young Leonidas Kavakos plays No5 by Paganini

[9VFN10EX4ME]

What better advertisement do you need for NOT drinking alcohol ?

[tlcooper93]

shit just went down

[MrArdelco1970]

awesome

[kabukibear]

Holy crap.



[raoultak]

What would Paganini feel and say listening to this?

[dblivezalwayz]

This is the fastest I've ever heard this piece! WOW!

[blubsky1231]

Okay.. so he can play super fast. But it doesn't sound like anything.

[victorfb01]

It's all in the mustache.

[divyarandom99]

i think that the video uploader forgot that itzahk perlman exsists......

but this guy is really good too

[MaestroBoxing]

@divyarandom99 Perlman is alright, but it's just more of the same and it can get tiresome. Kavakos is something unique and his playing is flawless, a notch above Perlmans.

[mariannakoxyli]

μόνο αυτός μπορεί!

[alexwonton]

240p, we meet again.

[cello39mn]

@alexwonton polygon hell all over again

[craksracing0com]

@alexwonton

yes it cant be in HD because computers would blow up

: )

[Dardagan11]

David Garret κι αρχίδια....... 

[wefasdf23]

David Garrett breaking the world speed record... ha.... he needs a whooping from a real violinist like Kavakos.

[ImJimmbo]

And that's how you play violin....

[Adorado31]

...and now, meet the thirteenth god of the greek olympian pantheon: Leonidas Kavakos, god of the lightning-fast fingers and thunderous musicality!...

[ColdRiceBall]

Wow! That violin is tough! I was expecting it to catch on fire or something in the vid! LOL

[nemesis962074]

I guess the robot devil made another deal.

[Tchkovu]

Amazing!!!!



[ATielker]

Heifetz bow hand = WIN

[XxXJuliioXxX]

fastest violinist? David.. who?

[joonsooglam]

wtf? caprice no 5 in less than 2min?

[gfackas]

την μαντολινατα στο ηρακλειο την ακουσες ?

[LayerDom]

I can do as fast when I get chills on my arm.

[stoni90]

must be the devil himself

[GeorgeFaTsakos]

@stoni90 no, did you know kavakos is one of the 5 best violinists in world?That's why he can play like that.

[stoni90]

@GeorgeFaTsakos ξέρω ποιος είναι, απλά δεν είχα δει μια τετοια ερμηνεία...

[tarryugang]

I dont understand how can he played. The way that he hold the bow is diffrent from other violinist if you look carefully. Incredible! 10 stars for that!

[dontcallmefornothing]

sorry, david garrett breaks what?

[iTR8ORz]

@dontcallmefornothing he breaks nothing. actually he should break his violin into 2 pieces

[TimeStrider]

STILL the rightful owner of this piece!!!

[mrwasbesonders]

I've just been hallucinating

[isaiasal68]

david garret,,,,,,sorry man your speed is not notes but just noises,,,,,that speed of kavakos is the speed whith notes ,,,,

[dave1231239]

David Garrett breaks violin world speed record......ehhhhh no.

[tueslabelledujour]

holy crap!

indeed fuck you david garrett hahahahahahaha!

[Dbrazz88]

Re.Dunk.U.Lous.

[cribasbz]

nooo....it's no real!!!!!!  :)

[NINJATRONdnb]

great upload

[Sorcerer2k]

in your face!

[koxilas1193]

@Sorcerer2k hahahahahahahaa indeed...

[briantakumi]

waaaaawww O_O

[paganini333]

If you don't see that it is flawless and incredible you have no hope.

[char7171]

I think this is all noisy crap. These people are very good technically but unfortunately are unable to create anything new themselves. This may appeal to a young audience but mature music connoisseurs prefer creativity to speed. I have listened to shredding etc Michaelangelo, Malmsteen but they soon wear thin. Paganini's stuff sounds more like practice sessions and everybody copies rather than create new variations.

[amgar09]

@char7171 how can you say that about paganini.. yes some of his pieces sound like extremely complicated arpeggios mixed together but really? paganini? noisy crap? fast does not mean lack of creativity...

[amgar09]

@char7171 never, mind, just checked your profile and you're a wise-ass who goes around posting derogatory comments on musical videos.. getting a life do you better than going around youtube videos pretending to be a "mature music connoisseur"

[damshek]

@char7171

1. "Mature music connoisseurs" usually know better than looking for depth and contemplation in a paganini showpiece. If this is your attitude, you should stick to Sibelius and Shostakovich.

