Friedrich Gulda plays Mozart - Fantasy in re minor

[ThePaulNaka]

I love Gulda but I think Mitsuko Uchida is the greatest performer of Mozart´s pieces.

[MadAuralSkills]

Gulda, for me, is the preeminent interpreter of Mozart's keyboard works. There is no original manuscript for this fantasy, so who can say he played the opening too fast? The score is marked Andante in cut time, and Gulda certainly had the technical prowess to sustain his driving pulse in the musical line. This choice contrasts beautifully with the Adagio, as well. After all, the work is a fantasy, which should be more relaxed in its character than a sonata or concerto. And the Bosendorfer!

[cegaliano]

The best version. Gulda is Mozart re-encarnated. Newyorguy, you hae no sense of music. Probably love the slow, boring and awful glenn gould' version.

[brodsky96]

@cegaliano you are right... but still listen to Gilels too:)))

[tomaskejr]

0:46 error

[newyorkguy10]

He destroys the beginning by rushing through it. Some pianists play it too slowly, he goes too fast. Not sensitive to the music in the beginning. His fast tempo works when he lets the piece breathe, when he is willing to pause and linger at the end of a phrase. It is afterall a very romantic piece, like a youthful declaration of love. But most of the time he rushes and doesn't let it breathe. The ending is terribly rushed. A lot of the feeling is lost in this way.

[guglielmiable]

tres émouvant ......(surtout comme trame du film les 7 vies.) c'est tres émouvant.

[FedericoAndreas]

die werke für cello und klavier beethoven! gulda and fournier docet!

[tytzer93]

Guys.. There is a different between people who plays the notes... And people who plays the music. Make your own judgement.

[guldayt]

wow accidenti mozart mi commuove sempre!!!!!!

[MrRustytrain]

Too fast for my taste

[tytzer93]

@MrRustytrain The song originally isn't this fast.. Every musician plays differently. Each according to their own personality and... yes.. taste. Anyways, continue to enjoy your own taste of music. :)

[MrRustytrain]

@tytzer93 "The song originally isn't this fast." I know that's why I said that, and also respect anyone else's taste and interpretation style, but if i had to choose one youtube video on this song, this wouldn't be on my list :P

[PottingParting]

I like this fantasy and playing it on piano myself ( Im 14)

[XxyuhresaxX]

@PottingParting Cool! :D, I'm learning it too, its a really nice piece of music :) (Recently just turned 15)

[MrRustytrain]

@XxyuhresaxX Age doesn't matter you fools

[XxyuhresaxX]

@MrRustytrain Ahh well...:L

[PorroFirst]

Gulda is a banger. He bangs on the keyboard.

[skryabyn]

@PorroFirst He does indeed seem to at times. 

[SpiripillA95]

Questa canzone è stupenda!!!

[lamochem]

yep that's right !

[yourmumsucksdick]

Hes playing that fast because he knows he hasn't got that long to live.

[rainonline1]

hahhahaha ... Like in a restaurant.

[goldenagepianist]

love the pimp shirt and pink glasses!

[rainonline1]

@goldenagepianist muhahhahahhhhah

[LPCLASSICAL]

Quite a daring reading - a dashed opening - somehow all the profound mood of the opening is lost and it sounds rather trivial.

[Bruningable]

he is THE master.

[lovesGenet]

He is to be respected. 60's 70's had a new consciousness . This very white german man went far .His Bach is great .I have his wtc and some english suites .He deserves Gould's fame .This rough Mozart is a signal , a sign that future generations will understand like Pogorelich . It's taking a long time.

[hermanshermits124124]

@lovesGenet austrian, not german

[andantino100]

He plays this Mozart in a very romantic way, so for consistency he should have avoided any embellishment (which is more a baroc than a classical feature).

[andantino100]

He plays this Mozart in a very romantic way, so for consistency he should have avoided any embellishment (which is more a baroc than a classical feature).

[rustydog1236]

First Mozart I learned when I was kid: Went from the French Suites to this!

[RenatoABabka]

wtf? its " not " kv397 lol just hear the indroduction and i wanted to turn off my computer...

