Moravec: Chopin Ballade No 1 in G Minor

[decemberbenjamin]

impossible to forget such a piece like that ..

[coffeescup]

when he does that first pause and transition, i nearly cried.

[fredericfranc]

...Mr.Moravec does several effective transitions throughout the piece, so arguing that the coda is jet-propelled against the meditative rest of the piece, i.e.that the interpretation is not really unified-integrated properly does not make much sense to me...Horowitz is usually much worse on this score in this composition...

[cellphonegaming]

@fredericfranc I found that his meditative rests were most proper and this integration of le roast beef into the coda thus propelled it into the rest of the piece. You see my good man, roast beef is the breakfast of champions.

Good day sir.

[fredericfranc]

@cellphonegaming ...am I really your good man after missing out on the roast beef?

[pedrinpablo007]

super hermosa melodia

[maxbigazzi]

what a sensational interpretation and touch!!

[Gargantupimp]

ONLY SOFRONITSKY CAN PLAY THIS!

[Bbeatscheese]

@Gargantupimp And that guy off the Pianist.

[marisasw]

The first pianist I've heard to play the coda fast enough!

[paSolar1]

Pan Moravec je skvělý člověk a mimořádný klavírista s obrovským citem.

[Freddran]

@paSolar1 No slyšel jsem, jak měl hrát na koncertě, šáhnul na klavír, ten se mu nezdál a odešel.... Sebevětší umělec si takové manýry může odpustit.

[paSolar1]

@Freddran Vezmu-li v úvahu manýry některých "hvězd" popu,tak požadavek na špičkové piáno u takto špičkového klavíristy nepovažuji za manýr,ale za nutnost k výborné reprodukci skladeb.Houslisté,violisté i jiní instrumentalisté,včetně harfenistů, si na produkce vozí vlastní nástroje.U klavíristů o takové praxi nevím.

[963821]

He's still going strong.. it a beautiful thing

[robotnik77]

I like Vasary in most Chopin; however, this introspective interpretation of

Moravec on Ballade #1 has to be the best. Steeped in deep thought. My

favorite version of this Ballade. Dreamy.

[JLorz84]

I can see Chopin improvising in a salon in Paris...

[janvkimm]

@JLorz84

That is a great compliment to Moravec !

He is marvellous indeed !

Jan.

[lovesGenet]

the exposition here is too quiet,tentative has no drive.Rubinst does it this way too it makes Eflat section too syrupy.Ist subject should be in contrast to 2nd sub.Iam nobody but Hofmann is right .Argerich I agree too.Richter tooless dreamy for expo.A major sec has nobreadth w/Moravec ? I really dislike everything he does -seems soft no heroism .I've yet to hear any Chopin I like from himyet he is considered grt Chopin interp.there must be more that I still dont know.Coda just totally wrong.But

[i9506853]

fantastic~! i love it~!

[aardvaark069]

beginning at 5:08 or so this becomes to sentimental and sick room for me in it's heavings and sighings . Still the best No3. and no.4 though.

[cm50gr3250]

This is the best interpretation i have ever listen.

[Radenko90]

Phenomenal.

[royo90]

Definitely one of the most sentimental recordings i've heard.  Great coda too. So much control, but it still sounds wild.

[pabloDAjanitor13]

very emotional and sad its kind weird if you picture the worst thing that you could like ww2 or something.........like in the pianist

[fairlytaleofnewyork]

Very delicate and touching!

Love it very much. Thank you for posting!

[Glenmed]

Music and playing of great genius. A tapestry of colour and movement races you onwards through worlds unknown to ordinary mortals.

[Kievest]

Astoundingly profound and intimate per-

formance! Incredible delicacy, raging

passions and unadorned drama! Bravo

and Thank you for the brilliant posting!

[12rosebud12]

Ivan Moravec, my main man. THE Chopin pianist.

All of a sudden I can hear voices from inside the chords I wasn't able to hear from no other recording, incl. Rubystein & Hororrwitz.

[robotnik77]

Taking Rubinstein & Horowitz as defacto

standards, Moravec is clearly superior to

them in this Ballade on every level. Technically,

emotionally, lyrically. Simply transcendent.

I feel myself being drawn deeply into his interpretation, whereas the other two left me on the surface.

