Martha Argerich plays Prokofiev toccata

[knollik]

3:20-3:40 fuckin magnificient!!!!

[SWeston45]

Horowitz pwnd this song.

[TheAvixPro]

gonna make this jazz

[advir1021]

What's also interesting is that in the 1961 DG debut album, this recording is followed directly by one Ravel's Jeux Deux, with its warm and subdued tonality, making for a clever juxtaposition of opposites.

[classicaland]

What the fuck at 3:59???

[Nowak87MN]

Einfach perfekt, doch es gibt auch hier 20 Leute ( 29-11-11) die kein Gehör haben! Keine Ahnung, sagt man auch dazu!!!

[andrewmeeks18]

Why the hell are we talking about all these things not piano related? Enjoy the damn music!

[Youkali67]

Una de mis pianistas favoritas tocando una de mis piezas favoritas de uno de mis compositores favoritos.

[jbaumboy]

WOW

[Jasoconth]

IM PLAYING THIS :D:D IT'S SOOOO FUN !!!

[miker2001]

It is no walk in the park with Martha at the helm!!!!!

[Ronniebroilo]

It´s my favorite pianist :D

´

[salstiha]

Meravigliosa interprete! Di una ritualità irriverente e senza confini. Magistrale!

[juanchiviris]

have you seen Jazzy Prokofiev? really nice, search on youtube

[fatcat22able]

i guess i will just go practice my scales...

[gerhold101]

@fatcat22able Or why not just go and have a wank?

[youresomodest]

@fatcat22able Better practice those scales in octaves.

[fatcat22able]

with fingers like that, i bet she can do a kick ass hand job.

[Leo199169]

go gurl!!! its perfect

[TLFJF]

gooooooooooood

[JonathanHanks]

"Dazzling" is mere verbiage! Brava!

[lizclegg]

Quite a feminine version of the piece.

[looney1023]

I really love how catastrophic this piece is but when it is most intense (1:18 and 3:01) the left hand harmony is a happy major scale :)

[Drizzlerman]

This is beautifully psychotic 3:22 always gives me the chills

[davidnalba]

TALENTO DE ARGENTINA

[princeofirvine]

Possibly the sexiest woman that has ever lived (I have a thing for beautiful women who play Prokofiev well!)

[LAnonHubbard]

Never heard this before. It's good.

[yrknmst]

Did Prokofiev make it from Schoenberg?

[ssprokofiev]

@yrknmst From Schoenberg? Schoenberg could never have written anything like this. He wasn't particularly good with driving rhythms, and his piano music in general was comparatively staid. Prokofiev could write driving, hellbent music like no other.

[BettyCope]

Incredible piece - well executed!!

[anotherpianist1]

GREAT!!

[anotherpianist1]

GREAT!!

[fatcat22able]

the devil was so jealous of her that he took all video versions of this interpretation off of youtube.

[Polina411]

orgasm

[trancosomarcus]

After all, she's beautiful!!!!

[dlfaial3255]

Does anyone knows which concerto did she play at Geneve 1957 competition ??

[Choltik]

I think that piano suffered an exorcism after that!

Absolutely amazing interpretation!

[kuhchung]

this performance is incredible. the piece is so technically demanding and she makes it flow melodically like nothing. wtf!?

[EllyAnnSi]

describes my feeling right before I have my final exams. ;-)

[Pianist46]

This is on the devil's iPod

[keyboardmaster82]

@Pianist46 of course, but not because it's prokofiev, but because apple (aka steve jobs) sold his soul to the devil long ago.

[F14Lolcat]

@keyboardmaster82 devil = capitalism!

[IWantToUnderstandIt]

@F14Lolcat Another marxist troll. Please kill yourself and leave freedom alone.

[F14Lolcat]

@IWantToUnderstandIt Another capitalist without a sense of humour!

[dragmio]

@IWantToUnderstandIt Oh yes, it's wonderful to be free to look for job until you drop, to be free to lose everything and live in a tent while bankers are giving themselves bonuses measured in billions. Maybe they should get the freedom to simply enslave the lot of you. The freedom of slavery. Nice concept...

