Chopin: Etude Opus 10 No.4, Maurizio Pollini

[KillingKunoichi]

This is beautiful...

[chrissyluvspeace]

a performance worth the songs of a thousand nymphs

[Choltik]

My favourite performances are this one, and the horowitz one! Both great performances by great artists

[rodrigoantoniosilva7]

Hell of performance!!! One of the best I've seen

[twgirl1]

veri good nice

[88alan8800]

what a beast.

[sevcik2]

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[robertslistening]

Richter is one of the pianists that played this very fast, but still managed to make it very musical.

[robertslistening]

Actually, I prefer Pollini to Horowitz, but he's definitely not the fastest I've heard. He is very musical though. I love his clarity and note separation, as well as that phrasing.

I thought he weaved a nice musical mood overall. I was listening to Barenboim give a masterclass (10 parts). It's was really quite interesting. Valentina Lisitsa is another pianist I enjoy. There are probably some fantastic technicians out there in terms of speed, but they let speed reign over musicality sometimes.

[Fischettiful]

I prefer Horowitz's version over this one.

Both are astounding and beyond the level any average piano artist can ever hope to reach.

Also Richter's performance of this piece is incredible..but way too fast imho.

[trschaefer]

This is absolutely beautiful!

[krisevan1]

wow O.O

[medoooc]

the version by Horowitz is also outstanding :)

[limwonhee1]

So.... 13 people obviously have either no ears or no brain...

[fr3d420]

wow, hes good.

[wagneristhebest]

this is the best performance of this etude, everything about this etude is magical, with an unbelievable sound quality

[BVILLE92]

I saw him LIVE. haha

[kaboom195]

this guy made account for just one video... cool.

[claudeleason]

it feels sticky

[18kyleXYZ]

just great music. This piece just make me feel alive. :D

I love Chopin and this is just the top of my favorite music list (for now)

[18kyleXYZ]

just great music. This piece just make me feel alive. :D

[zipollini]

Lisitsa's recording is fast but bland, mechanical, a technical exercise. Pollini's performance is more mature, nuanced in many different ways (dynamics, accents, overall musicianship)

[ANewAttitude1]

@zipollini just listened to this piece and I agree what a difference between Pollini's performance versus Lisitsa's

performance.....I heard this piece by Chopin in a different light....remarkable! P.S. I still love listening to Valentina and she is a wonderful pianist.

[ANewAttitude1]

@ANewAttitude1 ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!!!!!!!

[Rugghead98]

This is a carbon copy of Lisitsa's version. They are both perfect.

[36beachbum]

@Rugghead98 No it's not. This has magical clarity and tone, Lisitsa's does not.

[ANewAttitude1]

@Rugghead98 both wonderful artists but I heard notes that I didn't hear before in this version

[cowlikesbeef]

yes, this is good!

[donthinktoaviolin]

He's the performer that every composer want to have!

[kiaragre]

fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!! bghfuaònginunaòornvtyòhuertp..­oh sorry...my hands starded independently to run crazy on the keyboard...

[PianoBart958]

Wauw! great performance!

Though I think Valentina plays it better :P

[K46620]

One of the best performances

[iWillBlockYou]

This is perfection.

Just like Pollini's all interpretations of Chopin's etudes.

This recording he did in 1972, is by far the best ever, in my opinion.

[v4liumfrance]

the best etude's perf : pollini :)

[ThePandaGun]

This piece is hard. I'm 14, played for 8 years, have perfect pitch, and have been learning this for a month. LOL Still doing it slo-mo and hands separate.

[Supermassively]

@ThePandaGun Lucky kid.

[cammywatt95]

@ThePandaGun Haha I have perfect pitch aswell, *youtube high five*

[Faeness]

@ThePandaGun

I can imagine it's difficult having shorter fingers.....when putting it all together, good luck. =]

[alejandrothefader]

@ThePandaGun and you re stating all that for what??? if you wanted to say it is difficult just say it man... no offence but it doesn't give anything useful to the comment list.... as much as i could state other ignorants killing themselves i chose this comment cause, well.... randomly

thats it

no ofence again

[ThePandaGun]

@alejandrothefader None taken, I get what you're saying.

