Of particular interest is his use of tempo rubato as well as rhythmic devises, including 'jumping' the beat, accelerando, and dramatic tempo changes: in the hands of a lesser pianist this would not work, but Hofmann pulls it off by the strength of this phrasing and musical motivation. We can hear that Hofmann loved explosive, even bombastic, climaxes, which along with the grand gestures, are qualities he must have picked up from his teacher, the mighty Anton Rubinstein.
I wanted to hear Hofmann's Ballade. And it is exquisite, no denying he was a master, one of the greatest. No denying Rachmaninoff's admiration for Hofmann - and Horowitz - not difficult to understand why.
Extremely fortunate that we can listen to all these rare recordings of Hofmann, Rach, others. TY truecrypt - once again :-))
Having said that, Rachmaninoff is the one "god" in pianism for the ages :-))
Haunting, ghostly. Vulnerable, perfect. A beautiful story behind told. A dream being felt.
An answer to a specific question. A certain taste that fits well with such textures. The quality is impeccable and the tiniest of details haven't gone unnoticed. He played for a large audience and I'm certain a lot of those audiences went on to become pianists, or, at least spent the rest of their life dreaming of it for themselves or their children.
@codonauta I am led to believe that the C sharp minor prelude is the only video recording of Hofmann ever made (on account of his scepticism towards new modern recording techniques).
@dragoncaviar And films with Rachmamninoff playing, nor a single one! It seems Rachmanonoff didn´t like to be filmed playing, and today we don´t have a single registracion of him playing, just audio.
Hofmann's technique is far superior to Horowitz's technique. "We are all schoolboys compared to Hofmann" Rachmaninoff said. Even today's pianists are schoolboys in comparison with him. His sound control, his ability to give prominence to voices are absolutely amazing. Hofmann's performances seem to be like lessons on how you play the piano at levels unattainable for others, so that often I prefer Kempff, pianist with hands far more modest, but an interpreter with a high depth and interiority .
i have heard a lot of versions of Chopin's Ballade 1, but this is my favourite still. and i do not know exactly why. his playing seems to be so respectful.
i loved Arrau's version as well, and Zimmermann's also (though i had to smile at his gestures involuntarily. he looked like somebody who is conducting butterflies. :)
I suppose these motions helped him in phrasing. (i am just pondering)
@sstrunks5555 That prelude at the start is an old fashioned practice called 'harmonic prepararion'. Those scales are played in fingures and not gliss. You should really go to hofmann playing the Andante Spianato and grande Polonaise live in Philadelphia. It has both Harmonic preperation AND themost incredible performance of that piece ever played by anyone. It will sound fast to you at firat but after several jaw-dropping listenings you begin to understand that his tempo is perfection.
Well, today it would be considered indulgent and theatrical... I don't mind it being considered that, but this uncompromising mindset has really stifled individuality.
This has absolutely amazingly terraced and contoured voices in the quieter parts. I believe, in general, his transcendental brilliance shows more in the lyrical rather than in the bravura or louder parts. The louder parts are overplayed here to the point that they are at times noisy and sloppy.
I wonder, if there were no mention of Josef Hofmann's name on this posting and the pianist were anonymous, what the effect would be on the reviews and impressions? We may be ready to praise before hearing the first note simply because we know in advance that a legend's output is forthcoming. We tell ourselves we are listening to Hofmann. Much sincerity of impression is lost when sounds cannot simply be sounds, there is no room for surprise, and all must be heard as Hofmann.
And people who already know Hofmann's recordings but had not listened to this would say, this is probably Hofmann, nobody else would (and possibly could) have played this ballade in such a way. He had a very distinct sense of rhythm and exactitude that not many other pianists have (or want to have).
all I can say is....aside from showing off his skills, Hofmann hardly did anything with this piece....except for showcasing it perhaps. Anyone who can hear any fulfillment after hearing this, I admire you, because I can only hear emptiness.
@andreystukalov I can favorite Richter,Tureck, or Sofronitsky (which for your information are few of my favorite pianists), but I simply enjoy alternative rock/indie more often. Calling my favorites shit only shows how narrow-minded and stereotypical you are.
@andreystukalov I just checked out your favorites. Very showy pianists you got there!!! I'm not in a good mood today, and even though I can put off with the fact that you offended me, I cannot stand a stereotypical mind offending true musicians.
Misinformed yes, but wrong? Maybe not, but that was the playing of a different time. People today have to look through a dusty window into that bygone era.
@RabidCh I said wrong because I never wanted to be on bad terms with you...and I rushed my judgment. I listen to much more older performances than recent ones because I indeed find them better. I judged Hofmann too harshly here, so I was really wrong in that. I was feeling empty apparently.
Józef Hofmann for the first part of the 20th century, György Cziffra for the second. Incomparable both of them.
Read "The Amazing Marriage of Marie Eustis and Josef Hofmann" and you'll see the kind of superhuman concerts he gave in Russia in the early 1900's, within superhuman timeframes and conditions.
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
Some idiots are simply not worth arguing with. Lang Lang cant shine Hofman's shoes, its just that simple. None other than Rachmaninoff himself said that Hofman was the best pianist of their time, bar none (if he was sober and in shape). The Maestro was not one to patronize or make insincere benedictions.
This is wonderful playing! Actually I am lost for words here. For me... when I feel a logic thread through it all I have little to say. But I can say that listening "live" to Hoffman must have been very "special".
He was reluctant to do recordings because of this. He did not think recordings could do his live recordings justice!
At least there are some piano rolls that has kept his music as close to the original as possible. Hoffman was unique, Horowitz was magical. Both are a real treasure!
Hofmann was one of the immortals in the history of piano playing, along with Lhevinne, Rachmaninoff, and Godowsky. His playing was, and is, the despair of nearly every other pianist. I just wish he wouldn't rewrite Chopin by adding notes to fill out certain sonorities, as so many romantic pianists did. In view of Hofmann's standing, it is surprising that Rubinstein, Arrau, and Horowitz all had disparaging things to say about him.
It's a shame that many times I click on a Youtube link for some superb performance, like this one, and read hatred underneath the video window whilst listening to the music. I suppose great music will always attract debate but maybe I'm expecting too much in wishing that people would think before launching into childish criticism of genius-level talents like Josef Hofmann. He could have played a Chopin work backwards and still made it sound musical :-) Music is more than the dots on the page!
People spend too much time arguing in the comments section and not enough time listening to the brilliant music right above it. For fuck's sake, you hit play and you get Josef Hofmann. Let the music speak for itself.
what say?..for various reasons, physical and mental, technical and aesthetic, Hofmann was the greatest pianist in history ... the comparisons are possible with Rachmaninoff or Lhevinne or very few others (all dead) ...
Lang Lang is a literal nothing compared to Hofmann - the debate is beyond stupid, and no one with any depth and breath of musical knowledge - and understanding would even bother to indulge it.
