Claudio Arrau - Liszt, Gnomenreigen

[TheCourtwick]

There isn't a lot, good that comes out of America. But the Baldwin piano is amazing!

What a gentleman Claudio Arrau was and a very fine maestro.

[piruffini73]

Eccellente interpretazione!

[chobeethaninov]

Oh good! I was thinking no way he is playing this in under 2 min... No way!

[pauldotp]

@chobeethaninov  lol sure:-)

[mavillalo]

MAESTRO!!!

[onthewall888]

Amazing! He adds a whole other dimension to this piece...

[Tesuji9]

That just happened.

[vermishki]

@Tesuji9 what up!

[maximea2m]

wow..no words

[mohamedapp]

was that human

i doubt

[oskr6]

Maestro arrau !!

[sabriciere]

i like coke and pepsi...

[AfroPoli]

Compared to this, Richter and Cziffra are DIET COKE.

[Ray0X0]

Como siempre Arrau interpreta la obra a la velocidad exacta y precisa para obtener toda la musicalidad y belleza de ella... El más grande intérprete de todos los tiempos.

[maxscriptguru]

And that my friends is why Arau is famous and always will be long after.

[omatu1]

ahhh it's like Coke or Pepsi matter when it comes to Richter, Arrau, Cziffra playing gnomenreigen. but i totally love Arrau's version.

[memobius]

Que magnifico poder verlo tan joven, con todo ese ímpetu y maestría. Espectacular.

[givemetime123]

Que dire ! la perfection à l'état pure du grand génie....quelle fluidité, quelle articulation... BRAVO MAESTRO

[jujuijoel]

magnific ARRAU..

[Ray0X0]

Maravilloso... lo diría una y diez mill veces!!

[msptato]

Gnomenreigen means "Dance of the Gnomes". This is the only representation that truly feels like dancing to me. Personal opinion only (I love Cziffra and Rachmaninoff too).

[brianCIM]

For all Arrau detractors who claim his spacious tempos are a sign of technical weakness i refer them to this precious clip. Arrau was a transcendent technician, especially in Liszt's music whose music he understood like no one else. Listen to the 12th Transcendental Etude which is limitless in scope and monumental in its emotional impact.

[Ray0X0]

@brianCIM Agreed... absolutely.

[anthonydeeming]

Why is this guy's given birth name not Mr. Captain Badass?

[Freddyteacher]

Superb! I've tried this and I have to say, there is no way I can do it like you do. Well done!

[Ray0X0]

Is almost impossible to rich that tonal beauty, may be it would take your entire life to get a mediocre result.

[Ray0X0]

Lo que más me impresiona de este registro es la belleza del sonido logrado por Arrau, es como si el piano cantara! ... y eso que el registro del sonido es de baja calidad!! yo jamás he oído semejante belleza interpretativa en otro pianista...

[dajohnthomas69]

Impressive.

[liebestraumer]

Sencillamente genial.

[arturon111]

This is the best interpretation and performance of the piece. Arrau had the best technique of ALL GREAT pianists,... he hands danced to the music he was playing to....

[Ray0X0]

Por favor, noten la técnica de Arrau basada en la absoluta relajación de los miembros... tronco, brazos y manos, los cuales se mueven con total naturalidad sobre el teclado.

No me canso de escuchar y ver vez tras vez este magnífico registro... realmente maravilloso.

[JiangxenPeter]

Stupendous performance! His hands were not only playing the music - his hands and entire body were dancing the music!! What virtuosity!!

[gott1rott]

This interpretation flows better than any other I have seen. Everything feels connected.

[gerardbedecarter]

***** It is pity only the second half, or so, is here preserved.

[davidjb100]

Claudio Arrau could play the Transcendental Etudes by the age of eleven! He was truly one of the greats. Thanks for posting.

[Ray0X0]

You can see it only in your mind ...

This is the best performance of this work... this rendition is from decade of 40 aprox.... the Arrau's golden age, in that period he was probably the most brilliant pianist in the world...

If you don't know what are you saying, please don't say nothing...

