Volodos Dobermann's fury

[Kapomafioso]

1:02 : "Fuck yea!"

[ThePaulinoContreras]

OMG AMAZING.

[Darrning]

Simply; SHAMELESS! It's prohibited invent the notes. Now Volodos knows more of Liszt! Really presumptuous. Buffoon of shit.

[twooffour]

@Darrning

"It's prohibited invent the notes."

Prohibited not have clue of language you tolk in! Go lurn dicshonary, than cum bak complaynieng!

[TROW1000]

One of the best bar-pianists in the world...

[tremblez100]

fantastique...

[maestro7PL]

I find his playing very affected and over the top much of the time. Also his inner voice chords from time to time are much too loud. And yes, he changes the composer's music at will. I find him a terribly over-rated artist. Listen to Evgeny Kissin instead. He gets even more excitement from a piece and doesn't have to change one note!

[whitesupremashit]

@maestro7PL I would really hear Your version

[twooffour]

@maestro7PL

"And yes, he changes the composer's music at will."

Has nothing to do with the quality, and if you think otherwise you've already failed. :p

[NuovoCurioso]

...eccezionale...

[skryabyn]

ok he is interesting but why does he have to change things

[francompiano]

@skryabyn To change this is an authentic Lisztian approach: Liszt did it all the time and I've little doubt that he'd approve of this. Sadly, we live in an error where pianists are expected to treat the text like fanatical American protestants treat the bible. The great composers themselves were never that rigid!

[skryabyn]

2:14 what the fuck is he doing

[DORUKOZKAN]

@skryabyn he is jizzing in his pants and btw wheres the dobermann?

just kidding

[anabenedicto]

This piece is one of my favourites.. I like it very much.  He plays his own version.. that is not exactly like original and he has some mistakes in notes but It is not important because his performance is extraordinary.

[wevil770]

And SEXY.

[RicAbapo]

hey he's not fat, he's just chubby, and chubby guys are cool, they are so huggable...hahahahaha..

[44atpiano]

Horowitz was fat? Have you seen his picture/videos?

[mazingerduke]

No entiendo estos arreglos,sobre todo de piezas tan poéticas como esta.Como virtuoso le admiro un montón.Pero,será que no entiende lo que está detrás,ese mundo de naturaleza imaginada,poética e idealizada que tiene Liszt en esta y otras piezas?

[twooffour]

Is there a complete version anywhere? Would love to hear that...

[JakWho92]

volodos plays liszt - his cd =)

[rsoares57]

Wow.

[poemasinfonico]

It is interesting that this version is a little different that the one on his cd "Volodos plays Liszt". Both are awesome. Great concert in Madrid last week ^^

[duplexbd3]

fattastic!

[volodya2]

Volodos is FAT.

[ric55]

What the hell has being fat got to do with being a great pianist? Usual case of Youtube Gems being ruined by Trolls.

[volodya2]

Is FAT and he have a FAT finger that produce a FAT sound.

[vincentws03]

being fat means more weight, therefore can make more powerful sounds

[codonauta]

Horowitz was very fat too, because that he played very well.

[mdeonx16]

@vincentws03 More inertia! When he starts it's hard for him to stop!

[geertdehoux]

@vincentws03

This is a very interesting issue.

Actually I say more or less the same, but he once said "it has nothing to do with it".

Geert Dehoux, pianist.

[pianopera]

@vincentws03 Omu di panza, omu di sustanza! ;-)))))

[MIXOLYDIAN123]

Who's turning their fame and success into pies then? Every video I watch he's getting fatter. I predict a great pianist is going to be devoid of a working heart much sooner than necessary...

[cowboytim98]

And so much so over the years (i.e., since 1998). I don't want the world to lose him, either.  Perhaps he should consider the Alli Diet Plan... I coached a good friend through it and it works.

[gymgymgymgym]

hes got a bit fat hasnt he?

[prodesica]

Ahahahahahahahah :P

[adrypiano]

After listening to him many times in concert, I can say that he's absolutely not a "transcription-pianist" or anything. He's probably the most musical pianist i've ever heard and the way he understands the whole meaning of a piece is just unbelievebable. Everything he plays looks like Truth. He belongs to those rare pianists (Hamelin, Gavrilov, Richter) who have such a huge technique that their only task in concert is delivering the mystery of art.

