Evgeny Kissin plays Rachmaninoff-Etude-tableux op.39 no.5

[MaLillyBoogan]

How old was Evgeny Kissin here? Do you know if he was less than 15 here?

[Feebius13]

@MaLillyBoogan To me, he looks about 13 or 14.

[chobeethaninov]

@MaLillyBoogan He was 15 here. This recital was one from 1986 in Tokyo.

[Ithinkyoureramazing]

2:40 ........... :o

[BlueShell36]

Epic piano piece + Epic-haired player = win

[jhahvhihehrh]

excelente

[sfsphil]

epic hair then, epic hair now.

[smeldrick]

jesus he just completely kills it - amazing -

[lllllllllllllll88]

Amazing how a 16 yo can play like this. He moved around the piano when he was 16 like he does today. lol It's so cute. Well, at least he's consistent. He's also a consistent multi-talented genius: Technique, interpretation, style, professionalism; you name it, he's got it. I imagine he grew up pretty quickly for his age.

[davidbaker03]

How impressive for him to get such sound from the piano, being so small, and young!

[GA4N]

too young for this kind of music . Play Clementi.

[mrbig4050]

@GA4N I'll play Clementi, you go play with yourself. Kissin is just fine playing Rach. He was clearly born to do so.

[davebeeboss]

wow

[josanov]

IMPRESIONANTE

[G3V3S]

This is probably my favorite Rachmaninov piece. Definitely top 3. Even at such a young age (16) he brings out the middle voice at 2:42 like no one else I've ever heard before or since. Pure ecstasy.

[pianonine]

Can somebody please help him "sit" on those keys?

Might as well use his fists with all that blunt banging (thudding).

But tender and wonderful when he was making "music".

[davidbaker03]

@pianonine He is playing with good technique, he has had incredible training, this piece is a very banging, crashing sound anyway.

[tommytimiv]

2:42 What was that and how do I do it?

[0911926166]

@tommytimiv this is an accent on those 2 notes! u just have to press then harder than the other ones(in the left hand ofc..)

[9989126]

@2:30 - 2:45 ..... Mega nerdgasm! So amazing!

[137platinum]

i just started learning this piece... i hope i'll survive!

[jovad1]

Perfect.

[tommytimiv]

rachmaninoff wrote this whilst thinking of a flood

[chobeethaninov]

He is so expressive, passionate, and technically flawless! Maestro Evgeny is simply the best...

[CodyNelsonMusic]

I played this last year when I was 16. Though, nowhere near this great.  This performance adds new meaning to the phrase child prodigy!

[moonpagan]

It's a sad reflection of the state this world is in when anyone can say they don't see some kind of beauty in this young fellow's pianistic mastery, ThePianoguy. But, then again, these are the kind of people who like smashing beer bottles all over a beautful forest or a park, sadly.

Ron.

( ;-} >

[ThePianoguy89]

7 people don't know anything about piano.

[Eoneryn]

@ThePianoguy89 )))))))))))))))

[ThePianoguy89]

Great execution! Love it!

[OutdatedChanel]

boy's got mad skillz

[piano345]

Amazing technique but too much heavy handed fortissimo - could be the close recording balance.

[ANJUSEJO]

¡Apabullante interpretación!

[nicklewisatx]

Around 2:00 his sound gets crazy enough that they'd accuse him of devil worship in the south.

[cpanati]

I'm old enough to have followed his entire career, and his playing still leaves me breathless. A once-in-a-generation pianist.

[skimask777]

Very well played by Kissin! I also like Van Cliburn's performance of this etude.

[v4liumfrance]

fantastique !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Piacevole]

Kissin is fascinating. Sometimes I feel that he never was a child or had a childhood. Other times I think that is always a child and will always be. Either or... or both.

[gcaee]

He was 15 then ??

[NuovoCurioso]

...un ragazzo d'oro....meraviglioso pianista....

straordinariamente bravo!!!!

