Martha Argerich,Liszt Funerailles

[BeecolorGames]

It's a very bad version of Funerailles !

[dido93]

Argerich is always great and she's a unique Genius, but after hearing Bolet's rendition and depht.....it's difficult to like "other funerailles"....!!

[youresomodest]

I get all giddy watching her use that LH thumb of hers within the first minute. I don't know why.

[marcohorowitz8]

the octave bit starts at 6:53. Go on, admit it, that's the bit you want to watch!!

[wagneristhebest]

@marcohorowitz8 yeah but dont listen to the bit after that! 7:28 is so insensitive!

[afertyus1000]

funny watching her technique she karate chops the c with her left pinkie then does octave tremelos with thumb and middle/index finger

[brandon485]

@afertyus1000 yeah! xDD, but I think it's middle/ring finger?? o.O

[mmoynan]

Not a good Funerailles, in my opinion. I am a diehard (!!!) Argerich fan, but she definitely doesn't plumb the depths of this piece. Just IMHO.

[Sylbao]

@wagneristhebest "Many people" don't have the truth. And I do know a lot of recordings. You hear technique, I hear much more. Argument is useless.

[RyanMacMcC]

If you have a problem with her interpretation, post a video of your own interpretation and show us how it's done.

[wagneristhebest]

@RyanMacMcC Try listening to Zimerman's version of this. Krystan Zimerman. This is how it is done.

[Sylbao]

WHY is there always some people who dare to say that this genius plays badly and should listen to their advices ? People, if you don't like it, if you can't hear it wonders where others hear it, it's just no use to open your mouth.

LOVE this piece played this way.

[wagneristhebest]

@Sylbao It's not to many peoples taste, obviously. Maybe you should try listening to other recordings, and typing english that's legible, before making a comment like that. This is a really poor performance of a great liszt work - Argerich could never do the really deep stuff. It's got nice things, but nowhere near the intellectual depth and emotion that it should have. Great technique, but not much else, is what I say about Argerich.

[88blev]

Martha Argerich, I am deeply disappointed with your interpretation of this piece. Your octaves may be fast in the middle (where it seems like your right hand cannot keep up), but your overall performance of this piece is just butchered.

All of these comments about how she has such big hands and good octaves; her technique may be superb, but her interpretation is not, which is usually amazing.

[mmoynan]

@88blev I kind of agree. I mean, I am a big big Argerich fan, but this just doesn't do it for me. It doesn't have enough weight to be a funeral march-type piece, and her faster tempo isn't working either. It just feels like she didn't think the interpretation through, or something.

[IExposeMormonism]

@ThePlover91 Liszt also composed "The Hugoenots:" many of the victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre" were Hugoenots.

[forgottenbooks]

I've been listening to a lot of Liszt's lately.

[fledgehog]

those octaves...oh my jesus...

[forgottenbooks]

0:26. Look at her RH. That angle.. Shouldn't it put a lot of stress on her fingers?

[wagneristhebest]

@forgottenbooks no - shes playing with a high wrist to control the sound better - and take the arm out of the note to create a cleaner more lisztian sound. stress on the fingers is only applied when you tense your arm muscles - which i guarantee you argerich isnt doing.

[OverFjell]

Regardless look at the huge muscle mass on the sides of her hands, I've never seen them muscles so pronounced, even on people like Horowitz

[wnxg4nd4lf]

small hands? i dont think so... playing the octaves with 1-3 fingers...

[OverFjell]

@wnxg4nd4lf I can play octaves with 1-3 but can't even reach a tenth 1-5..

[RC111295]

Argerich is a strong woman......Try the octaves yourselves and you'll result in muscle pain ^^ This is simply cool......

[aryanpianist]

not my pianist !

[OriginalBasaliskos]

Such a gorgeous melody. 

[enuverk]

gracias List, gracias Marta. List+Marta= Tzunami!!!

[mattpianist]

I played this my junior year of college; let me tell you...to handle those octaves the way she does, quite amazing!

[pianofan24]

is she playing the octave trills from 0:46 to 1:22 with her thumb and 3rd finger? how large are her hands?

[sebustienus]

@pianofan24 in fact, it's easier to reach it with the 3rd or the 4th you know, it's just a little bit training, but the range is as big with your 3rd as with your 5th ;)

[pianofan24]

@sebustienus Really? Even for people with small hands? My maximum reach is 9 notes and that is with my hand completely flat ("pancake flat") and I can reach octaves with the 4th finger with extreme difficulty - any thoughts on what I should do?

[sebustienus]

@pianofan24 well mine is 10 notes when my hand is completely flat and that even with my 4th,5th or even 3th, but it all depends from your hand, I know I've got a shorter 5th, maybe it's therefore I can do this ... but what can help you is stretching your fingers before you play and play etudes or octaves training right before you start playing, I already increased from 1 note in 3 months and I'm 16y old :D try it :D

[iOnlySignIn]

@pianofan24 I'd say her hands are surprisingly small, which makes her technique all the more amazing. Just compare her fingers to the keys. Her hands are much smaller than most pianists, male or female.

[pianocommy]

Martha Argerich has quite large hands for a woman. I'm a male pianist, and nobody's ever said I have small hands, yet mine are no bigger than hers. She reaches 10ths more confortably than I do and often uses 1-4 and 1-3 on 8ves. As someone who teaches adult pupils, I've found such stretches to be too big for most women.Many pianists have much smaller hands!

[Christian170978]

I adore her, but there are better recordings of "Funerailles".

In her Funerailles all is to technical and virtuos. It does not really sound like a Funeral-March. I don't really hear the deepness of interpreters like Arrau for example.

[VivaRenata]

@Christian170978 Right on target. Fine technical proficiency but no sense of rubato and thereby no understanding of the drama of this composition.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a recording of Arrau playing Funerailles here.

[Christian170978]

@VivaRenata I think there is no recording of Arrau on youtube. I heard one time, but I don't have the recording. I think she understands the drama of the piece, and it is musically, but it is not really as deep as it has to be.

[maalga2008]

I m really in love about martha but here i'm not realy happy , except the octaves ....honetly i think she didn t work enought that piece ....

[suzanneramdane]

diabolique

[m00withmepeeple]

the octaves were amazing.... O.O

[ibk1980]

@m00withmepeeple I agree, DAZZLING!!!!

[BrentAudi]

This is fantastic! Thank you for posting!

Her performance is super, and I love her interpretation!

I think the piano is lest to be desired in the tenor range with tuning and voicing.

Could be the age of the recording.

Martha is the Queen to me!

Brent