Rachmaninoff Cadenza -Andre Watts-

[mikeinkc]

I wonder if anyone has written or recorded a non-Rach cadenza? It would be intersting to hear..

[fierydog]

This is wonderful. Anyone who plays the ossia cadenza this fast, and with this much emotion has my vote (I absolutely love how Van Cliburn plays it, don't know if anyone does better). I don't know if I like the hybrid of it though, this is my first time hearing the hybrid, and I think you have to either go original or ossia. The best part of the original cadenza is not the introductory part (which he plays) but the scherzando part, which I believe he switched to Ossia right before the scherzando

[surirach]

Thank you for posting the "Ossia" cadenza. A fine job!

[Ettoredipugnar]

I have this recording. And I can never make up my mind about it. What throws me off is the 3rd movment. There is a very small cut ruines it for me ? (shruggin my shoulders )To me the ultimate recording is the Cliburn.

[avalokiteshivara]

Brilhante interpretação!

[castecor1]

André Watts para mi es el mejor pianista, no se le ha dado el reconocimiento que merece.

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

I have listened to this exact recording of the 3rd sooo many times. It is probably my most favorite. The synchronization with the orchestra makes this recording very likable.

[1hanamoon]

i love i can take marybeth to performance

[tenorismo]

This is my secound favorite recording of Rach 3.

[dmmm1121]

omg but watts is da mann

[MrRaphaelBM]

too bright... .

[LoftyProduction]

lol, like I said there are two Cadenzas the pianist can choose from. This one is very stacatto at the start, whereas the original Cadenza is very heavy on large chords all the way through and extremely powerful.

[chutdigadut]

So, this is the 1st & 2nd cadenza's combined, or what? I'm confused.... but I REALLY like this!

[LoftyProduction]

@chutdigadut No this is the ossia cadenza, rachmaninoff realized that the first and more powerful Cadenza was just far too epic and kinda ruined the pacing, anything that comes after the first movement Cadenza pales in comparison lol imho. I mean, just LISTEN to the original version. God wrote it I shit you not.

[chutdigadut]

@LoftyProduction well I've heard the original cadenza played by Kissin, and I've heard the ossia played by Martha Argerich....and isn't this cadenza different then both of those or am I crazy? lol

[aspergershawn]

@chutdigadut yes, it is - he's combine the two (I was wondering what it would sound like - I had the idea of the link being at the comparable part in the lighter cadenza (with the g-b flat thirds at the top and going down to the low a, but switching to the low octave on a in the ossia version). He has linked them not there but at the interlocking chordal passage from the ossia version (which is comparable to the g-b flat thirds in the lighter cadenza) going down to the low octave a and so on.

[chutdigadut]

@aspergershawn ah HA! ok. Thanks!

[aspergershawn]

@chutdigadut @chutdigadut yes, it is - he's combine the two (I was wondering what it would sound like - I had the idea of the link being at the comparable part in the lighter cadenza (with the g-b flat thirds at the top and going down to the low a, but switching to the low octave on a in the ossia version). He has linked them not there but at a point about 8 measures before the interlocking chordal passage from the ossia version

[belialah]

wow, great voices

[TheArithrix]

I usually love Watts, but this is not to my liking. Maybe I've been listening to Argerich's version too much.

[ChrisWatch]

@TheArithrix Maybe so, but the "Ossia Cadenza" has a more grandde staff compared to the only one Agerich plays which is a smaller version of this cadenza. If you view the music sheet you will see Rachmaninoff did more than make it shorter and smaller but less meaningful. I'm sure Horowitz and Rachmaninoff both said in a way that the Original Cadenza seemed too much like an ending, and I believe even Hofmann declined playing this, so the cadenza in my opinion is a big part of this Concerto.

[TheArithrix]

@ChrisWatch Thanks for the comment.

[Ettoredipugnar]

@TheArithrix Listen to Van Cliburs recording.

[lovesGenet]

So sick of these immature posts! You people think moving fingers is hard.Try getting Ashkenazy's steel hammers behind them.You guys comment on difficult music.Do you ever notice that you can play the notes Rach ,Liszt,Chopin etudes but you can't play a simple Satie piece with enough musicality to make anyone listen. The point is line,shaping,taste etc.