2. Kavakos didn't actually play this as it's written (saltato bowing), OR as everybody plays it (spiccatto bowing). He played it in détaché, the simplest bow stroke. Why? because he was making a point: if you decide to lose the saltato to gain speed, then gain PROPER speed.

[MrLittleMunchkin]

Houston, we have liftoff... o.o

[jake88ize]

He is a great violinist but sometimes he gets carried away when he performs live. I had the pleasure of seeing him do the sibelius violin concerto last night in cleveland and he was amazing but he would always turn around COMPLETLY and look at the violin section to cue them leaving the audience to enjoy his back while he played. I found it to be a bit unprofessional.

[fiwasky]

@jake88ize I went to the same concert on Sunday. I thought although it seemed a bit odd, I could understand because he could have been taking it all in, not just doing his solo. Plus, he likes conducting. But I know where you are coming from.

[HappyGoldenDuckling]

How....but.....I.....the.....m­y God. It is as if this man is either possessed with something so divine that the sheer power and raw magnificence of his possessor simply cannot exit this man's body quickly enough, or he is possessed with something so seductively demonic that I cannot help but wonder whether Satan himself bows in awe.

[punchaloo]

@HappyGoldenDuckling who's Satan? lol Just kidding

[MarjanJanczyk]

confuse

[aelialicinia]

Oh my God!

[martyr2005]

einstein was wrong:

exceedind \light speed doesnt make you younger...or travel through the time....

kavakos is the proof

> )

[motherfuckerhure]

hahahah DAVID GARRET DID YOU HERE THAT???? THIS MY FRIEND IS THE WORLD FASTEST VIOLINIST AND YOU ARE A BIG PIECE OF SHIT

[bob1dole]

can someone slow his down just to see how he does it?

[arisargiris]

The BEST of ALL!!!! NO DOUBT!!!!!

[scottydscottd]

FUCK YOU DAVID GARRETT

[GabrieleDeSeingalt]

@scottydscottd he he

[miltman21]

@scottydscottd Hahahahaha! YOU RULE, MAN!!!

[iluvmusick09]

@scottydscottd I Love you for this comment!

[volodja222]

nonhuman. laser accurate thunder. f'ckin unbelievable.

explanation for the americans here: ok, yes, he's not as pretty as vanessa mae or hilary hahn, but look: if paganini was batman, then kavakos is robin, hehe

[pflaeumchen12]

BEAST!!!

[stevemaster247]

he is greek...i'm so fuckn proud to be greek atm...

[Flaminggential]

world record BROKEN yet again

[metalheadlass]

o my mama!

[tjpark0420]

THISSS ISSS SSSSSSSPAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR­RRTAAAAAA

[biiiiirdman]

@tjpark0420 LOL

[dankuro97]

I JUST FOUND MY RINGTONE!

[Gtrplayer77]

Incredibly fast and clean - the chromatics sound like liquid running down a pipe.

The apex of stringed instrument playing, right here.

[valdengo1]

....this is one stellar giant I have never heard of......

[AlmiraEsen]

Wow... Now I dont know who is better? Kavakov or Markov? they are both great!

[kitchenfiddle]

Supraphysical scale playing. The only resistance is caused by bow accents. Effortless mastery of a young stallion ;-)

[seagullpoet]

Outstanding.....it was much fun to see this performed and a rough camera angle....

guy looks very cool too !

[cwhbrown711]

i will say his fingers are fast and the notes are quite clear in such a pace

but intonation, articulation ,tone colour.....still way to improve (:

listen to Mintz spiccato, or compare his piece with 12 yrs old rabin.

or say milstein's, and ricci's , Leonidas still has a lot to work on if he needa be the "best violinist worldwide"

[apogram]

@cwhbrown711 I can assure you that the recording is from a very low quality device in late 80s.If you listened to it live, you would stay with the mouth open for days.If you listen to this violinist you become very disappointed from yourself.listen to his paganini recording (dynamic label) and no Mintz ,Accardo or even Ricci can reach if you consider all parametres.

[fullargon]

@cwhbrown711: I'm not quite sure you get the point with the Paganini caprices. These are pieces to display virtuosism and technique. They are not necessarily pieces to be interpreted with perfect intonation or specific articulation or so. By the way, his intonation is perfect. And I think that comparing Kavakos with others is a waste of time. He is superior to any other living or dead violinist.

