Ashkenazy plays Chopin Nocturne in C sharp Minor (No.20)

[NullErbamser]

this is pure gold when you get home from Afghanistan :D

[tinyteishy]

ahem, where does race come into play when commenting on this peice, or indeed any artistic endeavour... this music comes direct from the soul, and there we are all beautiful and made of the same essence....

I play this piece when I need to be reminded that we can all transcend our constraints... one of my favorites

[Miki42]

I have found that most performer's do not let this piece breathe as it should...not so with this recording.

[martadsv]

porfin una version que me gusta

[eternalrecreation]

beautiful

[AlovinofKeys]

:'( so beautiful it hurts

[RafalZ32]

Najbardziej mi żal, że ten Gość zmarł mając zaledwie 39 lat... Ile jeszcze pięknej MUZYKI mógł stworzyć....? Płakać się chce.

[lryl9130]

listening to this while watching the sun set makes me cry.

[SDM502INF]

Abstrusegoose brought me here.

[Tonka423]

Ask-I Memnu- behlul was playing this :D

[OfficialDiminisher]

Like if dubstep brought you here

[noumenonman]

superb. i'd love to spread some on a cracker

[DeeeNicky]

I love this piece. When I play it I transfer myself into a different world, close my eyes and enjoy:) Chopin best composer in history.

[andalaraja]

@DeeeNicky Chopin is a great composer, but, not the best, obviously...

[YetHaterLover]

@andalaraja There is no "best".

[pianushko]

@andalaraja

So who is the best? Just wondering.

[iiHusky]

I'm in 10th grade and it took me a year to learn this (I'm asian, if it matters.) I was pissed off when I saw a 7 year old asian girl play it in Costco.

I didn't think this piece was so easy to play...

[hunterochoa]

I consider the six year old chinese technical genius as one who has a unique opportunity to completely understand this piece. As one grows and has their own life trials and conquests, one tends to dig deeper into their own emotional lives. Imagine then, playing this your whole life and re-interpreting it every few years as you grow and learn and feel your own existence. I'd bet its pretty amazing.

[Vesivian]

What grade is this piece?

[nowinterweather]

@Vesivian It's around grade 6 or 7 but it doesn't really matter.

[DeeeNicky]

@Vesivian GRADE ( RCM) ;)

[DeeeNicky]

@DeeeNicky woops GRADE 9 RCM

[Cpup4Life]

Beautiful piece.

[Aure217]

Possibly expecting a bit much of a 6-year-old to appreciate the nuances of romantic music.

Either way, no matter how much heart and soul an uploader puts into their sloppy youtube videos, there's a certain minimum level of technique below which the performance becomes painful to hear...

Regardless, Ashkenazy is the win.

[ANDjjela]

oh hey look i'm back on the comments page, because i'm watching this video again, and noticed it was actually so good that i liked it!

[vardjan24]

Miracle!!!

[Eorzat]

@MISSANNOYINGHAHAHA Well, whenever you do get extra time (piano or music related), you should definitely try this piece out.

[Eorzat]

@MISSANNOYINGHAHAHA Why do you need your piano teacher's permission or your piano teacher at all to learn a piece? If you want to learn something, there should be nothing stopping you from learning it.

[MrsLuvthatsong]

i wish i could play like that the emotions it gives me

[KY0H21]

By far the best performance of no. 20 I've heard. Beautifully done.

[davefistr]

obicham tova !!! pekna darba 

[jbrecording]

This piece gives me chills each time I listen to it, and I want to learn it - but I'm a contemporary pop keyboard player, I have no idea if I could pull this off.

[ImaginaryNightshade]

@jbrecording go ahead and give it a try!

[ArmeniaFOREVER2000]

Fantastic....

[strusiu6]

There are no perfect thinks on earth? and this piece?

[vladdegs]

I'm crazy about Vladimir Ashkenazy - but not this time. I found it rather 'clunky' and strangely unpoetic, and I wasn't moved at all - so I'm very disappointed. One of the most unconvincing recordings I've heard to date. I prefer Olejniczak, for example, or Pires.

[sammarco02]

@vladdegs Ashkenazy always sounded better and much more musical "live", his recordings tend to be like this one. Strange but there are others, same thing with Bronfman's Rach that is extraordinary "live".

On this, Chopin's Nocturne "posthume", IMO the extraordinary version is by Weissenberg (on YT) :-)

[007Phonse]

Yes I agree. This piece is on my new CD coming out next month. Recorded on a Steinway D Grand Piano the CD is called con espressione. If you like romantic performances of romantic works, this is the disc for you!

