Bolet - Chopin Ballade No. 4 Part 1

[TheHankster30]

By far the best 4th Ballade I've ever heard. And yes, I also love the karate chop ending. Everybody else sounds lame by comparison!

[nidejiayi]

y there r so many people dont like this vedio?

[jjp009]

What was that strange noise at 4:21? It sounded like he broke a string. It was like a metallic twang.

[FishGush]

the sound that bolet produce with his touch is UNBELIEVABLE.. please hear as many interpretations as you want, no one has this unique crystal clear sound..

[mystarslover]

I love the room decor and the piece is played beautifully

[garix51]

Best fourth ballata I have evet heard. I have been looking for a beautiful interpretation of this piece that love so much for many years. This one has deepness, ripeness, every note is important and the wholeness is always there. Thank you very much for postingI

[sparklekitten16]

Bolet explains his approach to the introduction of this piece in part 6 of his Rachmaninoff 3rd piano concerto master class: /watch?v=YZwF5yVJRgM

Skip ahead to 2:00.

[mikex01234]

Very nice. I like Bolet. It is a little slower than I would like. I think the song loses something when you are waiting too long for the notes. Thanks for the post.

[hellboyreloaded]

One of my favorite interpretations, i recommend you also to see a video i uploaded of this ballade: /watch?v=a_Adh_H2Roc

[placydil]

He missed a spot during shaving

[lllllllllllllll88]

Beautiful...

[Bouncingship]

the guy plays the keys just like a hobo plays the bottle...but better

[ThePaczki]

He's too showy. His style reminds me of Lang Lang . . .

[MISHA1119]

-@ThePaczki You have got to be kidding! I met Bolet through a mutual friend, and I was so impressed with him -

dignified yet genuinely humble and deeply welded to the world of the piano. He was incapable of acting like Lang Lang, who with the eyes and face of a frog, preens and postures as he goes through his poor act of an idiot savant in meltdown. It's a huge insult to Bolet's memory to say this ultra-gifted self-effacing man was in any way like Lang Lang, the parlor queen clown of the piano.

[ThePaczki]

@MISHA1119,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it indeed was a joke!  A little classical music humor never hurt anyone . . .

[toshikochan8]

BRILLIANT AMAZING BREATH TAKING performance. I love his interpretation of this piece. The best one I have ever listened to. I can't remember how many time I listened to this video...BRAVO!!!

[calcmandan]

Is the DVD with this recording available? I can't find it on amazon.

[IsisSlovenska]

Magnifucent!!

[TheRekisum]

Bolet is really a great Musician!!!

[afertyus1000]

i wish my living room was like that!!!

[TheRekisum]

wundervolles, singendes Chopinspiel

[REGGAEBLESSEDDIRECT]

i love this upload =)

[vilmadb]

Absolutly delightful!

[IsisSlovenska]

Cool!!!!!!

[DenebWallace27]

Increible.

[sophsdtr]

Absolutely BREATH-TAKING!  Thanks for posting.

[reggaedirect]

thank you for upload

[REGGAEBLESSEDDIRECT]

The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business--or almost anywhere else for that matter.And Bolet

help`s me alot and i now i will be listening to this for the rest of my life...

In everything the ends well defined are the secret of durable success.

And this is the secret of success thank you a grait deal for this upload.

[hohohee1]

@REGGAEBLESSEDDIRECT instead of writing this dam shit just fucking LISTEN TO THE DAM MUSIC you imbecile..

[REGGAEBLESSEDDIRECT]

@hohohee1 why dont you mind your own busness

and just listen your self snake in the grass

[SoundSystem4]

Wow This Sounds Realy Grait Thank

You For This Amazing Upload And

This Music Has A Ever Lasting Value

{Elegance} Always}}

[rinrath]

Thanks Sissco!

It's a very great performance.

[Marina1824]

Bravo!!!! Merci , Sissco!!

