(Martha Argerich) Chopin Barcarolle Op.60

[Gregory98]

One of the best interpretations ever!

[MrTonykulas]

Up there with Glen Gould as one of my favourite non-Russian pianists.

[ibclappin]

summarize sad music, happy music, meaningful music, easy music, soft music, powerful music, old music, modern music, the history of music... it's all here in this piece.

[Grigor99]

The only thing I can quibble with here is the practice of playing a "double" note apoggiatura before certain trills. Chopin WROTE them out this way, but it is NOT meant to be played that way. She does this in a few places. Otherwise a very good if a tiny bit "nervous" sounding. Not nervous as in SHE was nervous, just nervous energy...

[silvr94]

@Grigor99 can you give me his phone number?? how do you know chopin didn't want it this way? do you have proof?

[Grigor99]

@Grigor99 You will find the explanation of this practice in many editions including the Paderewski where he states "The repetition of the principle note at the beginning(of trill) should be avoided. This does not exist in Chopin. To obviate this mistake, some editors have added an upper appoggiatura to the notation of these trills."

[TwelfthRoot2]

This is the Chopin piece that I want to play the most because it is such a grand, exciting piece of music. On his 200th birthday when I thought about his life and how much he has influenced me, I decided that his Barcarolle is the piece I would have played in his honor. I love how each passage seems like it's exploding and unfolding from the previous passage. This is just beautiful.

[chutdigadut]

totally NAILED it.... gorgeous performance

[dasklavierleben]

she was only my age when she played in this recording...

The passionate and often restless soul of youth.

[YvesIsaki]

she pretty much owns.

[cyy02]

Very enchanting interpretation with exquisite rhythms that eventually led me to Ms Argerich's brilliant Mazurkas - after hearing this barcarolle, I was almost certain about her mazurkas though I had never heard them before and they were great performance too!

[buddyfingers]

A consumate artist......exquisitely played.....Chopin probably would have envied her interpretation; as for the obscenities I read above, how crude and vulgar.....motivated by a dysfunctional and idiotic ---stupid......brainless......­& truly UGLY mentality........

[politicopol]

gc65...thank you for taking the time to make this available..Martha never fails to delight...

[gc65531941]

@politicopol: You're welcome.

[Coralwinderful]

I wish you would all just listen to the performance. We don't really care that you liked xxx better!

[444mariam]

5***))))))

[rachmaninov1873]

she played too fast......listen dang thai son version.........more touching and charmng........

[iloveclams]

I don't care what anyone says, she's so beautiful :)

[uhartchristian]

The comments here comparing Argerich to Horowitz I can say the career of Argerich is better than the Horowitz one. Yes Horowitz did delight us with his strong personal interpretations but he had lots of technical problems when older. this isn t the case with Mrs Argerich. She has still a perfect technique and no problems when performing. This interpretation here of the Barcarolle is really beautiful!!!!

[yohbyo]

'Ms' Argerich :)

[BarbaraPloyer333]

...I think I'm in love with music.

This is so beautiful, light and... oh, it's just so WONDERFUL!

Yes, I am most definitely in love.

[samuelngkee]

Beautifully played!!!!!

[444mariam]

5***

[costellopianist]

don't say bad words

[maxhansendk]

I love Argerichs playing! But I still love Horowitz even more!

But it is a close race! ;-) Argerich is a wonderful pianist.

[miklosjoey1]

don't agree with everything she does but geez! so much personality!

[michal1810]

Is that competition performance?

[zambachango]

I think that in this piece Chopin was really doing some things that remind of impressionist composers, such as Debussy. Chopin was ahead of time

[Pischnaholic]

Yes -- especially in many of his MAZURKAS.

[Metalogicc]

this is my favorite composition by Chopin.

[Pischnaholic]

PART TWO: Horowitz's pacing is ideal, and he produces a greater variety of tone and touch than anyone else. Also, he is aware of the hidden contrapuntal aspects of the piece and brings out beautiful countermelodies of which other performers seem blissfully unaware. His grasp of the architecture is profound. Each phrase and each section is subordinate to the climax which he plays with Wagnerian intensity.

Please tell me about Moiseiwitsch.

[pedrinhosotelo]

marta argerich is the best musician alive .(period)

[tguiot]

With such an analysis, you must like the interpretation of krystian zimerman, am i right?