@rightman220 brassmonkeyjew is one of those die hard LL fans, he has no musical perception what so ever. i have been in arguments with him in the past. it seems as if he is intentionally criticizing people like hoffman, rachmainoff, and horowitz, and gives great praise to LL.
(contd)....maintains it. Many other performers don't which sounds odd since there are no markings to indicate slowing down. Moreover the second occurance of the 'Meno Mosso' theme should be whatever speed you've chosen in the fast waltz section in Eb, not slower. The piece's technical demands can be overcome easily (if one plays the piano of course) but the real conundrum are the tempos and adhering to the score of this absolute gem. Sorry for the long rambling!
(contd.) not the case of Hofmann but most treat it as 'faster' for some reason. Another problem is after the re-instatement of the 'Meno mosso' in E major; the descending figure leading into the 'piu' animato'. What some performers do is play the quavers faster then slow-down at the waltz section. It doesn't have a tempo marking (i.e. come prima or tempo primo or whatever) so ideally it should be the same speed you picked up. I think Gavrilov does this, he picks a tempo for the sections then....
If the other listeners will allow, I really don't like it. Bits of it sound really horrible, barking, like when he thumps the bottom notes. The fluctuations in tempo don't make any sense either.
I have just picked up this ballade again after some years and was perplexed by many interpretrations of it, particularly in slowing-speeding up some sections. For instance 'Agitato' isn't a tempo marking in the reinstatement of the B theme (after the episodic material and embellishments if you like)..
I think a lot of what you don't like may be the fault of the recording. For me the fluctuations in tempo are part of what make this reading so dramatic.
Everyone! Keep in mind that the recording quality in Hofmann's time were awful. He may have been playing at a beautifully serene pianissimo and then shifted to a powerful forte. But on the recording it all sounds the same. You really had to have heard Josef Hofmann at a live concert.
Beautiful! I sometimes wonder if one gets used to some of the geniuses who one hears in childhood and youth. There was a Danish pianist, Victor Schioeler, who played the G-minor Ballad so beautifully, not unlike Hoffman, but with a little suttle refinement when the right hand "breaks loose" after the A-major version of the cantabile theme: the "flight" upwards was staccato or at least without pedal making it a flourish growing more naturally into the "wild walz"passage.
the part at about 4:50...listen to horowitz's interpretation ...sexiest ever...his wrist pops like a vibrator mode...all regards to jozef hofman btw...
@FlashyCat2008 The quality of your comment is amazing. Reading it is a truly edifying experience. You are obviously a person of unusual intelligence, insight and perceptiveness and with an impeccable command of language.
I will take that as a compliment even though you obviously meant it as an insult. No matter, there is no arguing with people on YT so might as well just state it like it is.
Tearing is the act of breaking apart a material by force, without the aid of a cutting tool. A tear in a piece of paper, fabric, or some other similar ....
This recording proves it: The G minor Ballade makes more people cough than any other piano piece. Just kidding around, sorry. Many pianists can play this Ballade accurately. Few can make it their own the way Hoffman does. A master of the piano and a brilliant interpreter of Chopin.
brassmonkeyjew, a midi sequencer can play faster than anyone...so what? its josef hofman...try to appreciate what this piece contains...it's no 100m sprint or F1...its music...
There is no nexus between Darwinism and "competition" between Hofmann and Lang Lang. The set of rules is different.
On other hand, if you want to imply that in 100 years Lang Lang's performance will be treasured on a par with Hofmann's - I'm not so sure. At his best years H was unreachable even by strictly technical standards. Let's compare them when LL will be able to perform 21 recitals within month or two with no piece repeated.
What does the number of concerts you perform have anything to do with how great you are... i can perform 365 concerts a year for my cat. Does that make me better then both of them?
You didn't understand me... Even Hofmann's "physiological" abilities are incomparable to those of LL. 21 HISTORIC concerts were played on the highest possible level. As for intonation and ability to *speak* at the piano - this is still untouched territory for LL, who is a very good pianist but not much more.. Your culinary comparison would only work if you'd have an impeccable taste... Please extend my condolences to your cat! ;)
@brassmonkeyjew Shut the fuck up, you cunt, langy langy is a bag of fuckin shit compared to Hofmann. Anyone with a brain stem can tell that. Suck the shit outta my asshole.
if art is high developed enough we only may serve and love it. or do you think that we should discuss about who is a "better" composer Bach or Mozart?
as for me hofmann had been one of the greatest pianist in all times!
Watch footage of his playing. Total integration with the piano, no wasted movements but smooth, with calmness, almost as if he is in piano-playing-nirvana.
Not everybody may like his interpretations, but there was no denying that he was one of the greatest pianists that ever lived.
there are similiarities within the expression which reminds Horowitz. And the quick notes are done so clearly and precisely . What a wonderful pianist. There were only few pianists capable to reach that level where musicality and an extreme technical ability comes together. And its a generous style how he plays never out of good taste. Maybe the most interesting interpretation of this piece.
He has an extraordinary ability to layer the sounds of the music, creating a texture I've never heard before. Beautiful to the extreme and somewhat shocking. Thank you, truecrypt.
A very excentric approach to this piece. From quiet beauty and senstivity it suddenly changes to extreme crescendo's and rubato's. Since Hofmanns technique used to be flawless he could do as he wanted on the piano, despite his alcoholical abuse later in life. Too extreme for my taste, it is too far away from the meaning of the word "ballad"...
It's wild Don. He was once a young man trying desperately to make it for his family. You know, things were different. It's on a visceral level that you must try to understand Hofmann. He was a hero in the tragic sense. I am his biggest fan. He was a huge success. I would be very happy to be like that. What separates us from animals? This. I can do anything I set my mind to. This Ballad is about that...the impossible feat.
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Les extremes se touchent (the extremes come together) is coming to mind when reading your post. Your own approach to this ballad is far more controlled than Hofmann's with his extreme outbursts. What I do recognise is Hofmann's genius in his earlier years. I've got some fine early performances from him on rolls. By the time sound and filmrecording were good enough, his talent was mostly gone. Alas, almost as with Cortot, who just managed his last 1957 recording.
Well said Don. I have the 1912-1918 Columbia rec, and the 1903 Gramophone and Typewriter rec on a CD (VAi AUDIO). So you have rolls? That is interesting. I think you have to listen between the lines a bit. And player piano rolls are great. Wish I had a way to hear that. You should post.
Hoffmann has such a brilliant technique and therefore can play the difficult parts so easily . The result is that he can interpretate so freely here and show us a new dimension of this piece. He was polish like Chopin and is close to the polish style of interpretation. Like Chopin he left his country and had an open spirit....
I like to compare this with the Richter version presented by truecrypt. Both are absolutely brilliant but....
Richter makes me feel he wants me to appreciate his performance from afar.