[IWantToUnderstandIt]

@dragmio lol, you don't understand what capitalism is. We don't live in capitalism. Our system is called corporatism.

If we lived in true capitalism there would be no monopoly and even if it happened, it wouldn't last one month. In true capitalism, every business has a right to it's own currency, so banks have no power. Obviously you know nothing about "evil capitalism" all you know is that you are too dumb to get a job.

[dragmio]

@IWantToUnderstandIt In true communism you don't even need currency. But that's as realistic as your "true capitalism". So keep dreaming about free market and slaving for your "first million before you're 30".

[IWantToUnderstandIt]

@dragmio We don't have free market. And free market is not an utopia, it predicts that people are greedy and searching for profit (can't be denied). Communism wants society to get selfless and classless. That's the real utopia.

[leongatha6]

@Pianist46 for great rendition, see Lazar Berman's. Perfect and Powerful.

[Pianist46]

@leongatha6 I have not heard Berman's, but no matter how good it is, I would still consider Martha's rendition a "great rendition", even if Berman is better :)

[jeanniepee]

Better than Prokofiev !

[elbarto20101]

Y LO MAS INCREIBLE QUE ADEMAS DE GENIAL ES HERMOSA

[Eradicator00987]

One day I was listening to this with the volume up pretty loud and with the windows open and at about 2:30 into it I hear from outside "You friggin rock man! Not that I'm listening... hehehe"... Apparently my neighbour thinks I'm quite the pianist! lol

[JamesraynorII]

@Eradicator00987 lol

[rachellikescookies]

@Eradicator00987 LOLLL!! made me laugh :)

[FFChopin1810]

She has the drive!

[Vesivian]

Jesus, it sounds as bad as Sorabji

[FransRobyns1]

@Vesivian now now, lets not call names :P

[kylelandry]

@Vesivian This doesn't sound like sorabji!!!!!!

[hymnofashes]

Lang Lang might improve, he's got a long life ahead of him.

[2cello]

@hymnofashes pun intended?

[pectinmania]

@mahpyuatho well, she didn't write it......so she speaks of what was spoken by god to someone else. very well though.

[bensmusicdotorg]

Damn I wish there was video.

[Weng393]

AMAZING. I'll bet she takes B vitamins every day

[miker2001]

Argerich is the Rolls. Lang Lang is the Yugo.

[killkill0]

DISSONANT, STRIDENT, DISCORDANT;

THIS IS A CUP OF TEA OF MINE.

[jarosemann1228]

@killkill0 -Prokofiev

[aNelixir]

@killkill0 not at all my friend its a well coordonate peace

[LittleArgerich]

Best toccata op. 11 on youtube!!

[PHILBXL]

I remember her saying in one of her interviews that Prokofiev is "easy" for her.. I almost got a heart attack.. ;-) - but this piece sounds easy when listening to it, because she is just feeling the music and giving probably the best interpretation ever.

Can tell you that this piece is incredibly difficult and almost impossible to play for most professionals..

[tamegomaith93]

She is mad.

[pianoplayeruk]

@tamegomaith93

She is 70 years old this year!

She's amazing.........

[celosvictorio]

amo;

[manuelspcool]

The most powerful pianist of the world are Ladies, Miss Martha Argerrich and Madame Mitsuko Uchida, That's so cool = )

[GeorgeOfZala]

@manuelspcool Absolutely we adore Martha ... and also the great young virtuoso: Yuja Wang ! If Martha is the queen of piano and Yuja is the princess :-) They are just amazing.

[duhovitna]

absolute fantastic!!!

[aliespirituzomg]

She captures the melodic and percussive elements of Prokofiev's piece better than any kid I've ever heard playing so yeah... don't even try to learn it.

[SCordeliaB]

She always kills Prokofiev though, and Bartok

[torridscene]

Truly great playing. It's such a difficult piece, and requires a certain rigor to render it properly. Agerich has that, and yet manages to play the tender parts tenderly. Her performance of the section towards the end (3:01 to 3:21) is just breathtaking. Brava!

[roccoprch1]

I don't know if she reads, these! Who knows!? Nice piano playing, if you think I know what the first part of the message said, I don't know! I can not type any more! PEACE!