[Pischnaholic]

KZ is no Horowitz, but I greatly admire his elegant, intelligent, beautifully controlled playing.

I have not heard his Barcarolle yet.

I am not a rabid Horowitz fan. He's done many atrocious things in his career, but his Barcarolle is so wonderful I doubt very much if anyone else will ever measure up to it.

I don't dislike Martha, but I dislike most of her Chopin. I think she's temperamentally unsuited for it. OTOH, her Schumann Kreilseriana is probably the finest imaginable.

[Pischnaholic]

Fine piano playing, of course, but it sounds too restless --- it continually strains at the bonds of what Chopin intended it to be. It's too AGITATED.

I've heard this same fault in many performances of this work. Argerich plays as though she wants it to be a Scherzo, or a Ballade - anything but a BOAT SONG. In truth it's more of large-scale nocturne.

The pervasive aura of feverishness causes the climax to sail by virtually unnoticed, instead of stunning us with heartbreaking intensity.

[billyguns2]

Yes, yes, yes! Many great and famous pianists completely miss the mark with this beguiling piece, my favorite Chopin composition; to point this out invites a torrent of criticism from less discerning listeners. Even Gieseking goes astray here. Have you heard the Horowitz, Lipatti, Moiseiwitsch, and 1957 Rubinstein recordings?

[Pischnaholic]

PART ONE: Thank you for your understanding, Billy. I've been around a long while and certainly have heard the recordings you mentioned with the exception of Moiseiwitsch.

Horowitz in my opinion produced the finest version of the Barcarolle imaginable. I listened to it again several times recently, and was astounded all over again each time at the DEPTH and sheer beauty of his interpretation.

[ivelosthewilltolive]

I give her credit for wanting to do something original and individual with this piece, to make it more passionate and less serene. And it works part of the time. But she takes it too far and the piece doesn't stay together.

[Liebromeistal]

I enjoy Rubinsteins playing much more than that of Argerich. The key reason is that Rubinstein seems to have a much deeper musical understanding of the pieces which naturally emerges from his playing. Despite Argerichs great technical prowess, I find her playing in this repertoire to be rather cold from a musical standpoint.

[Merk2]

1:28

[foodmore]

does anyone find that martha argerich looks like martha stewart?

[Ni5h4fly]

greatest female pianist in the world

[gc65531941]

I do agree, although I might also be tempted to take away the 'female' part... :-)

Anyway, thanks for watching.

[dawidmysle]

I think her interpretation is beautiful! The shapes of her phrases really drive the piece forward... Brava!

[yunan2505]

lovely lyrical things, ending a bit too harsh though.

[MoWolf1968DimlyWitch]

age 19, "Blissfully Unaware"

[zamyrabyrd]

At any age this would be gorgeous--well proportioned, just the right amount of lilting rubato to give you that "boat" feeling,  bubbly trills, sensitivity to harmony and form, nice contrast between sections--what more can one want or expect from this piece????

[qwertyproulx]

Those who think her playing here is not good, please reconsider. She was only 19 when she recorded this. There is probably no one at that age who will ever play as she does here.

[Pianoismylife2]

Then she shouldn't even play it! In other words, she cant handle it!>:( Its supposed to be peaceful!

[Pianisteny2k]

Ah! I really hate the "it's supposed to be played in an other way" or "It's not Chopinian". She isn't one of the best female pianists ever without a reason.

[piazzonga]

Wonderful!!! It's MARTHA ARGERICH... NO WORDS...

[manemav]

Who plays this better?....Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cortot, Sofrinitsky, Lipatti,

Zimerman ?... It is wonderful to have so many performances of this piece on YouTube!!!

All the renditions of this sublime music give me so much joy!..

Thanks very much for this video.

[fortissimo25]

Zimerman, hands down!

[mmandreazz]

rubinstein did it way better...

but damn... for a woman's small hands- awesome ^^

[ieronim2003]

she has huge hands in my opinion man hand i might say

[FredeGF]

chauvinist...

and yeah, she had huge hands.

[ihrtmusic12334]

her hands are giant. she can reach further than most men

[Pianoismylife2]

argerich is good, but in my opinion, i think it should be more legato and smooth, like water in a calm bay, and thats why it is called a "barcarolle", which means boat song. I think she played it too fast and too rough.

