Rafal Blechacz (4/7) - Winners' Concert (18/21)

[amaranth722]

Kocham...

[anotherside660]

Wow. On jest extra. Kocham muzyke ale jeszcze daleko mi do Jego poziomu.

[fredericfranc]

Before every next piece he pulls out that cloth, and goes through that Pontius Pilate ritual all over the place. Who else behaves like this? Hell, must have impressed the jury. His problem at the piano is that his hands, his muscles let him down somewhat. The tone out of the instrument is short of being convincing, like the pianist is almost out of power, running on the backup battery. But he has this classy, measured artticulation, the inherent aristocratic dignity of Chopin's shows.

[PancakesoftheLove]

The fact that people can even compare Blechacz to Rubenstein or Kissin or even Horowitz shows the magnitude of his skill and how far he's come at his age. Time can only tell how great he'll become.

[kurkync]

This is the only performance during which I cannot hear Monty Python's "Oliver Cromwell" ;-) This proves to me that Rafal Blechacz is a genius.

[ykpatr]

Bardzo Bardzo Pięęęęęknie Bardzo Najmocniej Kocham Muzykę

[ciobbetto]

just because people say Rafal and Kissin or Rubinstein at the same time means he is a big pianist

: ) horrible English

[blaaaaaagh]

that section beginning at 4:05 is damn impressive... I can't even bounce my hand up and down on the TABLE that fast.

[ctp4]

@blaaaaaagh indeed... I used to play this piece and that section always killed my left arm. And I could never get it nearly that fast without losing control even. Plus his fingers and arms aren't nearly as big as Horowitz's so tis damn impressive indeed!

[Gregory98]

One of the few today

[thesloc]

Dude made an obvious error at 0:45

[Eeli2008]

Wow this is really good! He's very careful yet not too much to lose that flow.

[aydangasimi]

He is the best, fantastic and the most talented pianist I ever heard. Even Rubinstein's performance doesn't give those emotions and feelings as does Rafal's. His performance is full of energy as well. Very sensitive and delicate! Superb! My biggest dream is to hear him playing live Chopin's music.

[WinnersCircleMan]

Made me proud Rafal...made me very proud Young Genius

[h1hacter]

Amazing!

[patidex]

no one else can express the "polishness" through the notes of Chopin like polish players do... need to feel the Chopin in blood... and DNA

[rjpra2]

one of the greatest pieces composed, this is unbelievable, you can feel the emotions through the notes...such beauty in dissonances

[DanielPianoForever]

What a great performance.... Absolutely fantastic.

[kubaAk47]

Only polish player can really plays Chopin, because his music is soaked with polish history, landscapes and folclor.

[thesloc]

@kubaAk47 Shut your fucking mouth Jew.

[Ellinidara]

Kissin is nothing comparing to Rafal,I'm sorry...

[BarbaraPloyer333]

Oh, I was writing about Kissin's hair, not his playing. Rafal's playing is the most virtuous I've ever heard- he's an absolute musical genius- there's no doubt about THAT! I wasn't comparing their hair or musicality. In fact, I was simply answering to a previous comment about people's hair being "lively."

Thanks for bringing the randomness of my previous comment up, though!

Have a great day, friend!

[Ellinidara]

Oh Barbara,pardon,I'm so sorry,I was wrong,I made a mistake,aswering to you in that case...:-( kisses.

[gcaee]

@Ellinidara Kissin is better than him in many different ways except this polonaise.

[Ellinidara]

@gcaee Forgive me if I totally disagree with you.

[F4sT]

oh mio dio..

my god.. that's incredible :)

[chillin0695]

superb performance

[BertandTreb]

what a tank!

[pejkr]

superb performance of superb piece !!

[AtimelessStare]

I think this is by far the best interpretation ever!! outstanding!

The only thing that bugs me a little bit is the trills he does at 1:28, 1:30, 1:37, 1:39 and so forth. For me, they sound a little bit unclear and rushed. I think it would sound better if he took the time to play all the notes spaced apart enough so one could hear the whole trill instead of a sudden flurry of notes, but just slightly because it is barely noticeable if you are listening to the song as a whole. Overall AMAZING!!!!!

[angle021]

i agree, best interpretation i've ever heard yet :D

[beppo321]

..lang lang is better...much better...and has more style!

[maxi937]

No Rafal Blechecz is better...much better...and has more style!

[wnsbug]

i wish he would release an album with this piece... come on dude where's my polonaise cd from rafal hurry up~

[MarcInStereo]

He has an album entitled "Recital" I think. It has that piece, but I haven't been able to get my hands on it anywhere. I really want this piece too.

[choctawfootball]

it is obviously back...(caps below)

[choctawfootball]

WTF NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE ?

[mordent17]

I LOVE his middle part interpretation (the octave progression). It really brings the dance-march spirit of the piece!

[SephirothVXV]

Damn... (in a really good way)

[sousique]

Fact: Poland's last radio broadcast before its surrender to Germany was in Warsaw, and ti was the Heroic Polonaise.)