[AlexAlcyone]

"...pilasters of diamond, and surmounted by a dome arched with fawn-colored crystal, upon which played the various dyes of the prism; spheres, like the Mexican opal, whose kaleidoscopical foci are dimmed by olive-colored mists veiling and unveiling the inner glories; spheres, in which all is magical and supernatural, reminding us of the marvellous worlds of realized dreams. In such spheres Chopin delighted." -- Liszt, "Life of Chopin".

[lilianamaya]

Wonderful!

[sylsof]

VERY NICE

[krznonijesivo]

my favorite ballade

[austinsplace1]

Awesome Work!!

5+ (stars),

Favorite

J. Austin/ Bear

[cuoylyf]

SUPERB!!

[chryssanthemum]

this is os relaxing

[avatarprimus]

sublime!!!!

[raimarw]

Para mim, perfeito!!

[FishGush]

masterpiece.. and imo a perfect interpretation from maestro bolet.

[predoje]

I love to listen Bolet because he plays so simple but very sensitive and he is that type pianist that you simple trust ...

[3tristan]

Sehr schön gespielt. Ich habe anderthalb Jahr an dieses Stück gearbeitet, aber leider waren einige Teile für mich zu schwierig. Das Stück gehört zu meine Lieblingswerke van Chopin.

[combatvetlawstudent]

heavenly!

[meyito1948]

GRAN TERNURA NOSTALGICA

[soccerchick24913]

Absolutely marvelous. Great work.

[Sabramaria]

Bellísimo!!! gracias...

[pligana]

that's great!

[ForeverIsis]

wonderful!!!!!

[samuelngkee]

Beautiful piece with great performance!!!!!

[GilvanGouveaMerola]

I love Chopin's Ballade

[superjam18]

He plays this song nice and sweet like.

[acbasha]

absolutely blown away.

[Pussycat4712]

yes excellent, wonderful!!!

[lacrymosa85]

this is perfect

[ciucinciu]

at first i thought " whats wrong with this guy, is he gonna die soon or what?" and then i;ve heard the whole song and i;ve watched his fingers, and then i ralised he is so "quiet" because he feels that music in his head.. i know that posture. :D

[tasteism]

@ciucinciu It was the same with me at the beginning. And then, how simple (simple in a positive way) he plays it. Without any showeffect, fully concentrated - a wonderful interpretation. Why haven't I heard about this man before?

[Lauriewriter]

Beautiful music by an accomplished musician. Thank you for sharing this channel, Dan.

Laurie:-)

[samuelngkee]

Beautiful playing!!!!!

[0bambi0deer0]

he has a very original soft touche...i ve never heard his name again but he is really very good...

[220392123]

really?! Bolet is excellent! Look him up more, you won't regret it. Watch him play Chopin's nocturne in F minor op. 55 no. 1. Soooo beautifully executed. Very solid technique.

[0bambi0deer0]

i cant find this piece on you tube :(

[220392123]

The nocturne? Just type in "Bolet" and it will be the top one. Yeah, i've just checked :)

[0bambi0deer0]

oh that's true.thank you very much :) it is really very nice...it seems quite easy technically but this sound is unimmitable.

[220392123]

you're welcome :) It is really, but parts of the last couple of minutes can be a bit tricky. Just played it for my grade 8. Nice piece to get really :)

[0bambi0deer0]

me two,for the same grade i think...but what matters is not what you play but how...i played it horribly!!!!!:))

[220392123]

hehe, i'm sure you didn't. I messed up the last bit, the F major motif thingy; the piano was so unruly! Oh well got a merit, it'll do. What u get?

[0bambi0deer0]

no no i did.but the jury was stupid so they passed me to the next grade fortunately (we are talking about 4 years ago!!!!!). what is a merit? me i messed up the part before the passage with the semiquavers because of the left hand : ( ...dont remind it to me...poor nocturne....

[wXsHavok]

Ive only listened less than a minute and i can already see the quality of this interpretation.

5 starts right away

[PianistStone]

No cualquiera puede tocar esta pieza tal y como es asi que le felicito por su logro.

