Maria Yudina plays Bach Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue

[ym42ym42]

So dry (at times), so Study-like, aloof and mildly depressing, post-Shostakovitch interpretation without all the Bach's warmth, pessimistic and pretentious, no wonder people think Bach does not sound good on piano...

[truecrypt]

@ym42ym42

Do you think this music should be "warm and optimistic"?

"Pretentious"? Actually I agree (at least re BWV 903) - organ sounds better than piano.

[flippert0]

@ym42ym42 I thought, we wanted to get away from the "romantic" interpretations of the past? Yudina's play is dry, but only in tone, not in feeling. She is has certainly also a focus on brilliiancy and virtuosity (here). But why not? I see her as a predecessor to Gould. She was certainly remarkable.

[roger98599]

@ym42ym42 I ask you to get familiar with the life of this great woman. With all her faith and courage. And maybe you'll understand

[BassicStorm]

whata Genial pianissimos ;)

[Pollinikrys]

yudina, a pronoun of precision and virtuoso!

[314mcgeever]

It flows with an eminence of inner passion, of talent,knowlege, and wonderful  balance of emphasis im captivated by. Hypnotic! Dream-like in its trance.

[simcha181818]

There are good pianists. There are excellent pianists. And there is on Glenn Gould, towering over the rest.

[ibk1980]

For this piece, I like much more her conception than Gould... maybe a matter of taste... This does not mean that Gould is not great...

[kiarina49]

Beyond any Imagination!!!

[norbertoguarinello]

Great performance. Thanks a lot. Gould's one is also great, but it needs a special state of the soul. Yodina'a capture you whatever your present mood.

[staccato1975]

LOL @maricahn, Bach is absolutely baroque. You'll find a hard time proving the opposite. Now maybe what you mean is, this piece doesn't sound baroque?

[tuxedomoon]

Bach is a stylus phantasticus composer and that piece belongs to that epoch ,so it is baroque

[Biff947]

Much of the music around 3 minutes is alot like the BWV 542

[ZanthiaKhala]

so awesome :D

[dimitrim2010]

Wonderful!

I would like to find her interpretation of Mozart's sonata K330 in C-dur. I do not know if it exists in the nature. Does anybody know?

[maricahn]

I don't think this is ture baroque style... I found it like Chopini

[dimitrim2010]

@maricahn Bach is not a true baroque composer, and it shouldn't be played as such

[simcha181818]

@dimitrim2010 Bach is not a true baroque composer? Really? So what is he? Jazz composer?

[metteholm75]

@maricahn. Why do you think that? The cascade-like character of the arpeggios and runs is very true to the harpsicord style. Furthermore, the barouque was a theatrical period. This was reflected in the musical treatment. The very beloved "french opening" was a space for highly dramatic musical treatment. Anyhow, the piano offers other possibilities than the harpsicord. Hence the "chopin"-like element.

I think she is extremely true to the baroque style, as it was wiewed in the late 70ties.

[vonMohl]

Far from trivial.

[12345qazx1]

IF Bach had a grand piano as we hear now,and the performance he would be delighted....

[quagapp]

Not better perhaps, different athough somewhat

like him - she has been compared to him in style I see. I Iike the intensity here - and the intelligence and feeling....

Not that I am "musical" although I have played these a bit..they're are good for improvising.

[stagesix6]

better than gould!

[bachsuonalcitofono]

@stagesix6 SURE!

[billyguns2]

@stagesix6 I agree 100%! She has more imagination, sense of color, and a beautiful musical line than Gould in this piece; brava, Maria Yudina! Next to Gould's sewing machine like clatter and monotonous tone, this is music to my ears!

[erroll9621]

@stagesix6 Define your view of "better".

[indigoblue555]

A great rendition on my humble personal

opinion.

Thx. for sharing !

[bobon47]

Yudina and Richter were different human beengs. I prefer Yudina.

[atsaka]

@bobon47 they were rivals

[Pischnaholic]

SUPERB! The contrasts between extreme, diamond-clear brilliance and sharply affective lyricism in the fantasy are astonishing. I've never heard the fugue played with such delicacy, refinement and subtle use of power where it's called for. This is unique interpretation that has an integrity all it's own.