[TheFrenchiesRock]

idk how to get the nice tone that he gets when he plays this piece. when i play it, it sounds so "clunky" :-\...

i'll probably post a video within the next week or two to show what i mean...

[Webarton]

Great musicians miss notes all the time, its really the most petty thing to try to point out/insult.

[JasonLorelei]

@chwaga He's done worse.

[StriderEstel]

This music is so beautiful that I pushed the replay button 3 times in a row already.

[TheGormovsisyan]

Magnificent

[Graskinkan]

..i actually cannot see any reason why anyone would of disliked this, must of been 3 people who slipped. epic piece, truly astounding

[BullshiterBader]

Words cannot describe how beautiful this is!

[FredrikBergenholtz]

Beautiful! =)

[puyi101]

I note Ashkenazy starts his left hand on a D# in bar 8 instead of an F#... Have I missed something? Is this an error (my sheet music shows an F#).

[ancientone22]

@puyi101 You are an asshole .... trying to prove you are superior to Ashkenazy ..... You are a Gyjewski....

[puyi101]

@ancientone22 : Only an idiot would try "to prove" his superiority to Ashkenazy. A fool plays the man and not the ball. As a music student, my question was a serious one. Any future insulting replies from you will be treated as one would treat an ignoramus. Unless you have something intelligent to say, don't waste your time.

[damnxthatsxhotxxx]

@puyi101 in my music it is a D#.

[LieutenantLimey]

@puyi101 It's a D#. A lot of times, as music is copied and reprinted minor mistakes are made in the process. Look up "Urtext Edition" on Wikipedia. These usually give the most true representations of the composer's original work, short of the actual hand-written notation. But to answer your original question, it is played correctly here. Hope this helped!

[Elsenrail29]

@LieutenantLimey I don't know which version is correct. however I DO know that F# ''sounds'' much more correct to me when I play the piece on my piano. There are also comments on other videos as well stating F# is the correct one.

[jasmineandrose123]

anyway, this is one of my favourite interpretations.... if not my favourite)

[livelaughlovehelina]

its funny how humans can be capable of this kind of of beauty...and also be capable of so much destruction. he is amazinggg

[RedChopin1917]

Pure love.

[Katarriinaa]

This is the best composition of all composers of all time. And Chopin is the best composer of all time. <3

[vandykgreene]

He plays it the best out of many other pianists.

[08ori]

Amazing. one of the best pieces played with so much amotion.

[koosunami888]

1:59 sounds like a ball rolling down a hill. Or at least it gives me such an impression.

[tdanis1]

@koosunami888

yes, but that's because Chopin is putting some Polish folk music into his nocturnes (so there are few moments in couple of nocturnes that don't sound so sophisticated and emotional, but reveal the Chopin's nature of big patriot and fan of Polis folklore) - it's easy to me as I'm Polish and know these songs pretty well (sang at many folk festivals even in big cities)

[mik4000123]

I am 14 and I play this. I have no problem putting an intense amount of emotion into these songs. For instance; I also play Claire de Lune and Maple Leaf Rag. Now those two are almost completely opposite because in Claire de Lune you put so much into it that you have a hard time concentrating on the song and Maple Leaf Rag you are just jumping around without much deep emotion

[superman32101]

@mik4000123 No. If that's seriously what you believe, then you have no right to call yourself a musician.

"Emotion" is not synonymous with "deep". Rags are some of the most emotional songs of the genre. Grow up some before you go around on the internet spouting your nonsense. Your naivety is embarrassing. Just because a song is classical or romaticized does not by any standard (but yours) make it more emotional.

[mik4000123]

@superman3210 The notion was merely personal opinion. To know the emotion of the song you must know the time period in which it was written, as is anything; Shakespear, Emily Dickenson, or Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Maple leaf rag was written as a rag, which was played as dance music. Clair De lune which means moonlight in french was impressionistic and focused on color rather than rhythm. There is emotion in both but the question is, what do you feel when you play it.

[AbnormisSapiens]

Lol all great pianists are Jews.

[bboymyung]

i cant get the 2:53 - 2:58 part! i practiced it like 50 times and the technique is difficult there for my fingers. but as soon as i get this down real good. i want to upload my version =D

[TheCranberry97]

Love it. It's even better than playing this with violin, i think.