Hoffman gets under my skin and plays into my soul. Hoffman does that sort of thing often--sometimes it seems he has a special license for it that no one else possesses.
Richter feels like he's playing for everyone, Hoffman makes me feel he's playing for me.
There are plenty of good recordings out there, and this is certainly one of the better ones. It's quite a shame the audio quality wasn't better back then so that we might hear more of his insight. I gotta say, hoffman puts the fuoco in presto con fuoco
so take my advice and listen to horowitz´carnegie hall performance of chopin´s first ballad.afterwards we can talk again who of us is serious or not!!
@CoolWJL I actually think Horowitz had a fuller and superior sound. Also, he often arranged the phrases such that it all sounded beautiful --- even people who do not appreciate classical music are struck by his playing. I place Hofmann on the same pedestal but give this edge to Horowitz.
You are an idiot,.,.Go and read about this Giant on wikipedia
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
@bazzatt1 I wrote most of that wikipedia article & remember it well. If you really think about it, the written facts that corroborate a pedestal stature of Hofmann among the great pianists/critics are limited to Schonberg's anecdotes & articles, Stephen Gough's article in 00's, the "King of Pianist" article in NYT '18, and a letter of Rachmaninoff. In the "Great Pianist" DVD, Sandor called him "The Greatest of Them All" while scratching his nose!
@bazzatt1 Our comments are post-facto and not based on the full repertoire of Hofmann at his various stages. He was about the pick of the lot for masses _&_ connoisseurs. And Rach did proclaim him #1 by far (once in 20's, once in 1930, and once in late 30's) ... it was a studied opinion and not modesty. I personally feel Hofmann cut emotion/soul out of his music as if it were beneath him. That takes guts but I like Richter & Rach better because they didn't cut it out completely.
@bazzatt1 First, learn to read, second, stop insulting people, that's being a idiot. 3th, go away to a other youtube forum, where you can insult people that are like you. go defend bieber.
You stupid fuck,..,.,look what RACHMANINOFF SAID ABOUT HOFMANN
After hearing a performance of Chopin's B minor Sonata by Hofmann, Rachmaninoff cut that piece from his own repertoire saying "not since Anton Rubinstein have I heard such titanic playing"
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
the quality of hofmann; i mean the utter fluency with which he expressed his ideas and emotions through hammers, strings and a load of wood, its just incredible.
and then theres the sound, that beautiful, all-encompasing blood red sound; theres never even a whif of a shallow tone.
... the golden age of the piano with all these godowskies, hofmanns and lhevinnes around ... in comparison to that we nowadays have almost reached desert island. where are the artists of such caliber today - playing for their life on stage, having the utmost command of the keyboard both in terms of colors and scales (just listen to 7:52)? these old recordings are the best therapy against ruined ears when having heard another bang bang. thank you so much for posting your treasuries!
todays pianists can only get a career if they win a big competition. in order to get enough points from the jury you cannot play individualy. more or less the competition custom makes music equal. those who don't want and who don't need a career have chances to become an individual unique interpretator like edwin fischer, josef hofmann, samson francois, vladimir horowitz and other legends.
An electrifying performance, no doubt. It ranks up there with Cortot's & Rubinstein's interpretations....The elite group of pianists I consider to be are Rachmaninov, Bolet, Lhevinne, Cziffra, and the fiercely talented Marc-Andre Hamelin.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
first of all:
the presto part, which is called "presto con fuoco" by chopin himself, which ~literally~ translates to "quickly with fire" is just played "too fast". maybe i should have been more precise: hofman just destroys the musical integrity of this part by palying it ~pratically~ too fast.
Nevertheless, this performance is worth being heard and thx to truecrypt we have it now on youtube.
and who am I to type this rubbish? well im a concert pianist. maybe that qualifies at least a bit sir.
The greatest of the greats. Only a handful of others were on the same level. Lhevinne and Rachmaninov were,and possibly Horowitz,Richter and Michelangeli. There were many greats,and Lipatti and Kapell could also be included. A good case could be made for a fair number of other greats,but none as great IMHO as the top three.
This is a pretty astonishing performance. I know many of Hofmann's recordings, but have never heard this. I agree with your inclusion of him with Lhevinne (I was privileged to know and study with his wife) and Rachmaninoff in the top tier. I'd include Lipatti, but not Kapell. Schnabel is up there, too, for different reasons than the others. Listen to his recording of the slow movement of the Hammerklavier and you will understand.
donaldcallen-I'm glad to see you listing Lipatti in the all time greats. This as much of what Hofmann did -was truly astounding. I stick with Hoffman, Lhevinne,Rachmaninov, adding just Lipatti to these elites.For honourable mention there are Michelangeli and Richter.
I would not include either Michelangeli or Richter in the first tier. Michelangeli had tremendous command of the instrument (as does Pollini), but what he did with it is another matter. There are isolated performances that I think are wonderful, but I don't care for his playing overall. My opinion. Richter is unquestionably great -- fabulous technique, deep thinker, wonderful spirit. But enough of his playing is so far below his best that I don't think he makes the top tier.
Difficult to summarize here, not only because of the space, but because it was about 50 years ago. Technically, she emphasized relaxation. She would come up behind you while you were playing and put her hand under your forearm, to see if she could lift it. She was fanatical about scales and arpeggios and did them herself every day well into old age. If you haven't heard her recordings of Mozart 21 and the Chopin E-minor, you are missing something. An amazing woman and a wonderful musician.
I certainly have heard those (although I prefer Hofmann's Chopin E-Minor). Something about her playing suggests that she must have been a great teacher and a great person. Thanks for sharing your account.
I will never tire of this. I bring us up to 81 comments, yet no words any of us have poured onto these pages will ever truly described the feelings brought on by such a powerful performance. The only thing to do is listen, and cherish it.
This performance is so beautiful, so emotional, here I feel so alive, the music is living, so moving that it brings tears to my eyes. I do absolutely adore Hofmann here playing. Poetry. Bravo!
Impressive. Its very musical and the interpretation is very unique. I love it! But still my personal favorite interpretation of this piece is Vladimir Ashkenazy and Evgeny Kissin. I invite you all to listen to their CDs and listen to their amazing talent and musicality.
Now I understand why Hoffman is considered one of the immortals of the piano; this is beyond belief! Hoffman didn't leave a rich recorded legacy as so many other great pianists did, but this justifies his great reputation. Chopin loved this composition of his, and here we can truly see into its greatness.
You can hear the electricity in the air while he modulates before the piece begins. Then it does, like no one else. That theme is different with each utterance. I sat there and crfied the first time I heard this. Chopin is singing his heart out for us through this wonderful man.
Astonishing coda. Surely no one who lived into the era of Welte Mignon rolls or phonograph recordings could equal it. The influence of Liszt is everywhere in his interpretation. Makes you wonder how Liszt played it himself.
