Etude'Stairway of the devil'by G. Ligeti RudolfPGolez,Piano

[AceProdACTION]

This piece is known for a part of it which has at one point a ƒƒƒƒƒƒ and progresses to a ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒ!!!

[ldgiord]

look how much he is enjoying.. bravo !!

[gsarci2011]

bravo, pilipinas!

[asdf123764]

I love the interpretation. However, I do not like the acoustics of the room that much.

[beastheyareorbealone]

personal favorite off of youtube bar none

[jkenefick]

And I think in general this version isn't interpreted properly.

[jkenefick]

There are scarier versions on the internet...

[thesillycunt]

Is this the Precipitato by Prokofiev?

[Niekpas1]

@thesillycunt

No.

[jmastaflash1000]

any song title that starts with "the devil's..." is definitly extremely difficult. 

[UltimaXG2]

I hate Greg Anderson's version just because he comes across as a massive douche. Something about his playing ruins the mood and makes it sound douchey rather than stressful.

[robertmbruno]

I like this . It does remind me of a tape loop repeatedly going up in the beginning . A terrific effect which seems to continue that theme and the imagery of "Devil's Staircase" certainly ading to the poetic direction of the piece . Thank you for posting this performance. Again , beauty is in the eye or ear of the beholder .I don't imagine a painting as a contest but as a work of art to be enjoyed . It is also enjoyable to know that others recognize and share interest in this music .

[MrDesperateArtist]

lol.. nice one rudolf!!!

[Lawrence89MUSICman]

I agree with Metzmachine, he is trying way to hard to be expressive. this piece is for technicality and mechanics not phrasing. I should hear more of the tenutoed inner voices and feel a beat that I can understand and predict. It's hard listening to this, he is changing the tempo so much it makes me feel uncomfortable. For any of you pianist out there, you will understand.

[tk2026]

interesting phrasing... (call me old fashioned but, i was taught if you do not have anything nice to say, well ... i was encourage to play this peice for finger exercises & harmonic understanding) i wish i was not broke and had access piano+camera beacuse it would be the first thing i would want to share with e/o.

[fantasticplasticluc]

As many poeple in this world, I'm not abble to play this piece. Still it's my favorite version here. If the compositor has not expected a liberty in the piano playing, why calling this "the devil staircase" instead of just etude 10? To me this version is expressive and poetic.

[dusanholy]

It will be better when this guy will dance on the beach somewhere in HonoLulu...

Cannot agree with this version.... because I'm also pianist... and know very well the score...

Must agree with fact that Anderson's version is much much more better.. because Anderson plays what is written.. This guy have some other problems and the last what he think's Devil.. ;)

I practise now also this piece so when I pull it to my head I'll also share it here... ;)

[MrDesperateArtist]

show us how you performed it then????

lol, your just a noisy freak who knows nothing!!!..

post your own video and lets see if i can dance in your playing too...

[dusanholy]

Look better to your mouth first ... before saying bullshits like this.. ;)

[MrDesperateArtist]

you keep on talking versions whatever,, and criticizing this man's playing.. BEFORE YOU CRITICIZE YOU MUST LOOK AT YOURSELF FIRST... take care...

[twooffour]

Wrong attitude.

[keyboardmaster82]

who cares who's version is "better". anyone who can play this piece with confidence has ample technical capacity to blow away any piece that you negative commenters can possibly play. Stop being a hater and enjoy different interpretations of music, for the love of god...

[jiolsmolimassunemo]

i generally agree with your sentiment here, but... do you realize how useless and petty it is when attempting to criticize a work or form an opinion of one to use the technical capabilities of another person that doesn't have anything to do with the performance at hand? It doesn't matter if somebody commenting can't play the piece or doesn't have the technical ability to, what matters is what the performer in the video does.

[MrDesperateArtist]

yup.. your right... you are the only sane here,, other's are assholes who are keep on criticizing without real knowhow...