[MilesDatdude]

you know what i love about Gulda he always seems to be having so much fun.... he could probly play this piece the same way everyone els does but he chose not to because he felt like it great performance

[WolfgangusMozartus]

Ugly and clumsy. Seems to missing the point of this very deep piece.

[hermanshermits124124]

@WolfgangusMozartus thanks for your expert opinion..... HAHAHAHHAHA MORON

[brodsky96]

GENIUS!

[Myleso]

I love it - it's a gritty, edgy rock and roll performance. So many dainty renditions out there - lovely ladies swaying on their seats etc. - this is refreshing.

[y1g1tcn]

the introduction is not only fast but also rubato and needlessly forte.. this performance may be good but i am not customed to this kinds of performamce of Mozart's works so not for my taste i want to feel more barokque in it..

[Replicae]

NIce... i just love it:P

[alexandreprout]

he missed the all thing, like many pianists. bad day for herr mozart.

too fast, too many rubatos, no idea of the structure.

nice glasses anyway.

[MrToulis93]

Are you kidding me?He is a master!

[klausknulp]

@MrToulis93

he had been my teacher, but unfortunately i do not like it either. gulda became completely craizy when he was getting old. he did not practise anymore and he thought that he is a mozart himself.

he anounced his death because he wanted listen to the news about it. he made a tv concert completely naked with his partner ursula anders (she looked good, but he was ugly, lol). however - gulda had been a master for sure, but his character was not ready to become a legend. it's a pitty!

[vctplm]

Gulda resterà un mistero...è incredibile la rozzezza del suono, le note false e l'approssimazione delle esecuzioni degli ultimi anni...

[n10juan]

molti dicono che si sia dedicato anima e corpo alla composizione jazz (in cui era mediocre) trascurando molto lo studio

[wastli15]

the introduction is a little too fast,

but it is wonderfully player =)

[MaestroTJS]

He should have played this at Woodstock dressed like that. 

I'd say that's the strangest attire I've ever seen a concert pianist wear, except that a couple of months ago I was at a concert where a transvestite/transsexual played Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.

[MentorOfMinos]

That should basically never have happened. What a sad day for music when something as expressive as music is sullied and co-mingled with the vain lusts of humanity!

And yes, Mr. Gulda had rather strange tastes in vestments. You should see how he conducted the Emperor's Concerto! It makes me grin every single time to see him playing with one hand and conducting (and quite effectively, I might add!) with the other. Wow! Definitely beyond my level, that's for sure!

[Demoliti0nLover]

way too fast!

[69Eagleowl]

Слишком быстро и со своими мелизмами, что тоже не очень-то радует.

[tobiashanner]

Ungewöhnlich schnelle Einleitung, aber nicht schlecht! Gulda versteht es, Mozart jedesmal anders spielen. Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Interpreten klingt er bei ihm auch nicht zu "versüßt" oder zu "kindlich". Ja, bei den Wiener Klassikern war er eben in seinem Element.

[lst9162]

I like all the rubatos and dynamic, speed's fine...

but just the notes seem a bit too harsh at times...

[omguanyin]

fast til there's no emotion and feeling

[IanPianist2]

very fast x.x

[LuisdelaCuesta]

La estoy ewscuchando con la partitura en la mano.

Gulda, a quien admiro mucho, se toma muchas libertades de "inventivas" propias

[kyos99]

Non mi piace, il suono lo smorza troppo e non è gradevole per l'orecchio, tralaltro utilizza il rubato che dovrebbe essere praticamente assente.

[calibardo]

perchè il rubato dovrebbe essere assente?

[bocanegra6]

this is a good speed, it sounds terrible slower

[chopinandliszt]

the beginning tempo's andante and he plays it faster than moderato

[pianist41]

@chopinandliszt You forgot the the alla breve. Take an Andante-tempo, then six notes on a beat, as Mozart said, and you come close to this. Additionally the normal Andante with no other words is not slow in Mozarts tempo-relations, and you will not find one harmony lasting for two bars in any of his slow movements.