[telsport]

I am now 62. I have been away quite a while due to forces beyond my control...I am going to work like hell to get back to playing condition...and I think, perhaps, that my age and patience will give me a shot at feeling the emotions, and translating them into my performance.

Old guys rule ~!

Tom Loughlin Jr.Utica NY

[JaLjubljuVlad]

I find it very funny when (no offense) chinese 6-year olds play this and they get the technical part so easily (well not all of them, but anyways). What they struggle with is understanding the feelings and Chopin.

My problem is that I have a lot of emotion and understanding, but my fingers wont listen to my heart or brain.... Stumbling and falling. It's so sad. I hope that one day, my technique will be more like Ashkenazy's...

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

@JaLjubljuVlad I think the same (a lot of offense)

[wuduaelvin]

@newFranzFerencLiszt

What an awful comment.Unnecessary, really.

[ruckusman333]

@newFranzFerencLiszt well put sir, I agree,

[jasmineandrose123]

@newFranzFerencLiszt

why does it always has to be the chinese kids who are accused of not playing with no feeling...

[blenyesi22balazs]

@jasmineandrose123 because serious musical education at such an early age is really a mass habit in china and russia nowadays. if australian kids would play with that kind of technical skill, they would be accused. Simple as that.

[FrederickThePie]

@jasmineandrose123 It's not so much the fact that they play with no feeling, it's that they are technically brilliant and naturally talented, BUT don't play with the same emotion and musicality as people who have more experience.

[AQW12z]

@newFranzFerencLiszt

the other reason why they don't play as well is they we're probably forced to if u think about it. I'm Asian so I think u should be careful what u r saying.

[bhh1988]

@JaLjubljuVlad well it's not cause they're chinese, in case that's what you're implying. It's cause they're 6 years old. Most kids can't understand chopin

[kiek]

@JaLjubljuVlad My pianoteacher told me that this piece isn't supposed to be emotional at all. It's not supposed to be feminine (no offense to my fellow-women).

That's what makes it hard. To play it beautifully without the over-emotional shit.

(when I play this at home I secretly add some tho.)

[wuduaelvin]

@JaLjubljuVlad I do the same! And thanks for saying no offense- I agree with your comments about putting the emotion in music. Some cultures are not so easily in tune with emotion but are simply brilliant with technical stuff. It's just great when someone can put the two together. And it's REALLY painful when someone can't.

[advisorC101]

@JaLjubljuVlad, Excellent comment.

[jen1989z]

@JaLjubljuVlad agree,.chopin's pieces need life experience, so you can understand their depth

[QGfk1]

@JaLjubljuVlad Some people just aren't born with technique as good as others, natural ability plays a part. But technique is always something you can work on, and feeling can't be taught. Feeling the music and (even more importantly) understanding the theory behind it is critical, because that also allows you to create your own music, and i can only have so much respect for people who spend their entire lives regurgitating other peoples' music, no matter how perfectly they do it.

[surfintubes]

@JaLjubljuVlad Many people may be able to play Chopin's notes, but very few can play his music.

[piano1234321]

@surfintubes im learning how to play this song

[natia56]

@JaLjubljuVlad agree with you. it's totally unacceptable!

[Winarchnesa]

@JaLjubljuVlad Well i find the emotion quite easily. Try thinking if theres was a princess that was confined in her room and never had freedom and thus one day she escapes in the night exploring a forest nearby. she finds animals of all kind such as foxes birds etc. Thats i think and it works pretty well

[iamalmightyme]

@Winarchnesa The ballad of "The Lady of Shalott" by Tennyson is just this. Quite emotional.

[junenostalgia]

@JaLjubljuVlad I can't believe you're criticizing a child, who has so little life experience, for not understanding the music. They will learn as they grow older, and improve immensely. It's completely understandable that they can't put in the same emotion as an adult.

[KyleP2009]

@junenostalgia lol well when they grow up, after experiencing all these emotions that are being spoken of, the criticisms will disappear.. until then, it is just not the same

[SICKxCHARISMAxTURTLE]

@JaLjubljuVlad

The wonderful thing about piano is that you can increase your finger dexterity and independence without sitting in front of a keyaboard. Many traditionalists will disagree and say that it will not teach "accuracy" or enhance strength to oppose the mechanical weight of the actual keys. That is true to an extent, but you may practice combinations of awkward finger contortions on your own. I found that helpful to break some of the frustrating pains of clumsiness. Good luck!

[jasonohmad]

@JaLjubljuVlad Funny? In what regard?

