Olga Kern - IKIF 2007

[riardojarav]

killing octaves!!!!

[idoram24]

she is super hot and i think that confused the cliburn Jury

[Adorado31]

BRAVO! <3<3<3

[ZarehDarakjian]

oh! Olga, How do you do those LH octaves! It is surreal!

[ZarehDarakjian]

It's true. Ms. Kern captures **everything** this piece should have. Unbelievable!

[taler000]

Boing...

[ultracute100]

She sure didn't look very happy at the end :(

[mandyraeoflight727]

@ultracute100 Agreed...

[Rugie55]

You can say/write what you like, but Ms. Kern captures everything about this work including the appropriate expression called for by the heroic style. I don't believe her forthright manner of addressing the keyboard should be confused with detachment or ennui.

[mikeandvarda]

monotone there is not enough emotion, color....This piece has much more to offer than what she delivered

[mikeandvarda]

too dry....

[TheSmoshmy]

her left hand octaves are amazing! And there were some expressive moments, but overall I found this to be disappointingly UNIMAGINATIVE performance.I couldn't help feeling that perhaps she practises too much with the metrenome.There was something of the routine about this, almost as though she is sick to death of this piece and was just going through the motions.The fact that she chooses to play the LH octaves so fast and non-pedale,for me, detracted from the expressivity of the RH.TOO MECHANIC

[1uxo1]

c'est étrange, je la sens un peu ailleurs, en tout cas j'adore cette femme. Olga, c'est la classe !.......

[MrYou2ber]

There was no Cliburn competition in 2002. There was one in 2009, 2005, 2001, ...etc.

[999aida]

Olga the most talented and most beautiful pianist in the world!!!

[artmuSSSic]

its AMAZING!!!! Olga Kern - pianist with brilliant technics and artistic charisma.

[Akinon33]

I cannot believe your comment, BAIBA6. Quote......"I don't like her hairstyle. She looks 'dolled up'. I prefer her more natural look in the Van Cliburn competition in 2002."

What the hell has that got to do with anything? I thought the idea of the excersize here is to view, listen, and appreciate the exceptional talent that this remarkable pianist has and not to make personal remarks about her appearance!

[baiba6]

@Akinon33 This is not an "exercise" and I can say anything I like here. At least I have not resorted to swearing on Youtube. I can spell also.

[baiba6]

I prefer her more natural look in the Van Cliburn competition in 2002.  However, I see there are many comments criticing her look, when we should be concentrating on her sound. She is a true artist, and a great pianist. Perhaps she can't hide her feelings as well as some. Playing the piano is extremely exhausting.

[baiba6]

I don't like her hairstyle. She looks 'dolled up'. I prefer her more natural look in the Van Cliburn competition in 2002.

However she is a virutoso pianist, one of the great women.

[mochaman15]

@baiba6 she could play in jeans and a t shirt and I'd still be thrilled to be listening to her. She's brilliant

[jtdendy]

it's obvious at the end when she's bowing that she is tired, perhaps exhausted! poor thing, she is a great pianist, but probably overworked and not rested!

[jtdendy]

i am a fan of olga's, and there are many good things about this performance, but i think it really lacks the triumphant, heroic spirit that is essential to this piece... feels like she's just going through the motions a bit...

[zander09401]

she did not look happy!!!

[danceofthegoblins]

@zander09401 Yeah, it kinda looked like she was worried about something personal or displeased with her performance.

[clairannette]

Love Olga. Hate the film angle.

[Matthewfawr]

Stunning. I enjoyed the music too...

[Rachmanfan4life]

I remember a fun, vibrant and exciting woman, way back when she won the Cliburn. She was so full of life and her playing was musical. Perhaps the heavy touring, practices, tickets, flights, recordings, and pressure to be "on" all the time has burned her out? I saw it in her face and it's very sad. I suppose this happens....the more success you attain, the more machine like and "automatic" you get? Careful what you wish for. I'm seeing her in Miami Sunday. Hope I get to meet her.....

[Rachmanfan4life]

UPDATE. I just saw her in Miami. She played Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Liszt. I got to meet her and speak with her a bit (and get my cd signed). She was so gracious and beautiful. Her playing was brilliant and she seemed as radiant as ever. I told her since Cliburn it was her Rach 3 that inspired me to play it and it remains my favorite to this day. Good luck in all you do Olga, I'll always be listening.

[Sanderus]

@Rachmanfan4life I just saw her yesterday in Cracow performing the same repertoire. Indeed she was brilliant. She got two standing ovations and gave 4 enchores. :)

[jslovers]

Is there a full version of her playing this music on Youtube?

Thanks and love her style very much!

