Kazuhito Yamashita playing The Hut of Baba-Yaga and The Bahatyr Gate of Kiev

[thejugglenaut90]

un do tre, chino japone, a cua de ro tre re apeta ro pie

[EversoleKid]

Wow, it is so good to hear you all saying this. What has happened to Kazuhito's wonderful recording of the "Pictures"? And why have so many people said nasty things about this undoubtable master and pioneer of the guitar? Kazuhito Yamashita is a great gift for our world, and I am totally proud to have been accompanied by his music for decades now. Thank you very, very much, Kazuhito!!!

[TamyCWG]

he's really incredible, it's also incredible composition. Here he plays like alien, but when I saw him on my own eyes, on guitar festival on Křivoklát castle in the czech republis before summer holidays, he didn't play so crazy fast like 15 years ago, but he played normally fast (but difficult) and the 'crazy style' of playing (very fast,etc.) did his children (Kanahi, Koyumi and Terukaku). It's interesting that his children have the same mouth (lips) like him.

[NikuCN]

The Hutt of Jaba .

[Gtar300]

.........speechless. He is the Master of guitar.

[neontok1o]

That's not music, it's magic!

[DirtyDanMayne]

i see everyone is wondering how he can play so well. not a lot of people know this so i'm going to say it really quietly

HE'S ASIAN

[unwrought]

Holy shit!This is far beyond any borders. Only Stepan Rak can compare to this.

[ClassicalGas91]

is this even human!?

[BLR1GBattlemaster]

What ever happened to that other piece he played in this same concert? It's gone from YouTube. I forgot the name of the song, but it was blazing!  It's not Pictures at an Exhibition.

[luckydaniel58]

@BLR1GBattlemaster I guess you mean "Las bodas de Luis Alonso"... I couldn't find it either.

[BLR1GBattlemaster]

@luckydaniel58 Ah, yeah, that's the one. I think it has been taken down. That's too bad. That's the second video of Yamashita that has been removed from Youtube. The first was his playing of Bach's Chaconne. The sad thing is both pieces ranked amongst the most virtuosic performances for the guitar.

[SallySari]

i got chiken pots all over my body.... beautiful.

[Denichamp]

Mr Yamashita does things that I very much doubt I could achieve in a lifetime but I do not recall ever hearing such an ugly sound coming out of a classical guitar.

[csportalcomua]

dont play music like this on another instrument.sounds horrible.

Im from Kiev. And I know how to play this correctly.

I woud kill him form such perfomance./

[gunther101]

@csportalcomua

You'd kill him for such a performance? Look up Matanya Ophee's opinions on Yamashita's transcriptions, this is a guy who hates on guitarists transcribing songs they shouldn't (yet he loves Yamashita).

In the meantime, would you mind uploading your correct version of this piece? Kissin's take on Pictures is my favorite to listen to, but that doesn't mean I don't respect Yamashita's version immensely.

[MegaYoshitsune]

What's that noise at 4:31? Seriously, it creeps me out.

[VulcanZoso]

@MegaYoshitsune

sounds like a duck

[chapterguitar]

WHEN YOU SPEAK OF THE GUITAR, ALWAYS THIS YAMASHITA.

[selfTaughtGirl]

This must have been an astonishing concert to have attended.

[gunther101]

I get chills when he finishes the Hut of Baba Yaga begins to play the Bogatyr Gate of Kiev. He plays that piece with such majesty, Mussorgsky himself would have said he nailed the feeling of Russian pride meant for that piece.

[ricstang]

This shouldn't be possible...



[daffydoug]

Segovia would have crapped his pants to see this!

[theryan2112]

@daffydoug Segovia was a racist thug that had preferences for white western artist specifically for the guitar form. He was financed and never could have been allowed just to listen to an artist like Yamashita for the aforementioned reasons. Guitar was always just a tool for greater meanings, good or bad.

[florafox]

regarding guitar technique this is the highest level of difficulty i have seen and heard.

[MegaYoshitsune]

@florafox Probably not as difficult as this, but Mick Barr and Sawn Lane have also done some incredibly difficult stuff.

[florafox]

@MegaYoshitsune thanks for your answer, to make it clear, KY would never be able to play scales this fast and clear as Shawn Lane does, and more important than this, he doesn't improvise or communicate because he is a solo player, but one of the most extreme i know.

