Lipatti: Chopin Sonata #3 IV. Finale (1947)

[fredericfranc]

...I just heard this done by Rafal Blechacz who presumably has some credentials...and everybody says how smooth he is, but where did the music go?...Chopin forgot to include it in his text or what?...but with Dinu the music just jumps at you...should have recorded like the Manhattan phone book before it disappears because of the Internet, there is some "text" for you, Dinu would have musicalized it just great...

[harry21944]

I could never imagine that such a magnificent wonder would ever happen. OmG, You converted me. I'm healed. This wonder is real !!! 

[OrangeSodaKing]

Goodness! This is perfection...

[musicfanBRA]

Wonderful interpretation by Lipati but unfortunately the instrument sounds metallic to me. I guess I've become addicted to the superior sound of Lisitsa's Bosendorfer.

[olivleonardo]

Perfect. Clean, solid and expressive at the same time.

[slowkvant]

With Ivo Pogorelich, this is the best performance of this piece! But I kinda have to give Pogorelich an edge since on the youtube clip he plays it live :) But still both are amazing. Btw. I would love to hear Richter play this!

[azppiano]

@steamednotfried Yeah right. xD

[francisjdunne]

The recording is too old ---- sounds a bit honky tonk! Listen to Pollini

[Erik83474]

He lets us hear things in the left hand that we NEVER hear from other pianists. Unique.

[wenlin33]

Thanks for posting! I love Lipatti's interpretation of Chopin. They were both genius!

[Barbapippo]

the greatest quality of Lipatti was his heavenly, pure cantabile... in the history of piano he was a phenomenon similar to, say, Maria Malibran in the history of singing. Mind you, I'm not saying that he was not an incredible virtuoso with a trascendental technique, but, in a sense, playing even extremely difficult pieces was SO easy for him, that one misses that sense of fight that one feels, say, with Horowitz or Richter or Rubinstein

[BloodyLisBeth]

@Barbapippo Thank you!For pointing the "i' and dotting the "t".I couldn't define the feeling...

Lipatti is not playing the piano,as an instrument,he's breathing the air and living the life,pure and simple and effortlessly...

[fredericfranc]

The reason he makes it work so well is that he plays it implicitly as a downer, in fact does this to this whole "affirming" sonata. Doing this to a "Germanic" sonata is a clever trick, but you gotta be rather good to pull it off. These days nobody pretty much would have the nerve or skill to pull it off. Like try this at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw and see what it gets you.

[steamednotfried]

Glenn Gould's interpretation is the best interpretation of this piece of music.

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

@steamednotfried ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

[Dominusvonadel]

@steamednotfried or not.

[1980NewWave]

I must be missing something that is heard by the chorus of commentators here proclaiming this to be the "best" interpretation of this piece ever. The chords sound more like ugly thumps and not enough pedal (if at all) to connect with the following line of 16th notes. I do think his ending is brilliant though.

I prefer Emil Gilels' version that can be found on YouTube.

[Gargantupimp]

@1980NewWave Nothing wrong with a good thump once in a wile to shake the dust of the strings of the piano

[RitaBrentwood]

number two. number one is Alfred Cortot

[toronto2102]

I really do not know of any better playing!

[monicapotcovaru]

exceptional

[TheHegemuffin]

There is so much joie d'esprit in his playing of this, such as in how he releases many of his chords. Inspiring.

[Baddogphil]

Astounding! He played with this with more conviction and skill than anyone else.

[xcomposerpianistx]

Incredible performance by Lipatti ! The best i ever heard of this difficult piece.

[stagesix6]

try nelson freire...

[musicpiano14]

best

[uhartchristian]

Lipatti set standards of quality . Have not found yet a better interpretation after him (before maybe...) . He was one of the best pianists of his time and would have been as famous as Richter or Rubinstein if he would have been able to continue his career. He left us too early. His last concert in Besancon is legendary and will never be forgotten....

[TheEngraver]

The best 3rd Sonata ever. The best pianist ever. If only...died at 33, who can says how much chef d'oeuvre we could have now, played by Lipatti...sigh!

[ghardvyu]

Yes!!

YES!!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!

[koliatima]

Fantastic!!!

[davidgray2]

He puts the dying factor of piano notes, and sustain to better use than any other pianist I have heard.

[IrakliChumburidze]

I love this recording

[freeqwerqwer]

Gold standard? Not in my book! Yes, his dynamics and tones are notable but Lupati doesn't play with revolutionary fire, or with an aristocratic touch.

[Pischnaholic]

This remains the Gold Standard for the bravura interpretations of the work. However, it's even more remarkable for the penetrating SINGING TONE, expressive NUANCES and well defined phrases. It's magnificently well PUNCTUATED. Tremendous control exhibited here at all times.

I quarrel a little with the way he ends each downward rushing cascade with a thunderous THUMP, but even that is never harsh. It's just HIS heroic interpretation.

I prefer Cortot and Novaes. They understood CHOPIN 's spirit.

[simusnor]

Fantastic! Full of..evrithing....

He's really the best performance of this sonata!

[amantedipiano]

he is a GENIUS

[hughwarrington]

lol @ 2:24. Listen from 2:14. It's actually written an octave higher in the score...