[elmalyuyu]

absolutamente sublime!! lo mejor que he visto

[Ray0X0]

Me encanta la parte del minuto 1:17, esas sutiles notas con la mano derecha que contrastan con el ritmo animoso de la izquierda... sugieren el ambiente mágico del mundo de los gnomos de una manera exquisita... bueno, es el mérito del genio de Arrau, hacer que la música cante y nos cuente vívidas historias a todo color!! ja ja

[stagesix6]

only the last page is easy in this piece. u can easily damage your hand trying to play this...

[Tiszt]

1:00-1:06 bravo!

[rvn10rvn17]

arrau's transcendental etudes are impressive..

but, to me, his chopin works are not that impressive, at least compared to standards set by chopin competition winners like pollini, ashkenazy (runner up)

[arturon111]

Arrau's Chopin is deeper more singing, more legato, is both more poetic and heroci and more musical than Polini's, Ashkenazi's or Argerich's. They generally play fast, but never with the beautiful deep, sensual sound that Arrau had. Besides when Arrau wnated to play or considered to play fast, he could outdo anyone. In my opinion Arrau's Chopin is the best...

[magior329]

I think the last thirty seconds are very impressive

[Ray0X0]

The best word that defines Arrau when he was young is impressive... unfortunately there are quite few videos (based on analog sources) of that period of his career.

I opine that Claudio Arrau was the best pianist in the past century. The combination of sensitivity, virtuosity, profound knowledge, romanticism, absolutely devotion to the work and art... this model of artist is unique and today irreplaceable.

[Ray0X0]

Esta es la mejor versión de Gnomenreigen que he encontrado hasta ahora, aunque sea sólo un fragmento. Es tremendamente sugerente, muy expresiva y musical, realmente excelente.

[mestreliszt]

Desdee luego! Totalmentee de acuerdo, I eso que se supone que las interpretaciones de Arrau suelen ser mas lentas que las de otros como cziffra, o ritcher pero desde luego aqui rompe qualquier tipo de limitacion virtuosistica, es Increible, que sonido consigue!!!

[Ray0X0]

Sí, esta versión tiene una musicalidad increíble, es bellísima. Algunas personas criticaban a Arrau por sus tempos considerados por algunos algo lentos (ejm. Claro de Luna - Debussy), pero Arrau era un virtuoso capaz de interpretar a velocidades realmente electrizantes en su juventud (ejm. Preludio 16 - Chopin). Algunos que no conocen mucho a Arrau piensan que era una limitación técnica, lo cual por supuesto no es así. Qué pena que no esté completo el vídeo :-(

[mestreliszt]

Evidentemente, lastima que no dure toda entera! que energiaa tan electrizante, igual que en el Rondo capriccioso de Mendelsohn, que ninguna version del youtube me convence, unicamente la suya, Bravo Maestro.

[Ray0X0]

Este registro al parecer es de la década de los 40' (calculando visualmente la edad de él) ... se dice que fue la época más extraordinaria de Arrau; llegó a realizar hasta 140 presentaciones por temporada y las salas de concierto se lo peleaban para tenerlo en sus programas. Algunos dicen que durante esta época fue lejos el mejor pianista del mundo... y a juzgar por la maravillosa calidad de interpretación que demuestra en este vídeo... realmente sí lo era..

[yomannima]

awesome

[bunnyoneedge]

The melody here in Arrau's rendition is much more clearly-perceived than that in Cziffra's one.

[sirvio666]

I disagree :)

[Troberschalt]

i think (with all respect) that cziffra´s version is more like a show-off virtuosism version. but arrau just plays the music perfectly

[yoyinho]

Best recording of this piece, Arrau makes a perfect combination of speed and clarity, obviously Cziffra`s and Richter recording are more impressive to looke at, little too fast for me, but Arrau`s magic sense of tempo is unmachted, I suggest listening to Arrau`s recording of Chopin`s Ballade No.1 and Lizst Liebestraum No.3 from his concert in Chile, that`s music can make you feel emotions, if you pay attention to the little details of a piece. Same as Horowitz, Richter sometimes (RACH 2).