[gunther101]

@florafox

I'm sure Shawn could burn some scales with his legato technique faster than Kazuhito could, but at the same time Kazuhito plays many difficult pieces that I don't feel Shawn could have or would have ever accomplished because his playing was obviously pointed in a different direction. They're both different and both awesome.

[yenproject]

I think he use de nails as like picks, index(two notes, up-down nails) and mediums (two note up-down nails)

Zimakov use index-medium-anular as like narciso yepes

[guitar17johnny]

@CourtneyHiltonnnnnnn where can I get the recorded version? I tried to find it, but it isn't buyable or downloadable anywhere

[betterdayz2011]

I think KY was just a bit excited to perform at this famous festival (Toronto 1984). That can be the only reason The Gate of Kiev has some rushed spots (after 7 minute mark)

[oooWONKAooo]

This insanity of awesomeness just took me to the limits of my mind. Magical...

[casamapaku]

彼のテクニックは世界一だ。彼の指さばきはパコデルシア、アルデ­ィメオラよりも早い。

[youvazok]

アルディメオラはピックだろ

[thejugglenaut90]

reverenda porquería, que cree que es la guitarra???, la guitarra se toca con belleza y delicadez; no porquerias como esta. La guitarra es arte, no circo.

[StormSquall]

@thejugglenaut90 civilizate¡

[NikuCN]

Jabba the Hut

[xjohnriggsx]

Asian? Asian! Period.

[alfonsevu1]

He brings the guitar to a different height that no other instruments can reach. Bravissimo !!!!

[JARottenHeart]

There is no way to avoid getting amazed by how much feeling he is putting into playing Mussorgsky, this is great not only by his skills but by how much passion he puts into his playing.

[bugisami]

This is not humanly possible. This guy is getting help from upstairs; or perhaps, like Paganini, from downstairs.

[eurekabach]

@bugisami good point, bro

[dolennon]

Definitely some of his most amazing playing. The lightning fast and laser precision pinkie/ring finger trills are beyond any other human as far as I know.

[narunaru9312]

絶句です。涙が出ました。素晴らしい！素晴らしすぎる！

[froodgoose]

shame about the video quality... but HOLY SHIT!! wow, that was good.

[Irshkboy]

KY is a sloppy player, but he more then makes up for it with his creativity and his incredible ability to make the guitar sound like a multitude of instruments at one time. If someone could play what he does perfectly clean, then we would have another Glen Gould but this time on guitar.

[LacoDePucia]

@Irshkboy comon, KY isn't a sloppy player :p

[charlesfig1]

Thank you Yamashita!!!!

You have the power!!!!

[guitarsville]

鳥肌が立ちました

[kc0dxf]

Incredible guitarist, incredible transcription. Thanks for posting this video. Simply fantastic.

[awesomewelles90]

This sounds horrible on guitar!

[perromanchado]

unbelievable. Unparallelled virtuosity.

[gabrielrodriguezgrc]

Ese video está editado, lo alteraron para que fuera más rápido. Pero de todos modos Yamashita es impresionante, es un guitarrista fuera de lo normal.

[voodooorc]

yamashita es el mas grande vituoso de todos los tiempos... deja en ridiculo a cualquier guitarrista famoso.

[gabrielrodriguezgrc]

La verdad estoy deacuerdo en que es un gran virtuoso, mucho más de lo que yo jamás alcanzaré, pero también he visto a guitarristas menos conocidos tocar igual de rápido pero con mucha más precisión y limpieza. Esto no quita méritos a Yamashita, es un gran virtuoso.

[glitzerperle]

oh gott wie wahnsinnig krass!!! diese tremolopassagen!

[Lafo247]

holy shit that was perfect

[TheMikester307]

I've heard of him. How he's revived the art of transcriptions for guitar. No compliment I could write could say enough!

[Pems33]

AMAZING!! THANKS FOR UPLOADING!!

[drsusanjoyce]

Incredible! A savant who is on another planet compared to the rest of us, when it comes to playing his instrument!

[LacoDePucia]

divine...

[zeitboy24]

9 minutes of magic

[MelasChupa]

DIOS MIO!!!!!