What a fascinating discovery! Nobody would play like that today, but then nobody could!! Hofmann was truly one of the giants of the piano...the way he builds up to that terrifying coda is amazing
One of the best, certainly the most ACCURATE video description I've seen: "No description is needed"
!!!
GetMeThere1 1 month ago
Of particular interest is his use of tempo rubato as well as rhythmic devises, including 'jumping' the beat, accelerando, and dramatic tempo changes: in the hands of a lesser pianist this would not work, but Hofmann pulls it off by the strength of this phrasing and musical motivation. We can hear that Hofmann loved explosive, even bombastic, climaxes, which along with the grand gestures, are qualities he must have picked up from his teacher, the mighty Anton Rubinstein.
rekab7070 1 month ago
I wanted to hear Hofmann's Ballade. And it is exquisite, no denying he was a master, one of the greatest. No denying Rachmaninoff's admiration for Hofmann - and Horowitz - not difficult to understand why.
Extremely fortunate that we can listen to all these rare recordings of Hofmann, Rach, others. TY truecrypt - once again :-))
Having said that, Rachmaninoff is the one "god" in pianism for the ages :-))
Bret6464 2 months ago
Awesome.Could anyone in history have been any better.T.Y. truecrypt for posting.
paulostroff99 3 months ago
thank you for this
vcupiano 4 months ago
and other ballades? has he recorded them? it's Absolutely Incredible but i guess Hofmann wasn't content enough.
Katamanteuomos 5 months ago
Haunting, ghostly. Vulnerable, perfect. A beautiful story behind told. A dream being felt.
An answer to a specific question. A certain taste that fits well with such textures. The quality is impeccable and the tiniest of details haven't gone unnoticed. He played for a large audience and I'm certain a lot of those audiences went on to become pianists, or, at least spent the rest of their life dreaming of it for themselves or their children.
Chopin was a genius. Josef proves that here.
ChrisWatch 5 months ago
We don´t have many J. Hofmann´s videos to watch, do we? I mean, videos with image. I know just that one of Rachmaninoff's prelude.
codonauta 6 months ago
@codonauta I am led to believe that the C sharp minor prelude is the only video recording of Hofmann ever made (on account of his scepticism towards new modern recording techniques).
dragoncaviar 6 months ago
@codonauta Actually ... a quick search on youtube throws up this too ... 8xCYaq_zbwE
dragoncaviar 6 months ago
@dragoncaviar Yes, really. A very rare one, and with images from above, when we can see his hands working. . Thanks for the tip.
codonauta 6 months ago
@dragoncaviar And films with Rachmamninoff playing, nor a single one! It seems Rachmanonoff didn´t like to be filmed playing, and today we don´t have a single registracion of him playing, just audio.
codonauta 6 months ago
ah, this is refreshingly new (to me ;)
Wonderful to hear such an original, yet genial (and, of course, technically perfected) performance.
Haha, this made my day! :)
gunce57 6 months ago
oh my jesus. and i thought horowitz had a strong left hand.....
fledgehog 7 months ago
Hofmann's technique is far superior to Horowitz's technique. "We are all schoolboys compared to Hofmann" Rachmaninoff said. Even today's pianists are schoolboys in comparison with him. His sound control, his ability to give prominence to voices are absolutely amazing. Hofmann's performances seem to be like lessons on how you play the piano at levels unattainable for others, so that often I prefer Kempff, pianist with hands far more modest, but an interpreter with a high depth and interiority .
KathleenFerrier 7 months ago
i have heard a lot of versions of Chopin's Ballade 1, but this is my favourite still. and i do not know exactly why. his playing seems to be so respectful.
i loved Arrau's version as well, and Zimmermann's also (though i had to smile at his gestures involuntarily. he looked like somebody who is conducting butterflies. :)
I suppose these motions helped him in phrasing. (i am just pondering)
miamareye 7 months ago
I am happy to have it heard. An admirable musician he was. I loved the discussion here also.
miamareye 8 months ago
Is he actually playing those scales at the end, or is he just glissing up the keys? O_o Such a great performance. Love the prelude at the start.
sstrunks5555 10 months ago
@sstrunks5555 That prelude at the start is an old fashioned practice called 'harmonic prepararion'. Those scales are played in fingures and not gliss. You should really go to hofmann playing the Andante Spianato and grande Polonaise live in Philadelphia. It has both Harmonic preperation AND themost incredible performance of that piece ever played by anyone. It will sound fast to you at firat but after several jaw-dropping listenings you begin to understand that his tempo is perfection.
aardvaark069 10 months ago
I love that effect at 4:53-4:55. Not likely to hear anything that creative or imaginative on todays' stages.
aardvaark069 10 months ago
@aardvaark069
Well, today it would be considered indulgent and theatrical... I don't mind it being considered that, but this uncompromising mindset has really stifled individuality.
RabidCh 10 months ago
@RabidCh I am in complete agreement..
aardvaark069 10 months ago
Too bad the pedants prevail -the plethora of expression continues to reveal the miracle of the music-
Bruce88keys 1 year ago
The presto con -fouco sound like fire works.
MrRaphaelBM 1 year ago 2
This has absolutely amazingly terraced and contoured voices in the quieter parts. I believe, in general, his transcendental brilliance shows more in the lyrical rather than in the bravura or louder parts. The louder parts are overplayed here to the point that they are at times noisy and sloppy.
mstalcup 1 year ago
I wonder, if there were no mention of Josef Hofmann's name on this posting and the pianist were anonymous, what the effect would be on the reviews and impressions? We may be ready to praise before hearing the first note simply because we know in advance that a legend's output is forthcoming. We tell ourselves we are listening to Hofmann. Much sincerity of impression is lost when sounds cannot simply be sounds, there is no room for surprise, and all must be heard as Hofmann.
mstalcup 1 year ago
@mstalcup
And people who already know Hofmann's recordings but had not listened to this would say, this is probably Hofmann, nobody else would (and possibly could) have played this ballade in such a way. He had a very distinct sense of rhythm and exactitude that not many other pianists have (or want to have).
RabidCh 11 months ago
3:50 I didn't know hofmann was also a virtuoso tranquilisist.
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
all I can say is....aside from showing off his skills, Hofmann hardly did anything with this piece....except for showcasing it perhaps. Anyone who can hear any fulfillment after hearing this, I admire you, because I can only hear emptiness.
movoning 1 year ago
@movoning your retarded homo take the jizzum out of ur ears plox
Gargantupimp 1 year ago
@movoning Listen to the shit that is in your Favourite videos. You can't understand classical music. Hofmann is the best.
andreystukalov 1 year ago
@andreystukalov I can favorite Richter,Tureck, or Sofronitsky (which for your information are few of my favorite pianists), but I simply enjoy alternative rock/indie more often. Calling my favorites shit only shows how narrow-minded and stereotypical you are.
movoning 1 year ago
@andreystukalov ah, forgot to mention Rachmaninoff, Hess, Neuhaus, and Moiseiswitsch! I like Medtner's music and playing too!
movoning 1 year ago
@andreystukalov I just checked out your favorites. Very showy pianists you got there!!! I'm not in a good mood today, and even though I can put off with the fact that you offended me, I cannot stand a stereotypical mind offending true musicians.
movoning 1 year ago
@movoning
Most of the favorites in his list are hardly "showy" recordings. I suggest you should do a little more research on these pianists.