[anonymousQ45]

i hatre prokofiev

[TheDecadant]

@anonymousQ45 the dont listen to his works, pretty obvious solution. i hate britney spears' singing, but i dont need to let everyone else know on videos of her singing.

[sapfirewand]

@TheDecadant wtf britney spears sings?

[MATTDUNCAN1]

@anonymousQ45 wow..i must write that down so i don't forget !!

[ThatRachGirl]

@anonymousQ45 I hatre Prokofiev, too! (btw, "hatre" is my new word for "absolutely cannot live without")

[anonymousQ45]

@ThatRachGirl oh shut up, like youve never made a typo

[MegaCrazyDann]

What beauty! she resembles Penelope Cruz in this photograph.

[aculturemind]

@MegaCrazyDann

Dude...you just ruined it for me. I thought she was attractive till you mentioned Cruz. Fortunately I'm good at erasing such things from memory.

[MrJFA1978]

@MegaCrazyDann and paz vega

[luisfcoliveira]

@MegaCrazyDann no she doenst.

[dweezlzor]

Usually not the biggest fan of her recordings, but this is pretty incredible.

[meredith218461]

This remarkable woman has steel in her fingers yet she does bring a certain tonal subtlety to the piece.

[TheHollowRod]

i never imagined this recording would be so great when i clicked on it.. i have now definitely heard of Martha Argerich

[jafigueroa41]

De gran altura interpretativa, Bravo.

[Zsnakeistaken]

love it! which piece is this exactly? I think I'll look it up on amazon :]

[johnbaptistlulu]

@Zsnakeistaken

Sergei Prokofiev's "Toccata" in D minor, op.11

[rchlboyd]

She's that infernally gorgeous type isn't she?

[OceanbornSWT]

This is the best version ever, this really sound like Prokofiev... if you haven't the crazy truly sensibility to play this, sounds more like horrible chords without sense, but Argerich made it sound beatifull.

[ratpackillo]

Es maravilloso que el ser humano que mejor ha tocado el piano en los últimos cien años sea a la vez tan hermoso. Qué curioso.

[gcaee]

It is the finest rendition in history no doubt.

[5rickmsinclair]

Like her version better than Prokofiev's. She ramps up the pace but maintains a delicate feel with incredible precision. Not normally a style of music I would choose to listen to, but this is amazing.

[S3bz3r0]

@5rickmsinclair Prokofiev said himself he couldn't play the toccata correctly

[konradpianist]

Wow! Argerich and Prokofiev are amazing!

Check out my improvised toccata in the Video Responses :)

Konrad

[FirstLordLily]

hot and talented.

[hatesbostonredsox]

@FirstLordLily That pretty much sums her up in 2 words.

[mountainharry]

Petezilla,

I think you meant in the first place the toccata and not jeux D'eau.

[musicalesjess]

people think paganini stole his soul to the devil to play like a god, well thats what i think of martha!!

[ThatRachGirl]

@musicalesjess Did Martha sell her soul to the devil to play like the devil, or did the devil sell his soul to Martha to play like Martha?

[NuovoCurioso]

...Martha Argerich...un mito nel mondo del pianismo!

[007captainobvious]

@MrKALODIA Thank's man. That's all I'm going on - that I'll get it musical. But its fantastic how people like Horowitz and Argerich can get it muscial AND fast. :)

[PIAN0PLAYER5]

does anyone else here sense a similarity in the rhythms of this piece and jeaux deau? im not sure what measures they are, but the top voice in her right hand when her hands are at opposite ends of the keyboard, and in jeaux deau when you just finish the arpeggiated c sharp chords in the beginning? nobody? just a thought.

[freakytea]

@PIAN0PLAYER5 I can hear the similarity you're talking about for sure. Wow, now I can't help but think of that section of the toccata as being Ravel. lol. I love it, what a cool comparison.

[PIAN0PLAYER5]

@freakytea THANK YOU! i thought i was going crazy!

[petezilla]

@PIAN0PLAYER5 If you think this is similar to Ravel's Jeaux D'Eau, wait till you hear Ravel's Toccata from le Tombeau to Couperin!!