[twooffour]

If you think this Etude covers all technical difficulties of all other piano works (the users here possibly have played, let's not forget that), you're pretty dumb.

[TheMetzMachine]

@twooffour , For sure. This etude is actually relatively easy, compared to some of the others Ligeti himself wrote, as well as those of other composers. I'd rather play this piece than, say Chopin op. 10, no. 1?, any day.

[stephencraigen]

@TheMetzMachine On both counts, all I can say is 'Really?'

[stephencraigen]

@TheMetzMachine Ok just to clarify...I think Fanfares, Der Zauberlehring, Arc-en-ciel and Fém are all far easier than this. Or does your brain work easily with crazy patterns that come from this?

[TheMetzMachine]

@stephencraigen, This piece is a bit of a mind trip, but the technical demands are not extreme. Unpredictable, seemingly random cross accents coupled with the absence of a regular meter make this piece hard. But the lack of excessive technical demands make those rhythmic challenges easier to cope with. I'm not saying this piece is easy (though it is among the easier of Ligeti's etudes). But still, the purely physical demands of the piece are quite moderate.

[ronshirt]

@keyboardmaster82

TheMetzMachine make a valid criticism, but UltimaXG2 makes their point very well. MrDesperateArtist and Lawrence89MUSICman appeal to my intellect, and dusanholy gets right to the point. In the end, I believe that keyboardmaster82 has the critical capacity and vocabulary to best present their case. I think his (her) comment is best.

[charis16filipina]

He is my mentor in piano...

[MrLovre]

Greg Anderson's version is better.

Anyway this one is nice, this piece is not often performed.

Why is there no any sheet music on the Internet?!

I wish I could grab that one on his piano!!

[nemost01]

I found the book II, that contains l'scalier, on µTorrent, this version is well-scanned one. Type 'Ligeti - Etudes Bk 2' or 'Piano Sheets 1-4 and more' on Isohunt. if you have torrent you know what i'm saying. never imagined to find it on torrent after searching the whole internet about a year.

[TheMetzMachine]

It's not on public domain. This piece was only first published in 1992. And Ligeti just died in 2006.

[ciliaspippi]

Because, in this capitalist system, everything has to be paid for. And copyrights on Ligetti's music has not expired yet. Therefore, his music is difficult to come by.

[MrLovre]

@ciliaspippi just don't tell me that, i downloaded the sheets two years ago.

it doesn't have to be paid =)

[ciliaspippi]

@MrLovre Aren't you lucky the internet is so willing to relinquish such music to you.

[MrLovre]

@ciliaspippi =)

[ciliaspippi]

@MrLovre Even though it is not quite "legal", I am thankful that the internet has allowed such an exchange of music.

If you wouldn't mind.... which source did you get the score from? I am mesmerized by this piece

[FindingInnerPeace]

Its really effective at the end how the pianist pauses for the sound to die away, really leaves you in suspense even though you know the piece is finished. The piece itself is really effective and dramatic by the use of the extremes of registers.

[SidewalkFrequencies]

lacking in gonads, check out greg Anderson's version.

[vjDITTO]

Muy bien tocado!

[cesar314]

I love the interpretation. The affectations and rubato given make for a great sense of impetus and motion in the beginning, but after much repetition really instills the sense of futility as the energy and force of that technique dies down. The effect on the development of the piece is moving and harrowing. Well done, Rudolf.

[CoritoSaguin]

This is one of my all-time favorites...from one of my favorite artists...

[crixbebz]

rudolf! haha this s danielle s. you're amazing!

[alhambra14]

Bravo Rudolf.

[SJEFRH]

I love the ending, you have to wait for the sound to disappear

[charis16filipina]

this pianist is mr. rudolf pelaez golez...

he is a good friend of mine here in liceo de cagayan university...

[marcelmombeek]

this is great music and not often performed... good pianist!!! who is this?