[geertdehoux]

@adrypiano

I fully agree with what you say about Volodos.

Only the three names you mention are, in my opinion, not "delivering the mystery of art".

Gilels and François did, Sokolov does...

Cordially,

G. Dehoux, pianist.

[Bret6464]

@adrypiano Absolutely agree on Volodos - technique aproaching Richter, but IMO it would be preferable to have him hold back on his "insight" into Liszt and many other works :-) Richter became an "artist" later in his career. At that "top" level the true musicians and artists are Rach, Gilels, Horowitz, Moiseiwitch, Weissenberg, Argerich :-))

Don't know how anyone can say Hamelin is an "artist". Gavrilov is my favorite soviet-era pianist after Askhenazy :-))

[arturon111]

@adrypiano plain vulgar

[Jerrez]

listen to his liszt dante sonata that I uploaded please! recorded live 10 march 2009 Brussels. I uploaded the complete concert scriabin, schumann, ravel... please comment

[tastentiger]

but I dont know.. he played transcriptions for years, then rachmaninoff/tchaikovsky with a little schubert/schumann for years, now liszt and some scriabin.. for years? :/

maybe its a "horowitz style" approach to composers: playing literally everything one composer wrote in order to deeply understand his musical character. maybe he needs time for this...

[tastentiger]

some ppl here dont understand volodos' way of lliving his art.

he often says in interviews its important NOT to practise too much, at least for his.

he says he needs time away from the piano, even 2 months per year without playing piano and concerts at all!

he says silence is essential to becoming sensitive to music again, do stay creative.

that also means: too much practise has a negative effect on musical quality.

and I ask you - do you really think he NEEDS any more technical ability? ;)

[cziffra1980]

an interesting sentiment, but considering just how small his repetoire is and how rarely he changes his programme- shouldn't he think about just varying his programmes? I'm not surprised if he gets bored with going through the motions of a single programme over and over. For a pianist of such natural talent it's absurd that he isn't pushing his comfort zones in the slightest.

[tastentiger]

you are absolutely right. how I wish for him to play more diversely, other pieces, other componists, other worlds!

I might have a chance to ask him personally ;) in june why he moves his focus so slowly.

my only theory is that he likes to change the interpretation of the same piece each time he plays it, thats why he doesnt get bored with it. at least I remember him saying that once.

[cziffra1980]

I've heard him say that but having heard various performances of the same things, they don't really seem all that different. Even in his transcriptions, he rarely seems to play many variants. Judging from some films I've seen of him practising he could simply sit down and make something up from scratch- yet he seems play exactly the same thing time after time. It's sad that he's (presumably)too scared of critical reactions, to exercise his true level of creativity.

[tastentiger]

I've just returned from a volodos concert.

To make it short: I didn't have to ask him anything - he just played and gave all the anwers you could wish for.

The way he played Scriabin.. incredibly intense. In that dark concert hall, thousands of ppl literally held their breaths after the very first notes!

The way he played Albeniz.. cannot describe it, really. Days pass, cant get it out of my head. Fascinating beyond words.

And NO "virtuoso circus" in the encores!

Impressive development.

[abmephise]

Fail

[JakWho92]

what?

[lalbury1]

I would imagine that many who are posting that Horowitz's version was better probably heard a recording. Volodos's recording of this is INCREDIBLE!!! You have to compare apples with apples.

[MusicComposer1]

Sorry, was trying to reply to someone but that didn't work.

[ChesterFanningChorno]

Volodos and Hamelin = the two best pianists in the solar system.

[Masmorra84]

technically yes

[adrypiano]

Meme si la patte de Volodos change le texte cela reste très lisztien dans le sens où les passages virtuosissimes restent particulièrement musicaux. Inutile de parler de Volodos comme pianiste, qui a mes yeux, est le plus grand pianiste vivant...

[MIKE1238673]

I am a huge Volodos fan and have seen him live twice and met him - but I must confess I prefer Horowitz playing this - some of the claritiy diminishes (3.15-about 3.30) due to the heavy left hand. When I listen to Horowitz play it, it almost sounds like a different instrument - I don't know how he managed to make a piano sound like that.

[cziffra1980]

who says he was aiming for clarity? I think that's the last thing that was on his mind in the timings you mentioned.