[libetta]

have you seen Horowitz' ballade performance here on youtube? that clearly is the most overrated performance ever, and those thousands reverring that performance obviously don't know what they're raving about

[geneticssucks]

finally someone with frontal lobe activity:))

[hymntonight]

Rubinstein sucks too, IMPO

[paulostroff99]

Stunning! Bravo! TY.

[exbio]

Personalmente... Creo que el pianista toca muy bien... Pero no me gustan esos movimientos de tiempo TAN bruscos dentro de una misma frase, y tan seguidos... El romanticismo da al intérprete cierta libertad, pero muchos pianistas, incluyendo al señor Ivan Moravec, me parece que pierden el sentido común de una pieza en algunas interpretaciones, las concibo más como muchas divisiones de una obra, que una pieza completa de principio a fin como lo es una balada...

[RabidCh]

I love the sound of the bass notes... It's such a rarity to hear a sound that pure

[ghostwriter11]

One of the truly great -- and largely unsung -- Chopin interpreters. I've seen him several times in San Francisco, including a performance of this Ballade. Astounding artist with absolutely no pretension; just an incredible musical sense and lots of technique which he keeps in reserve ... until it's needed.

[rhadamanthes82]

My ballade favourite version is 1933's Cortot and Licad one's. This is incredible and come to my top 3 version of the Chopin 1st ballade. This one has the best sound prize ;) Fabulous !!! this is chopin

[soami2u]

Moravec is a wonderful pianist. He is supreme in Chopin. His Mozart is superb also, and his Schumann Concerto is one of the best I ever heard....I'd put it close to the great Lipatti recording. A very thoughtful artist who always has something new to say about the music.

[ilovescarlatti]

Absolutely beautiful... personal intpretation ... super

[teoakinyel]

fantastic.

[pisiki]

I think this is the best interpretation! Bravo!!!

[bobon47]

Grandioso

[rigel48]

A very personal rendition of this great ballade, with many new ideas. He really tells us a story. Unfortunately the coda (Presto con fuoco) lacks strength (and speed) !

[PhysiqueQuantique]

So freakin' intimidating. D:

[Anders039]

I agree about the piano, but still I think it is a wonderful interpretation I could listen to for days.

[libetta]

is this a Bosendorfer? the sound is really exquisitely romantic!

[flugelmaniac]

This is a really wonderful rendition of this

work.... no wonder this pianist is so highly thought of for playing Chopin.

[bobon47]

Who can clarify my troubling problem. Chopin, grate melodist, didn`t create no one leader, such Schubert. It`s mystery for me.

[aab91030]

Actually, he did write songs in Polish.

[flugelmaniac]

totally brilliant playing.

[trschaefer]

Damn he's good! Kind of a "non-traditional" interpretation of the ending.

[aardvaark069]

His is the best Chopin ballade 4. Recorded in the same set as this one............sometime in early to mid sixties for The connoiseur society. He's got it all. For the ultimate in tonal subtley you shoul listen to his set of Chopin nocturnes. Like smoking opium! Incredible

[NordicHealer]

I agree with you aardvaark069 his Chopin Ballad No 4 is one of the best I have Ever heard and I have head All the greats play this piece which is so incredibly difficult to capture its elusive moods and nuances.

[aardvaark069]

thanks for your comment. My recordings are on vinyl and I believe some of his sumptousness is lost in the CD tranfers. So glad we agree.

[NordicHealer]

I agree with you on that also. Digital sound LOSES a LOT of the original beautiful tonal complexity. Much has been written about this also by sound scientists, & the debate rages even though Digital won out. We progressed when we evolved to Digital..But Not Really! The Soul is not fed nor the body Healed as completely from this new STERILE system. Digital sound is tiny geometric Fragments strung together, your mind has to fill in the missing gaps. Something IS FOREVER LOST. Thoughts on pianos?

[aardvaark069]

I am rabid on this subject. I think that the general use of Steinway pianoes has lead to a very stale and homogenized interpretive world for piano music. I love Bechstein and Grotrian. They lake the bottomless depth of Steinway but they seem to afford more tonal and textural variety. I belive that their sound requires more from a pianist as far as creative imagination of tone color is concerned.

[aardvaark069]

Nordic healer. Are you that? if so, in what way?

[NordicHealer]

aadvaark069 what do you mean by "are you that? if so, in what way?

[aardvaark069]

I was referring to the name "nordichealer" Are you a healer of some sort. Spiritual or otherwise. My curiosity got the better of me. No impropriety intended.