[littlerainworm550]

I think he plays it so genially /i mean like genius/, but he doesnt really know about what he is playing...he is just a child there.I don´t feel that despair and everything there.

just my opinion

but I still like it very very much

[fortissimo25]

i totally agree with u! u kno, like he mastered everything that his teacher told him to do and learn but way too immature to understand rach's emotion and um intentions for the piece - but he knows now that heez older! :)

[pookiehohn]

Kissen has achieved immortality. He shall never die. Even though he's got another 50 years in him (at least) he shall live on in legend! THIS IS PIANO!!!

[JorgitoRafael]

The piece IS meant to be played with heart and soul.. and technique.. but it is NOT meant to be played "less harsh" because frankly, it is an etude portraying dispair and hope. Rachmaninov himself did not even play to his full potential in concerts (he held back, even playing his own music) because he did not believe that he would EVER achieve what he sought through his compositions... interesting, don't you think? Kissin is a maestro

[pookiehohn]

@JorgitoRafael The very fact that what you have said is true, is utterly frightening. What a man Kissen must be.

[fortissimo25]

interesting - yeah, rachmaninov was soooo afraid all the time when performing, i dont blame him.

[cavendishable]

C'est mon pianiste préféré à l'heure actuelle. Plus discret que le célèbre Lang Lang mais plus virtuose. Merci pour cette vidéo.

[exavier091]

this guy is pure talent

he is honestly beyond a prodigy!!

he performed chopin concerto's "e" and F" when he was like 8-9 for cying out loud!!!

[Eoin1082]

He was 12....but yup. Pretty amazing technical ability at that age. Can't say it was very profound though...

[wevil770]

Imagine him playing this when hes 40, almoust like an aged wine..

[Eoin1082]

He's nearly that now...I'd love to see him do Brahms 1 and 2 :)

[kkoottrryynnaa]

@wevil770 he is almost 40 now :) 39 years.

[pianofan2010]

He was a born pianist! Never do I tire of any of his music. Just prodigal and perfect.

[legallucy]

aghhh it almost freaks me out to see someone so young playing this you know

[dragmio]

After listening to this beautiful music, take a five minute break and just try to imagine the horror of being inside the head of a person who posts racial remarks on YT (let alone as a comment to something like this). Imagine the void, imagine the despair. (shudder)

[leomulder]

It's impossible to dislike it: it's brillant!

[nicklewisatx]

Shy?! There is nothing shy about this interpretation!

[Fantasie0643]

maybe he was shy at 16....

he has his interpretation of this etude. i love kissin forever

[Lisztianpiano]

I think this is a quite good performance, but I like the studio recording better because it has a greater range of dynamics and much more detailed phrasing. In fact, I think THAT recording outshines any other performances that I have heard of this piece, but people are bound to disagree... I wonder if there is a later live recording of him playing this piece?

[isigtiger]

I must say, this dude's an amazing pianist in all, but unfortunately, in my opinion, he doesn't play (this piece anyway) with any real expression. Ö.Ö I love this étude; one of my favorites really, and this shouldn't be so harsh-sounding. D= Interesting fro though xD

[hailkayy]

I do like it ^^

[happinesswriteswhite]

aah, but he's such a child, some pieces just need you to walk through life a bit before you can feel them adequately, even if you are a miracle of nature! and i So lllove the hair, (:

[CodyNelsonMusic]

Evgeny, if anything, lost expression over the years. He plays everything fast, and does some very nice dynamic changes, but overall pieces seem to be just another challenge to overcome for him.

[gcaee]

you can't judge him just by one piece and you must respect his interpetation.

i think you are very shallow in some ways.

[modelstatue]

haha, its a white boi with an afro!!! LMAO!!!

[Lisztianpiano]

you should have seen the 70's

[Irelandlass7789]

he makes funny faces sometimes, but he's still really cute!