[spleegeme]

exciting!! passed gas 3 times during this vid and also got wood!!!!

[cameraman7777]

Great pianist/performance, bad audio recording - severe clipping

[PrisLN]

i cant feel anything when when she plays, even though she has great sound

[Pianoantics]

Its easy to be a critic than to actually play the instrument and realize the difficulties that the formal piano repertoire represents. Yes, this piece is played more than I would like to hear as so many fine pianists have played it time and again. Its better known as war horse or marterial that is played over and over. However, she gave it her best shot and diserves credit for learning it in the first place.

She appeared last evening with Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall last evening.

[KhagarBalugrak]

Olga Kern plays without any feeling or expression. It's very flat and emotionally hardened.

[DaveLovesDoves]

i implore you watch her with Rach3 and tell the same

[KhagarBalugrak]

Her Rachmaninov is indeed better than this performance. It has more fire, but I still find her playing to be rather expressionless. The trouble is that pianists are expected to play note-perfect thanks to the fact that people hear note-perfect recordings that have been edited to be note perfect (as they originally were NOT note perfect), and they spend all of their energy making sure to be note-perfect instead of making music. I don't blade Olga; it's not her fault.

[baTonkaTruck]

yeah watch her play the rach 3. chopin wrote overly-intellectual show tunes and etudes for kids. she did this piece perfect justice in my opinion.

[crackerhead64]

i am going to see her in 2010 in Youngstown Ohio I can't wait

[Kasienka5g]

może być ten Polonez...nawet nieżle

[chad410]

she is one of the greatest women pianists at the moment I think

[Arenitadelabahia]

le gustará el rojo??????

[jorgeliebermann]

She is a very good machine.Then,I don`t like.

[castlestud]

I definately would!

[shidorihunterZ]

we only see her back god damn it...

[davidgray2]

Trust me, if you saw the faces she pulls you wouldn't mind quite so much.

[CamilodeAlmeida]

She does some nice expressions when playing and has a beautiful face which deserves being watched.

[BachFong11]

octaves were impressive.

[MrGrigor99]

Nice hair but that's about all!

[JAngeles13]

What?!?!?!

[vybor]

I don't like this reading. Mechanical and far too rushed. But I think once she got going she couldn't stop.

[EdiEllerymissing]

Menos mal que ganó el concurso Van Cliburn...

[callenishss]

in contrast i find too many pauses in the rubato

[JAngeles13]

Ooooooooooooooooooooookay!

[cbodien]

Full, rich and powerful. But the last note seemed too rushed???? Wish I could play like that!!!

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

It sounds stilted and full of planned pauses. Not my cup of tea.

[JAngeles13]

Do you listen to Chopin or are you familiar with his work and in particular, this piece?

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

I am very familiar with Chopin. I perform this piece. I have great admiration for Olga Kern and flew all the way from South America to hear her play at Carnegie Hall. But this is not her best. It falls far short of her best actually.

[Hervinbalfour]

Everyone has their good days and bad days. No worries! But like someone said below, it lacked life.

[Hobbes379]

I like how clean it sounds especially the crazy left hand part. Maybe she's tired of it and that's why she had no reaction to it afterwards. Or maybe her expectations are too high that she no longer appreciates what she can do...

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

lol! why does she look like that at the end? like she got some bad news before the performance. She played well, but somehow it felt bloodless and failed to wow me.

[zucchini2007]

I have Olga's Chopin album, and it's every bit as impressive as when she played Rach3. I love her energetic, clear technique.

[Poontangible]

Clearly she was disappointed (I heard a couple of clinkers myself), and you could tell she wanted to get off the stage, but you can't be great all the time, and Olga is almost always great. I'll be glad to listen to her any time.

[macbookpro94]

She looks disappointed when she gets up. I thought it was a good performance. But maybe she didn't.

[beethovenof08]

This was a pretty good performance, but I feel like it was too "planned out," not spontaneous enough... maybe it's just me? This was great though!  She looks so different, lol! :)

[alexongcs]

Correct... I felt it was 'planned out', this is an 'encore' and emotional piece, it should be more 'on-the-spot', I feel she is deliberately sticking to a plan, with a lot of rushing and phrases imitated many other performances. Perhaps she was impatient about finishing this piece? my opinion.

[dido93]

I agree... I prefer much more her "Rach 3"...

[teacherschoice147]

Not baad...

[fdartmouth]

I saw Olga in Houston - she was FANTASTIC!

[zucchini2007]

I saw her in Albuquerque, and she is more impressive in person! And she's coming back to play with the NMSO in October 2009, so I'm very glad that I'll get to see her in person again!!! I can take a picture with her!!!