Debussy, Jardins sous la pluie - Martha Argerich, live 1969

[TheWanderingNight]

I like how the fast notes sound 'blunt' (especially near the beginning), as if the raindrops were actual bullets pummelling the garden into a pulp.

[Rolandriprig]

Totally incredible and wonderful. To hell with the garden

[airvarie]

yky

[ilovJoeJonas]

J’aime cette musique! Je voudrais pouvoir ȇtre aussi bon que son.

[browny333]

THIS PIECE IS BETTER PLAYED FAST and the reason it sounds so sharp is because the recording is warped and plays slightly quicker(this may also explain the extreme speed) ie played at a faster speed.

[sagax2005]

This is beautiful. But the piano is out of tune?!?!?!

[MrPianoLover1]

@sagax2005 haha technically a piano is never IN tune, so yes, it's out of tune, plus this was recorded in the 70s. But I'm a nerd and it doesn't really matter.

[ayakogura]

ｔｏｏ　ｆａｓｔ．ｍｕｓｔ　ｂｅ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｓｅｎｓｉｔｉｖｅ

[mooshoobutt]

This is amazing! I am actually playing this song for piano(:

[bibifrijam]

Inutilement rapide ... ne pas confondre musique et cirque :-) beaucoup de talent gaspillé ...

[Gardoggle]

predictable gee, like Mozart? spas

[n0wM3]

Shoot

[gwozdezzz]

Martha rocks every single piece she tries :)

[chiefci]

@ktm64 you talking nonsens. That is the geratest interpreation I ever heard, from M.Argerich. Chief

[ktm64]

Gardens in the Hurricane is more like it. She didn't do well with the image meant to be given, as she never does. However she does succeed in giving a different image, which is great in and of itself, no?

[Barbapippo]

This is really a storm, the garden must have been completely destroyed...

[Barbapippo]

Moreover, apart from the Larry Semon speed, the semiquavers (or whatever they are) are played too much staccato (Gieseking plays with much more elegance and tenderness); on the whole, an unsatisfactory performance, from the great Argerich one would have expected more

[punkpoetry]

@Barbapippo I'd say you're guilty of a misjudgment. She makes some boldly unorthodox stylistic choices in playing it extremely fast, with a markedly non-legato articulation and relatively sparse pedalling, thus discarding common-or-garden ideas of "impressionism" in favor of drawing into the fore Debussy's oft acknowledged and discussed debt to École française de clavecin (Rameau, Couperin etc). While Gieseking's brilliance is not in doubt, Arg. knows what she's doing and does it brilliantly

[KonstantinaLevina]

Dodo, l'enfant do !! Nous n'irons plus au bois.

D. a bit frustrated.. ;)

[MrPianoLover1]

I'm learning this. Very hard to keep the beat steady, but I really love it, along with Clair de Lune.

[chiefci]

@MrPianoLover1 So, you learnig this and talking about claire de lune. This have nothing to do with claire de lune. What you talking.That is another level. Please stop that pitty talking.

Chief

[MrPianoLover1]

@chiefci Um ok. So all I said was I love Clair de Lune and Jardins sous la Pluie, and you go off on an unintelligible rant about how those songs are completely different. I can love two different songs if I want to.

And what the heck is 'pitty talking' supposed to mean? That doesn't even make sense.

[chiefci]

@MrPianoLover1 Sorry that I make you angry, but one thing I want to pointed out. This interpration of Jardins M. Argerich is for me unreachable, and by God I am an very good piano player.

Chief

[MrPianoLover1]

@chiefci Well good for you. I can't do this good either. Argerich was doing public performances at age five and won all kinds of awards. I wasn't even playing at five years old.

[chiefci]

@MrPianoLover1 Yes he was an "Wunderkind" same like "Mozart".

[parvanaturalia]

Rather... frantic. But I do like it a lot more than the version I have on my ipod... I'm not sure who plays that one. I could never pull it off this fast. My rain is trickling, while hers is furious. *admiration*

[mikejr41387]

is that martha in the background of the picture? or am i hallucinating???

[BarbaraPloyer333]

Sheer geniality!

Who da best? Martha da best!

Wow. Once again, numerous smiley faces!

It's so enticing a piece, plus the formidable playing is the cherry to top it off.

Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get much better than this!

[sharpie4389]

I agree. She needs to slow down and LISTEN to the music. You cant hear the main melody, it just gets lost in all the running 16th notes. I've been learning/playing this piece for 2 years now and I don't think this is how debussy wanted it to be played. I plan on putting up my interpretation soon.

[vocalpianist]

Incredible!! Such speed and control, and the clarity! Great!!

[lovesGenet]

How did you find this .Wow. Dreamy and so fast.Wonderful colors. Noone seems to get 1:20 on right. I like her freedom in the 60's. Wow.That we have her in this. RADIO?

[124bjw]

Wow! Yes, Debussy composing a rainfall, Argerich playing the frenetic rainfall on the piano....Now if we just had a painting of it by Monet. That would be absolute impressionistic perfection! You gotta love life listening to her!

[Familyguyaddict01]

I've always loved Debussy's music. Really amazing

[Lennythewinner]

At least it sounds like rain. The only other performance that I've heard that made me want to listen to again and again was Tomita's - and that was electronic.

