Byron Janis plays Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 (audio)

[TheJaronemoc]

Did you hear the cut at 5:59? Sounds like Janis had to piece together this recording...

[paulprocopolis]

Terrific!

[DICACIO1]

thousands of notes in this piece! hahaha these guys locked themselves up for days creating this stuff .

girlfriend: honey, are you done with your little piano yet?

Franz: um, are you and the kitchen still friends? LOL

[kasyapa]

he used horowitz's cadenza leading into the friska. :)

[TripleRhu]

@kasyapa because he was a pupil of Horowitz

[drippinblood28]

i like this performance very much!

[Spiritakis]

Gentlemen, where do you take this idiotic passion for comparisons from? Janis better than Horowitz, Horowitz better than Argerich, Cziffra better than anybody. Give me a break, will you!

By the way, stupendous performance. Worthy addition to the great ones of Horowitz, Argerich and even Cziffra (whom I generally detest but this rhapsody he manages to pull off nicely). Who's better than whom is just missing the point completely.

P.S. For the record, speed is not everything in the finale.

[paulostroff99]

Wonderful playing! TY a6282 for posting.

[ruprakt]

I had no idea there was another masterful interpretation of this piece out there until I heard this. Thanks for posting it!

[solveaproblem]

EEEPPPPPPIIIICCCCC!!!!!!!!!!

[leanthros2]

he has the best interpretation of Hungarian 6. Second best, for me, is Vladimir Bakk. Also interesting, but so different is Artur Pizzaro. Check them both.

[ClassicMusicOnly]

I listen and listen to this recording , and every time I do , I ask myself , how in the world can this be so clean.

[dasklavierleben]

Very clean and masculine.

Best I've ever heard of this piece.

[leanthros2]

its the best performance of Hungurian 6.

balanced speed and piano - forte, clear - fresh pianism, sentiment and rythm. behind is a great techique, which does not show off!

[theoryjoe]

I don't mean to stir controversy, but I like Byron Janis better than Horowitz (don't get me wrong, Horowitz is a demi-god. I bow to honor his hallowed memory). But Byron Janis recordings really do it for me. Horowitz has the color, but Byron Janis has the precision. In my humble opinion.

[ClassicMusicOnly]

I agree. I choose this one over Horowitz.

[drebubbles]

@theoryjoe well said

[cziffra11]

I just love this performance and I agree that, Horowitz aside, it's tops. (I'd still take this one to the proverbial island.) But it's only fair to point out that this is a studio recording and the octave section is edited, especially just after the skips and just before the double octave section. That's okay. Cziffra's earlier recording was edited. Horowitz's wasn't. Since the octave section is Liszt saying "I dare you!" this may be important to some listeners. Fabulous stuff, anyway.

[Pischnaholic]

It's always been impossible to top Horowitz -- when he was at his best -- but THIS is absolutely first-rate -- almost as though Janis were a CLONE of Horowitz. (I believe Janis worked with VH for a time -- the influence is very apparent.)

How do you KNOW about the editing? I can't hear it. Do you have inside knowledge? Not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely curious.

[cziffra11]

I have absolutely no inside knowledge -- I wasn't in the studio (I wish I had been!)! But if you listen closely I think you will be able to hear the edit. I had this LP years ago and slowing it down to 16 rpm made the edit even more audible. It sounds like a slight "hiccup." I can't figure out a better way to describe it. I do not mean to demean the performance or the artist. Janis was a true virtuoso and poet and this 6th is simply fabulous.

[ClassicMusicOnly]

5:45 is a edited part.

[rectalspike]

This is the actual Janis speed.  He really DID play this piece that fast. Even Horowitz told him that he played the octaves faster.

Janis is for the ages!

[psychodorian]

This is wonderful, but it lacks the colour of Horowitz's version.

[lazyslip]

This piano piece played (live) by Janis is by far the most pleasant one that I have ever listened to, probably it's the love at first interpretation effect. Coupled with the LP which I got was of excellent sonic quality, simply just stunning piano sound. Lazyslip, Hong Kong.

I personally can get into Cziffra's style of playing. The Liszt's Transcendental Etude No.10, for instance, falls short of Kentner's.

Again it may well be just my personal preference only. Lazyslip, Hong Kong.

[GiovanniEMB]

Janis played this Rhapsody at ONU in a benefit concert with other greats pianists or his time. Brailowsky, Kempff, Arrau and Backhaus. A recital alone with all that. My grandmother was at this incredible concert and became a LP with the sound track. I was a child and after that I learn to play Mondschein like Backhaus, Impromptus n. 2 and 3 Op. 90 like Kempff, Fantasiesktücke Op. 12 like Arrau and Rhapsody No.6 like Janis (Brailowsky was to difficult for me).

[dan92361]

Have you ever heard Willie Kapell's performance of this? He was only 19 when the recording was made. I like it better than this one, and I think he gives Horowitz a run for his money

[kasyapa]

beautifully done in the left hand during the famous octaves - not simple back-and-forth oom-pa-oom-pa. clean and well-controlled - i'd like to see even more abandon.

[a6282]

Yes. The picture is Liszt.

[BugThoughts]

This is colossal! There are no more worlds to conquer! Forget Cziffra, Argerich and Horowitz. This is the greatest with the fastest octaves.

[a6282]

Janis is great, isn't he? In this particular case, it is clean, powerful, and most importantly, under complete and purposeful control even during the most technically demanding parts. The same cannot be said about most of the others, Cziffra included.  The Horowitz performance of this piece is just as good and it sounds even a little faster, if you can image that.

[ClassicMusicOnly]

Janis is great but I would not say great enough to over power Cziffra and Horowitz. I think we should forget about Argerich. She gained alot more fame than Janis did while Janis is much better than her. For me , I personally call them "My big Three" Are Cziffra , Horowitz , and Janis. All of which are pianists that were very fine and amazing in colour tone and expression.