[harisiadis]

Incredible performance. Being a bit reserved in his approach he gives a different focus in his interpetation of this masterpiece.

Aristocratic in style!

[ForeverIsis]

Una MARAVILLA!!!

ForeverIsis

[HwangMyungShin]

He has a nice sound, but this tone is more suitable for Schubert, Brahms, Mozart or Schubert, rather than Chopin. Chopin needs references to sort of Polish folk decoration as well as French exaggeration in tone. His tone is sweet but is more stationary and does not necesarily soar. This is very good for playing Schubert.

[grijaldon]

amazing song and great interpretation

[spl0uf]

did you just call it a song?

[zoldessandor]

Great performance!

[mdoub]

i love bolet's chopin. this is just what i think: it's less refined, precise, or exact as others', but his attention to tone and sound balances out the experience. his performances are so intimate and human. but what do i know.

[royo90]

I absolutely agree. But at the same time as his Chopin being less "refined" he doesn't let parts get carried away and he always has the bigger picture in mind. I've found his interpretations to be very intellectual but also very raw in the sense that his tone is very full and intimate and he's not afraid to take risks with tempo fluctuations. That's something rarely seen today. Everyone is just so cautious. We need more risk takers!

[220392123]

i agree totally. However i have moved from that frame of mind toward a more time-kept frame of mind lately. Don't know why, just have. Love risk taking though. Look up Zimmerman's interpretation of this, it's excellent.

[royo90]

I know how you feel. It goes back and forth for me as well sometimes. The difficulty lies in trying to find the right balance of letting the tempo drive the music and using rubato in good taste.

[mdoub]

bolet is a hottie

[jorge1234]

lol

[hohohee1]

its the piano lol ... look at how huge the length is = longer sounding notes =sounds betta

[aardvaark069]

How does he do it with those stiff arms?

[Icecreampianist]

beautiful

[BlackRoseStar333]

zimerman or bolet?

anyone prefer one on this variation?

[lulu8204]

I think bolet is better than.

[laqin007]

I agree.

[quikfelder]

wow.

but maurizio pollini I think it's better

[joaquindalessio]

I like very much that interpretation but there is no doubt that idil biret's is the best, listen to that!!!

[alogli]

You don't know much about music,Rahav!!!!

[bubblemonkey9]

this guy is really haunched over. hehe

[ocilador]

bravo

[senzatettovl]

DOLCEMENTE

[Pianda]

I even like the first and the middle notes he plays ;-)

And this even very much!!!

[minniemousie]

I must stop reading comments. Seems as though every one considers him/herself to be the mean-spirited-stern-critic-tea­cher of the world.

*For myself, I must thank you SSisco for the absolute pleasure I have received from listening to your very eloquent and yes, perfect presentation of a perfectly gorgeous performance.

Thank you for sharing your quite lovely talent!

[Anders039]

This is my favorite interpretation now.

[eMyZeTa]

3.14 - 3.17: genial O.o

[XzRccc]

it's like in a dream...

[pianodan10]

I was extremely inspired by a great number of things here..

[aspacguy1]

It's just more notes to him.. Every note he plays is 'sound'. Even in fast passages he is fully cognizant of what sound is coming out. This makes Bolet an exceptional keyboard artist to me.

[smithsherman]

This is workmanlike.Nothing bad here,but nothing partuclarly inspiring either.

[YeShallBeAsGods]

did you only watch the first 3 minutes?

[tasteism]

@smithsherman I know exactly what you mean but I think that is just the true dedication to the work, without any extra frills. We hear so many interpretations with great rubato or upsoaring and so on and we don't know if Chopin has meant all this. Here we have a man who dedicates his playing totally to the piece he is playing, yes, workmanship, but of the finest quality.

[organman52]

What beautiful playing - and without a single extraneous physical gesture. A true artist and legend.

[MatthewJohnIgnacio]

FIVE STAR!