In this composition it makes no sense, that a lot of pianists play the beginning so slow, and after that they come to the real slow Adagio, but can´t play slower anymore.

[TheHanslick]

pianist41 - sorry to push the wrong button. I completely

agree. Also, it is a Fantasy. Gulda´s interpretation is

superb - a true Mozart !!! If you play it slower you distort the whole thing.

[omguanyin]

its andante kthxbai

[WILLYGRIETA]

Not too fast. Beginning cadenza needs to be quick for its right effect, even more on a Mozarts Time Pianoforte.

Guldas Mozart, not being my favourite pianist, is a tribute of music & not the personal likes.

[ClaptonDennis]

To fast? maybe, but guldas mozart tapes are really awesome

He was unique

Try the 4 seasons played by nigel kennedy

fast, but not to fast ;)

[fantazjaa]

genialneeeeeeeee

[scarletclyde]

Too fast. :-(

[lhink182]

i like it better a bit faster, thats how my girlfriend plays it and it sounds heavenly. maybe i incorporate too much metal into classical music.

[Alejandro270193]

I really like this version, but i like much more Uchida's, look for it.... Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart Fantasy in D minor kv 397

[bossel100]

was is denn das fürn vogelXD

den eingangspart spielt er total lässig und der rest hört sich auch irgendwie wahllos an

[hypermusic12]

Loved it. The man's amazing...

[WillyGizzle]

I'm playing this right now!!Great piece.

[thepianist213]

Funny style! I thought he was going to play rock and roll.

[ristrettto]

No doubt he is a very talented man but in my opinion he, like so many others play this piece too fast. I do enjoy it and have played it many times, pity Mozart only ever composed two Fantasia. Thanks for posting it.

[ComposerTS]

Very nice. I had this whole concert on video tape for a long time when it was broadcasted in German TV. Nice to see that it is now on Youtube.

For all of you interested in Mozart, you may want to know that I have composed a "piano sonata a la Mozart." If you are interested, go and search for it on Youtube.

[abubakr19]

Music is an art form after all. Its elements are not like words in legal matters.

It's art and Gulda ornamentations are so Mozartean in clarity and lightness that you feel the interpretation richer, a richness that does not disturb or exceed the original in mood and magnitude unlike one cadenza Beethoven wrote for Mozart Piano Concerto No 20.

So what?

[robertosuman1960]

Para mi gusto es más lenta.Por lo demás magnífica interpretación de una obra a la que se debería contemplar como maestra.

[fredmex65]

Improvisation and ornamentation is something that Friedrich Goulda is allowed to do. Goulda is one of the last genious in music history, compostion and arranging. I think that those improvisations and ornamentations on this piece express the deep knowledge of Mozart's work and character that are known by Goulda very intimately. I sugges to listen to Goulda's "Concert for myself" or "Welcome to Paradise Island". There you will notice the vast knowledge of this talented man in music.

[mingweicello]

his tone and touch is a little bit too harsh and strong to this piece. Edwin Fischer and Kempff is much better.

[Chopin389]

Yes, adding embellishment is definitely a period practice in both the Baroque and Classical periods. Not the Romantic period obviously. You can't just add trills to Rachmaninoff. Although you can change the pedaling and your interpretation.

[GypsyPianist]

OK, here is something that I wonder if you with all of your knowledge can give a non-judgmental and welcoming opinion about: Do you think it would be valid to make a different ending to this piece in which part of the compositional material from the first page was included? They say it was a short piece, but do you really think it was intended to be this short? How long ago did you make those audition videos? Do you read more about music than play it?

[norcalrobbie2]

It WASN'T intended to be this short. How do we know? Mozart left this piece incomplete and it was completed by someone else. The compositional material could validly be repeated because Mozart often did the same for his other works for solo piano, e.g. the Fourth Phantasie in C minor, the 14th Sonata, etc. The videos are from four to two years ago. And "Do you read more about music than play it?" I don't know what in Hell that's supposed to infer.

