Added: 4 years ago
From: Arganos0
Views: 278,591
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (998)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Best interpretation of the piece!

  • It's very well interpreted... but the pace is too fast...

  • I came here after the first two and was thinking, "let's see him try to play this one too fast." And I have to say I ate my words

  • who knows how Beethoven wanted that piece to be played ? All interpretations are only interpretations !Kissin Barenboim Horowitz Kempff Perahia ....are all very good! Emil Gilels version is exactly how I imagine this should be :) but i have to admit Gould reinvented it with brio !!

  • I see why he didn't repeat the the 3rd mvnt, I tried playing at his tempo and I was tired as hell when I finished lol!! Frigin genius!!

  • 2:54 Gould's vocal interpretation XD. Hes a recording engineers nightmare!

    Gotta love him all the same, though <3

  • he forgot to repeat...

  • @ClassicMusic95

    OBJECTION, he didn't 'want' to repeat. This piece easily gets boring if you play it slow and with the repetition, like Kempff.

    I actually quite enjoy Gould's wild tempo and without that stupid repeat.

  • I love this so much, one of my favorites without a doubt.

  • Comment removed

  • he looks like beethoven

  • omg its 3 times faster then its supose to be

  • @brownadv

    Not really.

    Wilhelm Kempff - 137 BPM

    Murray Perahia - 183 BPM

    Glenn Gould - 209 BPM

    Kempff is way too slow, Perahia the speed Beethoven intended, Gould the best :3

  • I like Gould's interpretation. Different pianists reveal different aspects of the same composition. We can learn from every one.

  • To those saying this is too fast...the problem is you are just listening to slow. The interpretation is brilliantly coherent and unique. Cheers.

  • To those saying this is too fast...do you here the exceptional phrasing? The emotion? This is definitley hitting on the "dark" aspect of the piece. I would say this is booming with emotion and technical mastery!

  • Seriously, gould what was the point of playing at this speed for a beethoven work that was meant to be dark. I understand you are a Bach man but there is a boundary to one's interpretation, and once it crosses it like this, it no longer music.

  • @MrLordCrazy

    You're not hearing music? Wow..

  • Nice interpretation, he shows the rage really well! :)

  • he didnt repeat the beginning... sorry not perfect

  • WTF is it the original speed?

  • loved it<33

  • wow, rofl. i want to see a video of his hands while playing this

  • Wow, he plowed right through this.

  • to fast!

  • The harmonic rhythm shines through here. It might be considered fast, but it is crystalline clear. One can hear the harmonic progression. You hear how the work is "put together" harmonically, which is extremely important. I have listened to Gould's rendition of all three movements of this Sonata, and they all sound refreshing. Gould's rendition sounds improvised, which is exactly how is should sound.  In many performances of this Sonata, you hear mvt1) Boring, mvt2)Joyless, and mvt3) Sloppy.

  • Once you listen to Gould's interpretation you'll feel that's the right way to do this. Austere and sharp. And I have to say it's not only about speed, think of the emotion.

  • That other commenter had it correct, once you listen to Gould you can't go back. I've never heard another interpretation that moved me like this. This is the first time I've truly appreciated this piece for the brilliance it is - musical bliss. I've mostly stuck to Gould + Bach (in which there is no match), but I'm glad I did some exploration...

  • This sounds like a hard rock version of Moonlight Sonata, and I love it. It feels as if the moon will fly to another planet like a shooting star. Gould's version is a little crazy but in a good way. I sometimes think that there is something wrong with the composition itself, because when it is played at the normal speed, its rhythm doesn't flow. It is squeaky. Gould, by playing in this concentrated version, made both the melody and rhythm flow smoothly.

  • His fingering is magnificent but for heaven's sake WHY SO FAST???

  • @monkeygraborange Gould was a performance genius, he had envisioned it that way. Check out Mozart sonata in A major if your don't believe me.

  • Nessuna emozione...solo virtuosismo senza freni...quella di Kempff che ho trovato in video al contrario ti fa venire i brividi

  • @saddlereik1 Chi saresti per confutare in modo così drastico l'interpretazione di un Maestro di tale calibro? Almeno voialtri detrattori usaste qualche volta un "per me"... come se le vostre parole fossero postulati, diamine. Io invece l'apprezzo molto, è furibonda, veemente, ricalca il significato intrinseco del brano.