[luigibattista10]

@JaLjubljuVlad I rather have emotion and feeling than technique.. Technique can be found anywhere. A good example is Ennio Morricone, he played piano when young, he was very very talented but not a player from another planet but his compositions are from another universe. Well, it's only my opinion, of course.

Sorry for my english. (:

[ANDjjela]

@luigibattista10 It doesn't matter about your english, I understand what you mean, and I feel like your opinion was very nicely said :D

[ANDjjela]

@ANDjjela and I agree with it! spectacular compositions!

[luigibattista10]

@ANDjjela =)

[baruch60610]

@JaLjubljuVlad

Yes, I quite agree - my heart knows what wants to do, but my hands don't seem to care. I take comfort that there are many others who *can* play with exquisite feeling, and who can thus make music speak eloquently.

[hellomotobleh]

@JaLjubljuVlad how can you expect a 6 year old to understand chopin's emotions? i don't believe even chopin himself could understand his own feelings.

[654brenduhxoxo321]

@hellomotobleh It's important to understand the emotions Chopin tried to convey through his music but it is also important that the child finds his own "ideal tone".

But you're right (: They say artists are a little crazy.

(By the way, I wasn't disagreeing with you in anything.)

[weldon29]

@JaLjubljuVlad Why is it funny? They're six, of course they aren't able to understand the feelings, they can't even understand their own.

[nyamcz]

Thta's why in glad that im a jewfag

[suramahajjar1]

ESSA É ESPECIAL.....EU TOCAVA TODOS OS DIAS PARA MEU PAI DEPOIS QUE ELE CHEGAVA DO TRABALHO.

DEITAVA-SE NO TAPETE COM OS OUVIDOS ENCOSTADOS NO PIANO E CHORAVA SEMPRE. DIVIDO CONTIGO,AMIGO QUERIDO. BJ,SURAMA

[KAPNIZW]

One of the most beautiful musical themes .... the artist that will try to interpret this music theme should from all over the inner world, to spout the strongest piece of emotions and this, because it the requires this masterpiece.... Excellent !!!!!!

[chopinidolatry]

Prodigiosamente bello!!

[JaLjubluVlad]

this is simply the best version of nocturne! i love playing it, every note i hit is so beautiful and full of emotion. chopin was and is still the greatest poet/composer of the classical music world.

[bitWhitefox]

For Poland!

[KonstantinosPiano]

The best classical piece made....

[musicallyspeakings88]

Best of all the versions I've heard. Bravo!

[lllllllllllllll88]

@musicallyspeakings88 - I agree! He's my fav EVER!!!

[astronome9]

@musicallyspeakings88 Well, did you listen to Aimi Kobayashi's interpretation, here on YouTube? Worth the detour. I think, she is on par with Ashkenazy's version as far as the nuances, the emotions, and her sense of the phrase, absolutely phenomenal for a kid not even 11 years old.

[musicallyspeakings88]

@astronome9 Yes, her interpretation is lovely, for all the reasons you mentioned, but her tempo is a little fast for my taste, she doesn't seem to quite capture the melancholic feeling of the whole piece....it... doesn't sound quite as polished as Ashkenazy's.... he makes it sound more like a nocturne, or, "little night music" to put it in English. Her 15th measure, for example, is much to rushed, especially in the beginning, it needs to rise and fall more... the six against four is too fast.

[Arfat]

@musicallyspeakings88 Ashkenazy is a seasoned artist. Aimi is a freaking little girl.

[sklyingjoker]

@Arfat I agree. There is a lot of youtube videos of kids with great skills, but they can never quite capture the emotions, because there is just so much they haven't experienced in life!

[MrJabberzz]

@sklyingjoker And also their skills are probably a result of overachieving parents who want to show off their kids, while the kids haven't even learned to enjoy the music yet.

[guapotegay]

@sklyingjoker I didn't think it like that... But you're right!

[musicallyspeakings88]

@astronome9 Here and there her playing isn't delicate enough for this piece..... she is missing a few sensitive touches. Not that she isn't playing it sensitively.... but she rushes the tempo in a few places that are beautiful and call for lingering on, and she doesn't hold the tempo very well. I will say, though, that it is very impressive someone of 11 years of age can play this as well as she does. Sorry if I put her down, just my personal taste, there is no right or wrong way to play it :)

[cattleman6420012000]

Superb.

[DHerbreteau]

Perfect ! Thanks Franz