[alejandrothefader]

@ThePandaGun ;)

[kiaragre]

@ThePandaGun May I ask you if you usually learn before one hand and then the other? I've been told to learn the lines reading with both my hands at the same time but I find it too difficult sometime.

[ThePandaGun]

@kiaragre I'm almost finished, and the way I was taught was to learn and memorize a section with the left hand, then the right hand. After that I would put the section together, and then when I had the whole piece my teacher showed me how to speed it up.

[jtdendy]

one of the absolute best without a doubt...

[daytonmlivingston]

I love his interpretation of 1:47 - 1:53 and the picture change is perfect for that moment in the piece.

[daytonmlivingston]

Yeah this is Op.10 No.4 if you didnt know, your videos intro slide says no.12.

[geostil]

@daytonmlivingston Yes, I noticed after uploading...

I was intending to upload op.10 No. 12 as well, so...

Anyway, thanks for the info

[a83692128]

12 people are faggot

[Supermassively]

@a83692128 One person is a dumbass. You.

[a83692128]

@Supermassively another person is retard, you

[Supermassively]

@a83692128 Nice English, dumbass.

[a83692128]

@Supermassively nice ass, dumb retard :D

[Supermassively]

@a83692128 Wow, you're looking at my ass? So you're gay? Well, I guess I'll take the compliment anyway.

[a83692128]

@Supermassively whats the problem with being gay you homophobic...

tho i am not gay:D

[jileel]

powerfull but gracefull... amazing man he must have been

[genomos90]

1:40 until the end,...that's jus ridicoulus how something like that was composed in the 19th century.. it is eternal, so powerful, so breathtaking, and of course a wonderful playing by Pollini..chapeau!

[simersonic1]

My teacher thinks I might be able to play this and I'm 12!

[openmindspace]

@simersonic1 you probably could... but could you play it well?

[argerichluvr]

@simersonic1 - and your point is?

[rubendow]

As this is a "study", and many renditions are really great, please listen to Richter. I wonder what is your opinion.

[AndreAx1985]

Excellent version but Richter is the best on this piece.

[argerichluvr]

@AndreAx1985 - Let's agree to disagree.

[thisismeplusyou]

@AndreAx1985 I think he plays almost everything too fast.

[baboon500]

i love this etude

[xxxxx123456789xxxxx1]

pollini number one pianist in the 20th century

[mansell3454]

its the true version... and berezovsky its the other animal version!

[htsea]

This version is the BEST. Even better than freddy kempf's. Nothing can beat this.

[brassmonkeyjew]

My friend says this is one of the easier Chopin etudes. He says this is a finger study you learn as a kid. Is this true? Because it sounds mighty hard to me! :(

[Haeronthegreat]

@brassmonkeyjew Seeing any of the etudes as just a 'finger study' is seriously missing the point.

[semicroma]

@brassmonkeyjew It have to a very talented kid then. Some people learn etudes early on, but very few can play them any near a professionell level.

[lisamconveyness]

@brassmonkeyjew lol naw this is not a finger study. i learned to play the piano, the first thing that you'd look at is scales, you'd study that and revise over notes and practise chords and dynamics. this is a masterpiece and incredibly hard, and only few musicians could ever play this, not every child taught piano is given it as a mere 'finger study'. its too complex in pace, dynamics and in general composition. you'd have to be some one in a million talented kid :)

[DeepPhilosopher5]

@brassmonkeyjew You just need strong finger muscles, which actually takes quite a lot of practice. :)

[argerichluvr]

@DeepPhilosopher5 - it depends on the school of which you speak. Studying this with Gyorgy Sandor,a student of Bartok, it was not the intrinsic muscles doing all the work - it was a combo of intrinsics, wrist, forearm and upperarm. Now if you're talking Russian school, then we have a different situation. And may I ask you this - do you buy into the French school i.e. Isidore Phillipe (sp?) with his independence of the fingers exercises? Just curious.

[TTakach999]

@brassmonkeyjew this is actually one of the hardest Chopin etudes along with the ocean etude, my teacher gives everybody in our studio one of them to work on because they take the most time to master

[johannesbrahms1897]

excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[johannesbrahms1897]

excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[erenbaki]

also listen

Mennan Bërveniku Chopin - Etude Op.10 No.4 [HQ]

[kleinerpogo]

i really like the difference of dynamics between his two hands

[snowy4hk]

This is awesome. It's like two people playing playing this. He's so fast!