[rachman1noff]

@lovesGenet This a video of Andre Watts playing a morphed version of the 1st mvmt cadenza of Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto - if you'd like to talk about Satie, type "satie" into your search bar and fire away.

[pianomonkey151]

@gtyler7292 have you heard dimitris sgouros play the cadenza (ossia)... listen to that... then come back and tell me which is harder...

[Ellinidara]

Absolutely stunning.

[LSC63]

i play the violin and i met him and shared the stage with him when i was seven years old:)

[sackwhacker]

@mrjlowitz

I totally agree with you, it would sound better on a Steinway and I think he played it too fast.

Nevertheless NICE xD

[mrjlowitz]

I don't think Watt's plays on any piano except a Yamaha which I have always thought to be rather dulled compared to a Steinway.

[JoshuaSethComposer]

This was brilliant. Rach himself preferred the lighter cadenza, but I'm sure he would've enthusiastically embraced Andre's treatment. I also love the way he streamlined the 3rd movement.

(This CD also has Philippe Entremont playing the Rach 2nd, another sublime performance.)

[artymowycz]

how does the piano register all of his movements in time like that? though it is not my favorite interpretation of the cadenza it is certainly most impressive.

[costellopianist]

why whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy it's played like this ...

[6spdtls]

he played perfectly actually........it's just more difficult to play this way

[ipublica]

So true. Very good performance, very difficult to play. The details are amazing, listen!! Unfortunately the audio quality is not very good, imagine this on a new Steinway Concert Grand. We would not possibly believe it.

[op10no4]

@costellopianist What do you mean?

[costellopianist]

from 1:00 the main theme of the cadenza is very fast , it must be slower

[fumattia1]

una delle migliori esecuzioni

[kimberlypens]

Love this song and the artist.

[curzmg]

Andre Watts is so underrated.

[jjg7]

i agree. well in fact, he plays more 'crisp and clean'; than others.

[OrangeSodaKing]

Oh wow! This is a wonderful combination! Is this from the same recording where he does the extremely rare 8th-note crazy-octave ossia in the very very end of the third movement?

[Ainigma]

this is absolutely amazing

[Ostirala]

this is very difficult pero mui bueno

[MillerMusicStudiosTV]

WOW!!! So emotionally moving!!!! 5*****

[Justdia123]

I still remember his recital in 1995 at the Academy of Music, good times.

[nl25c]

very good,i loved it

[aslanov]

actually the Ossia is the original, the one he played was the alternative.

and i dont agree at all with a pile of chord banging, it has its own purpose and meaning, and although i prefer the alternative, the ossia is beautiful in its sound and complexity

[physicsgeek21690]

Rachmaninov only played the lighter, toccata-like cadenza due to a) lack of confidence, and b) need to make cuts in order to fit the whole concerto on the record.

[oktalp]

Whose lack of confidence? Certainly not Rachmaninoff's. He was a brilliant pianist!!

[MIFFLISH]

after hearing Horowitz play his 3rd concerto (who he thought played it better then him) he lost a lot of confidence. he was always thinking he was not as good as other pianists, even though he was probably one of the best in history. if not, the best.

[ciliaspippi]

Have you ever heard his later interpretations? none of them lack confidence or volume.

[BrookHornblower]

Great stuff. But the ossia on its own is preferable. Anyway, it's all just music and music is not really life - it's supposed to celebrate God. When the last trumpet blows, we'll all be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

[NOSEhow2LIV]

But the last trumpet blows right near the end of the first movement(softly, variant of theme II), and far from twinkling, we've got Movements II & III to get thru!

[classicalPiano1]

If you mean the trumpet theme echoed in D minor, don't forget the strings echo the same theme in B flat major right before the 1 movt ends.

Fascinating piece.

[staystilljason]

does anyone know where one could find the full original cadenza on youtube?

[mario54671]

Well, mprpimp5061 uploaded Yefim Bronfman playing this, and yeah, it's the original cadenza, but the problem is you have to find which part to look into since he uploaded the whole concerto. Or check the Yefim Bronfman live performance of this, I'm pretty sure it's the very beginning of the 2nd video part, like 20 seconds in, Bronfman starts playing the cadenza, and there it's also the original.

[NOSEhow2LIV]

I find it a successful & well executed idea,altho i like both trad versions for their different qualities. When i heard the disc,many years ago,Watt's cadenza seemed by far the most interesting feature of the performance!

