Claudio Arrau Liszt Transcendental Etudes No. 2 Molto Vivace

[AlexAlcyone]

Makes me happy to read all these comments of admiration of Arrau's playing... been fanatical about his T.E. recordings for a long time, but started to think maybe I was crazy as others didn't seem to respond the same way!! Arrau seems to bring a certain nobility of temperament... these pieces are not mere 'stunt pianism', they should cast a magic spell and Arrau is one of only a few that achieve this rare plateau.

[MartinVanBoven]

@AlexAlcyone You're not alone :). This set by Arrau is a complete level of musicality above ALL other recordings I know. And believe me, I know many. When I hear his Chasse Neige I get instantly transported back to when I was little, and looking at snowflakes falling down steadily, being disturbed every now and then by little whirly winds, slowly covering the landscape.

[AlexAlcyone]

Alan Walker said that the trouble with the Liszt Etudes d'Execution Transcendante is that for most pianists they are a battlefield requiring immense effort just to 'survive'! You need to be truly first class to make music out of them; and then, what music appears! Arrau's performance of this insanely difficult etude is simply majestic. He truly had the soul of a great artist. Is it true he made this recording when he was 75? Transcendent execution indeed!

[nevskixx]

Arrau for me is one of the very few who can convert these etudes into tone poems of exceptional beauty. Bravo

[tennis12456]

This is a question for anyone; who do you think is better (and I know they play different styles of music, have different styles of playing blah blah blah) but who do you think is a better player Claudio Arrau or Art Tatum?

[brianCIM]

@tennis12456 i can't say one is better. i think alot of jazz musicians would say Tatum was the best pianist whoever lived, which in my opinion is wrong. Believe me, i have every Tatum recording, book, transcription and have even visited his birthplace. He is the "gold standard" for jazz pianist even 55 years after his death, but Claudio Arrau was as incredible at his craft as Tatum was at his. it's very dissapointing to read comments about classical pianists on Tatum videos. Shocking sometimes.

[brianCIM]

@tennis12456 back to your question if you want to talk about just manual technique i would say Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli has the most amazing i have seen or heard. Tatum=Michelangeli. Actually their way of approaching the piano was interestingly similar. Tatum glides up and down the keyboard and ABM did the same thing. almost like their fingers aren't moving at all. If you are willing i can send you some videos of ABM that demonstrates that. let me know. Best Wishes, Brian

[tennis12456]

And to think he was able to play these at 11 years old; holy crap

[BlazeKenny]

@tennis12456 When he was 11, he could play them all in a row...and imagine he only had one teacher (that was just in his earliest years), then he was a self learner...and this guy knowed 9 languages and...oh man, he wasnt just one of the best pianist but his knowledge was also amazing...

[Ray0X0]

Poco se puede decir que no suene «hiperventilado», pero después de oír a Arrau debo decir que sí quedo hiperventilado :) !! es que sus interpretaciones en general y esta en particular son tan llenas del más puro arte del piano clásico, en su estilo romántico más puro que es ya inexistente... donde la belleza del sonido y la expresión interna son todo... qué falta le hace a la música actual pianistas como Claudio Arrau.

[janraffaello]

I heard this piece a month ago played by Berezovsky in a fascinating but to me not understandable way, I didn't hear "Liszt". I thought my ears were wrong, I thought I was too critical. But now I'm so happy to hear this recording because YES this is it!!! Such beautiful art, my God, I'm glad that we can admire it. This is ALL sound alive, sound telling something, I hear a composition, I hear Liszt. Arrau was a true master. THANKS!! You made me happy

[Ray0X0]

Simply... Arrau... the best

[yanayrton]

Magic , Absolute !

What a musician !!!! YAN AYRTON, ein junge komponist.

[AlexAlcyone]

I have listened to Arrau's recording of this etude countless times and it still rocks my world every time. I love that he waited his whole life to record these pieces - I wonder if it was a deliberate testament to the fact that they took many years for Liszt to render in their final form.

[brianCIM]

you are awesome capetond! this is amazing. NOBODY plays those runs up the keyboard like arrau. i actually broke 2 strings attempting to learn this piece. 0:15 is maybe one of the hardest passages i have ever played. arrau=best liszt ever, TY!

[capetond]

@brianCIM I really enjoy you like my videoss...thanks for viewing

[brianCIM]

they are great! my favorite liszt pianist is arrau. arrau is miles away from away from anyone in these etudes. people bitch about his taking slow tempos. his recordings have depth people just don't understand!