[ianpaice91]

Especially the intro, but the hole thing doesn't make sense this way! i like Kavakos very much, but i can't enjoy this production.

[TADapling]

WUAH! yes but can he compose his own music?

[fuzhead]

What is his exact age here?

[cryptoprocta]

whoa, whats with the pitch change at 1:12...

[Silkmeister]

@cryptoprocta ... that is what paganini wrote. hahahaha

[cryptoprocta]

@Silkmeister nah, Ive been listening to these caprices for the last 4 yrs and thats the first time Ive heard that

[cryptoprocta]

@Silkmeister Ill have a look at the sheet music when I get home from work tonight and confirm

[Silkmeister]

@cryptoprocta there's like 3 key changes in that 2 bar passage. believe ME. i have been playing these caprices for longer than that. ;)

[cryptoprocta]

@cryptoprocta yep, you are right ;)

[TheMrEyjafjalla]

Heaven...

[azndaemon95]

i thought the fastest tempo for this piece had already been reached.. and then i watched this.

[paulostroff99]

Devilish!

[Ameretat010]

I am green with envy. I'm thinking about jumping out the window right now. :) Well, all joke aside, this is a very impressive performance. As far as speed is concerned, I've once heard a guy say something like this: He's not playing too fast - you're listening too slow...

Amazing.

[dulcevibrato]

Well, that's fast, surely the faster i never heard  but, do you feel interest by that performance ? is this telling something ? i'm sorry but i don't feel any music in this. just performance is that the way of playing music ? this caprices are little stories, and the violoniste should tell us something i prefer Gitlis recording, or perlman's because of that, even they're playing slower

[D0g63rt]

@dulcevibrato

That's what people said about the original speed and sometimes Paganini in general.

As a great scholar once said: Haters gonna hate.

[iLouiss]

oh yeah

[fuzhead]

How old is he here?

[crazy77town]

by now he must be something more than 40! in the video something more than 20

[313kafka]

Thank you for posting.I am speechless!

[ichmaakdichkapot]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!

[doghousepiiman]

Paganini: The original shredmeister.

[martyr2005]

iv seen all the videos of every virtuoso violinist in the world who plays this piece in youtube, and BY FAR kavakos own all them

the winner of 2006 paganini competition Feng Ning from China pays it in 2:05

kavakos , 1:45

that is UNBELIEAVABLY faster

[zhujun516]

they used two different techniques to play this piece. Ning Feng is the original bow, and kavakos used regular bow. so there is no comparison between these two.

[martyr2005]

i know, somebody told me this here in utub, id like to see ning feng with regular bow too

: )

thanks anyway

[serafinichess]

@martyr2005 this is fantastic of c ourse, but it's obvious it's been artificially speeded up (easy to these days with  modern technology)

[martyr2005]

@serafinichess

noway, i dont think so i cannot proove that is real but artificial speed ups looks artificial.,,,,,this looks real even SO FAST THAT we tend to think it cant be....but IT IS

: )

i would bet 100000 $ if i had them that this is real.....

" yes he can ! "

lol

[serafinichess]

@martyr2005 artificial speed-ups USED to look artificial but modern technology has improved so much that's virtually impossible to tell. Eric Friedman used to have his recordings artificially speeded up -- but there you could tell because the pitch was off. Nowadays they've corrected for that.

Of course we can't be sure either way

[miltman21]

@zhujun516 I have actually heard the guy playing the same piece with the same speed, using the "thrown bow", the "original" technique. I suppose that he plays "spiccato" bowing here ("unoriginal") because it projects better in a hall. Rest assured, there is no such a thing as a "let me go the easy way to play that piece fast!" attitude in this guy!

[martyr2005]

@miltman21 thanks i was sure that my violin hero (aka) leonidas kavakos....can do it with regular bow...original...or with feet !!!

: )

[miltman21]

@martyr2005 - Hahaha- indeed, and I am afraid that there's actually nothing on the violin that Kavakos can not do. I remember when he played the Paganini no1 concerto with the Mediterranean youth orch in 1984 (I was a member), not only he played the full Sauret cadenza, but he actually played "Nel cor piu" and "British anthem" as...encores (...not missing a note, too!).

Of course Vanessa Mae looks prettier, but for as long as violin is the issue...