[PIAN0PLAYER5]

@petezilla yeah! i noticed that too! haha. but ravel is still cool.

[007captainobvious]

Awesome... but Horowitz is better. I'm going to be glad to get my time down to 5:00. LIsten to how dry and brittle it is - true Prokofiev.

[MrRicksStudio]

THE definitive performance of this, surpassing even Horowitz in my opinion.

[cattleman6420012000]

@MrRicksStudio Horowitz's earlier 1930 london recording is better than his later one. His 1930 recording is amazing.

[jonycuddlesgert]

This one is what is respectfully called: "A KNUCKLE BUSTER"! ... OMG! ... Dear DEAR MARTA: YOU are a WorldClass TREASURE! ... THANK you! -- and a Huge Hug and KISS to Sergei Prokofiev. ... [jonycuddlesgert.]

[azzillianknight]

nice 3:22 - 3:38

[ytchanlml]

Cyprien Katsaris' rendering of the same piece is even more unbelievable.

[alfarhaneh]

she is simply peerless

[quinto34]

Argerich doesnt cut corners, technical and musical genius' like her have total freedom and it shows,

Wonderful!

[pianomangabe]

@quinto34 hmmm you should check out her performance

of ginastera's argentinian dance #3.. super impressive. im learning now and im just blown away listening to her play it -.-

[JoFrSc]

@pianomangabe Yes, indeed! Her recording of that third Argentinian dance by Ginastera absolutely blows the mind!

[laqin007]

Argerish is always sexy, infront of piano mostly!!!!

[lovesGenet]

fast playing is doable for many.that is not why she is great. Her clarity and abillity to make music make sense are only two qualities.Her rhythm ,her phrasing is intuitive out of this world. she has so much and then as a person and a mentor to the young.She has indeed many legacies as a great human being,pianist etc.

[richclayderman]

wow sexy pic! xD

[dramf888]

is this the recording horowitz listened to and "denounced" perhaps with a jizz of jealousy in his heart that argerich. i would say upcoming pianist? i think technically she rattles of thirds octaves, jumps and leaps like some piano given life (this recording is evident of that) but horowitz champions in her in octaves.ONLY THOSE that (not sedimentary because no pianist can produce sedimentary tones) only - those requiring some sort of dubious banging...

[sebastianrc]

Best intepretation in youtube

[Drizzlerman]

3:20-4:00 is nightmarish

[ninbin34]

@BachFong11 he's like gaga, everywhere

[aizendarwin]

I love you Argerich...

[ressammahirguven]

@aizendarwin

[cree8vision]

@aizendarwin

You do know she is 70 this year don't you?

[tahirthebad]

i love the tuning of her piano here, but for me, the toccata should be as fast as possible, like her other version on youtube.

[Rui725]

There is nothing marketable about lang lang, he's not the greatest looking pianist, nor is the the most charismatic or has the most prestige. Some may dislike his interpretations but his technique is, one, superior and two it has showmanship. Would the world like Michael Jackson if he didn't dance to his songs? Lang Lang brings a breath of fresh air on an already hackneyed classical music industry. Like it or not, but its the fact.

[ondrejjko]

Hmm...Lang Lang....maybe why he is making so much "noise" between people is because he is moving and making show...but question is if he is doing it because only show, or it is going from him naturally...than close your eyes and the music is very very nice.....if it is because of show his music has no artistic value only showy value!

[carajomierda2007]

lang lang is a trained monkey. See the masterclass with barenboim, he can't play the 12/8 of appassionata well, a conservatory student could do it better. He just move the fingers fast, that's not music al all. May be he would fit very well in the world of Claylderman or Kalender.

[Kalirren]

@carajomierda2007

I second this opinion regarding his performance of the Appassionata with Barenboim. I'm -not- even a conservatory student (though considered with some seriousness becoming one) and I've feel as if I've personally done a better job on that piece before. Compare the masterclass that Lang Lang had with the one that Alessio Bax had, and listen to the kinds of comments that Barenboim makes re: each. The quality of the comments that Bax elicits blows Lang Lang out of the water.

[BettyCope]

Love it!!!