  • @FurlanPaolo era inteso che si trattava di una mia opinione, dopotutto si tratta di uno dei migliori pianisti del secolo precedente. Però se posso dare un'altra mia opinione da profano della musica colta devo dire che ho avuto l'impressione che questo brano (uno dei più emozionanti mai scritti) sia stato sfruttato troppo per strafare sulle proprie competenze tecniche, così come il volo del calabrone che sembra facciano a gara di chi lo esegue più velocemente...kempf lo esegue come va eseguito

  • Comment removed

  • @saddlereik1 la velocità giusta, al contrario di quello che si crede, è questa. è esattamente così che va suonata..

  • @LunaEllee In base a cosa si stabilisce la velocità giusta? 

  • @saddlereik1 il presto agitato lo dice e non solo, si stabilisce soprattutto in base a ciò che il terzo movimento di questa sonata vuole trasmettere, io la trovo un'interpretazione estremamente brillante al contrario di quella di Kempff che risulta scialba e anonima (il mio è un parere personale).. comunque sia de gustibus però te ne prego, Gould non è uno sbruffone alla Lang Lang quindi non parlarne come se lo fosse..

  • @LunaEllee Beh, allora non si può dire che sia la 'velocità giusta al contrario di quello che si crede'' ma quella che trovi più convincente, e su questo chiaramente 'de gustibus', però suonata così veloce molti effetti sonori interessanti vengono praticamente assorbiti nell'impeto della sua esecuzione passando quasi in secondo piano. Fosse per me, più che alla velocità, punterei sugli accenti dando dignità a ogni accordo in chiusura agli arpeggi per conferire vigore al brano

  • @saddlereik1 La mia frase era riferita al fatto che molti pensano che questa esecuzione sia troppo veloce, e ho solo detto che non è così... Comunque interessante la tua frase considerando che anche se risulta veloce nell'insieme, la progressione armonica è talmente cristallina che a momenti riesco a distinguere persino i respiri tra un suono e l'altro.. la velocità non è solo sinonimo di virtuosismo, non per forza toglie emozioni. se la si usa nel giusto contesto le amplifica a dismisura

  • @LunaEllee allora il mio orecchio non è ancora abbastanza educato

  • damn that alberti bass is FAST

  • If you haven't listened to Valentina Lisitsa's interpretation, it's phenomenal

  • This and Horowitz's are my favorite.

  • Great performance, although I think he could have brought out those chords more in the A section. Not that I could do better :D

  • The only speed I can really enjoy this movement at...it encapsulates all the fury and passion of an intense man like Beethoven.

  • Gould il a ètè tout simplement GENIAL!!!

  • A little too fast for my taste. Sorry Glenn.

  • I can't find a recording of Boris Berezovsky playing this piece anywhere on youtube; too bad -- I bet he'd play it very similarly to this.

  • Hmm ... Played like its written also think Kempff interpertrets this one better than everone else

    Guess it reaches its full impact at slower speeds as Beethoven actually meant it to be ... Still best interpretation at this Speed ... And way better any Asian can do ... (sorry most Asian Pianists play perfect in Terms of Technique but lack the Emotion)

  • @almskaya You're gonna get lot's of bullshit on this statement; but most of the time I notice it is the truth. Asian's have LOTS of practice, but only just. Technique is 100%, but the emotion drops because of it. There are exceptions though; like Yundi Li etc :)

  • @almskaya Great music has nothing to do with a person's race so saying an Asian person can't do any better is just uncalled for. My favorite version is Vladimir Horowitz'

  • @W0nderb0y0 Maybe it came a bit to harsh ... as shenkeey stated its the awful lot of practice they do and clearly there are Asians playing with great Emotion ... Its not the Race im referring to its their connection to this instrument and in most cases they are techniquelly perfect but sacrificing much of the capability this masterpieces carry in terms of creating an emotional impact upon people ...