RabidCh 1 year ago
@RabidCh I was wrong
movoning 1 year ago
@movoning
Misinformed yes, but wrong? Maybe not, but that was the playing of a different time. People today have to look through a dusty window into that bygone era.
RabidCh 1 year ago
@RabidCh I said wrong because I never wanted to be on bad terms with you...and I rushed my judgment. I listen to much more older performances than recent ones because I indeed find them better. I judged Hofmann too harshly here, so I was really wrong in that. I was feeling empty apparently.
I really like this now,
movoning 1 year ago
Józef Hofmann for the first part of the 20th century, György Cziffra for the second. Incomparable both of them.
Read "The Amazing Marriage of Marie Eustis and Josef Hofmann" and you'll see the kind of superhuman concerts he gave in Russia in the early 1900's, within superhuman timeframes and conditions.
Stukov16 1 year ago
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
bazzatt1 1 year ago
Those who always compare LL to such musicians: Don't ever forget the difference between being a pianist and being a musician.
animumaurarium 1 year ago
14 dislikes? I wonder who are those...
Tsotne16 1 year ago
Some idiots are simply not worth arguing with. Lang Lang cant shine Hofman's shoes, its just that simple. None other than Rachmaninoff himself said that Hofman was the best pianist of their time, bar none (if he was sober and in shape). The Maestro was not one to patronize or make insincere benedictions.
sgivas 1 year ago 2
This is wonderful playing! Actually I am lost for words here. For me... when I feel a logic thread through it all I have little to say. But I can say that listening "live" to Hoffman must have been very "special".
He was reluctant to do recordings because of this. He did not think recordings could do his live recordings justice!
At least there are some piano rolls that has kept his music as close to the original as possible. Hoffman was unique, Horowitz was magical. Both are a real treasure!
maxhansendk 1 year ago
Hofmann was one of the immortals in the history of piano playing, along with Lhevinne, Rachmaninoff, and Godowsky. His playing was, and is, the despair of nearly every other pianist. I just wish he wouldn't rewrite Chopin by adding notes to fill out certain sonorities, as so many romantic pianists did. In view of Hofmann's standing, it is surprising that Rubinstein, Arrau, and Horowitz all had disparaging things to say about him.
karlakor 1 year ago
It's a shame that many times I click on a Youtube link for some superb performance, like this one, and read hatred underneath the video window whilst listening to the music. I suppose great music will always attract debate but maybe I'm expecting too much in wishing that people would think before launching into childish criticism of genius-level talents like Josef Hofmann. He could have played a Chopin work backwards and still made it sound musical :-) Music is more than the dots on the page!
ThoughtGazeCarlos 1 year ago
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ThoughtGazeCarlos 1 year ago
People spend too much time arguing in the comments section and not enough time listening to the brilliant music right above it. For fuck's sake, you hit play and you get Josef Hofmann. Let the music speak for itself.
EvanAllen91 1 year ago 2
I totally LOVE the coda here.
pipeorganloverNJP 1 year ago
what say?..for various reasons, physical and mental, technical and aesthetic, Hofmann was the greatest pianist in history ... the comparisons are possible with Rachmaninoff or Lhevinne or very few others (all dead) ...
gullivior 1 year ago
Comment removed
gullivior 1 year ago
Please stop talking about Lang Lang! He's not in this video!
t0nk0n 1 year ago
Lang Lang is a literal nothing compared to Hofmann - the debate is beyond stupid, and no one with any depth and breath of musical knowledge - and understanding would even bother to indulge it.
rightman220 1 year ago 9
@rightman220 brassmonkeyjew is one of those die hard LL fans, he has no musical perception what so ever. i have been in arguments with him in the past. it seems as if he is intentionally criticizing people like hoffman, rachmainoff, and horowitz, and gives great praise to LL.
nmbanana 1 year ago
@nmbanana It's very funny, because when you talk about Hoffman, Rachmaninoff and Horowitz, Lang Lang isn't anywhere CLOSE to being in the picture. :)
pipeorganloverNJP 1 year ago
@pipeorganloverNJP which is why i am still baffled at how he could criticize such gods of piano
nmbanana 1 year ago
The entire piece is just great but what he did with the coda is just amazing.
ultracoolhomies 1 year ago 2
@ultracoolhomies Totally agree. The coda was like a storm.
pipeorganloverNJP 1 year ago
(contd)....maintains it. Many other performers don't which sounds odd since there are no markings to indicate slowing down. Moreover the second occurance of the 'Meno Mosso' theme should be whatever speed you've chosen in the fast waltz section in Eb, not slower. The piece's technical demands can be overcome easily (if one plays the piano of course) but the real conundrum are the tempos and adhering to the score of this absolute gem. Sorry for the long rambling!
MusicComposer1 1 year ago
(contd.) not the case of Hofmann but most treat it as 'faster' for some reason. Another problem is after the re-instatement of the 'Meno mosso' in E major; the descending figure leading into the 'piu' animato'. What some performers do is play the quavers faster then slow-down at the waltz section. It doesn't have a tempo marking (i.e. come prima or tempo primo or whatever) so ideally it should be the same speed you picked up. I think Gavrilov does this, he picks a tempo for the sections then....
MusicComposer1 1 year ago
If the other listeners will allow, I really don't like it. Bits of it sound really horrible, barking, like when he thumps the bottom notes. The fluctuations in tempo don't make any sense either.
I have just picked up this ballade again after some years and was perplexed by many interpretrations of it, particularly in slowing-speeding up some sections. For instance 'Agitato' isn't a tempo marking in the reinstatement of the B theme (after the episodic material and embellishments if you like)..
MusicComposer1 1 year ago
@MusicComposer1
I think a lot of what you don't like may be the fault of the recording. For me the fluctuations in tempo are part of what make this reading so dramatic.
hophmi 1 year ago
Comment removed
MusicComposer1 1 year ago
The greatest recording of the 1st Ballade ever made. Period. I have never heard anything remotely like it.
hophmi 1 year ago 3
Everyone! Keep in mind that the recording quality in Hofmann's time were awful. He may have been playing at a beautifully serene pianissimo and then shifted to a powerful forte. But on the recording it all sounds the same. You really had to have heard Josef Hofmann at a live concert.