[magewiz555]

i heard this in nodame cantabile

[Amurpo]

me too :D

good game btw

[Amurpo]

and anime but i just played the game XD

[monokomint]

THIS IS IT! THE RIGHT DYNAMICS, TIMING, CONTROL, TEMPO IS GREAT. HIS LEFT AND RIGHT HAND ARE TOTALLY IN SYNC!!!! THIS VERSION IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR out of all other performances in youtube this is the best and awesome playing!@#!#%@#$^$%*&%

[argerichluvr]

@monokomint - I couldn't agree more. You have said everything I've always wanted to say about this piece. Richter and Argerich - faster than lightning, Richter missing more notes in the long run; Pollini - sublime perfection. I heard him play a Chopin concert in Japan which was my reason for re-visiting the Bb minor sonata, the Barcarolle, and a vast number of the preludes, the d minor especially. What a fantastic player and nice guy all around.

[JHighland1]

Awesome interpretation. how someone could compose a piece like this is just mind-boggling.

[Barbapippo]

Pollini, the greatest interpreter of Chopin's Etudes

[chazzithebrit]

@Barbapippo very debatable

[GovernmentGuy]

Chopin is definitely the best ! His music is always playful and energetic. Its almost like 2 people playing at the same time.

[nikinikinikita]

ちゃんとメカニックを理解して、指を鍛えそれなりの適正があって­どりょくすればそう難しい極でもないですよ

といいつつ

月日が流れ少年おいやすく学なるもオッサン

[Attila19101960]

this is very difficult !!! in terrible!! but is so fabolous!!!

[pooh18000]

my fav etude ! :)))

[daughterofzion07]

My goodness this is my favorite etude by Chopin. I want to play it so bad...I just haven't gotten around to it. Too much other rep to learn too! :)

[U38066]

My favorite Chopin etude, ALWAYS!!! And Pollini's interpretation is my favorite for this piece... the tempo is dynamic but not too fast like that of many others....

[xlilxjenxjenx08]

i can listen to this all day and i won't be tired of it. i love it!

[Hardysamnin]

Incredible piece

[niitac]

i play it in this tempo too

[pianomanthesecond]

I'd love to hear it, why not post it?

[mathpianist93]

sorry but Pollini has been quoted to be a 'paragon of virtuosity and musical excellence.'

[SuperFranc2]

POLLINI è un GRANDISSIMO

[frederickfrederikfre]

I love Chopin

[ceppov]

yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss­!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[x3mMark0]

Beautiful ..... !!!! AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[1universalqueen1]

beautiful!

[Liebromeistal]

The accuracy, and evenness of this performance is astounding

[Rufftyroff]

1:24 So THAT'S how Chopin really looks like! He's quite delicate.

[adnukum]

Clean, yes.

[medviation]

I hope Chopin lived longer so he can write more of these beautiful pieces.

[fuchion15]

his playing is like fresh snow that has just fallen from the sky. it's clean and beautiful beyond words could describe.

[gonzal0999]

sviatoslav richter version is the best!!

[Kaderderz137]

this one really sounds like the one in nodame cantabile.. :P

[kantalope]

third season in the fall I can't wait!!

[Kaderderz137]

SAME!

[namihomnam]

i really wihs i can play this but i dont think so. can anyone give me advice on how i can play hard songs good?

[AsmoTheDragon]

What I try doing is focus playing different sections separately over and over again until I get them right.

You could even try doing hands separately until you can play both the treble and bass at the same time.

[revilo178]

"You could even try doing hands separately"

I thought one ALWAYS does so...

[youfreakinghippie]

Haha very true. I would love to see someone try to sight read this piece. Either painfully slow or a trainwreck, likely both. There's so much nuance in this piece.

I guess that's why it's an Etude.