[RabidCh]

Arrau has depth and I think his are THE reference, but some people are closer than you think!

The ones Richter played live 1956 are sensational and you can feel "force of piano" in them played blazingly fast and reckless. Wilde Jagd sends chills down my spine at times... and that's just one pianist :)

[brianCIM]

no doubt Rabid. remember though that arrau studied with martin krause, one of liszt's last pupils. richter's feux follets is mind-boggling though. i think with arrau though it is one of those rare occasions where there is a true merging of pianist and composer. i remember reading that arrau started learning these pieces at 12! he waited to record them till he was 74. that tells you something.

[RabidCh]

11 actually! Krause was a tough teacher on him too, I remember Arrau said Krause made him learn Mazeppa and Feux Follets (and another etude I can't remember) at the same time. Immense talent.

His 1933 Rhapsodie Espagnole is my favorite despite being abridged, beats out well pretty much everybody I've heard including Gilels and Cziffra.

Krause a was well known teacher, he also taught E. Fischer and Renard who are also legendary IMO!

[brianCIM]

Holy shit! are you kidding? 11 years old? Damn i am surprised arrau didn't die from that experience(lol). i know he died when arrau was 16 and arrau was devastated. he never had another teacher, nor did he need one. those early recordings are incredible! check out his Islamey. When people say he took slow slow tempos because he lacked sufficient technique i want to smash them on the head with a polo-mallet. he was a TRANSCENDENT technician.

[RabidCh]

Actually Arrau took to piano practice quite easily (7-8 hours a day...). The worst abuse of virtuoso piano children (violin there are many) I can recall off the top of my head is probably Solomon who was already performing the Tchaikovsky and Brahms Concerto No. 1 at the age of 12! At 15 years old left his teacher Verne who exploited him for publicity and went to France to "re"study the piano under Lazare Levy and re-debuted at 21. He still retained his 9 hour practice habits...

[brianCIM]

@RabidCh i remembering reading in the book "The Great Pianists" by Harold Schonberg that Arrau would sometimes practice 20 hours straight to get a piece in shape. Arrau said practicing ungodly amounts just did not tire him. That shows i believe his respect for the composer as well as his dedication to achieving the greatest mastery in terms of "manual" technique. A super-virtuoso coupled with an incredible MUSICAL mind. what a rarity these days.

[RabidCh]

@brianCIM

All I have to do is listen to his Rhapsody Espagnole, Benediction, or Strauss Burleske and realize that Arrau was the musician and virtuoso of the highest level and one of the very greatest.  However, he is quite far down on my list of favorite pianists as I don't really like most of his interpretations and he was quite mean in some of his musical opinions.

[brianCIM]

@RabidCh tell me more because every article i have read, every interview i have seen and MANY conductors particularly Rohzedstevnsky, said he was he was the kindest sweetest and humble musician they knew. You realize i am not debating you. I just want to know where he was "mean". Maybe you have seen something i haven't because i have never heard that.

[RabidCh]

I have all his early recordings. A lot of them are immensely great and you can feel the passion. I think it died down in his later years but he gained a spiritual depth. I've heard that it was because his mother died that he rethought how he thought about life and music. He was very close to her since his father had died when Claudio was very young and she supported him throughout his entire life.

[brianCIM]

These are good things to know Rabid. TY for sharing them.

[brianCIM]

@brianCIM i was referring to Martin Krause dying in the previous statement just to clarify.

[arturon111]

@RabidCh Arrau plays all the Trascendental etudes better than anyone,... richter plays very fast feux follet, but you cant hear the double notes (2 notes) clearly besides he plays it presto and heavy, and is written allegreto and light. the other ones, arrau is far superior in every level,.... i was very fortunate to have studied and played for him some of these etudes and the lessons were remarkable,...

[Ray0X0]

@arturon111 Créeme que te envidio por haber conocido al maestro Arrau en persona, para mí fue el más grande de los grandes pianistas del siglo XX.

[brianCIM]

@arturon111 you had lessons from Arrau?! Goddamn i would like to sit down and have a drink with you and let you expound on that experience. His playing is TITANIC in Liszt. Best ever IMHO.

[arturon111]

@brianCIM -- it was a great experience that i am very gratefull.

[brianCIM]

@arturon111 i wish you would expound on that more. What kind of teacher was he. gentle or tempermental? What rep.did you work on with him? please tell us more.

[boohellokitty]

@arturon111 And what about Berezovsky?

[Ray0X0]

Gran documento artístico, gracias por compartirlo.