Eileen joyce plays Liszt - La Leggierezza (a very rare recording)

[lufeben]

Amazing pianist and musician. It is so unfair that she is mostly remembered for changing her costumes at a recital! She is definitely a major musician, flawless and beautiful technique, lightness of touch (superbly shown here), exquisite phrasing and color. A powerful example of the Golden Age.

[funklover24]

Wonderful, I love this way of playing.

[antoinezygfryd]

Magnifique et plein de rêve......

Великолепный, и много мечт

[marcxopoco]

Her double notes are not as good as her single note runs.

The sixths in the first statement of the theme and especially the later chromatic scales in minor thirds are just average.

[pianistmusic]

astonishing and amazing........

[genseric9]

Perhaps the closest to Leopold Godowsky's Ampico piano roll recording I have ever heard, which surely must remain the definitive performance. Joyce's is truly superb, but it lacks the incredible delicacy and supreme authority of GODOWSKY. There may be a recording by Richter, but I have not heard it.

[vova47]

Just perfect !

[glantz91]

I never had ever heard such an interpretation of the Leggierezza. So ... L . L ... Liquid, ... Leggier (:

Wonderfull, I am truly amazed.

[piano345]

Wonderfully liquid! A performance to rank with the best. A pianist who mesmerized audiences with her brilliant playing and glamorous appearance especially during the bleak war years in the uk.

[bernardocarmopiano]

Do you know that her technique was considered one of the most perfect of XX century ? (besides I´ve heard that she never played one note wrong!) But she was also a very sophisticated and exquisite artist, original, lyrical performances... Listen CLAIR DE LUNE in youtube, I will post more recordings of her.

[galanski]

@bernardocarmopiano I hate to be pedantic but concerning your comment about her never making mistakes, there are a few smudged notes in this eg. at 1:08.

I don't really like her swimming in and out of tempo. It's a very unmusical rubato. Seems like it is very planned - it's not very spontaneous or organic.

But I'll give it to her that she has pristine clarity and therefore technique.

I wish someone had the Solomon Cutner recording of this on youtube. Edit: I just found it.

[bernardocarmopiano]

@galanski Well, you hate to be pedantic but your ideas are pretensious and, i could say, wrong in some points. I know that there are mistakes on her recordings and mostly on the beggining of her carreer, f. ex. on the Grieg´s Concerto she was somewhat nervous and commited mistakes. ¨I don´t really like her swimming in and out of tempo. It´s a very unmusical rubato¨: First, about the tempo there are the elegance; listen the Grieg Concerto, Clair de Lune, etc She was sophisticated,

[galanski]

@bernardocarmopiano Oh come on pal, just because I don't agree with you doesn't make my post pretentious or wrong. I was referring specifically to this piece when I commented about the rehearsed rubato. It does sound that way, and yes that is just my opinion, of this particular piece and does not pollute my opinion of her other works. Also, your comment was how she NEVER made mistakes, but it's not a great video to demonstrate that false claim, or "legend".

[bernardocarmopiano]

@galanski had a perfect technique, and was one of the pianists who not used to make some notable mistakes. What i said was supported in a legend concerning her at the end of her life. I am not alone in this opinion, great pianists confirmed it, like Glenn Gould, Backhaus, etc. I am a pinist but don´t post any records because of the mistakes (sorry about the repetition of words, I prefer write in French or Portuguese) Listen and play more, read.... Ok, you don´t like her but i love her.

[peteseattle]

Amazing! Effortless.......for HER!

[HarveyTruffaut]

I don't think it will be one of my favorites on a first listening, let's see.

[Noshirm]

Excellent! (:-D) Five stars. (It deserves 105!)

[rallasclandestinas]

@Noshirm watching the comment that you made 2 years ago.... when five stars where on youtube, miss the old youtube!

[antoinezygfryd]

Pourquoi avoir été aussi sarcastique.?...je ne visais pas la merveilleuse pianiste,c'est certain,mais la virtuosité lisztienne;- car JAMAIS je ne me suis dit "je vais écouter du Liszt"qui reste à mon coeur un compositeur sans profondeur sinon superficiel(même si j'aime certaines de ses oeuvres,comme Harmonies du soir par exemple).

La mélodie de ses mouvements lents dans les concertos est pauvre à souhait.

Son oeuvre en général est en effet comme faire du trapèze ...etc etc