JohnnyStricklett 1 year ago
Beautiful! I sometimes wonder if one gets used to some of the geniuses who one hears in childhood and youth. There was a Danish pianist, Victor Schioeler, who played the G-minor Ballad so beautifully, not unlike Hoffman, but with a little suttle refinement when the right hand "breaks loose" after the A-major version of the cantabile theme: the "flight" upwards was staccato or at least without pedal making it a flourish growing more naturally into the "wild walz"passage.
Most dramatic!
AlfaAxel 1 year ago
the part at about 4:50...listen to horowitz's interpretation ...sexiest ever...his wrist pops like a vibrator mode...all regards to jozef hofman btw...
satyu131089 1 year ago
@satyu131089
Horowitz sucks. both Gilels and Rubenstein blow him away. Face it, the man just could not play Chopin.
FlashyCat2008 1 year ago
@FlashyCat2008 The quality of your comment is amazing. Reading it is a truly edifying experience. You are obviously a person of unusual intelligence, insight and perceptiveness and with an impeccable command of language.
Stofferdoffer 1 year ago
@Stofferdoffer
I will take that as a compliment even though you obviously meant it as an insult. No matter, there is no arguing with people on YT so might as well just state it like it is.
FlashyCat2008 1 year ago
this guy is tearing it up
Tearing is the act of breaking apart a material by force, without the aid of a cutting tool. A tear in a piece of paper, fabric, or some other similar ....
tnx for post
bunthum 1 year ago
This recording proves it: The G minor Ballade makes more people cough than any other piano piece. Just kidding around, sorry. Many pianists can play this Ballade accurately. Few can make it their own the way Hoffman does. A master of the piano and a brilliant interpreter of Chopin.
madmooster 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Lang Lang can play faster!
brassmonkeyjew 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew
I think George Carlin nailed it quite well:
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
truecrypt 1 year ago 4
@truecrypt
LMFAO! Umm i hate to break it to you but... I don't drive!
NICE TRY ANYWAYS...
A FOR EFFORT (thumbs up!)
brassmonkeyjew 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew its good that you dont drive, that probably has saved many lives. no one would want you behind the wheel with your kind of judgement
nmbanana 1 year ago
brassmonkeyjew, a midi sequencer can play faster than anyone...so what? its josef hofman...try to appreciate what this piece contains...it's no 100m sprint or F1...its music...
satyu131089 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew it is not a competition ^^
petrof4056 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@petrof4056
"it is not a competition"
You're right this guy is no competition for Lang Lang!
brassmonkeyjew 1 year ago
@petrof4056
Everything is a competition. Life itself is a competition from beginning to end ;)
brassmonkeyjew 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew
There is no nexus between Darwinism and "competition" between Hofmann and Lang Lang. The set of rules is different.
On other hand, if you want to imply that in 100 years Lang Lang's performance will be treasured on a par with Hofmann's - I'm not so sure. At his best years H was unreachable even by strictly technical standards. Let's compare them when LL will be able to perform 21 recitals within month or two with no piece repeated.
truecrypt 1 year ago 2
@truecrypt
What does the number of concerts you perform have anything to do with how great you are... i can perform 365 concerts a year for my cat. Does that make me better then both of them?
It's quality not quantity... DOG!
And Lang Lang is creme brulee to Hofmann's jello!
brassmonkeyjew 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew
You didn't understand me... Even Hofmann's "physiological" abilities are incomparable to those of LL. 21 HISTORIC concerts were played on the highest possible level. As for intonation and ability to *speak* at the piano - this is still untouched territory for LL, who is a very good pianist but not much more.. Your culinary comparison would only work if you'd have an impeccable taste... Please extend my condolences to your cat! ;)
truecrypt 1 year ago 5
@brassmonkeyjew
Actually it does, cats are far more discriminating than humans.
FlashyCat2008 1 year ago
Comment removed
JohnEBPiano 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew Shut the fuck up, you cunt, langy langy is a bag of fuckin shit compared to Hofmann. Anyone with a brain stem can tell that. Suck the shit outta my asshole.
Lassannn 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew
Yes, life is a competition with ourselves above all, to do our best and go beyond our limits.
CeaserXIX 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew
if art is high developed enough we only may serve and love it. or do you think that we should discuss about who is a "better" composer Bach or Mozart?
as for me hofmann had been one of the greatest pianist in all times!
klausknulp 1 year ago
@brassmonkeyjew jeez, you don't know when to stop making an idiot of yourself
nmbanana 1 year ago
His playing is just so badass!!! lol
AmericanCars101 1 year ago
che meravigliosa sonorità...!
davlak2 1 year ago
True, Truecrypt: No description needed.
ika2312 1 year ago
sensational effect at 4:53
aardvaark069 2 years ago 3
This man has a touch that I would do terrible, unforgivable things to acquire.
BachBachBachBachBach 2 years ago 7
Watch footage of his playing. Total integration with the piano, no wasted movements but smooth, with calmness, almost as if he is in piano-playing-nirvana.
Not everybody may like his interpretations, but there was no denying that he was one of the greatest pianists that ever lived.
RabidCh 2 years ago 4
there are similiarities within the expression which reminds Horowitz. And the quick notes are done so clearly and precisely . What a wonderful pianist. There were only few pianists capable to reach that level where musicality and an extreme technical ability comes together. And its a generous style how he plays never out of good taste. Maybe the most interesting interpretation of this piece.
uhartchristian 2 years ago
I ABSOLYTELY LOVED IT!!
stefthe80 2 years ago
Comment removed
rigel48 2 years ago
This recording is treasurable solely for its historic value. Hoffman was pupil of Anton Rubinstein --he was born in 1876!
Nevertheless, his playing is agile, elegant, very Polish. He talks via the piano, he dances with it. Fantastic.
Thanks for submitting it!
DelfosMX 2 years ago 3
at 7:35 there is a nuclear explosion
alfcassano 2 years ago 2
He has an extraordinary ability to layer the sounds of the music, creating a texture I've never heard before. Beautiful to the extreme and somewhat shocking. Thank you, truecrypt.
vstasov 2 years ago 5
try the gilels version of the live recording here on youtube, another excentric interpretation with risky tempi. great in another way....
this one here is quite good....
uhartchristian 2 years ago
A very excentric approach to this piece. From quiet beauty and senstivity it suddenly changes to extreme crescendo's and rubato's. Since Hofmanns technique used to be flawless he could do as he wanted on the piano, despite his alcoholical abuse later in life. Too extreme for my taste, it is too far away from the meaning of the word "ballad"...
donthuis 2 years ago
It's wild Don. He was once a young man trying desperately to make it for his family. You know, things were different. It's on a visceral level that you must try to understand Hofmann. He was a hero in the tragic sense. I am his biggest fan. He was a huge success. I would be very happy to be like that. What separates us from animals? This. I can do anything I set my mind to. This Ballad is about that...the impossible feat.