[68philewest]

Thank you very much I felt the same.

[danlindros20]

HORRIBLE. Listen to Rachmaninov play it. I can understand a slight deviation from the way Rach plays it, adding personality/character, but this was totally off. Talented, absolutely.

[luke5d]

I completely agree - this seems like the perfect example of a good idea and poor execution. The two cadenzas contradict each other too much.

[aslanov]

agreed.

especially the hybridization of the cadenzas. seems to me to be in poor taste.

[marcostala]

AMAZING! I can hardly recognize when it "switches" from one to the other! it is very smooth! I like it!

[guboub]

Interesting compromise... IMO, the Ossia is more interesting, but the beginning is often played in a boring way. So Mr. Watt is using the "original" cadenza up until the most interesting point of the Ossia. (I'm not meaning that I think he would not be able to make the whole ossia interesting)

Also, I really like that he takes so much time at ca. 1:50, it gives you the time to breath and enjoy the chords.

[guboub]

Sorry, I meant around 1:15

[RaiderEleven]

Actually, the first part of the "split" cadenza with the orchestral interlude. Just a slice of a performance of the Rach 3 that I've listened to for years. AWESOME!!

[goostmaster]

indeed, you could do that, its a cadenza. its designed to show off the pianists (or other soloists) abilities to improvise (or not if they so chose). so yes they could write their own and ignore what the composer composed. but why do that when they could just make a hybrid?

[weikko79]

Too fast! This certainly doesn't compare to Rach's own recording!

[gtyler7292]

i disagree. this is infinitely better than ashkenazy's version, which in my opinion, is much too slow. This cadenza is better suited to be played at this tempo, similar to how Horowitz and Argriech played it.

[weikko79]

Besides, making a hybrid of the two cadenzas doesn't make sense in my opinion. Why not just write your own cadenza if you want to do something different?

[weikko79]

It gets better towards the end, but in the beginning it's just too fast and muddled. Watts is trying to show off just how fast he can get, but ends up stepping on his shoelaces, so to speak.

[gtyler7292]

imo the best rach 3 cadenza recorded

[beryllium2]

I LOVE his use of stretto!!!

[KearneyPiano]

momentary crescendo and accelerando

[bluebr5]

Hahahaha

Is that kind of hybridization even legal?

What would Rachmaninoff say!

[68philewest]

Iknow him personally, and I say to you check your genes there is something in your hybrid

that is not legal dude..............

[bluebr5]

Master

[Tigerclint]

great cadenza . . .

[notfem]

I agree with you. This reminds me of how Horowitz combined the original and second versions of the Sonanta for his version. To this day I cannot stomach anyone else playing the Sonata except Horowitz. What he did for it is a vast improvement over anything I've heard from anyone else. I cannot take other people playing the second version, and I hate people playing the original version. It's Horowitz or nothing at all for me. Andre reminds me so much of Horowitz' innovation. Brilliant artist.

[juufa72]

I would like to have seen this live. His hands must have been a blur to run down the keyboard that fast. Incredible. Thank you for sharing this!

[dido93]

Grande virtuoso.

[Ravenelvenlady]

One of my favorite pianists ever! I haven't seen him live since May 2005. This makes me want to hear him play this in particular, live.

[cellestialX]

I saw him perform Brahm's 2nd piano concerto with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and I was blown away. His interpretation was the best I have ever heard.

[Tortelier18]

Fantastic. I bet in a couple of years everyone will be using Watts' invention!

[AziraDax]

He's one of my favorite Pianists! Thanks for posting.

[Valkyrie91a]

Wow he is so good!  Power, clarity, excitement.

[jannokas85]

wow...so beautiful!

[pianoenthusiast11]

this is marvellous as a compromise for anyone who cannot make up their mind whether they want to perform the small or the big cadenza - simply start in the small one and go into the big one as Watts does here! I rather like it because i find there is a case for both cadenzas, so in one sense a problem is solved. I wonder what Rachmaninoff would have made of it though!! DOes anyone know if anyone else has done something similar??

[datruzepp]

ahahahahahahah this is indeed a bit legendary!!!

[loves2listen]

thanks a lot! i was waiting for that, heard it somewhere on the net before, very interesting!

[christian6657]

Spectacular 5/5!!!!!

[shela2]

This Has got the X factor+......