[ForRoy]

MASTER. Amazing talent. He will be remembered still...i hope

[joernbroeker]

obviously,this is the best performance ever of this masterpiece (except chopin himself or liszt maybe) (chopin himself said once that he liked liszt's interpretations of his pieces more than his owns)

[Sravakayana]

ｖｅｒｙ　ｏｒｉｇｉｎａｌ！

[cziffra11]

This and Kapell's performance are at the top of the heap.

[Grigor99]

Listen to how he phrases even the open octaves! That's impressive! Blows everybody else away.

[pianogus]

Thank you for posting this. Has there ever been a more complete pianist than Dinu Lipatti?

[framaulo]

My favourite one

[mdoub]

now i see why we still remember him today

[BloodyLovin]

Best Performance of this masterpiece on Youtube.

[youququq]

Gorgeous!!!!!!!

[fosco85]

Nothing of wrong! this is perfect! great pianist!

[xcomposerpianistx]

This is truly outstanding! Fantastic Lipatti.

[cufflink44]

This is simply the greatest performance of any piano piece I've ever heard, period. It's the playing of a god.

[aewanko300]

Thrilling!

[paulostroff99]

Sensational! Bravo! TY.

[hansmeyer111]

Sorry, what means "TY" ?

[Masmorra84]

it means thank you

[hansmeyer111]

TY.....

[GiovanniEMB]

Salomonic judgement? This is the first modern performance of this Sonata. Pure technique ad pure freedom of technique. A composer at work. This is a musician with the beigest, natural, sense of rhythm and concentration. The instrument is surpassed. A orchestration! Not to believe how many few pedal for a so big sound. The heights message and all believe at them, so charismatic. No, please, say not that other pianists make the same work. All pianist on the Word listen to Lipatti right now!

[Spiritakis]

Truly great performance. And truly stupid comparisons from many people. I think we can enjoy Dinu and Martha, Jorge Bolet and Rachmaninov, and many others much more without indulging in comparing them. This is, to put it mildly, completely pointless. One thing is sure - they are all great perfomances, made by true artists.

[paulostroff99]

Spiritakis-You sure have that exactly right!

[Razaak]

This performance is legendary. Without question one of the greatest ever. Unfortunately, it would seem that a HUGE amount of digital noise reduction has been applied, either to this particular reissue, or the uploaded file. This has destroyed the subtle LH voicing throughout, made the RH sound "tinny" and induced a stifling lack of reverb - as evidenced at 0:11. Eliminating surface noise on historical recordings is all well and good, but the priority has to be the sound of the instruments.

[donaldcallen]

One of the truly great performances of this work. It stands with Cortot, and perhaps Rubinstein. Thrilling playing ...

[daniel0212]

strong.

vibrant.

diamond-solid touches...

[796824]

Lipatti was the greatest pianist. Had he lived longer, he would have eclipsed all the others.

[AndreiM999]

Never close and look to a score with composer,s eyes or past times eyes.. is posible to get only Yorick,s cranium as exchange .. Dinu Lipatti

[jvmalfi]

pls listen to the version of argerich thanks

[GiovanniEMB]

DG recording of Argherich, for me, is not the best reference for this sonata and for Argherich himself. She was pupil of Louis Hiltbrand, in Genava and nowbody compare Martha to Dinu. Dinu was Teacher at Conservatoire before Louis. Dinu was able to play witch the standard of piano competition today before the II World War!! Ansermet-Lipatti in Bartok concerto n. 2 and no a microphne in Viktoria Hall ... . Pls, listen Lipatti!

[rigel48]

I agree with you. I prefer Argerich. She has more grandeur and her sound is far more beautiful. Maybe it's due to the recording but I find Lipatti's sound quite aggressive.

[jvmalfi]

also she is more exciting to listen to thanks

[sergeholst]

Do you have anything new to say? All your comments start and end with "Argerich is better"

She doesn't need "defenders" like you.

[Ernesto7608]

I think that the comparison with Argerich is well taken. Lipatti shows the same brillant techinique and nervous ability to race at top speed.

But what differentiates them is that Lipatti had the musical sense to apply technique and speed ONLY where it enhances the music.

Argerich instead ruins too many works of art by rushing through like she has some kind of bladder incontinence that forces her to get finished.

[chopinandliszt]

their ways to express "presto non tanto - agitato" are so different.

[kreutzo1]

the great performer,forever and ever.

[richardresseguier]

Bravo ! a l'un des meilleurs eleves d'Alfred Cortot. Il n'y a aucun "ego" dans ces interpretations = c'est ce qui fait (a mon avis)la difference avec d'autes pianistes.

[carlosbonds2513]

William kapell =Lipatti =kapell=lipatti greats

[ibclappin]

Humans don't die. Chopin is alive right here.

[seanamico]

People or Human do die. It is great artist/Pianist and composers that never die. Artist today are able to live due to recordings, composers due to print have lived so long and will go on.

[sagalat]

Agree with J. Alfred: Two giants -- Chopin and Lipatti -- at the very top of their game. Thanks, TheoShow2, so much for posting!

[mlleprufrock]

This is my favorite performance of the third sonata. Thanks for posting.