[SimonPhoenix1985]

Aleksey Zimakov is the best

KY next after him

All others are fare fare away

[richguy11]

i dont thibnk zimakov can compare to yamashita....

yamashita is still untouchable today with his full pictures at an exhitibiton as well has other orchestra/piano pieces he arranged

[SimonPhoenix1985]

Have you heard how Zimakov plays this piece? It is much better than Yamashita

[richguy11]

can u upload the video? i never saw him play

[richguy11]

oh and if your talking about the video of him playing gate of kiev.... he makes alot of mistakes including 1 hUGE mistake when he actually stops playing for 1 second.... noone dares to play the WHOLE pictures at an exhibition..... i believe yamashita is above all guitarists including aleksey zimakov my FAR

[SimonPhoenix1985]

I can send you on email recording by Zimakov, if you want

[kikkom4n]

@SimonPhoenix1985

could you email me this recording?

i would really like to hear it.

[torahanahime]

Zimakov is good, but how can you compare with KY ?

speed? precision?

These are not important for Yamashita.

He is not only a guitarist but also a musician.

His arrangements are wonderful,too.

Of course, his technique for expression by the guitar is exellent.

Please listen to his performance(CD); Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak et al.

[SimonPhoenix1985]

I have all work of KY. He is my idol

[torahanahime]

Oh!

I have all, too.(^_^)

[richguy11]

can u send me the records??

[krakatoakilimanjaro]

Otra vez con tu envidia. Practica, practica y practica hasta no poder mas....

[kikkom4n]

does that mean you have a good recording of his hungarian rhapsody no. 2 transcription?

i have one but its very grainy

if you have a good copy, is it possible you could send my a copy?

[BlindedinChains444]

@SimonPhoenix1985 haha i saw ur comment on a guitar cover of new world symphony

[watch156]

Clearly KY is jaw-dropping amazing. I would not be surprised if the older guitar heroes could not or cannot do what he does, or even dreamt it. BUT, imo the guitar itself simply to function as an instrument requires an increment of time that KY sometimes—often—here and elsewhere does not allow to happen. I await KY the lyrical guitarist, like the older Segovia, or Ray Reussner here on Youtube. The test of technicians is the technically difficult. The test of great musicians is the simple.

[SimonPhoenix1985]

Золотые слова

[TrollApproaches]

if you look in the related videos section click on the song of compostela.

[watch156]

I listened to the Song of Compostela. Give Ray Reussner, Ponce's Preambulo and also Reussner, The Old Castle a try. Do you discern a difference? (I'll concede that KY is technically more proficient, whatever that means.) Whom would you rather listen to? KY sure has his moments, but it's Reussner for me. Or a lot of other guitarists. I'm glad I can listen to both on Youtube. Here's a fighting thought: KY is just John Williams cubed, lol. Maybe KY s/h/b a pianist; a piano might "take" his energy.

[kikkom4n]

i would say thats the same for the majority of instruments. it took an incredibly long time for other violinists to adapt Paganini's techniques into their repertoire.

hopefully within 50-100 years these techniques will be common place

[richguy11]

cant u split the videos 1 by 1??

[richguy11]

yes! plz upload other KY videos you have!

[SimonPhoenix1985]

у меня есть весь концерт, но нет времени, что бы обработать диск, т.к. видео со звуком там ускорено, и звук отстаёт

[kikkom4n]

google translation:

I have the entire concert, but there is no time to process the disk, because video with sound is speeded up, and the sound is lagging behind

[torahanahime]

Unbelievable!!!!

Fantastic!!!

Thank you very much for your upload.

We can see his live performance from Toronto Guitar Festival; "Variations on a theme of Mozart", "Pictures at an Exibition", and "La boda de Luis Alonso".

Do you have a video playing Bach Chaconne in Toronto?

If you have, please upload it.

[alienmig23]

after that concert a lot of guitars were destroyed

[MeOkhC]

Great!!!

Thanks for upload

I think this video is slytely different from other Yamashita's "Pictures at an Exhibition".

This video includes some applause part.

Do you have any other Yamashita's　video?

Please upload them all!

[SimonPhoenix1985]

Дело в том, что все видео с этого концерта, которые можно найти на этом сайте - ускорены. Фрагмент с Бабой Ягой я исправил в видеоредакторе, замедлив скорость примерно на полтона, и подогнал кадры под аудиодорожку