[tonyngjichun]

You can try to play some song from Chopin but not very hard, but with scales and App. such as Etude Op.10 No.1, and play some with chords such as Etude Op.10 No.3 "Tristesse", then try to play much harder songs like Op.10 no.12 "Revolutionary", and you will find that it is much easier

[COCOONFABULA]

In my opinion Op.10 no.12 is easier thah Op.10 n.1

[scottyschumann18]

yes, no.1 is one of the harder ones,

[trigalg693]

One of the hardest. Op.10 no.1,2, op.25 no.6,11 would be the hardest 4. This probably follows. Which is probably why I fail at it :(

[bachopinberg]

op25 n11 is almost EASY.. if only you use chopin's fingering x 2 y 1 (x.y=5.4 or 4.3 point by point) with a polyritmic figure 4 4 4 on 6 6. (I play it pretty well and I'm NOT a virtuoso) sorry for my english. e-mail me for major exlplanation.

[mathpianist93]

the main difficulty about Op. 25/11 it is the endurance. I would not call it easy though. it does have a main fingering pattern uttered throughout the entire piece.

[bachopinberg]

the problem of endurance is striktly connected to the fingering pattern. It is not enough to use the right fingering, you also must create a circle (hoola-op like) using the down-up movement of the wrist.:(5-2)down (4-1)up, in a roundely that goes by itself (sorry for my fake english)

[steelseahorse]

me too! although I probably fail way worse than you do.

[qingqy]

@trigalg693

I totally agree with you.

[birdbrain987]

practise - a lot

[scottyschumann18]

you have to 'slow practice', evenly, with NO pedal, and build your muscles up

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

First, learn hands separately paying attention to all details. Then put both hands together, SLOWLY, and gradually work it up to speed over a series of months.

[howtwosave]

months? :(

[GeorgeMaxwellDuPre]

Okay, weeks! if you're very gifted. But remember, what we hear as an Argerich or Pollini or Gould performance, is often a piece that has been in their repertoire for years and that has matured over that time. Sometimes, it's a piece they've been playing for decades.

[nikinikinikita]

He is real winner in some etudes

[Maxxorz12]

Man, you just wonder sometimes, how amazing would it be to see the actual composers play these pieces!

Very nice chart.

[air0804]

where is the fucking silent movie, i want my money back >:(

[SilentViolins]

As far as I have ever heard, as far as I will ever hear, I do not think I have ever or will ever come across an interpretation of this piece that is so terrifyingly accurate.

Pollini's technical execution here is simply second to none.

[ginnix1]

one of my fav piece :P

[Jokester94n]

Played perfectly, as are all his Chopin pieces, but I'm just wondering, is Pollini still alive?

[Desmonddd2002]

I saw his performance 3 nights ago in Hong Kong, I don't expect that I saw a Zombie on that day....

[jetibest]

there's a zombie on your laawnnn(8)

search for it on youtube, beautiful song!

[susanadelorenzo]

Genial.

[VuLeTrung]

Perfect .

[relaxanimal]

his etude is best play I think.

[cleartailcat09]

(Ignoring everything else) A pianist's first aim in a piece like this is clarity. The second is speed. You know you've done a good job when you have both speed and clarity.

[Splex87]

non diciamo cazzate all'inglese...pollini rimane il piu' grande pianista dopo michelangeli ...

e qui lo dimostra pienamente

[sergiobertani]

Pollini è decisamente meglio di Michelangeli. Soprattutto come persona. Ricordo che Michelangeli ha dato tanta fama alla sua spocchia da non essere neanche ricevuto dal conte Chigi in persona il giorno che si degnò di andarlo a trovare.

[splico17]

i cannot understand why people are so amazed with pollini's playing. i find this recording boring with almost no dynamics.. please listen to horowitz playing this. its one click away

[johnbaptistlulu]

pollini plays like chopin himself...

[fionasapple]

and you know how chopin plays because...?

[miliona1re]

Perfect time,perfect dinamics,perfect Pollini.

[crazychopin]

compare with richter is kind of slowly

[maddorox]

speed doesnt mean everything in playing... it does play a major role in this piece but clarity is mucch more important, richters interpretation had clarity but this has much more clarity due to its (more calm) speed

[trigalg693]

No, this is more clear because it is a better quality recording.

[Desmonddd2002]

No because of more understanding of the piece

[trigalg693]

Do you honestly think it is possible for a professional pianist with impeccable technique to play blurry? It's called acoustics.

[Desmonddd2002]

Okay, if you keep on insisting the point that playing it blurry is unacceptable, I will tell you what, Go play this etude, and do it without any pedals, or open a midi file, and play it without any slurs.