[boyspuros]

hes a genius and true talent, but im not buying the faces he makes

[gymgymgymgym]

is this 1988 japan?

[sahalexx]

It is, however, slightly plain and emotiveless. Nevertheless, it shows pure mastery.

[mephisto66773]

does anybody knows how old he was when he was performing this?

[pierolivier111]

he was 16

[chobeethaninov]

@pierolivier111 No, he was 15.

[DennisChoy1]

Yes he used to be cute

[Boriska2008]

Гений!Приклоняюсь!

[gozhn]

Kissin plays with heart. He's still young though. Once he's an old jew and has refined his taste, he'll break your heart every time. Old Jews play with the most heart.

[rabengeraun]

Why do you think, may I ask, that Jews play with such passion? Assuming, sir, that you are Jewish, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

[ashburnhouse]

After wiping the vomit from my mouth, consider yourself punched in the pussy.

[gozhn]

Ok :]

[pianopiano]

Please, explain why you hate the jews. I am one myself. What did I do to you?

[pjkorab]

Since You haven't been answered by gozhn, I'll try to answer as objectively as I can:

I don't think it's hate rather than prejudice. Hate comes from deeply personal reasons, while prejudice is just association of certain negative traits with a group of people - a stereotype. Probably the most notable of these traits in this case would be Jewish radical nationalism (You know, the Chosen Nation etc..). And the constant effort to fight all criticism that Jews get (right OR wrong). So there You go;)

[Hervinbalfour]

I don't think he actually hates jews. I think he wrote that just to get a reaction and a response.

[bodyboarder3452]

Isn't he russian or something?

[Pianoman121968]

YES HE IS--AND PROUD OF IT

[shaoshuheng]

不错

[ancatiberian]

pure genius

[gurtrudelim]

Ahaha I couldn't never get 1:01 either. My baby finger hurts so much when i play that part... Anyway, I think he definetly had somthing in his head that he counldn't express enough though piano b/c of his own strength and instrument limitation. I really want to hear his version as an adult. Maybe he manage to pull it out. Thank you for post :)

[Triviumisi]

NO CRITICISM TO KISSIN

[MCarey0608]

Even at his young age, Mr. Kissin (in this recording) was conscious of the inner voices in this composition. This is not true for most pianists who play Rachmaninoff. Horowitz is very sensitive to the subtle nuances in Sergei's creations, which is why Rachmaninoff favored Vladimir's interpretations.

[PeacfulJoh]

This was much too powerful. The piece is supposed to build and overwhelm, not blow you away 24/7. But hey, he was so young here! It's incredible nonetheless. His interpretation matured immensely into the recording on his Rach-2 CD when he was 18, I think.

[goodridgewinners]

crap he was so young here!!! lol. go kissin. what a legend!

[retrocareermelted]

Your one eccentric bastard to say that was an average preformance.

[ukdavepianoman]

Kissin looks quite young here. What is extraordinary is how musically he plays when he is also demonstrating his phenomenal technique during the most difficult passages.

[EilisErina]

child prodigy you know ;) it comes naturally !

[shaermy]

best interpretation...he's a god..

[JulesJapan]

Oh please....

Check Nelson Freire's perofrmance out, or for that matter, Horowitz's (the one with the score, before he turned completely shit).

I apologise for pianist bashing - it's not something I do often - but I've never understood the hype about Kissin. I don't think he could produce a beautiful tone if his life depended on it - everything's just banged out. Raw talent, perhaps, but raw playing too, note-crunching aside.

[gtyler7292]

Horowitz's recording is the only recording of this etude that I've really enjoyed so far. Kissin's isn't bad, but Horowitz blows him out of the water.

[TheMetzMachine]

To JulesJapan, I don't really get what all the hype's about either... I've heard him live twice; I've heard countless recordings of him. Nothing Kissin plays stands out to me. This isn't to say I think Kissin is a bad player; he's great. He's just not especially noteworthy to me.