[nearenough3]

He plays the sustaining pedal very well.

[ChesterFanningChorno]

Dont forget how Horowitz tinkered with his piano via his technician. (And he traveled all over with his piano.) So, how did he get effects no one else has done? Could it be simply the piano was prepared accordingly? I simply propose the question.

[aspacguy1]

Horowitz made his piano sensitive on top I think.. so that its easier to play leggiero/glissando. If he's not playing that then he is just banging the piano.. But if you play like this people think u are playing well!! I am not fooled.

[cziffra1980]

no. Look at the film of him playing Scriabin's old piano. It's the distinctive Horowitz sound all the way.

[Jerrez]

There is video on you tube of horowitz playing onscriabin's piano and it sounds like horowitz...

[mimolechien]

@ChesterFanningChorno

Yes, slightly lighter touch, which gives a little bit more velocity (but makes the sound control a little bit trickier)

[darnmat]

an epic!!!!

[deandusk]

a massacre.. pour Obermann..

[geertdehoux]

@deandusk

Why do you say that ?

[Grigor99]

Just imagine how good he could really be if he practiced more!

[Rach3Piano]

I personally like his version, it's more thrilling. Volodos sounds like a beast! I really like his version, does any one have the sheet music of this version??

[concerto35]

Yes, I agree with you after hearing all the others, Volodos stands our as a modern day Gyorgy Cziffra. Musically, he is magnificent as well. I was not aware that he started at 15 and practices only half hour a day. How is this possible? That sounds super human!!

[JakWho92]

He started with 15 but he didnt only practice half an hour daily =)

that is with all talent on the world impossible bevlieve me

[Nooodle7]

On the contrary it isn't impossible that he only practises half an hour a day, but I do suspect that like the many concert pianists who don't put in much practice time at all, it took years of pure devotion do develop the skills which would allow them to only need half an hour a day to maintain their standard and learn new pieces.

[geertdehoux]

@concerto35

As far as I knew him, he didn't "practice" at all: just enjoys playing the piano!

If he had to practice seriously, he wouldn't be able to do what he can do.

That's the mystery of a genius: that the genius cannot understand himself.

Cordially,

Geert Dehoux, pianist.

[concerto35]

Volodos is a fantastic pianist but does this serious piece lend itself to further improvisations? Some pieces perhaps do, but this one doesn't. I feel that Liszt meant every note that he wrote. Horowitz plays this work and in his hands it become a profound epic poem. It is a combination of profound sadness and despair in the slow passages contrasted by volcanic fury towards the end. However, Volodos is one of my favorite pianists

[SevenCircles]

he is an incredible natural talent the best out there today as far as I know

he didn´t start to play piano seriously until he was 15

he has only recorded a small part of his repertoire and only practice for max. half an hour a day

One could only wish that he became more ambitious. 4 hours a day and he might become the greatest technical player ever and one of the most musically interesting as well

[mimolechien]

@SevenCircles

I believe he is already the greatest technical player ever (probably not musician, but pianist, definitively, at least among the 10 best).

I know Arcady quite well. He DOES work more (much more actually) than 1/2 hour a day. Make it 4 and you are close to his average daily practice (or playing, whatever you want to call it).

[SevenCircles]

@mimolechien

I would love to know him in person as well, have you heard him play many pieces that he hasn´t performed in public?

Would love to hear him play Beethoven sonatas (especially pathetique or hammerklavier) or why not Godowsky´s stuntpieces.

[lecomptedelalune]

his version is not as good as Liszt's

[aammoossquito]

lol... i bet the grand piano needs a retune after this rapid crazy good playing lol.

crazy techniques

[Rach3Piano]

Incredible, imagine that strong sounds live at the hall :)

[shilloshillos]

The years of pilgrimage belong to a post-transcendental epoch in Liszt's life. I dare say that Liszt wouldn't have cared for the pianistic fireworks displayed here. If he did he would have put them in himself. These works must be treated with a restraint as far as pianistic virtuosity. One must never lose sight of the programmatic content as well as the overall mindframe of Liszt when he wrote them.

[guboub]

Interesting comment... Raises the recuring question of interpret being there to serve the composer's intention or to explore new avenues.

I personnaly like both type of performers, I think they both serve a valuable cause. The best thing to do IMO is to appreciate and judge by what the performer is trying to do. In that case, Volodos is not trying to "respect" the restrain you are talking about, and the question seems irrelevent here. I think he serves the programmatic content.