Then you will find it how unhuman it sounds.

[trigalg693]

I know what it sounds like. Apparently you don't understand what I am saying. Acoustics, overpedaling, and lacking technique=fingers holding too long are the only ways to make something blurry. Good recording equipment will catch every single note no matter how much pedal there is. Thus the only explanation for the blurriness in other videos on youtube is the poor sound quality or acoustics.

[mferrandi]

You have to hear the version by Gavrilov!! So much more exciting, crisp and less smudged! Also at a faster speed

[Coixxman]

no you have to hear Richter's Version

[varenmoz]

Pollini è pianista stupendo.. non capisco l'avversione di molti italiani per lui... è uno degli artisti  che fanno onore al nostro paese e alla musica intera...Potrà essere simpatico o meno ma è un super grande.. Mi spiace che abbia partecipato a trasmissione di quello scemo di Fabio Fazio, che non ha saputo intervistarlo e forse non ne ha il cervello(domanda più intelligente: a cosa pensa mentre suona? >>>forse a un piatto di ravioli.

[Auswme]

i think pollini's version for most of the chopin etudes have the best interpretation (no offense to all the other pianists)

[lucapuma]

then you should listen to the one Valentina Lisitsa plays! (just search for her on youtube ;))

[raxkar]

I agree, I think both are as good. The important thing I think is the clarity in the right hand with the speed. The last thing I'll say is that I always like to listen to Horowitz version cause it's always different

[marvinracer88]

yeah man, Lisitsa's performance rox. Personal opinion, Valentina's is the best 1.

[neckojezioro123]

wow - i was actually thinking the same

[battjames]

Chopin was a crazy composer!super genius... =D

his works are really awesome..

[exponentu]

Pollini frequently ends his encores with this piece - I've heard him do this several times in London - and, really, people, this is NOTHING to the excitement he generates in the concert hall. I'll post the evidence soon...

[nkbeach]

THE BEST !!

[utubuser10]

My first acquaintance with this work was through Horowitz' 1963 recording which became my benchmark. So, upon hearing Pollini's interpretation a little later on, I was not impressed, as his did not contain the more easily accessible gestures as in Horowitz'. But as I grew older I came to appreciate the more objective playing of Pollini. He displaced my Horowitz paradigm and now I am amazed by the way through completely objective means, Pollini is able to communicate the excitement of this etude.

[AnthonyBlunt]

Pollini's Chopin! Rock and roll!!

[WigridXD]

This is absolutely AMAZING!!!! really!! fuck,, it's beyond anything I've ever heard.

[PaulBartonPiano]

Me too -- the best (for my taste).

The piano used in his recordings is 'bright' (similar to Gould's perhaps), little studio resonance/echo, every note is clear no matter at what tempo.

At first this clarity takes some getting used to, after a while it seems perfect -- probably closer to what Chopin would have heard himself, and makes sense of the metronome markings.

Pollini and Gould pedal lightly (if at all), so their recordings translate well in current audio compressions light on data.

[voolare]

actually Pollini uses a lot of pedal here, listen carefully. The fact that everything seems so clear despite all that pedal is the really amazing thing! It shows how perfect the pedal use is and how powerful the articulation is. If you want to hear no pedal in this piece, look for Geza Anda's live performance from the '50s.

[Drbolla345]

I wanted to say the same voolare but it seems you have already said it, so I must agree with you. He used way to much pedal and you must be careful using pedal in a song that is extremely fast, because you can quite easily mix a horde of notes making it sound like a chord of a horrible coincidence. But without a doubt, he really did do a good job.

[KennYWooD2]

if there were a lot of pedal in his playing here then you'd never hear what you're hearing. the tempo and technique required for this piece means you can get away with very, very limited pedal.

[gloriaelsa123]

WOW!!!!!!

[amabeline]

Najlepsze wykonanie 4. z op.10 etiudy.

Inni grają za szybko i za "wściekle".

Grandioso maestro!

[vladdegs]

Pollini plays like a little 'DOLL'. Technically perfect and altogether satisfying.

[bajeczka71]

To się nazywa mistrzowskie wykonanie! Mało kto potrafi wydobyć z tej etiudy to co najlepsze. Jej lekkość, brawurę, linię melodyczną.