wildejag 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Les extremes se touchent (the extremes come together) is coming to mind when reading your post. Your own approach to this ballad is far more controlled than Hofmann's with his extreme outbursts. What I do recognise is Hofmann's genius in his earlier years. I've got some fine early performances from him on rolls. By the time sound and filmrecording were good enough, his talent was mostly gone. Alas, almost as with Cortot, who just managed his last 1957 recording.
donthuis 2 years ago
Well said Don. I have the 1912-1918 Columbia rec, and the 1903 Gramophone and Typewriter rec on a CD (VAi AUDIO). So you have rolls? That is interesting. I think you have to listen between the lines a bit. And player piano rolls are great. Wish I had a way to hear that. You should post.
wildejag 2 years ago
I never heard anything so inspiring before, save maybe Stephen Hough last night.
wildejag 2 years ago
Hoffmann has such a brilliant technique and therefore can play the difficult parts so easily . The result is that he can interpretate so freely here and show us a new dimension of this piece. He was polish like Chopin and is close to the polish style of interpretation. Like Chopin he left his country and had an open spirit....
uhartchristian 2 years ago
my greatest respect to this piece is still to zimmerman..
rvn10rvn17 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
He must not like the piece. Wants to get it over with as quickly as possible.
legamature 2 years ago
*LOL*
FloodYourWaders 2 years ago
I like to compare this with the Richter version presented by truecrypt. Both are absolutely brilliant but....
Richter makes me feel he wants me to appreciate his performance from afar.
Hoffman gets under my skin and plays into my soul. Hoffman does that sort of thing often--sometimes it seems he has a special license for it that no one else possesses.
Richter feels like he's playing for everyone, Hoffman makes me feel he's playing for me.
GetMeThere1 2 years ago 3
Only two versions?? :)
RabidCh 2 years ago
I like the rhythm that he gives to the coda!
huatut123 2 years ago
There are plenty of good recordings out there, and this is certainly one of the better ones. It's quite a shame the audio quality wasn't better back then so that we might hear more of his insight. I gotta say, hoffman puts the fuoco in presto con fuoco
royo90 2 years ago
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jubulalau 2 years ago
to play the first chopin ballada with such an immense imagination is really unique and makes the rendition so interesting.
although mr.hofmann doesnt have the same skills in technique and espressivo-sound like horowitz,this record proves great piano playing indeed.
i never heard the main theme and also the second one particularly so nice and deeply inspired.
berlinzerberus 2 years ago 3
"although mr.hofmann doesnt have the same skills in technique and espressivo-sound like horowitz"
You cannot be serious.
CoolWJL 2 years ago 23
hofmann is just different from horowitz. but you cannot say that they had different technique levels.
both are legends. i love both of the "craizy" geniouses
klausknulp 2 years ago 14
@klausknulp Aye to that.
pipeorganloverNJP 1 year ago
..really?
so take my advice and listen to horowitz´carnegie hall performance of chopin´s first ballad.afterwards we can talk again who of us is serious or not!!
berlinzerberus 1 year ago
@CoolWJL I actually think Horowitz had a fuller and superior sound. Also, he often arranged the phrases such that it all sounded beautiful --- even people who do not appreciate classical music are struck by his playing. I place Hofmann on the same pedestal but give this edge to Horowitz.
VVKY10 1 year ago
@VVKY10
You are an idiot,.,.Go and read about this Giant on wikipedia
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
bazzatt1 1 year ago
@bazzatt1 I wrote most of that wikipedia article & remember it well. If you really think about it, the written facts that corroborate a pedestal stature of Hofmann among the great pianists/critics are limited to Schonberg's anecdotes & articles, Stephen Gough's article in 00's, the "King of Pianist" article in NYT '18, and a letter of Rachmaninoff. In the "Great Pianist" DVD, Sandor called him "The Greatest of Them All" while scratching his nose!
VVKY10 1 year ago
@VVKY10
George Enescu was a genius,far better and bigger then Hofmann could imagine.
Richter was in my opinion better then Hofmann I just didn't like the way Runinstein and Horowitz criticized Hofmann.
Rachmaninoff was a gentleman when he praised Hofmann and later Horowitz.
We all know that Rachmaninoff was a Genius,..,.,Period,..,Horowitz nor hofmann could ever come close to Rachmaninoff.
bazzatt1 1 year ago
@bazzatt1 Our comments are post-facto and not based on the full repertoire of Hofmann at his various stages. He was about the pick of the lot for masses _&_ connoisseurs. And Rach did proclaim him #1 by far (once in 20's, once in 1930, and once in late 30's) ... it was a studied opinion and not modesty. I personally feel Hofmann cut emotion/soul out of his music as if it were beneath him. That takes guts but I like Richter & Rach better because they didn't cut it out completely.
VVKY10 1 year ago
@bazzatt1 First, learn to read, second, stop insulting people, that's being a idiot. 3th, go away to a other youtube forum, where you can insult people that are like you. go defend bieber.
Deimosxsz 1 year ago
@CoolWJL
You stupid fuck,..,.,look what RACHMANINOFF SAID ABOUT HOFMANN
After hearing a performance of Chopin's B minor Sonata by Hofmann, Rachmaninoff cut that piece from his own repertoire saying "not since Anton Rubinstein have I heard such titanic playing"
By his own admission, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in his 40s, prepared for a career as a concert pianist by practicing over 15 hours a day with the goal of attaining the level of Hofmann's technique
bazzatt1 1 year ago
@berlinzerberus i remember reading or hearing that horowitz put hofmann above himself
EMPower08 1 year ago
..thank you for the hint,i didnt know that! :-)
berlinzerberus 1 year ago
I am speechless.... Such beauty!
MussoGorski 2 years ago
the quality of hofmann; i mean the utter fluency with which he expressed his ideas and emotions through hammers, strings and a load of wood, its just incredible.
and then theres the sound, that beautiful, all-encompasing blood red sound; theres never even a whif of a shallow tone.
Gift. complete and utter gift...............
Classicmozayful 2 years ago
... the golden age of the piano with all these godowskies, hofmanns and lhevinnes around ... in comparison to that we nowadays have almost reached desert island. where are the artists of such caliber today - playing for their life on stage, having the utmost command of the keyboard both in terms of colors and scales (just listen to 7:52)? these old recordings are the best therapy against ruined ears when having heard another bang bang. thank you so much for posting your treasuries!
dexterityhunter 2 years ago 2
yes you have right
henrijar 2 years ago
@dexterityhunter
todays pianists can only get a career if they win a big competition. in order to get enough points from the jury you cannot play individualy. more or less the competition custom makes music equal. those who don't want and who don't need a career have chances to become an individual unique interpretator like edwin fischer, josef hofmann, samson francois, vladimir horowitz and other legends.
klausknulp 1 year ago
amazing.. I love hoffman ... a great performance of this masterpiece
Laphonse 2 years ago 4
truecrypt
Much appreciated! ... clearly this is a live performance; could you tell us when/where it was recorded. tia
townsendjean 2 years ago
An electrifying performance, no doubt. It ranks up there with Cortot's & Rubinstein's interpretations....The elite group of pianists I consider to be are Rachmaninov, Bolet, Lhevinne, Cziffra, and the fiercely talented Marc-Andre Hamelin.
fairfield7000 2 years ago
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Tsotne16 2 years ago
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Tsotne16 2 years ago
presto too fast... i mean still this is great ^^
TheRealDjiN 2 years ago
"Presto"... too fast.