  • @almskaya About all Asian pianists have been trained in the U.S., some at Juilliard where teachers follow in the steps of the Russian school that came to New York with Rachmaninoff and the Lhevinnes, later Horowitz. Jung Lin, from Juilliard, IMO is the greatest musician performing today, in the tradition of Rach and Gilels.

    Emil Gilels' "presto agitato" (1968 live performance) is the greatest ever, how Beethoven would play it (the channel of EvaHartwig)

    Gould was an all-time genius :-)

  • This is great, but i still think that Wilhelm Kempff plays this piece the best, but thats just my opinion

  • 2:55 sound like a gliss... omg

  • This is mud mud mud...lacks precision...too bad.

  • @ohtobeohtobe pffff

  • why is he so fast ?? :S

  • @xDXd624 actually everyone else plays it slow. this is actually relatively around what Beethoven originally intended it to be. around 88 = half note. could be 78 = half note but cba finding music for it. i was killing myself trying to get it to 160 ^^

  • @xDXd624 He wanted to get done with the romantic composers and start with some real Johann Sebastian Bach music.

  • Gould trolling all the conventional musicians

    Big Trollface :D

  • at 1:49,he dissapointed me with an awfull pianissimo.

  • @fadethetrade

    Well, @fadethetrade maybe You can play us a better pianissimo at 1.49 than Glenn Gould ??!!

  • @ESSAL012 No,it's not appropriate ,the only thing that works there is a forte.

  • I think Glenn Gould is the best for the Beethoven music.

  • @BackTheStep totally agree. I think he plays Beethoven more accurately to what Beethoven intended then anyone else. He just sets it on fire

  • This movement is way too slow in this interpretation.

  • @ToasterKarl on second thought XD I agree with you, he makes this sound SOOOOOOOO mushy.

  • i'm not buying it. i like arthur rubinstein better, period.

  • The tempo works just great for me in THIS movement, not so much in Gould's rendition of the first movement though; but it's all subjective. As far as I'm concerned there's is no 'right' way to play music.

  • It's the speed and ferocity at which the piano progression hits the ears that excited me!

  • I think it's true what the most of you say.... it's so fast that you can miss the note.... it gives anxiety.... sure but what I think is Gould was surely a great artist and what I know is that he maybe felt the music more than anyone I know. His interpretation come from his feeliing, it gives more anxiety but let me ask you.... is it a bad thing?

    I surely appreciate more this third movimento with this tempo then the first one, which I prefere played slowly and nostalgic. But this one is great

  • Boisterous and angry, much like Beethoven's personality.

  • wait are you serious..hes playing this with his feet?

  • @HeartGoldMVP

    What do you think?

  • @pikakirby123 well, hes gould, so anythings possible.

  • Ah for fucks sakes, Glen Gould?!?! Where ever I turn. Fine he is talented, exceptional, but for the love of all loving mary... he plays this too fucking fast! It feels too agitated if you get my drift. Back to Kempf's rendition...

  • @MrNosfaratu it's presto agitato... He's plays it magically and yet very agitated. Exactly as it's stated.

  • @Bruceforge Yes, however when Gould plays this it soon becomes Gould's Moonlight sonata and Beethovens magic depletes. It's just too damn fast, and makes it seem too agitated, causes me anxiety when I listen to it.

  • @MrNosfaratu Well, (in my opinion) the job of the artist is not to put you into the mind of the composer but what the music paints. Imagine sheet music as a blank slab of stone and the piano as the paint, every note the artist plays the more relevant the picture becomes and eventually he paints the picture fully. It may not seem as pleasing to the eyes (or ears) to some but others might be hypnotized by the beautiful imagery.

    It really depends on the listener. Also, it's all in opinion. :)

  • @Bruceforge I completely agree, it is a matter of opinion. Glen Gould can play and play well at that, I just really don't find his method appealing to me. Like you said to me, it is less pleasing to hear. Where perhaps someone else may find it wonderful. I agree with your analogy, just for me, Gould does just that and puts himself in mind. I begin to hear Gould and not Beethoven. Again, its a matter of taste as you said.

  • @MrNosfaratu It's a rare and wonderful opportunity to find someone on Youtube that actually knows how to discuss calmly, you have made my day. Thank you.

