Andre Watts - Schubert Moment Musicaux in F minor

[loveyjay320]

Sweet....for Mr. Rogers' child audience

[enecee13]

interesting interpretation.. very little dynamics but therefore very agogic, it's like its played on an old pianoforte, like schubert used to have himself...

alright, he has a totally different approach than me. i made a recording on my own, and i would really like to get some feedback on it... i think its somwhere in the middle between the "usual" interpretations and this one. dear critics, please, visit my channel or just insert this into the url to get to the video: watch?v=CFMOqYqYtj4

thanx

[xxsm13xx]

is it too late for a 22 yr old to learn how to play the piano? =(

[nnathann3]

@xxsm13xx no but I would say it's good to look for a good teacher locally, There's a good book named "fundamentals of piano practice" that will help as well.

[xxsm13xx]

@nnathann3 im afraid i dont have money to pay a teacher but i will look for the book thnx for your advice ...=)

[allah211]

@xxsm13xx absolutley not! when people say they have played for 8-12 years or since they were 6 years old...its all relative. i started when i was 8 years old and truthfully the first 2 years of my playing were prepatory stuff.

i am learning this song right now and i am in high school. im sure with the right teacher you could learn this level song after a few years of playing. good luck!

[xxsm13xx]

@allah211 Thanx  now i have alil mor confidence in myself lol =)

[number1Schumacherfan]

I saw him a few years ago. Meh, he is ok. I wished I could have gone to one of Wilhelm Kempff's concerts but it wasn't to be.

[tough0crowd0eh9]

Both of these men are class acts.

[everythingistken1291]

Andre Watts is underrated if anything, a little bangy every now and then but a superb pianist all the same. He plays Liszt very well.

[ellihaysee]

put him down all you want. but having taken lessons with the man, I know how much of a control freak he his over the music he plays, like OCD, so everything he does is genuine.

[amenzix]

No boo's, I think you're right. And a lot of other people think the same,

[aaabbbccc5]

Tender!

[SuperDevinci]

bad player it's very rapidely and i'm crisped then i wath the player!

[ShearZone101]

Very well played, respect!

[arash505]

Epic

[markdoublea84]

I knew I could find videos of Andre Watts on the Mr. Rogers show. I was going to submit those clips in case I couldn't find them. I love that Schubert piece he played. I wonder if Andre knows Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2.

[YoelfromNL]

'That's one of the first pieces I ever learned.'

Wow. Mine was Yann Tiersen-Comptine d'un autre été.

I think his teacher immediately spotted a talent!

[porcospino289]

My error -- I did say "about" eight, "or so". So many piano pieces, including these, are bound up for me with memories of my dad, who studied with Saperton at the Curtis Institute in the dark early days of the Depression. As for the language of the title -- German was plenty good enough for Schubert for (I'd guess) the bulk of his oeuvre. Surely cultured people were/are multilingual.

[porcospino289]

I would give this a 10 for Watts' sweetness and voice. I still remember the splash he made (ca. 1968??) on TV, suddenly replacing someone for the Liszt Concerto (#1?) with Bernstein and company. "Moment musicaux" is an unfortunate blemish by the poster -- this is non-French. Moment musical, maybe. "Moments musicaux" is the piece, about eight moments or so. -2 for the blemish results in a +8.

[neoguy9090]

Actually, the piece is from a small suite which Schubert published under the name "Six Moments Musicaux". It was named in French for obvious reasons: French was the most widely spoken language in Europe at the time.

[YoelfromNL]

Not exactly, French was just the most prosperous country at the time and probably the easiest to gain fame and wealth

[YoelfromNL]

Edit: France xD

[neoguy9090]

Thanks for the correction. I probably should have said, most influential?

[aurychat]

You are a GREAT player!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fcofelixx]

perfect

[FutureAbe]

its a great piece

[Fnkyazn67]

Agreed. This lack of dynamics on this specific piece doesn't make him a bad pianist, however. It's all about interpretation and their own level of expression, and what they believe to express the piece the best on their terms. And if he sees that the dynamics given in this piece suited him best, then so be it.

However, it could also be poor recording quality, the performance was shot in the 80s, you know. ;)

[tennywantyou]

i love the way he plays~~ he syncopated the note so strongly....it's the most expressive part of all kinds of music.

[vivacelife]

Andre Watts looked so sweet.

[2lethal]

double meaning perhaps...?

[blaquestrength]

Mr. Rogers was the best..God rest his soul! Andre Watts is great as well.

[CDU916]

The interesting thing about Andre's performance is that everyone has a strong response, whether positive or negative. Were he a lesser musician there would be far less commentary. I

[Diomedes22]

were he not black the comments would be a lot different as well

[amenzix]

Do you mean that laudative comments or the negative ones? Either way, I think you're wrong.

[Gigi086]

Good

[cuddlebuttons]

you are all crazy

andre watts is amazing

i can't believe how critical people are on here

it is a lovely piece and he plays it w/ delicacy and precision.

[thunder1909]

I completely loath his facial expressions and head movement. He makes this piece sound completely childish, which in a way is a good thing, but it does lack some dynamics and lyrics.

[winrx]

Yes, this is absolutely pedestrian compared to Horowitz's rendition...

[medpiano]

I uploaded this by request, but honestly, this is a boring performance; I really think it was an impromptu thing. The playing is clean, unassuming, and lyrical--no doubt--but lacking in any real dynamic shading. Every motif is repeated AT LEAST once and Watts doesn't make any real attempt to make any one "musical moment" unique, which is the real challenge of this little gem.

[CDU916]

Keep in mind that in this instance the intended audience is children, who would not discern the nuances of a more intense performance. Even the finest concert pianist might be inclined to hold back--perhaps a more grueling recital was on his agenda later that day?

[PlagueWulf]

If you see the Revolutionary Etude done in the same show, you'll see that a more grueling recital was indeed on the agenda later that day...

[ChrisWatch]

lol thats cute ^_^

[elbulgarian]

@medpiano

I totally agree with you ... He just play it as a part of the conversation, with a little neglect perhaps, which immediately reflects on the quality of the performance. Great technique b.t.w. ..:)

[ChrisWatch]

maybe its one of the first pieces he ever read or taught himself :P

[veryangrystorks]

Ah... I just made it to the end of the video now. Sorry about that!

[veryangrystorks]

He didn't say it was one of the first pieces he ever played; he said it was a piece he learned as a little boy.

[ChrisWatch]

lol i was thinkin he was going to play fur elise.

[ChrisWatch]

Thank you!

beautifully played. :)