Presto is too fast. Presto which translates literally to 'quickly', is too fast.
A stunning display of aural beauty... is too fast. Sensitive, soulful playing of one of the best works of one of the best masters... too fast.
Tell me, how fast were you in typing out that rubbish from the comfort of your Critic's Computer Armchair?
Too fast, I'd say.
YumexLaUrauTM 2 years ago 5
This comment has received too many negative votes show
first of all:
the presto part, which is called "presto con fuoco" by chopin himself, which ~literally~ translates to "quickly with fire" is just played "too fast". maybe i should have been more precise: hofman just destroys the musical integrity of this part by palying it ~pratically~ too fast.
Nevertheless, this performance is worth being heard and thx to truecrypt we have it now on youtube.
and who am I to type this rubbish? well im a concert pianist. maybe that qualifies at least a bit sir.
TheRealDjiN 2 years ago
An incredible performance! Thank you Truecrypt!
Of course he is very personal in his tempos, but he's playing a "ballade" and enjoying it. What a treasure....
chacoteris 2 years ago 4
To Truecrypt:
You're as usual.. bringing incredible materials to YT. Thank you for your taste,
enthusiasm and highest qualification as a pianist and Musician.
huhas1 2 years ago
Thank you! Спасибо!
truecrypt 2 years ago
Yanecita1986 if you like ashkenazy interpretation of the ballade op. 23 you will adore even more the perahia`s version, in my opinion the best
guillermopv90 2 years ago
The greatest of the greats. Only a handful of others were on the same level. Lhevinne and Rachmaninov were,and possibly Horowitz,Richter and Michelangeli. There were many greats,and Lipatti and Kapell could also be included. A good case could be made for a fair number of other greats,but none as great IMHO as the top three.
paulostroff99 2 years ago 4
This is a pretty astonishing performance. I know many of Hofmann's recordings, but have never heard this. I agree with your inclusion of him with Lhevinne (I was privileged to know and study with his wife) and Rachmaninoff in the top tier. I'd include Lipatti, but not Kapell. Schnabel is up there, too, for different reasons than the others. Listen to his recording of the slow movement of the Hammerklavier and you will understand.
donaldcallen 2 years ago
donaldcallen-I'm glad to see you listing Lipatti in the all time greats. This as much of what Hofmann did -was truly astounding. I stick with Hoffman, Lhevinne,Rachmaninov, adding just Lipatti to these elites.For honourable mention there are Michelangeli and Richter.
paulostroff99 2 years ago
I would not include either Michelangeli or Richter in the first tier. Michelangeli had tremendous command of the instrument (as does Pollini), but what he did with it is another matter. There are isolated performances that I think are wonderful, but I don't care for his playing overall. My opinion. Richter is unquestionably great -- fabulous technique, deep thinker, wonderful spirit. But enough of his playing is so far below his best that I don't think he makes the top tier.
donaldcallen 2 years ago
How was Lhevinne as a teacher? Pls enlighten us on her teaching method.
alextierno98 2 years ago
Difficult to summarize here, not only because of the space, but because it was about 50 years ago. Technically, she emphasized relaxation. She would come up behind you while you were playing and put her hand under your forearm, to see if she could lift it. She was fanatical about scales and arpeggios and did them herself every day well into old age. If you haven't heard her recordings of Mozart 21 and the Chopin E-minor, you are missing something. An amazing woman and a wonderful musician.
donaldcallen 2 years ago 2
I certainly have heard those (although I prefer Hofmann's Chopin E-Minor). Something about her playing suggests that she must have been a great teacher and a great person. Thanks for sharing your account.
alextierno98 2 years ago
He had some "inconsistency" in timing:)))
clauwolfxxx 2 years ago
I will never tire of this. I bring us up to 81 comments, yet no words any of us have poured onto these pages will ever truly described the feelings brought on by such a powerful performance. The only thing to do is listen, and cherish it.
YumexLaUrauTM 2 years ago 7
This has been flagged as spam show
omg :D relax man....its not THAT good :)))
PiaNISTII 2 years ago
Nah. It is.
YumexLaUrauTM 2 years ago 7
oh yes, it really is that great:)
arwena55 2 years ago 3
This performance is so beautiful, so emotional, here I feel so alive, the music is living, so moving that it brings tears to my eyes. I do absolutely adore Hofmann here playing. Poetry. Bravo!
arwena55 2 years ago 2
Impressive. Its very musical and the interpretation is very unique. I love it! But still my personal favorite interpretation of this piece is Vladimir Ashkenazy and Evgeny Kissin. I invite you all to listen to their CDs and listen to their amazing talent and musicality.
Yanecita1986 2 years ago
It is killing me that this is not a 5 star rated video...
bineblies 2 years ago 7
5:07 - 5:23 !
ForeverIsis 2 years ago
hofmann is propably the greatest piano player of all times?! however - this chopin ballade is the best I have ever heard!
ForeverIsis 2 years ago 5
yes, he is one of the greatest, here in this ballade he unveils his greatness and the passion of the ballde.
arwena55 2 years ago 5
Now I understand why Hoffman is considered one of the immortals of the piano; this is beyond belief! Hoffman didn't leave a rich recorded legacy as so many other great pianists did, but this justifies his great reputation. Chopin loved this composition of his, and here we can truly see into its greatness.
billyguns2 2 years ago 3
You can hear the electricity in the air while he modulates before the piece begins. Then it does, like no one else. That theme is different with each utterance. I sat there and crfied the first time I heard this. Chopin is singing his heart out for us through this wonderful man.
HerrNollie 2 years ago
Thank you very much for posting this masterpiece!..
SSSLAWWWA 2 years ago
the emotion is just pouring out of the piano, another human voice that stays in heart for long. very beautiful
arwena55 2 years ago
после него это мог никто уже не играть
armusik 2 years ago
normally I pay attention to the music and the journey it desribes, and not to the performer, but one can't help but notice.....THIS GUY IS GOOD!
Lavalampoflava 2 years ago 2
Astonishing coda. Surely no one who lived into the era of Welte Mignon rolls or phonograph recordings could equal it. The influence of Liszt is everywhere in his interpretation. Makes you wonder how Liszt played it himself.
JimFarrell123 3 years ago
What a fascinating discovery! Nobody would play like that today, but then nobody could!! Hofmann was truly one of the giants of the piano...the way he builds up to that terrifying coda is amazing
soami2u 3 years ago 4