  • @Bruceforge Any time :)

  • @Bruceforge Like you guys, I agree that a true artist includes his/her vision of a composition in his interpretation even if he/she is not the composer. Even if this is not my favorite interpretation of this sonata (that would be Ashkenazy) I appreciate that Gould tells us how he feels about it. It is a privilege for all music lovers to have such a variety of awesome interpretations.

  • Murray Perahia would have made a mistake at 1:01 and Wilhelm Kempff would have would have made a mistake at 0:50 1:05  1:42 2:34 3:58 and 4:24

  • @BigBiff88 and you would have made a mistake at: (your whole life).

  • @TADGELL its all great music

  • @BigBiff88 and you would have would have would have made a mistake at the part when you write would have. lol

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • @BigBiff88 Gould doesn't do mistakes.

    

  • @TonusAMaximus exacly

  • @TonusAMaximus Like you just "did" there.

  • so fast! I like it! ^^

  • HEY! he skipped the repeat.....:(

  • i think this is the type of emotion Beethoven meant for this movement to project

  • It's written presto agitato. This is how it's supposed to played damn it.

  • hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm he did a pretty good job on this one :p

  • not such a huge fan i have to say, in the intro, the notes slide together, yes it is played presto, and yes it is played agitato, but the whole thing sounds a bit like the benny hill theme on meth, not to say he is not extremely talented, which is proved by the tempo he plays such a difficult song, but in my opinion, if you play it that fast, it makes a lot more difficult to appreciate.

  • @sounderskid21 Glenn Gould is a musical genius, but I must agree with you. The intro sounds a bit frenetic-a bit faster than I can perceive it. IMO

  • Captivating; almost animalistically adrenaline-filled.

  • gould's obviously brilliant, but i'm not crazy about this interpretation. for me, it's WAY too fast. no offense to anyone who prefers this version, though.

  • I've noticed that modern day death metal guitar riffs have a lot in common with classical music sonatas.

  • It is like watching a movie in fast forward mode...

  • Explêndido!

  • I'm pretty sure Beethoven didn't write it to be this fast. Does he ever look at how music is marked?

  • @pianor91 Dude, it's glenn gould. He is a creepy mind, but allways genius.

  • @pianor91 Presto agitato = Really fast with agitated sence

  • @HerrWarja Hi, yeah, I know what Presto Agitato means but I just think Mr Gould takes it into consideration a bit too much. Difficult to word what I mean, but I've heard other pieces played Presto Agitato and I have based my own interpretation of Presto Agitato on these. I suppose it is a somewhat subjective matter.

  • @pianor91 Actually he did. It's just: everyone got used to this slow version and for real Beethoven wrote the music THAT FAST...and Glenn Gould just played it the way it's written :).

  • Speed Metal via 1800's hahaha

  • This is just great piano playing (admittedly with a few Gould mannerisms such as the totally illogical diminuendo at 3:44 - 3:48). On the whole, a quite good version, albeit a notch under Rudolf Serkin's historical recording (who also stresses the Agitato indication).

  • My favorite version is from Wikipedia lol.

  • @LightSpeed99999 haha good one! i went there and checked it out...

  • Comment removed

  • @LightSpeed99999 that version from Wikipedia is more thought-provoking lol

  • Typical Gould, break neck speed, but with technical PERFECTION. I doubt any pianist around today or in the past for that matter could play this at this tempo (Albeit I feel this is higher tempo than it was intended, but who I am to say, I'm not Beethoven) with the precision and skill that Gould brings to each and every piece he plays. Not my favorite to listen to because of the speed but I would sell a kidney to be able to play like this.

  • this is metal before metal if that makes any sense

  • es la rola de los pitufos cuando gargamel los seguia o corrian

    jajajajajja

  • This is my favorite piece by Beethoven, and the speed and skill that this guy brought to this particular version is just simply amazing!

  • holy god the first parts like....super slow,but this........FASTER PLZZZZ!!!

  • Beethoven was a genius

  • The truest heroic Beethoven!

  • If you like Beethoven or J.S Bach you will hate this guy. Totally ruined a masterpiece once again.

  • @Corrupt5358

    Honestly, if you don't like Glenn Gould, why would you come listen to this and then troll on the comments. There are many other great interpretations of this piece here on Youtube, that have not been deleted, and I'm sure you can find one that is more to your liking. Masterpiece not ruined.