[NordicHealer]

Yes I am a Healer. I work with High Frequency Channeled Light Healing similar to Reiki. I'm also a classical pianist and teacher...wink.

[aardvaark069]

I have a friend who is reiki master. He's a very cool guy. you never responded to my anti-Steinway tirade. What do you think?

[NordicHealer]

After playing on all the top name brand pianos over the years I personally prefer the New York Steinway. A really "Good one" has overall the most Full bodied Powerful Projective Tone, Biggest Base, singing soprano of all pianos. Of course there is a lot of subjectivity in this business of sound and tone. As an interviewer of concert pianists I made it a special point to ask them which piano they preferred if they could get any one they wanted and Most of them told me a Good New York Steinway.

[NordicHealer]

While Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Grotrian have indeed a Beautiful Tone, they rarely have the Projective Power needed to fill a LARGE concert hall with the volume needed. There is usually a softer more intimate, refined sound to these pianos. I recently attended a concert where a Bosendorfer Imperial was used, sitting just 8 rows from the stage I could barely hear the piano. You might say it was just the way that individual piano was voiced, but I have encountered this problem many times.

[aardvaark069]

I agree with you about the real depth of Steinway pianos. I wonder.........in this Moravec series of recordings from that time...what piano? In some of the nocturnes and preludes I get the feeling that it is not a steinway that he is playing.

[flugelmaniac]

Totally agree with you about modern Bosendorfers lack of projective power.I find this is a real problem from about note 50

upwards, the treble note is just a weak sounding little'ping'..........

The very best older Bechsteins have a lot of projective power and depth,which explains why they were so favoured by artists.The Bechstein was not popular after WW2,I believe, because of rumours about their financial support to Hitler and never recovered their position from this.

[acortot]

most pianos built before 1800 weaker top octaves.

it was tradition.

the problem came about when german/american pianos increased the bass so much that the top became unbalanced.

hence the modern bass/treble piano sound..

[flugelmaniac]

I like your old Erards.

However, my comment on this video was about

20th century instruments.

[acortot]

yes, i understand.

I was simply reminding that pianos traditionally didn't have the loud top octaves they have now, which may be why bosendorfer has kept that sound.

Erards BTW were the first pianos to really create the modern sound, and Erard invented the pressure bar on the top octaves which is used to increase treble sustain. Chopin's Pleyel did not have the bar in the treble, so sustain was short.

[flugelmaniac]

I also find modern Bosendorfers very weak in the treble. the small model 170 is very good for home use,but all the other models are unbalanced, with the largest having a massively huge bass but nil volume and projectional power between notes 50 and 70.

[NordicHealer]

So true what you are saying about the Bosendorfer. Its strange that the professional concert pianist Garrick Ohlsson only plays on Bosenforer Imperial and occasionally Grotrian. It would be fun for playing with tone colors to have those extra 9 notes that the Imperial has in the base on a Steinway. :)

[soami2u]

Try the newest Bluethners from Leipzig. Gorgeous sound

[squarejoe]

Every note is such delicate elegance, his interpretation of Chopoin is like no one i've heard.  Emotional, but yet subdued and mature, the music comes alive under his fingers.

[jorgeazamora73]

Please post the four ballades!!

his recording of Chopin Ballades is 50 US Dollars in Amazon!!

[giangiman]

very personal and a lot of true passion

beautiful

[billyguns2]

Listen to any Moravec performance and follow along in the score: you will see that he oberves every dynamic marking, all the while maintaining a forward moving musical line. It is all in the service of the music; it is shocking how many famous performers turn the music into vehicles for themselves: Moravec is like a breath of fresh air.

[DOBORBEN]

WOW! I never listened this pianist. His sound is very good. Tenderly performance.

[scharwenka1850]

What have we here? Ivan Moravec? I saw him in concert. His Mozart was about the best I ever heard. He makes each phrase memorable!

[jamesotek]

Moravec is my most played performer of Chopin's Nocturnes, do you have any video post of Moravec?

[hymntonight]

I totally agree! Moravec OWNS the nocturnes. (I also recommend Novaes).

Yes, there are videos of him playing live on youtube.

[jamesotek]

hymntonight, thanks for recommending Novaes. Never heard of her but what a delight...she has got the rare understanding of Chopin that makes Moravec King...she may well be Queen!

[hymntonight]

I'm glad you like her!