[SkrPchr3]

@martyr2005

that's if you only look at speed, and not the accuracy. For example, Kavakos messes up on the 3rd long note at the beginning (E natural, he goes too high). Also, you have to take in the bowing: Kavakos uses straight spicatto. The original bowing is a three-down one-up richochet pattern, which is much harder. Then there are those other people like Markov who uses 4-down 4-up ricochet. Hard to compare between them.

Still a good performance though.

[volodja222]

@SkrPchr3

your ears missed notes.

compare markov and kavakos in this field is alomost like compare some anonymous circus clown and m. jordan in basketball. and kavakos is jordan of course.

you are joking or you are simply crazy...?

[SkrPchr3]

@volodja222

Missed notes? When did I say that? I saw his high E natural is clearly too sharp.

And when did I compare Markov with Kavakos? I mentioned that Markov uses a different bowing, to point out that it's hard to compare speed when the bowings are different. Just because I mentioned two names in the same comment, doesn't mean I'm comparing their skills. You need to actually READ the words, not just look for two names in the same sentence.

[jake88ize]

@SkrPchr3

I agree and its nice to hear someone that actually knows what they are talking about in music.

[atriuo]

thats considerably faster than the original composition

[martyr2005]

how many bps is the original? and what kind of note....i never found the correct speed of this composition i only heard that the target was to play it as fast as possible pls send me the link !

[markjohnstonviolin]

@martyr2005 Paganini doesn't give a metronome marking, but it is marked Agitato and written in sixteenth-notes. For reference, Kavakos plays here at about 198 to the quarter-note.

[martyr2005]

i see thanks !!!

so agitato is not a tempo marking like quasi presto then?

thanks any way

i love this so secure and fast kavakos interpretation

: )

[markjohnstonviolin]

"Agitato" just means "agitated", and for that matter "quasi presto" just means "almost early". The Italian terms aren't directly translatable into beat-per-minute speeds, but as far as some of them (Allegro, Largo, etc.) are commonly understood to refer to tempo conventions, Agitato is generally not one such.

[martyr2005]

thnks !

: )

i wish i knew which is the speed that paganini wanted for his 24 caprices anyway

they are all amazing !!!

[Humanitish]

if only paganini was still alive to see his piece played properly... this is what paganini ultimately wanted from his piece. it's a show-off piece after all!

[StrongMusicPassion]

PORCA MISERIA ... sono rimasta a bocca aperta x tutto il video ... SI SENTONO TUTTE LE NOTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE O_O non ci posso credere...

[giusyscotto]

oh my God!!! unbelievable!!!

[kabul64]

fantastico

100 punti solo per la velocità

però; un giorno, diventerò più bravo di te

[blichilde]

@kabul64

Auguri!! Più ce ne sono, di grandi violinisti, più ricchi siamo tutti. Quindi datti da fare.... :))

[leonidaskavakos]

Ok...So we have: from 27,5 to 32 sec he plays the first 4 bars.Each bar contains 16 notes.Calclating and ...He plays 14,2 NOTES/SECOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!N­EW WORLD RECORD! Who the f... is D.Garrett?

[av202833]

God almighty!!!!!!!

[claus93Sethsen]

Those descending arpeggios sound so voilent! i love it!

[robertofiore]

this is fire..this is the Tempo.

[lakesidemourning]

I don't like it. :( BUT, I'm deffinitely not going to deny that this guys is an amazing violinist in his own right. Juts the fact that he can play it is enough. But I also think that though it's a fast peice, there's a limit to how fast it should be played! I can't enjoy it this way. I can say "wow, that's fast", but I can't enjoy it.

Very good player, though.

[Moosenthusiast]

Jesus!!!

[alptraumgeiger]

agreed

[alptraumgeiger]

sorry to break it to you.. perlman has nowhere near the cleanliness of kavakos, whatever else he may have going for him. it's the recording quality; it was taped from a vhs of course it's not going to be as clear. omg i do not know of a performance truer to the spirit in which they were written

[legman36]

Don't forget, Kavakos is playing in an auditorium not a recording studio. Even so I still like this version better.

[winkandrun]

I like this version, I heard a version and I wanted the notes to be faster, and here it is!