[acrostyche]

Sissco, why damned do you have suppressed the 4 lasts minutes of this piece,as well in this version as in Zimerman's ? You cutted it at the same moment. It's dishonest and very frustrating!

[pianochick1]

Cutted?

[bmxridar100]

hey, at least he/she put it up, we should be grateful for that

[Sissco]

Because I can't upload videos longer than 10 minutes?

[solow1991]

@Sissco yes but atm you're using only 7:43, so you could've made OR 2 parts, or stick it in anyway.

[TheConfuter]

@Sissco Hm.. ahve you tried? Because sometimes it's possible ;)

[hohohee1]

@Sissco yes now you can ..!!!!!!

[grijaldon]

This song is the best!!!

[poisonalien]

Rubato all over the pieces and at one's ease is obviously no taste and ruin of music, this performance is just the opposite, proper phrasing and rubato, full tone, you may say "his technique is........ " but abusolutely not on his interpretation

[poisonalien]

when talking 'bout rubato with "class" and taste, especially in Chopin's works, it's not about how he played in in "french salon" or how special you could make the piece become, it's about the all and the one! in a "phrase" or a passage, you pull/draw, and you retract, just like a elastic rubber band - while you pull it, some parts of this band is soft and lengthened, some parts are tightened. What to do to make it still a whole piece instead of snap it?

[poisonalien]

those who said that "a student sitting and practicing with a metronome" , might have no idea what's the difference between "generally keeping the tempo" , and "playing like machine/metronome"

do you have any idea of the elastic theory, or say "rubber band way" of playing Chopin's works???

[allegrissimo]

Wonderful...so much color in it! Poetic as always, thanks!

[ivrykeys]

Amazing. No more words.

[kwastormayt]

I think he internalized this piece more than anyone else

[pianoboyo]

beautiful clear melody I really appreciate the way he makes it sing with clarity..such a beautifull piano sound too..ive heard artists and felt like asking them to tone it down a bit..it has to have a sense of building throughout the piece or the architecture is destroyed..Bolet is always great at architecture.

[nathannoland2]

This is such a gorgeous piece of music...but he plays it, particularly the beautiful melody, a bit plunkily (is that a word?) in parts, almost as if he were a student sitting and practicing with a metronome. I can hear and feel his gears moving the entire time -- something that takes me away from the music a bit.

[jjp009]

Did anyone notice the big scar down the right side of his neck from his ear down? Looks like someone tried to slit his throat or something at some point in his life. I never read that, though. Anyone have any info on that? You can really see it at 2:44.

[misotoma]

i feel like .. depending on the times of the interpreters.. that Bolet and Zimerman have a somewhat similar way of playing this. Which i.m.o. is a very beautiful way of playing this ballade. I wonder who inspired who? Because so many interpreters want to throw so much energy in this piece, they just blaze right threw it.. without much sentiment to the ballade.

[austinsaiiz]

eek ... i love this song .. thx for upload

[tehmaine]

Absolute feeling and total emotion. Perfect performance.

[rattus1234]

Lovely performance of my very favorite piece of music. The best performance I ever heard was just fragments really, on an episode of The West Wing. A North Korean performer played this at a recital at the White House. I'd never heard it played so dreamily and introspectively, as if the audience wasn't even there. Sure wish I knew who did that recording.

Bolet's performance is very similar.

[jasonextreme]

Umm... North Korean!? At White House!?

[Kachukeland]

lol, 'I'm so ronry, so ronry, so ronry and sadry arone...'

[kwastormayt]

This can only be Dong-Hyek Lim

[Chopinm4n]

Dong-Hyek Lim is South Korean.

[lovesGenet]

so wonderful to c him.Why was he included with great pianists movie.Serkin and a million others strange.

[emtube]

Great performance! This piece suits Bolet's dreamy, soft-focus performance style well.

[barelyapianist]

yeah youre right i love this guys dreamy chopin esp opus 55...however his interpretation of ballade 1 isnt so awesome for the same reason...still richter playing this THIS well i cant imagine, who can do both?