[GypsyPianist]

Also, if a pianist copied what Gulda did and then played it like that to his teacher at Moscow conservatoire, would any professor there be wrong for critisising this student?

[GypsyPianist]

And there is a difference between finishing off the last 10 bars in good taste but writing over the top of something.

[NeMetov]

Brilliant!!!

[nleytman]

Gulda's vision of Mozart - it's great.

[ilovescarlatti]

Ok. Mr Gulda plays too fast may be... But he is a fantastic piano player!!! I love his Morat too !!!

[X52SY]

Sorry, I dont'like it. I prefer Nuccio Trotta's rendition.

[lamochem]

I DO NOT wish to thank the polecat who were not agree with my comment

It's unbelievable, you express a personal opinion on music, the interpretation I enjoyed. And it demeans me!

Stop talking about music with your technical terms, and learn to feel it.

Before you criticize, make an effort and try to understand.

[klavierspielerin83]

nice interp but it note wat Herr Mozart wrote!

and wahat is up with the baroque stuff??

[numeralobsessions]

wooooooow, this is beautiful! O.O

[santiagueri]

I am a jazz musician and did not know the piece, in that sense I can't analyze it, however I could "feel it" beyond any stylistic "limitations", this just sounds as an honest and beautiful interpretation, thank you so much for this post.

[thunder1909]

Either he's just trying to be different, or has poor musical taste. Not only has he violated many stylistic approaches to this piece, but has ignored strict directions by the composer himself. His Adagio is an Allegretto, or maybe a quick Andante to say the least, and many of the rit. WRITTEN on this piece by Mozart are either discarded or made as fermatas. I can understand there are different interpretations, but there are BASIC musical approaches to Mozart, that if ignored make disaster.

[s1lmun]

When was the last time you spoke to Mozart about this piece... actually, about anything?

[thunder1909]

I know well Mozart's intentions as he gives a fair amount of directions in this fantasie. Perhaps some of those directions are added by the reductor, but nonetheless, I have a good general idea about the nature of this piece.

[s1lmun]

Дорогой Гром, я абсолютно серьезно спросила вас, когда вы последний раз говорили с Моцартом. Увы, в своих комментариях вы поразительно напоминаете Ван Свитена (при всем моем уважении к этому человеку). Он тоже всегда знал "intentions" композитора и "BASIC musical approaches" к его музыке, что, к сожалению, послужило причиной разрыва с Моцартом, несмотря на то, что он был единственным, кто давал Моцарту хоть какие-то средства к существованию.

[s1lmun]

Фантазия ре-минор для меня не просто любимая музыка, это центр моей вселенной, мой идол. Любая интерпретация, если в ней есть чувство, если она остается ФАНТАЗИЕЙ - будь она меланхоличной, философской, тревожной, смятенной, умиротворенной, страстной, ликующей, кристально акцентуированной, как у Гилельса, или утопающей в мягком бархате, как у Гаврилова, -- остается фантазией ре-минор.

[s1lmun]

Моцарт был молод, влюблен и дурашлив, когда написал ее, и тем не менее мы все открываем и открываем ее бесконечные смыслы и символы -- слой за слоем. Дай Бог, еще не один музыкант увидит в ней новое, свое. Дай Бог.

И, напоследок, это Ван Свитен распорядился похоронить Моцарта в общей могиле для бедных, чего я ему никогда не прощу. Я знаю, вы любите Моцарта, будьте осторожны --не канонизируйте его, он -- бог, и пути его неисповедимы.

[thunder1909]

Mozart wanted to be buried in a normal, public graveyard, as he did not consider himself to be 'greater' or 'higher' than anybody else to deserve such a right. Not true of course, but yet the act of a true genius.

[thunder1909]

Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I am too young to really dig deep and find the true nature and character of this fantasie. Maybe I am being too strict in following all the directions written here. But I do not know or really care in what kind of state Mozart was in when writing this (lovestruck, dumbfounded etc.), I can only play what is written, and add only my own soul and heart into the music.

[s1lmun]

Well, I see... Actually, you've answered my question - you have never talked to him. Although, I don't think he would mind. Too bad, the only thing which gives away your youth is your arrogance. Good luck, Herr Van Swieten!