[MusicComposer1]

With this I agree entirely, in fact it should be discernible that the Romantic period isn't as much about fireworks on the piano as it is about personal interpretration (i.e documented Chopin's salon's performances or Liszt performances for Queen Elizabeth). Finally someone with sense, although Volodos is impeccable technically of course...

[shilloshillos]

Personal interpretation is perfectly acceptable as long as it respects the universally accepted characteristics of the period and the content (if any) of the piece. I love Volodos , he is a demonic pianist, maybe the match of Liszt himself but what he does with Obermann here is simply grotesque. I much prefer Brendel in all the pilgrimage pieces.

[deandusk]

he's so strong and.. his ffffff sounds incredibly natural..

[NOSEhow2LIV]

I love & admire Volodos for many things he's illuminated but here i feel more is less. Saw him do it,open air,summer2008, just as noisy & congested as here. Interestingly, he improves Liszt's architecture at the climax, adding a phrase, but robs it in the developement, what a madman!

[barnold81]

I would really like to hear a great performance of the original.

[kasyapa]

yikes.

[kusuna7]

Is this Volodos doing Horowitz-like alterations to the text or is this a different version!? At least it is completely different to the New Liszt Edition...

[AChrisL]

He missed the whole point of this piece by about a hemisphere...and I am a Volodos fan.

[Picolaaaaaa]

noo... your whole point of this piece is off by about a hemisphere.

[shilloshillos]

Totally agree!

[brozors]

i dont know if it is his suit or the size of his head, but he looks like he has very short arms, which makes him look like a dwarf.

[djxjam2daz]

just know that his arms are better than yours... and stop being rude...

[fanguism]

how big are his hands?

[GothicGroucho]

What the hell was that?

[contemporary1993]

It sounds like liszt-prokofiev ha ha

[MusicComposer1]

This is truly awful. It must be one of the worst performances of Liszt music I have witnessed (particularly his pelegrinage). I don't particularly like Arcadi Volodos, the fact that he bashes the crap out of this makes it sensless. I cannot tell a hint of any discernible emotive countour let alone the melody in either hands. I'd make him play the entire thing between pianissimissimo and mezzo piano.

[eligarf]

a m a z i n g

and i agree with mmooooooo. awsome posts you have up.

[killbillvoltoo]

an amazing piano

volodos is good, but I prefer a more emotional playing, but I'm a woos haha

I do think that a piano that can take THAT BEATING is amazing

his ending is his own right hand, but I think it takes a way from the effect because the first "storm" in the valleyt is in the beginning, and it seems like that steals the thunder literally, still, one of the three people I know who can control this piece. thanks dafuckinmart

[cziffra1980]

Wow! Did you get any more?

[mmooooooo]

DAFUCKINMART, you and your camera are my FUCKINHERO

[ric55]

To my knowledge there are two quite different versions of this piece, some pianists have played an amalgam of both-Ray Lewenthal for instance-but as far as I can see this is Volodos'own re-casting of the end-and very good too. Thanks dafuckinmart for your excellent ongoing work of showing us great pianists going apeshit all over the keyboard!

[ArthurMarden]

haha

I was be in this concert in paris.

This piano is not good, your respost is so lent and was prejudicyed volodos.

But hi is a fuck man, anddddd so great!!

=D

[froboy12342]

is this a transcription or is he following the original score?

[pianovideo]

By changing it at all he's following Horowitz's lead, but the changes are all his own.

[VikingBerserker]

Awesome!

Where do you keep getting these?!!

[loves2listen]

yeah!! thanks man! and buy the current cd, it's on there with much higher audio quality of course ;)

[revilo244]

what a cool song

[stienwayz]

Volodos is the GREATEST LIVING PIANIST ALIVE =)

This Liszt is truly amazing to hear performed by him.

=) =) =)

[stienwayz]

Interesting ending also =)

[VikingBerserker]

There's a bit more after that btw.

[revilo244]

but dont you like marc-andre hamelin better?

[geertdehoux]

@stienwayz

I totally agree!

[datruzepp]

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

da MART put da CUT in da directahz cut

n da VOL own chair ic 8)

[geertdehoux]

@datruzepp

? ? ?