I thought the fugue was too fast at first, but it was so well played, so admirably controlled, and so filled with awareness of the architecture of the music that it won me over very quickly.

[araujomateus]

Most poignant ending of fantasia...

[mohan8576]

erg mooi... prachtig

[drlawitts]

nice interpretation of the arpeggios in the fantasia

[robotkarel]

no conocia a la Yudina. desde las pocas primeras notas se nota su calidad, y me parece a la altura de cualquier otro grande del piano.

[Yuriy21]

Какой неистовый темперамент был у великого Баха! Недаром он однажды в сердцах бросил в одного нерадивого органиста свой парик! И это совершенно современная музыка - вот ещё одно из характерных чудес его творчества.

[francescaemc2]

Sviatoslav Richter studied with her and played at her funeral. He admired her. That's how I discovered her. Gotta hand it to him. He was right.

[dewvey]

Sorry, Richter didn't study with Yudina.

[francescaemc2]

Wow, I saw that in a Russian documentary about Richter's life. Maybe it was translated incorrectly.

He played at her funeral, definitely.

If you know more about this can you possibly let me know? Thank you.

[dewvey]

Did you see The Enigma?

Richter says that he highly respected Yudina, but wasn't really close to her. . Richter talked to her once or twice, that's it. Yudina didn't like Rachmaninov and Richter played a lot of his music, so she didn't really like Richter :P

By the way, at her funeral, Richter played Rachmaninov))

[Deimosxsz]

WHAT A absurd kind of logic. reality is more complex.

[catho58]

@dewvey

Do you remember Richter's answer when someone asked him :"do you really like Bach ?"

His answer was : "no."

No comment

[IpsaPaphum]

@catho58 Maybe he thought the word 'like' was inappropriate to describe his response to Bach :)

[juliog80]

@catho58 que comentario tan pendejo

[bineblies]

But ofcourse smithsherman all of the great musicians found Yudina amazing and yet you find her as "another horrible evidence mid 20th century" if you want a horrible state of Bach musicology its the era we are in unfortuantly not her era.

[davit1982]

Yudina was a tru wonder of nature.

She is so special - listen to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, or Mozart's Concerto #23 performed by Yudina and you'll understand what's essence of music.

[Tbromley]

yes i quite agree, Yudina is in another league altogether. If I mention other greats like Rubinstein, Arrau, Richter ect in the same sentence I feel I am insulting her, for me she redefined what was possible with music.

[Schotroumpf]

Es excelente la versión de esta pianista. Me gustó mucho. Pues es una obra con mucha libertad que requiere deuna enorme imaginación que ella tiene de sobra.

[spv88]

This is one of the best fugas I've ever heard.

Grande Maria!

[aldebussy]

I really liked the Fantasia.

[jamiemanners]

Guys and gals, give smithsherman some slack. Everone is entitled to an opinion (good or bad) even if they don't play as well as Yudina. Let's be polite to each other.

[aldebussy]

Trust me. After reading some of his comments, you'll notice a pattern. It seems like a virus or something to me...

[AndreasKotsamanidis]

Seems like just another case of a conservatory snob flaunting what little he has learned... ironic how people like that love to bash the very foundation of their own knowledge. Oh well, won't stop be from enjoying this fabulous music.

[jh200176]

good

[nakaza3421]

Just enjoy music for what it is, not what it could be by YOUR standards, if you truly want to prove a point then you play this piece and post it, then we comment.

[indigoblue555]

to smithsherman - just stopping by to listen

to this unkown (to me) soloist,in the middle of a busy afternoon...Well,this is not my favourite BWV 903,but reading your always interesting comments (sharp mostly..)I wonder

whether I'll ever be reading sth of a positive opinion by smith..!

(Except for Myers playing Scarlatti)

Greetings!

[nakaza3421]

Fantasy not prelude...

You are theorizing things way to much, honestly does a commoner truly know what you are talking about, doubtful, keep your comments to yourself, here say if you like it or not, cause you're acting like you yourself actually know what you're talking about...