And by the way, he did consider himself "greater" and "higher", he expressed that on many occasions. Simply because he was a great expert on music and for him music was way above everything else.

[thunder1909]

.....Do you consider Van Swieten to be a bad person?

And yes, Mozart did consider himself greater and higher that others...but as a musician, not a person.

[TheHanslick]

You really need to understand Viennese

spirit of this music. Gulda´s interpretation

however careless it may look like, is in fact

deeply understood. He was the best Mozart interpreter and if you don´t like his interpretation the problem is in you and you have to learn from him. This may take some time but it is worth it !!!!

[lamochem]

this version is one of the best there is. I love the pace

[lamochem]

what ?

[mondrafco]

to fast not like the original

[xenonunderworld]

This is too fast

[mikejunior80]

I agree.The drama is so last at this speed.

[YGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYG]

LOL! He is so funny! I love the hat, the sun shades, the wild clothes. He is so adorable, lovable, and cuddly! LOL!

xoxoxox

[tamitinuviel]

artistically played, but to rash.

[negrooptico]

I agree, I like Gulda but here he is in a hurry...

[la4ky]

Too rush and not sychronised i think. But it doaesnt sound bad, its nice

[hermanshermits124124]

@YGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYG thats exactly how Mozart would want him to be dressed :) Mozart wasn't the serious type either :D

[YGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYG]

I love this man. I wish he were still with us.

:(

'

[maurisk78]

I didn't hear this pianist to a live concert but his interpretation is very unusual, very original! He's got an excellent tecnique but I don't like this interpretation...

[MetalLicka777]

man i love this

[YGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYGYG]

MetalLicka777, me too. I love the variety. I love to hear different interpretations. He's wonderful.

[MetalLicka777]

i agree

[amadeussalzburg]

too rough with the piano...

[norcalrobbie2]

The original manuscript and many editions don't even have a tempo indication for the beginning (the entire Fantasia was actually incomplete as Mozart left it) so it's up to the performer to decide what works best for that beginning arpeggio part.

[GypsyPianist]

Some very interesting playing that one should take note of. Shame about the sound, the added notes and is he Muslim? Why wear sunglasses when you can just close your eyes?

[norcalrobbie2]

What does it matter if he's a muslim or wearing sunglasses? It doesn't take away from his playing. And about the added notes- it's very much in keeping with 18th Century piano music for the player to add ornaments and improvise where they see fit.

[GypsyPianist]

Did I say it mattered? All you need to do is just say, "Yes" or, "No". I wasn't making fun, if that is what you think. Also, I genuinely wondered why he has sunglasses on. Why do you feel you need to defend him. There really is no reason. Just answering questions seems difficult for you. However, Mozart put in no more and no less ornaments etc. that would be considered good taste. Ok, is this really worth it? Hmmm...

[norcalrobbie2]

Whether or not Mozart "put in no more and no less ornaments" doesn't matter. Gulda's adding of notes and ornaments is perfectly in keeping with 18th Century performance practice.

Is WHAT really worth it? You're criticizing Gulda for adding notes, yet there is evidence that Mozart himself would've done the same. Do yourself a favor and read a musicological article, or even listen to a historically informed recording by Staier or Egarr and look over the liner notes before sounding ignorant.

[GypsyPianist]

I realise now that you are actually not a very nice person. Only people who are such speak like that to others. Anyway, you are assuming that Gulda is as good as Mozart as a composer and are also saying that Mozart would have done exactly the same things as Gulda in the same piece at the same time. You are also suggesting that Gulda knows the piece better than Mozart. Are you suggesting that you can actually speak for him or that Staier or Egarr can speak for Mozart? U still didn't answer Questn

[norcalrobbie2]

IMPROVISATION is a very 18th Century Practice, meaning the artist is expected to put in his own two cents on a piece while using the score as a starting point. This is the practice Staier, Egarr, Bilson, Levin, and even Gulda have been using. Are you saying you know better than they do? And if I'm not a nice person because I disagree with you, then whatever. That's your problem. Be ignorant to the scholarship if you please.