[dansoftheways]

kavakos is good.. but there is no point to play a caprice where i cant hear a single note. There is no doubt Kavakos is great, but is too fast

[violatione]

You can't hear the notes because your synapses are not popping fast enough, but I assure nearly every note was there and the cleanliness is undeniable.

[ajdkjfakdjaldjhfaldf]

@violatione my synapses fire so fast this seems sloopy

[SmileySmillie]

@violatione LOL nice way to bring some neuro into a comeback.

[positivelywhimsical]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! How old is he here?

[onemoreuser2007]

Paganini would be proud, so devilish...

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic! Incredibly fast! The best Paganini Caprice No. 5. Even better than Alexander Markov's.

[AbigailR84]

Ah...classical music....where an artist who has studied years and practices hours a day plays a famous song and listeners show off how much they know about the song/music/the composer's original intent by criticizing the performer.

I didn't know it was possible to play that fast!!

[AnsemDerWURST]

@AbigailR84 so fast and clean !

[sorinestera]

just fast? This is not fast, this is at the edge of reality. Try half of that tempo and you will brake your hands...:)

[cesarau75]

Voce é um monstro,eu nao acredito que isso é possivel!! absolutamente incrivel.....

[natikosas]

Oh mi Dios! Ya quisiera tocar como él!!!!

[bountyhanz]

Absolutely awed by this extraodinary and phenomenal performance.

Excellent.!

[violin614]

What's "extraordinary and phenominal" about the performance?

It's quick, i agree. What else?

I don't hear much music and structure to it.

[gimingo25]

to play it audibly:P

[bountyhanz]

I thought Pagainini caprice is to show a person's ability and Capability. There isn't MUch to show of the music and structure. This is a fast piece anyway.

[frietag]

Its how you hear. Some would hear music and others will hear notes but at a speed to fast to care. I personally like this. Not more then some others i heard but this is still amazing.

[violin614]

Actually, I now see it is quite good. It is a good example of a record-like human timing. And, musically, it's not great in itself, but the structure is still there, so I can listen to how I want it to hear, with the help of this recording.

[wefasdf23]

The european music style has more to do with technique than musicality. (Think democracy vs. royalty; license vs. order; jazz vs. German). A good example of this is the different ways the NY Phil and the Berlin Phil. perform Gershwin's Rasphody in Blue.

[wefasdf23]

*** I meant Gershwin's American in Paris, NOT his Rasphody in Blue ***

[MIchaelYiochalas]

OmG...European music style has more to do with Technique.Yeah,right.Think of all these pretenders show-offs like Corelli,Vivaldi,Bach,Mozart,Be­ethoven,Brahms,Wagner...And who gives a fuck about Gershwin anyway?I mean,he's nice but about a zillion light years away from REAL european classical music.

[martyr2005]

you should go to listen som hip hop then, maybe u can catch something there

lol

[Johnoooh]

he can bloody well shred.

[wefasdf23]

He's not tense. He has good alexander technique: less movement = easier to play. He has an excellent balance of tension and freedom in his right hand.

[Thoririn]

GAMISETOUS LEONIDA, EISAI THEOS !!!

[Feeresence]

O.o ese tipo es sobrenatural no es de este mundo whow impresionante yo apenas puedo sacarlo en la guitarra y en el violin whoww eso esta genial >XD

[morfeas1983]

SPLENDID!

SPECTACULAR!

AMAZING!

[mikefc17]

thats amazing i could never move that fast at playing violin

[Marshrutka]

bravo!!!!

[irahkins]

Wow...

that is amazing...

!

[legman36]

This guy is Bruce Lee with a bow! Still the fastest rendition of this piece I've heard.

[fortunateson08890]

Pretty much full tempo from the original. I haven't heard many people play it on the real speed. Kudos to you man.

[AlexanderGart]

Кавакос импонирует мне больше всех. Я его обожаю!

[cenolbaj]

Good for a violin sprint discipline on the next olympic games. But not for enjoying music ...

[luisgma]

Don't forget Paganini's Caprices were just etudes and nothing else than that. Paganini himself never considered the etudes concert music. It's pretty much a display of virtuosity and dexterity!! I think Kavakos Fulfills that very well actually...

Indeed enjoying music would come from other source than Paganini caprice number 5. Plenty of other good stuff to be enjoyed out there.

[thaekara]

awesome

[takhirviolinest]

I can play in this tempo but my right hand is can not play longly after 15-20 second. I want to know how he play like that (how he control his right hand)