Rudolf Firkusny plays Dvorak (vaimusic.com)

[msmarmion]

Many years ago I was a private student of Firkusny. He was the most elegant of pianists and I had the honor of studying this Concerto in depth with him. My most prized possession is his copy of the Concerto, which he gave to me.I shall never forget this wonderful man who was one of the greatest musicians in the world. MsMarmion

[supercyberadonis]

In Wolfsburg tonight!

[napajedlacek]

he was born in my city of Napajedla!

one of the best

[fredericfranc]

Takes it very graciously, a lot of people bang this.

[adambomb30]

I love the Czech Philharmonic and think Firkusny does a great job with the Dvorak piano concerto but have always found belohlavek to be one of the most uninspired Czech conductors.

[blazerr]

Amazing talent...although I still think of him as the guy in the David Robinson Nike commercial

[thekiche]

Firkusny really gives the impresion of stroking the piano instead of touching it...His hands seems to fly over the keyboard. Thanks for posting such a great vid!

[soami2u]

I loved Firkusny's playing. It had beauty and subtlety. I had the great pleasure of hearing him in person several times, in solo recital, chamber music and with orchestra.. I remember a superb Mozart concerto--one of the less frequently performed (K 451)...his technique was impeccable, his playing like a polished diamond. After his death in 1994 EMI reissued many of his recordings, only to delete them a few years later. Delighted to find these gems on YouTube...more, please!

[valleri07]

Thank you for mentioning his Mozart performance! His technique and interpretation is one of the best I've ever heard. He's often attributed to playing Dvorak's work, but the Mozart concertos are by far some of his best.

I've been looking for the one where he peformed Concerto 9, but alas I've had no luck :(

[NOSEhow2LIV]

Wonderful souvenir of a great artist & musician. I had the fortune to hear Firkusny several times in recital & in this concerto. Even here, advanced in age, he has a certain touch with his favorit piece, the orch sound happy to have him back after long exile, the work is among the most colorful& melodious..what more to ask?

[sanjosemike]

DVORAK PIANO CONCERTO WONDERFUL

It is an abiding tragedy that this wonderful concerto is not more often played. I read that it took 2 years for Richter to learn it.

I have not seen the score, but most likely it is a really tough work to play (if it took Richter that long to learn it).

sanjosemike

[RabidCh]

Looking at the score, it's not super tough in terms of notes... but it is quite a long piano concerto and it requires a lot of orchestra integration. Probably just needed to go over detail after detail.

Yes, people need to play this more!

[TICETOCAR]

I love the recording Justus Franz made of this concerto.. + I have 1 of Firkusny's.. he sounds a bit dry here.. still great to see/hear

[snaaptaker]

I have four recordings of Firkusny playing this in various versions. I pretty much prefer the Kurz version, but I love Firkusny's playing of just about anything.

I also love Moravec's recording of this (Kurz, BTW).

[pohlpiano]

Actually, Moravec is pupil of Kurz´s daughter Ilona, for which Kurz originally made that revision.

[snaaptaker]

Yes, thank you. I know that.

And you are a fine pianist.

[pohlpiano]

Firkusny - the king of the Czech piano... Thank you for posting that so, so much...

[pianoenthusiast11]

yes it is sadly neglected but far more pianists have it in their repertoire now than in past years. The Kurz version is a bit more meaty than the Dvorak original which Firkusny plays here, but the Kurz version is now falling out of fashion. firkusny is the master of this work though in either version or a melange of the two (all of which he has recorded over the years!)

[stephenTGV]

A beautiful Piano Concerto, unjustifiably rarely played. I saw Rudolph Firkusny play it with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He was great.

[jbbny]

He's really, really good.

[aesthetic1950]

Sparkling. Need to listen to more Dvorak.