Beethoven, fugue/Hammerklavier Sonata op.106, Maria Mazo

[zarlitoz]

escelente interpretacion, una claridad digna de baremboin. yo estoi estudiando esta pieza y no puedo imaginar la cantidad de horas que requiere alcanzar tal nivel

[garbanzo1997]

Maria Mazo is my piano idol! I just love her and how she plays :)

[manco82]

It's a shame she hasn't performed on any concert tours, but it seems that whole business in decline these days.

[CD122344]

Liszt played this in public when others could make no sense out of it and could sight read it! Think about it!

[wq21aq]

"... here’s my favorite movement from my favorite piano sonata, the sonata no. 29 in B-flat major (”Hammerklavier”), op. 106, fourth movement, largo–allegro risoluto (the “fugue”) performed in 2005 at Bass Hall by Maria Mazo. Watch those fingers fly and do your best not to get giddy. You’ll find that’s impossible."

Scott Horton, Contributing Editor

The Harper's Magazine

[gladandgood]

A phenomenal talent. I prefer the first 8 minutes of Maria Mazo's performance & the last 2 minutes or so of Stephen Beus's performance (also on You Tube). Of course, that's like stitching a cheetah's head on a giraffe's body. The recording here has the advantage of better acoustics, recording quality & piano over the Stephen Beus recording. I love Ms. Mazo's clarity & sensitivity here, as I love the animal energy & laser-sharp, almost brutal ending of Mr. Beus's performance.

[johnalt16]

That was outstanding playing, how is she not well known?

[MrsAnnasan]

Ist euch eigentich klar, warum das Ding so heisst? Das wurde auf und für einen Hammerflügel komponiert! Und der wiederum hiess und heisst nicht so, weil man darauf herumhämmern soll, sondern, weil er mit Hämmern angeschlagen wurde..und die waren damals noch viel empfindlicher. Aber wem es auf diese Art gefällt, möge es geniessen. @Maria: nicht persönlich, einfach andere Ästhetik....

[gladandgood]

@MrsAnnasan Verschiedene Stile für verschiedene Zeiten. Ich sowohl gerne hören.

(Different styles for different times. I gladly listen to both.)

[MrsAnnasan]

Sorry, but that has really nothing to do with Beethoven (or with "music" in it's original sense at all, it's just pounded out in a very rough way, all the notes played so equal)....but it's not your fault. It's just the modern way to play..

[b0ttomzone]

What a long fugue subject!

I think Beethoven's fugal music sounds very robust and manly and (in a good way) vulgar. As if it has come out of the church, in which it grew up before Beethoven.

[russumm1]

I was at this performance, and found it awe-inspiring. The seeming dedication to the piece, the sublime balancing of the voices, the acute attention to detail and the inspired choice of piano (Hamburg Steinway) all figured in a great performance that I will never forget. It lives with me five years later...

[abramo6]

why do they allways stop filming the pianist's hands in these videos???

[diegoyv]

Fantástico Beethoven!!

[bellofpeterpan]

Sehr gut!!!!

[wol4fram]

That was extraordinary.

I'm going to have to look into her.

[masonhamlin100]

i love it at the end when she waves a triumphant hand. she wore out that damn piano. and me too. thank you Maria Mazo.

[mrmolinodelahoz]

Sometimes listening to this sonata I thought that it sounded like Stravinksi in moments.

It takes a pianist like this to show us what a genius was Beethoven.

there is no way for accounting for this type of talent.

[mrmolinodelahoz]

We are witnessing here one of the great musicians of our time which will be celebrated as one of the monuments of piano music in the future.

[neversroad]

WOW so crisp! Beethoven would have been proud!

[MrsAnnasan]

@neversroad*lol* he would be tourning in his grave!! But the musical language has changed so much since 1900....a fuge is still music and has to be played like music, not like a mathematical Logarithm..."crisp" - that's nice man! But, if you really like it - there is nothing to say against it.

[fdaltrey]

MUCH, MUCH better than Stephen Beus or Valentina Lisitsa's versions, where the pianist is actually in control of the music.

[link1628]

Encore un morceau de génie de notre cher Beethoven !

Fantastique, et bien joué de plus !

[musiclover1342]

she's amazing...

[mindhunter09]

just amaizing...both the playing and the composition... :)

[cmpsr9258]

Stunning execution and soaring virtuosity!

[ZACHARYELLIOTTBAKER1]

haha I can do that in my sleep! haha jk jk jk =)

This is Amazing. She plays stunningly!

<3

[johnjtheoriginal]

every single note has a right sound, every single voice has a meaning, every single part has a peculiar feeling, and the whole fugue is played as an organic monument

it's incredible, she is so young but she plays very well one of the hardest pieces (not only technically) in history

sorry 4 my english :-(

[loveismydestruction]

she is in love with music. you can tell

[Madrachus]

And I'm in love with her, lol

[Kalen1457]

Beethoven was a madman!

[Grigor99]

Wow! You can actually hear all of the voices n this performance. Great playing!

[amgglile]

Jeeez, im actually dizzy after that!

She's incredible!

[Madrachus]

How easily she appears to breeze through such a virtuosic piece!

Awesome video!

[Grachus7]

My favourite - absolutely perfect, not too fast, wonderful dynamic and accents.