  • @Corrupt5358 if you like music or something related to it you should just delete this comment!

  • Just the sort of crap i'd expect from this fucking idiot! Absolute rubbish!

  • @Corrupt5358 lol u mad that he has more talent in his little pinky than you'll ever have in your life??

  • @krnuckfan no fool - i just hate to see such a bad musician get so much credit, as it prooves morons such as yourself have no understanding of music. I've heard it played better by a child. Go fuck yourself, you retarded twat.

  • @Corrupt5358 First off: Trolololololololol. Spell check is your friend.

    Second: Just because he's an extremist on the "technical vs. dynamic" scale of play-style doesn't make him a bad musician. Just different from every other -- And if every pianist played it the exact same "proper" way, he's brought something new, amazing, and exciting into the world; which you, unfortunately, have failed to do.

  • @Corrupt5358 Yeah he's such a bad musician that he's one of the most famous pianists of his generation. I've forgotten more about music than you'll ever hope to learn my child. Classic case of someone with a serious inferiority complex realizing they'll never be able to play like this, so tries to disparage the pianist by saying it's too fast. In the end, he's a famous pianist, and you're some idiot with no musical talent. You can go cry yourself to bed now cheers =)

  • @Corrupt5358 What exactly is wrong with it? Someone who actually knew what he was talking about could give a few comments on why an interpretation should be frowned upon. Maybe you're just a fool who automatically rejects something without careful reflection?

  • @NimbleTurtle13 Yeh im just a fucking idiot, when it comes to judging how beethoven should be played, you surely are the man! Dont talk such bollox. The guy hasn't got a clue like you clearly haven't.

  • @Corrupt5358 well im sure you know beetoven played this EXACTLY and could play it better >.>

  • @Corrupt5358 look up Wilhelm Kempff plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata mvt. 3 you ignorant fool.

  • @Corrupt5358 We've all heard the Wilhelm Kempff version. He was a good pianist. So were Gould, Arrau, Rubinstein, Richter, Schnabel. You may find this hard to believe, but not everyone worships Kempff as you clearly do.

  • @Corrupt5358 did u just reply to ur own comment?

  • @nehokatana lololololll

  • @Corrupt5358 Sir, i Hope you get aids. And while your on your death bed, i hope you realize the musical genius of someone who can make a Beautiful composition all the more beautiful, but i fear you will not, and as a result, you will be raped by satan and his fiddle, and as a result, get Hell aids. Enjoy your hell aids you ignorant fool.

  • @Corrupt5358 and this one to!!!

  • Glenn rocks!!!

  • He even looks like Beethoven! Who knew?

  • indeed!

    buckle your seat-belts

    :))

  • rediculous

  • omg he are running XD

  • deadmau5 brought me here =]

  • This is the most amazeing interpretation of this movement I have ever heard. Every note is clearly defined, whereas lesser pianists would mash them together at such a fast tempo. And he interpreted it with such passion.

  • @WAHarachel

    Yes, I love the passionate clarity of Gould's interpretation. It's revelatory, isn't it?

  • dont listen glenn gould , because after him the other versions is getting meaningless

  • Pianist : Ludwing van Beethoven.

  • Is that a mistake at 2:37? Peculiar.

  • @McBlastomooses Wasn`t 2 ?

  • LOVE

  • WHAT A FU***** great interpretation!!!

  • Beethoven u babe :O

  • this isnt fast enough

  • ferocious. work it.

  • Yeah buddy! Go on! Go on! Go on! Precision and fire!

  • a nut playing a piece composed by another nut as neurotic as himself! GENIUS! That was a very exciting ride throughout the whole piece! Loved every moment of it!

  • Why do 56 people dislike some of the best music of all time?

  • @JoshdaROCKSTAR9999VS

    Maybe they don't like like the performer, not the music.

  • man. just like the same movement...

    its like my midi player was playing this from a pdf file...

  • hey shut up does the speed matter? this is amazing and i doubt you would ever be able to play as good as this.

  • "Recognize that song, my boy?"

    "Yeah! That's the smurfs danger song!"