[RobinLSL]

While the speed she manages on this piece is just ridiculously amazing, I still don't like the fact that she removes notes at 1:33 and the same part later - misses a cool effect.

[13PUR1LA]

Dude, I have listened to all pianists that have played toccata and all of them are removing notes at 1:33, excepting Prokofiev ... this is really sad.. anyway, I want to manage perfectly this piece, especially not to remove notes and to be "a tempo".

[antsee]

Has anyone else heard about the giant Rolex billboard in Times Square a few years ago that featured Lang Lang? You could google "Lang Lang Rolex ad" and see it yourself if you want.

Yes: Lang Lang takes time away from being a pianist to be a highly-paid watch model. Somehow I don't think pianists should do that.

[BettyCope]

Anytime a classical musician can make money - I'm all for it!!

[aizendarwin]

lang lang is a lousy musician that's all...

[watchdog66]

This interpretation of the piece is maybe the best ever accomplished. And a few words about Lang Lang: Although his technique is maybe not bad, his interpretations are those of a 13-year-old. He is only out for the great effects. That makes him a lousy musician. He is only popular because of one phenomenon: MARKETING.

[coolmanhuber]

Does anyone know the full name of this Toccata and the year it was performed?

[Haydnseek1]

@coolmanhuber Its just Op. 11 , Toccata, premiered December 10, 1916

[pedercic99]

there is no comparison between argerich and lang lang. he is self-indulgent and unmusical. she is the total opposite. of course he can play fast and loud which is the sort of thing that appeals to some people...

[Grayfog]

Tan Xiao Tang plays a mean version of this song, too. But comparing Argerich to him is like comparing science fiction to romance. They're too different for comparison.

[Vook]

I listened to this and I thought, "that sounds doable for me." Then I looked at the sheet music and I just went, "oh GOD no......."

This woman is amazing.

[EdiEllerymissing]

True!

[partitasa89]

@Vook and so I!!

[lovelastsforever1000]

@Vook it's doable if you devote an entire year to it, i'm sure

[Vook]

@lovelastsforever1000 At my level I devoted 10 months to performing Beethoven's "Tempest" sonata in its entirety by memory...could I really learn this in a year?

[lovelastsforever1000]

@lovelastsforever1000 i should think one could if one really wanted to and devoted sufficient time

[sharathesnarky]

@Vook obviously you should rely more on ear than eye.. ;))

[skatastolako]

@callenishss ahaha amateur

[TrevorKingKwong]

@callenishss

I know; what a damn fool.

[edmondrachmaninov]

@callenishss

well he should have noticed when the title relates "prokofiev" to "toccata",its something god-ish, untouchable by most human beings

[UranumPlanet]

ooohhhf!or russian people ++++

[GCBBLB]

Any reference to Lang Lang in the context of Martha Argerich is outrageous. We have seen him several times and he is an embarrassment to classical music. He is a freak that is more concerned about the "show" rather than getting under the composers skin. We will NEVER waste money seeing him again. He can't hold a candle to Argerich or many others for that matter!!!!!!!!!

[EdiEllerymissing]

JA! That's what I always say. Lang Lang is just a consumable product, like a coke. Argerich is a true musician, and an excellent artist. Nothing compare to that Lang Lang monkey.

[yiyiku]

why do people have to compare one pianist to another - both lang lang and martha are great in their own ways.

[EdiEllerymissing]

I guess you're right. Every pianist have something different and unique. Nonetheless some pianist are better at some composers than others. Lugansky plays Rachmaninoff exceptionally, Argerich has a unique Ravel, de Larrocha is the best for de Falla and Lang Lang... is just crap. Lang Lang is not good for anything. His way is to tear down a part every piano piece he plays. Like it or not he's not a real pianist, just a clown made for consumism. CRAP!

[yiyiku]

@EdiEllerymissing

why do you have to keep bashing lang lang? he is good at many composers, if nothing else, he is great at playing Chinese Folk pieces by modern Chinese composers. I also happen to have heard him live playing Chopin concerto in E minor and he was amazing - of course technically flawless, but also extremely musical, sensitive, and emotionally mature