial!

[solaryus]

perfect performance

[reesespiecez]

haha good call. jesus.. i wonder how long it took her to master that.

[fisherroastedpeanut]

rachamaninov would have been VVVVERYY impressed.

[piedijon]

I like her expression at the end- she looks like she is finishing beating up somebody she despises

[malditocalvo]

O.O

[saturne46]

Quelle technique impériale ! Magnifique !

[jpmerindol]

Elle a combien de doigts ?....

[essej704]

WOW!

[TheWindWaker01]

1:27 wtf, she's crazy good

[mriswith7]

I don't generally like lisitsa's performances; I find them quite boring, but I'll have to give her credit on this one. This performance is excellent. The best I've heard of this piece.

[pinkrg395]

I CANT BELIEVE THIS VIDEO HAS ONLY 4 STARS!!!!!!!!!!

5 is not enough!!!

[HellenicMagic]

I do agree with you.

Just gave 5.

This performance is AWESOME!

[firecontrolman69]

This is going to be heresy, but I liked Lisitsa's performance of this Etude better than Rachmaninoff himself playing it.  She seems to catch the demonic playfulness inherent in the score better than the master himself.

[peduzzi89]

Not heresy, I would say - Rachmaninoff often preferred other people's interpretations of his work - I think he valued his composing skill more than the way he played his works.

[justicefadingtoblack]

where did you listen to Rachmaninoff playing this? is it anywhere on youtube?

[BugzLooney]

I love her performance of this one.

[shanahanluke]

Our best living pianist? She's not just fast and perfectly accurate. Seems to me, she's just plain as good as we currently have.

[BitterScribe]

You know the cliche about how gay designers design clothes that are beautiful but impossible to wear because they secretly hate women? Sometimes I think Rachmaninoff felt that way about pianists.

[mdeonx12]

The only person alive worthy to play such a piece, BRAVO!

[VitruvianMan1452]

I find her posture intriguing. She is not affraid to "get down into the trenches" with the music, as if in a lab, hovering over perculating beakers and test tubes on the verge of some great discovery. Part mad-scientist yet heart-stoppingly beautiful.

I am suspended in space

[XxFamousLastWordsXxx]

i dont know why it have 4 starts ¬¬

i must be 5!!! its awesome

[xenatata89]

best interpretation i've ever heard...magnifique

[Beamer28]

i've never watched a pianist feeling creepy like this... girl.. are you for real?

[lycadorian]

She plays like a possessed paganini on the piano... amazing.

[tomasich123]

Actually, i can't make out how could somebody play a 13º and so, a 12º. I'll search out in google how big may a hand be...thanks

[peduzzi89]

This piece actually gives me a turn on...amazing

[PsychoticCat723]

The only thing about Rachmaninoff I don't like is his hands were too freaking big... He wrote stuff for people with big hands... My reach is only a 10th. Grrr.

[pianojake94]

Hey, mines barely a ninth, and I can play some Rach, but your right, his music has big chords.

[blankpianist]

he wrote things for big hands because he was born with a disease which made his hands bigger. Now tell me why someone wouldn't take advantage of that. I don't care if your trying to be funny, because you just come out as plain ignorant.

[smartphone20]

how many notes could he reach?

[pierolivier111]

I don't know but liszt could reach the 12th

[peduzzi89]

Same as liszt - 12th

[gooberboog]

I heard it was a 13th..at least thats what wikipedia said.

[ljoekelsoey4]

a 10th is still big :p same as me, rachmaninovs hand were disgustingly big though yeh :p

[lycadorian]

hello?! i can only do a 9th...

[danenhod]

you know, you're not exactly at an advantage with big hands - you may grab the extensive chords, but you lack mobility. I hate when I get stuck between the black notes. anyone else have that problem?

[BitterScribe]

A lot of pianists have hands like that. Check out Van Cliburn sometime. He looks like he has about seven knuckles.

[CristianTari]

She's like a spider(black widow) a blonde black widow:), but I'm truly subjugate by her delicate touch of her left hand at 00:35, she's marvelous, she did a great job.:D

[AlecksSasha]

I think it's cute how you can hear her feet on the pedal too.

[AlecksSasha]

This gives me chills too. Ive never heard it played so crisply. I love her interpretation of it. It's such a chaotic piece that was played with intensity. Two of my favorite things together. PLUS, that steinway has a gorgeous sound.

[yiannisj]

amazing

[dgrn86]

This etude is the Etude tableaux op 39 no 6 allegro in a minor rachmaninoff

[evifnoskcaj]

Absolutely breathtaking.

[innerswedish]

excellent

[Lacipianist]

Jééé Bravoo supeeer

[MolochJests]

Great talent, shes an artist I feel

[midnasakura]

mis respetos , guaaaaaaaa esta genial , de haber sido yo ya me hubieran dolido las manos xd

[jersyabrahan]

Yo tambien toco piano como un relámpago!! pero no por lo rápido sino porque no se sabe donde van a caer los dedos jajaja!! XD

[cruisingbill]

Incerdible!

[dgrn86]

la tecnica, la velocidad y el control de ella son envidiables

[lucirid]

Oh the dirty things I would do to be able to come even close to this woman.

[BryceBnc]

Creeeeper!

[cloewe08]

The Steinway she is playing has an unbelievably rich bass tone. It really is probably one of the nicest sounding pianos iv'

e heard.

[RJtenor]

well it is a steinway lol it's like a $300,000 so piano it better sound nice! haha

[KennYWooD2]

LOL...trust me it's NOT a $300,000 piano.

[mdeonx12]

more like usually 90k to 130k

[SantoRedentor]

OMG

[Klausz88]

Esta mujer me pone los pelos de punta!!

It's fucking amazing!!

[sushilsub]

Amazing! Her fingers move like butter on the piano

[loltheworld]

Amazing interpretation and impossible etude. Still, I think I like Rach's interpretation more. He plays the chromatic parts like an entire rolling symphony, and the fast parts more nervous and jumping than reality would seem to allow...

[Aldebayork]

increible, la tecnica, interpretacion, esta mujer es sumamente buena.

[loayove]

ive never heard ANYONE play this better than lisitsa.. personaly.. i prefer her playing this over Rach. himself!!

she truly masters this piece.

[Anders039]

That's so true

[mdeonx12]

I could probably do that, if I practiced 17 hours per day for 500 days, then it'll be playable for me.f

[dominatore0291]

The best interpretaion I've even heard!!!

[Sh0rtcakeBaby]

lol the emotion in her face

[ChrisWatch]

&fmt=18 this sorta changes the sound quality...

[christoperfect]

haha. I do that to every video I watch.

[Janus108]

This is my favourite interpretation of this piece. Mastery! Absolutely love it.

[rinaldino90]

Beautiful! She can play this piece very well, probably the best interpretation I've even heard!

[Major2219]

Are her fingers moving at 110% miles per hour?

[ohvg61]

fast

[HawaiianTropicZone]

HAUNTING! This peice drives me absolutely mad!!!!!! Both because I lack the superhuman techniques required, and the fact that the melody and the singing line draws you right it.

I was sweating onto the piano keys and I didn't even know! I was absolutely mad for those 3 minutes that if my hair was on fire, I wouldn't even know or care!

[GameSpanka]

:O.....