[bourdour]

you can ride a boat on stormy waters, even calm bays can be rough on stormy days.

[artsandaudioNYC]

try richard goode's. you will have to find a recording or hear him play it live, it won't be on youtube...

[libetta]

yeah i'm with you. people are too carried away with her "name"

[soami2u]

A Chopin Barcarolle full of passion and romance, as only Argerich could play it!

[Pischnaholic]

For once I disagree with you, Soami. MA cannot begin to compare with the lyrical talent of our beloved Guiomar Novaes.

MA is a marvellous pianist, but she has an agressive, sometimes almost savage, disposition that to me is off-putting.

Do listen to Horowitz -- PARTICULARLY on the Barcarolle.

I doubt anyone has ever equalled it for depth of understanding, brilliant execution and variety of tone color.

[soami2u]

I don't think it's complete disagreement--Argerich isn't in the same league as many other perfs of this, including Lipatti and Cortot...Novaes rec'd this in early '60s--if only we had THAT one for comparison, but it's been unavailable for over 3 decades. I think A's approach to Chopin can be a bit aggressive and even brutal at times (as here), and my previous comment was taking into consideration her age of only 19 or so and the fact that she has a very strong personality

[soami2u]

which as you say may not make her always the most ideal interpreter of Chopin...she tends to make errors of judgment a number of places, overplaying transitional passages, and missing some of special beauty. I certainly would not consider this early A perf as one of her best, at least of Chopin. I will definitely listen to the Horowitz (who could also be a pounder at times, but then at other times would surprise you) and get back to you!

[Pischnaholic]

Always good to hear whatever you have to say, Soami.

Pischna

[utubuser10]

but where is lipatti in all of this? to many, his rendition becomes the benchmark for this masterpiece. in its classical poise, it achieves that perfect balance between the dionysian and apollonian ideals that i believe chopin held dearly. perahia also comes to mind...

[saegeas]

I had only heard a student play this, in about 1988, and then stumbling through it myself when I obtained the score ... heard and played a lot of music since, but not much Chopin. Fresh for taking mature impressions, I started listening to versions of this today on youtube: Cortot, Lipatti, Sofronitsky (who I was expecting to favour as I love his Scriabin very much) ...

[saegeas]

... Then thought I'd try the Argerich ... from the first notes, my throat tightened and I was spellbound throughout. Often excruciatingly so. For me, this transcends the others mentioned. It couldn't be a sound quality issue could it?

[bobomber]

I can't imagine this being played better...I think it would be impossible

[inazuma3gou]

The performance is awful!!!

Awe-inspiring good that is. Lovely performance.

[CrawlingAxle]

I think you mean awesome.

[ikshields]

The whole performance is one long unbroken line... absolutely delirious ... wonderful... sets you swaying.

Lady's a goddess.

[callenishss]

oh wow do i love this woman

[polskaczech]

I have this recording. Part of his debut recital for Deutsche Grammophon. It was made on 1961, when she has only a 19, before your win on 1965'Chopin Competition.

[lamsalgado]

A maravilhosa Marta Argerich!!!!!!!

[bokensdorf]

This is not a piano piece anymore.

It is something like a Muse's singing voice.

[lamsalgado]

Wonderful comment!

[lamsalgado]

Wonderful comment bokensdorf!

[yourforte]

So very beautiful

[torero75]

Amazingly performed... and she looks beautiful too¡

[pifffolino]

Argerich is not the female Horowitz, Horowitz is the male Argerich!

[blissprosper]

HAhA, I like what you say!

[dpkaiser]

Let me make a bad joke: actually Horowitz was the female version of himself.

[KearneyPiano]

hahaha awe your so right :D:D:D haha :D

[Liebromeistal]

Richter is better than both!

[JohnEBProductions]

Let me fix that.

"In my opinion, Richter is better than both of them. But I do respect your opinion as having the same value as mine"

[manalansanpaopao]

CREATIVO!

[tibe2003]

music bliss, sublime interpretation from 1.52 to 1.56

[pianora70]

Wonderful!

[ohvg61]

absolutely amazing, unimitable

[deepesttime]

Precisely the fluffy, eery "aura" the piece needs. It took a woman...

TNX for sharing

[tibe2003]

OMG... music from heaven....

[electricorca]

AGREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[sevcik2]

Simply wonderful!!!

[K189T]

We love you Martha!