[NathanPlano]

Try Gieseking

[bourdour]

ooooo Tomita, have you heard of his rendition of Neptune from Holst's The Planets?

[keelan111]

I think her headlong interpretation is good thinking on her part, it is wild and reckless, just as the rain falls in a french garden, frenetic, spastic, wild and untamed.

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

I think there are better performances of this out there. But I think this one has its merit. It can be slower and clearer at the start. I agree with everything you say.

[justice0006]

She should slow down and try to enjoy how Debussy feels like looking and hearing the rain drops and the storm. I have recommended a video response.

[bluethistle68]

# plus!!!!!

[nostradamusguy]

I find her interpretation of this to be extremely-- disappointing. It is played way to quickly, as if rushing to the end of the piece was the goal. I know there are much better performances out there. This one is just too technically involved, as if metronomic.

[0bambi0deer0]

but isnt this the right tempo?

[nostradamusguy]

Well the marking of the piece is "Net et vif" which indicates sharpness. So it is up to interpretation, and there is no "set" or "fixed" tempo.

[0bambi0deer0]

ok,but what else apart from allegro could it be?...could it be moderato?ok this may be presto..but you have to receive a certain atmosphere....anyway,it's true that there are some better recordings....but that doesn't mean that argerich isn't good....

[nostradamusguy]

Oh I wholeheartedly agree with you! The performance is excellent, it just was too fast for my liking is all. =]

~Andrew

[0bambi0deer0]

you might be right....i think up to 1:17 the tempo is right but then (from 1:17 and on) you can't enjoy many things....in 2:02 it's very bad now that im listening it again....

[HerrNollie]

99% of the time I worship and adore Argerich ... but I hate this. She's like late frantic unstable Horowitz recording here.

[lllGuisolll]

This is not a impresionist performance...

Is "Argerichst" performance...

[enriccoll77]

at the beginnig is really great ,then ,too much fast

[mauronastagi]

OMG! She is the best! ever!

[himitsunosallychan]

Quite possibly, there is nothing unplanned, as you say.

But to me, her playing sounds AS IF much of it (the details of coloring and dynamics) is unplanned, as if she made it up on the spot, as if she plays along as she listens to her own playing. That to me is her irresistible charm. Not her supposedly superb technique.

[chiefci]

Best performance I ever heard. That is it.

Super, no more.commants.

Chief

PS, Is the picture more importand than the music?

[noinin88]

someone can tell me what's the name of the picture ? thx

[himitsunosallychan]

Please excuse my wrong English and rudeness, I kind of agree and disagree. I am a great lover of Martha, but this performance is just too Martha all over. I definitely do not like it. But maybe I just don't understand your meaning, I didn't find it mechanical or precise. I think Martha's extemporaneous style of playing is costing her preciseness of touch. For one thing I can't hear the notes smoothly as I want. This uneven touch is somewhat true of Pollini, but not true usually of Gilels or ABM.

[aldebussy]

LOL. Juicy bit of gossip, eh?

[aldebussy]

I have read Ornstein (sp?)'s biography and collection of his letters. Loved both.

He wrote only one trio, so take your pick!

[aldebussy]

Oh yea! I have an insane obsession with Ravel. I can never get enough of his trios. Towards the end of his life, he started studying much Mozart, though he never got a chance to explore 'new' forms to their fullest extent. He died too soon....so sad

[aldebussy]

I don't need recommendations. An yes, Pour le piano said nothing new because it was based a new idiom Ravel had already begun embracing: neoclassicism. Some people call it post impressionism. Who gives a shit. It's a beautiful work.

And I have heard Debussy's entire oeuvre for piano.

[amantedipiano]

good performance , it really seems un "jardin suos la pluie"

[battaglia01]

This is actually sped up a bit, probably from the tape playing back at the wrong speed -- play along, you'll see the whole thing is up about a quarter tone. Either that, or she had her piano tuned to 445 or something, but it sounds sped up anyway - the notes decay unnaturally fast

[GlennMagusHarvey]

Hmm, I thought this sounded quite fast too. But it does evoke the idea of raindrops falling on stuff.

[pedrobesteiras]

Pas sous "la pluie", mais "sous la temête"!

Fantastique Martha, comment toujours!

[pedrobesteiras]

*tempête

[SoooAudrey]

i agree amazing

[aldebussy]

Master of repeated notes, trills and tremolos!

[ryuu304]

so fast...but unlike a lot of the other vids on youtube this you hear the melody very well here :)

[jvmalfi]

yes she plays clearly always

[aldebussy]

I also like Pascal Roge's.

I am so into Ravel, but I don't find Debussy as interesting. I don't know why. Arrau said Debussy's deeper. Maybe that's why!

Beautiful interpretation!

[Lustre1987]

I agree Ravel is awesome, however Debussy did write a beautiful rhapsody for clarinet.

Irrespective of that, once again Martha produces a masterful performance!

[aldebussy]

I'll give that rhapsody a try! Thanks for your recommendation!

[jvmalfi]

i agree

[musissionary93]

Pascal Roge's was the first recording I listened to of this piece; trying not to be prejudiced, and having listened to other videos on YT, I think it is by far the best. Just a dream to listen to.

[Lidiazinha]

fantastic! Marta Argeirich is always great!

[jvmalfi]

the greatest i think