Alfred Cortot plays Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

[pianoxpert]

Oh my God! What a master! An absolute master! As a pianist myself, I am hymbled by his performance! What great insight! what technique! Cortot had the reputation in his later years of being sloppy with his accuracy, But here we hear him with a flexible mechanism, breathtaking conception, towering intelect, a real force of nature! I'm so greatgeful to have stumbled on this. If you have any more like this, keep them coming.

[44STYLE187]

for sure one of the most important pianists of the 20th century

[bummy33]

what a lesson learned just by listening to his phrasing...

[MeikoEgloff]

驚きました！臭いを感じます。この臭いはいったい何の臭いだろう­。

コルトーでなければ弾けない。

[sukinorules]

Look, I'm only a younger teen, so I can't express what I feel fully like the people who have the top two rated comments, but I can say this: I love this piece, and I cannot wait for when my abilities qualify for me to be able to play this.

[rontomcol]

@sukinorules there's no greater praise one can give to composer than loving and wanting to perform his or her music! All best wishes with your piano studies.

[granadaredhouse]

so exiting 

[etiam161036]

QUEL BONHEUR ......

[aardvaark069]

always with Cortot one is aware of a razor sharp intellect at work. That coupled with his enchanting sound and poetic approach is what make him so great. I will also metion the incisive and sometimes even whiplash quality of his technique. For more proof listen to his Saint-Saens 'Etude en Forme de Valse' 1919 acoustic recording.

[cynic150]

I don't really like this piece much. It is too hammy. He plays it very well indeed, though!

[929bluebird]

彼のこの演奏には、私の「テクニック」に対する概念を根底から覆­されました。

これはもはや「ピアノの音」ではない。

これはこの作品の描くジプシーの楽団の世界そのものであり、そも­そも「クラシック」という概念でくくってしまえない。

[TheCourtwick]

Cortot played the right notes in the wrong order but he was great in his interpretation unlike junk lin. The greatest Liszt exponent was Cziffra Gyorge and now Leslie Howard.

[Bret6464]

@TheCourtwick

Awfully ugly comment! in my opinion Cziffra is the greatest Liszt performer along with Horowitz, and Jung Lin's Liszt is extraordinary. Cortot was also an extraordinary pianist!

BTW Jung Lin and Leslie Howard both played at the IKIF NY, all the videos are on YT, listen to her Mendellsohn and learn! Leslie sounds better recorded, but have to agree his CDs are incredible Liszt.

[sbubuzzolo]

imho this is the best interpretation of this piece to this day

[Eeli2008]

Although the recording is kind of low quality, it still sounds amazing!

[wickipere]

Fantastisch gespielt. Und super recording zu der Zeit. 5*****

[123norenberg]

what an incredible poet of the piano. his push and pull of the sound draws one in

[fredericfranc]

This manages to be so Hungarian, and played by this, oh, so rationalistic Frenchman, too. The man is loaded with pianistic sensibility to the gills, probably comes out of wine you could get in France at that time, these days you is SOL...

[daveA3535]

Forget the offer to download the cadenza. I got a load of casino spam and then the cadenza never appears only the excuse "file damaged".

[AllaBreve3]

Sorry rontomcol... I wanted to agree with you and in my enthusiasm put the wrong vote !!! CORTOT is exactly what you say. He was also a pupil of Sophie MENTER, Liszt's pupil.... as he was a pupil of Emile DESCOMBES...CHOPIN's pupil...

[felix0911176727]

I hope Lang Lang could do something like this... I mean play a cadenza by HIMSELF, not always plays the Horowitz' version...

[nyankothecat]

Poetic sentiment not to be able to do composition power and mimicry though it is beautiful of what touch and free.

It is at a loss for words at this performance.

..Cortot.. through all eternity.

[bassann22]

what i like about cortot are the collours of his sound...he can play one piece over and over and never will be boring.....in comparison many many jung pianists with "superb" technique can bore me in 20 seconds...oh if they just listened a bit to those old masters the compeosers would also have better sleep in their graves...