[GypsyPianist]

Firstly it is not WHAT you say but the WAY you say it that made me say that. Change your tune and you will become a better teacher and gain even more friends. Secondly, IMPROVISATION as you put it is popular in every era. Thirdly, you haven't really answered my questions, have you... Fourthly, you have no idea who I am and so one day, I think you will eat your words. Don't think for 1 moment you have a clue who I am from my profile.

[norcalrobbie2]

If it's popular in every era then you should have no problem with Gulda doing it here! And yes, I DID answer your questions.

[Chopin389]

Listen, anyone who doesn't know that when you repeat the exposition of a Mozart sonata you are supposed to add ornaments is misinformed. And all singers know that when you repeat a page of music from the period, you are expected to embellish it. Its just common period practice. All of these "outsiders" like Glenn Gould and Goulda sic. actually knew more about music history than most.

[norcalrobbie2]

Thank you, Chopin389! My point exact.

[colourfulwithaU]

@Chopin389

I actually didn't know about the embellishments, thanks for that bit of information.

[paminaase]

He has the soul of a jazz player =) do you think that he really would care about the rules? He has been known as the "terrorist pianist".

yeah classical music authorities blame him but I think he has done a wonderful job by improvising and playing his own way.

[norcalrobbie2]

Funny. Lately it seems most "historically informed pianists" feel free to ornament and improvise on these 18th Century Viennese fortepiano works, just like Gulda does here (Ever hear the recordings by Andreas Staier and Richard Egarr?) If anything, I think Gulda's improvisations are more in keeping with 18th Century practice than what we are used to hearing from modern pianists.

[vermakov]

No words, just emotions! Super!! Super!!!

[cziffra1980]

I would like to appreciate this (because he has a great hat) but compared to the sounds made by Gilels it barely seems worth listening to.

[wilbur1960]

Say what you will, but the man was a true master. His recordings of the WTC I and II are perhaps the top five recorded versions. In this case he takes liberties, but so what! He at least has conviction to his interpretation and his decisions are not arbitrary or trite. Take a lesson here you lesser pianists!

Someone needs to post his naked Emperor Concerto concert.

[ytpiano7]

BTW he was one of greatest living pianists. I need information why he begun to use a kind of exotic dress code parafernalia?. he was a supreme model to Martha Argerich, even more than Michelangelli. About some opinions of some "german purists" i don`t care. He was always above them.

ytpiano7

[301250]

Never one to follow the crowd, eccentric to a fault, this pianist, a John Lennon/Bernard Levin look-a-like was one of the greatest pianists who ever lived. RIP sd g0h (malaysia)

[Vielvb]

this is awesome i love this song and the way he play it

[doublearejazz]

only interpretation..why ? mozat has improvised his music - classical interpretation is absolutely overestimated. a point : "Do not follow the old masters´steps, but seek what they were seeking... " Basho (1644-1694) : japanese haiku - master :-) ! ..you wonna see/hear something realy innovative - how to improvise classical music ?! look for video : "bach sarabande jazz guitar" or visite renatorozic dot com ..you ll be nicely surprised .. :-)

[noleno]

very interesting

[bigturk1]

what the hell is this, he destroyed the SONG!

[notoriousvcm]

Improvisation is sometimes necesary to reach different levels of appreciation.

[croscream]

He recreated in order to make people angry.

Bravo,

Great work of art.

[opus57]

I like his hat! ;-)

[ciavattarmy]

Mozart is the music.

[diletante86]

didn't like...

[MysteryWriter]

want beautiful sunglasses?

[mimfri]

Wow, I love early Gulda, but he really went off the deep end in his jazzy days. I have never heard Mozart sound so un-Mozartian!

[Rotzfrech9]

Mozart is NOT charming. Sincerly a man from Vienna.

[TheHanslick]

You should explain what you mean in greater detail for those who might not understand. However, I understand what you mean

and you are right. There is nothing superficialy just charming in his music.

Sincerely Vienna (and Gulda) lover.