[ccen1]

very nice use ove timbre and soud. his tone is great but Cziffra was more impressing. (my personal opinion)

[Antphoneigh]

awesome awesome *wets pants due to awesomeness*

[dido93]

Arrau-Verdi-Liszt: absolute beauty...!!

P.S.: great Baldwin sound too.....

[bunnyoneedge]

The best rendition I've ever heard since birth.

[HwangMyungShin]

His German education is a apparent in the detail and accuracy, not to mention his Chilean, therefore Latin, flair and passion. I perfect combination.

[magior329]

I really like the light touch on the right hand at 1:16 before the finale

[Keyfdez]

really a Master i never saw and listen many things of Arrau but really Amazing ! Master !!

[brunectus]

The golden sound in person

[gcaee]

he is so handsome !!

[demosj]

Fantastic playing, so light and with such clarity.

Arrau, a child prodigy, first learned this piece when he was seven years ago.

[Neilhoven]

Light?

[persistantpianist]

But at 0:38 he makes some mistakes. Oh well.

[dido93]

I would like very much to be able to play Arrau "mistakes"...... Are you...???

[persistantpianist]

Arrau plays it beautifully. Encore!

[mathpianist93]

An interesting fact is that Liszt criticized those who played the piece too quickly in his presence as follows: "There you go, mixing salid again." I'm not stating that Arrau played this too quickly, but this is meant to be a "did-you-know" thing.

[uprooy]

I've got Arrau playing the gnomenreigen on an LP. That version is better than this one, but there's no one who can beat him any way. Best of the Best.

[Troberschalt]

Specially on Beethoven Sonatas, Arrau managed (somehow) to play them like anyone else

[DrumDisciple1]

Sloppy at times but the BEST version I've heard to date.

[DrumDisciple1]

too bad it's missing the first half

[mathpianist93]

I much prefer the younger Arrau's playing; he produced a greater dynamic variation and more noticeable staccato in his earlier years.

Rachmaninoff's recording is preferrable; his is more demonic in the repeated note section. there is more magic.

good tempo before the piu animato. However, the recording quality makes it harder for anyone to judge this video. Of course, this has no effect on his playing.

[arturon111]

@DrumDisciple1 Arrau's playing was NEVER sloppy. I Think you need to develop your hearing Skills

[vaelrix]

@arturon111 no, 0:37 to about 0:40 was a little sloppy. don't be a fanboy please.

[warandcheese]

@vaelrix i think its strange to refer to a tiny smudge in a performance as sloppy. sloppy is an attitude towards playing, an overall feature. so every time we miss a passage we say its sloppy? no, we just say we missed anote which is irrelevant to an overall performance. this is the tragedy oftodays music making. i think arturon means that. And i am a fanboy of Arrau btw.

[frederickfrederikfre]

Bravo Arrau

[StRomeo612]

This man is Amaizing. My grandmother teach him when he stay in Chile arround 80's. I was student of same person too. ^^

[mestreliszt]

uuuaauuuu the best versioonn ! uaaauU!U impresionannteee! incredibleee!! AWESOMEE! Perfect!

[datruzepp]

HAHAHAHAHA diz ARRAUZAL unleazh a bit wikid!!!

[jcyl141104]

ppl here don't understand the sdc lingo hahaha

[pianopera]

I wonder why so many pianists play the ending of Gnomenreigen without pedal. Are the pedal indications not Liszt's original?

Apart from that, great performance.

[jero13595]

Playing the ending of Gnomenreigen with pedal will take away the clarity and excitment of this piece.

[pianopera]

I don't agree. To me it doesn't sound convincing without pedal. A question of taste...but the indications of Liszt (if they are indeed Liszt's) are also clear.

[kajohada]

....doubtless it has to sound "misterioso"at the end and so mr.arrau plays it very well with a little of pedal.

[eliotswann]

In the recorded version Arrau uses the pedal :)

[liebestraumer]

La mejor version de esta obra, ¿o no?

ya lo quisieran muchos que el piano les hubiera sonado asi. O por lo menos acercarse un poco.

[Thammasz]

'ndo hai trovato 'sto video?