[chopinlytlyt]

Oh I`m sorry for that,you have a great grandfather!

[russ2246]

I believe it was Chopin's Nocturne in c minor that was the last to be played...This is of course referred to in the terrific film: 'The Pianist' :)

Just thought I would correct this. No harm meant. ^_^

[aglobackwards]

I believe that is not quite true. The film stays very true to Szpilman's book, but Polański changed a couple of details - f.ex. the pieces played (to better fit the atmosphere I believe). It was Nocturne in c minor that Szpilman played for the German officer, not the 1st Ballada, and the last concert Szpilman gave in the Polish Radio was a concert of Chopin's, but he doesn't specify which piece was the last he played.

[ExVash]

The last Polish Radio broadcast before Poland surrendered to Germany was of the Heroic Polonaise.

[Deavonere]

Actually Poland did not surrender. Government moved first to Romania and then to England, and stayed there till 90 ties.

[carlostibitsch]

increible

[RF264]

ah i love this. his performance is spectacular. it's amazing how i'm not tired of it since i've seen this about a million times. haha.

[hugotoxxxxx]

how old is he now and where he stidies??does anybodey know??

[isaNakamura]

he is 23 write now

[iluvS2music]

now

lol

[pawkaj]

Godny następca Krystiana Zimermana!

[rplace59]

Brilliant! The best I've heard by a mile.

Even better than Rubenstein...on a par with Brailowsky. Bravo!

[maxi937]

Rubenstein is just annoying. Can't listen to the man

[Forteklapek]

Pięknie, wspaniale, błyskotliwie, romantycznie, chopinowsko, można by dalej tak pisać i pisać. Rafał Blechacz rozumie naszego polskiego Chopina jak naprawdę mało kto. Gratulacje !

[bast31]

Hello, let's see the fan site on Rafal Blechacz (winner or the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition) : rafalpianist.ifrance. com

[pelegrino791]

Magnifique ! un grand pianiste chopinien est né de la race des Rubinstein, Perlemuter et Michelangeli. Lang-Lang ne fait pas le poids et sera bientôt complètement oublié comme tant d'autres virtuoses qui ne sont pas de vrais musiciens dans l'âme comme Blechacz.

[Piastol64]

3:20, 4:30 => the cameraman's drunk

[beryllium2]

how can you not be drunk from such an intoxicating performance!! Amazing!

[maxi937]

He sounds in love with the piano at 2:44 to 3:02! Absolutely divine performance. This is a gift which is only given to few.

[jvLin]

It sounds amazing. If you don't think so, listen to any of the youtube amateurs. They pale in comparison.

[Corleone1337]

I never get bored of playing / listening to this Polonaise. Excellent performance by Rafal.

[rlgh285]

I love him :p

[lonewolf604]

he seemed shaky in this vid

[ExVash]

The way Blechacz plays it is still my favorite interpretation; he seems to capture that essence of even in unbeatable odds, perserverance and pride is still possible.

(Fact: Poland's last radio broadcast before its surrender to Germany was in Warsaw, and ti was the Heroic Polonaise.)

[Rlaw2222]

you got tht from wikipedia right?

[ExVash]

No, actually, I have polish relatives from when Warsaw fell. The last time I saw my great-grandfather alive, he played that song for me. I was 10.

[daniel0212]

extraordinary performance.. omg. hes my favourite!

[manonsky]

Invy could kill you........i my god im so scared¡¡¡¡¡ you are so agresive ,ohh ,ohh ohh . grow up kid

[manonsky]

small mistake at 4:03??? lol, you will never ever could play that pice there , even if you die and born again. so.. sssshhhhh

[nadyart]

Invy could kill you.

[thesloc]

small mistake at 4:03

[mcvspam]

Yeah, also in 1:37. But, the hell, what are those mistakes compared to the way he played it!

Magnifique. I loved Polonaise As-dur. ;-)

[littlepawonthemoon]

it's fantastic but i still like the one he interpreted during the competition

[joocedup]

his "calvary" LH octaves in that part were PHENOMENAL

[fichan25052505]

this is really really good.. i think he was a little nervous though, he had a lot of slip ups

[uscjd2004]

Sublime perfection.

[Hiddejan]

This is indeed one of the best versions I've ever heard. To me it's a mystery how strong the hands of pianists are. When I'm playing the lefthand-octaves in the middle section my hand gets tired after 10 seconds!! But all professional pianist play it soft and clear and with so much ease. unbelievable!

[kwastormayt]

Either the sound quality is poor or he didnt perform so well ;)

[Rlaw2222]

are you kidding me?

[isaacc93]

EXTRA-ORDINAY! fabulous, perfect scales!

[ExVash]

Remarkable...amazing..I'd have to invent a new word to sum up how good this performance was.

[russ2246]

Beautiful... Simply beautiful.

This piece always seems to tell me a story. The way Rafal Blechacz played it; it truly had its story-like dynamics.

Again, beautiful.

[ajackmeh16]

One of the best performances of this piece I have ever heard.

[muratduman87]

nu jij nog lange..