[ongalexander]

YES! Totally agree.

[billyguns2]

This is the greatest and most fascinating performance of this I ever heard. What Cortot and several other of the great pianists had was the ability to weave a story; they created atmosphere and excitement from the first note.

[libetta]

@billyguns2

i also like cziffra and hofmann on this :))

[pianopianissima]

@bassann22

I totally agree with you ! Something happens when he plays, he really has something to tell us when he plays, even if sometimes we don't agree on all points; Its better than technique and technique..

[acortot]

@bassann22 Cortot has complete control and understanding of his phrasing, whereas other pianists are concerned with 'sound' whatever that is..

[keenanonie]

I like Rachmaninoff, too. In an interesting way, his recording is not unlike Cortot's: the interpretations are completely different, of course; but both are born of the romantic impulse to unabashedly inject one's personality into/over-the-top-of the music. Interesting also that they both composed a cadenza for the piece.

This performance leaves little to desire in terms of imagination, but I prefer Rachmaninoff's as well--the pianism is simply too incredible to resist!

[rontomcol]

Imagination, intelligence, nobility, virtuosity as a means of expression, honesty, so many colours... no barriers between oneself, the music one is playing and the instrument one is playing it on. This is what I hear when Cortot plays.

[shela2]

Bravo !!.....

[Iseutsachs]

Superbe ! Quel merveilleux pianiste !

[ShinFuYux]

The beginning part reminds me of some Spanish melody.

[Jtking3000]

beautiful 5 stars

[bassshred37]

i completly agree with vincecharus.there are some great technicians and players out there today but musically everything is starting to sound the same.alot of these younger players are being programmed into thinking and playing alike no matter what school they come from or what part of the world.

[vincecharus]

Back in those days, everyone played differently, whether grandmasters like Cortot or music students or lovers.

Nowadays, with these circuits of competitions, recordings, concerts, etc., interpretations are standardized. If you don't play a piece adhering to a certain 'school' of interpretation, people think you're wrong. Instead of paying attention, people stop paying attention to your 'incorrect' interpretation.

In this sense, I think musicianship has gone backwards over they years.

[emrebozkurt800]

Absolutely! That's why we music is mechanicallized also.

[Paulo78180]

No ! Lang Lang is very different ! LOL

[junglejim66]

Different in a bad way. All glitter.

[tawtsai]

I cannot agree with you more!!

[44STYLE187]

@vincecharus

yes. and above all the musicianship has gone backwards over the years in our communities..listen to the radio to current "pop" music..thats not very musically anymore, the most songs are monotonous and contain around 3 chords...

[SEMPRELISZT]

@vincecharus  Agree! Nowadays interpretations have become ¨"globalized". Everywhere people want to play the same way!

[Donluggy]

Marvelous interpretation! Bravo...

I think that musicians often distinguish between technique and musicality. Sometimes you can hear that in performances, but not in this one. With Cortot its always one big melting pot of feelings and seriousness, good and evil, love and melancholy... Bravo

[magicfreak123]

Man I love it when richard kastle doesn't bash videos like this. A true interpretation with REAL emotion. It is very soothing....

[AquaBlueNoemi]

My favorite play on this piece. Beautiful rubatoes all the way.

[ffurgy]

Jeez...what a unique interpretation. I loved it.

[airad2]

Come on! They should at least put a cutting point where the Friska starts!!

This is the first of Cortot I've ever heard. Marvelous details.

[elcosmopolita]

I like this original version more than Horowitz´s

[Saxopwnerer]

Sounds like every note was considered. Amazing performance.

[blakeada999]

Yeah, it's teeming with magic.

[boomzxz]

It sounds like he considers every note a split moment before he plays it, adding a sense of "agitato" in a very romantic manner. Not so planned out; maybe flowing with his most current feeling of emotion.

[raulraulius]

unico

[stephenTGV]

One of the greatest pianists that ever lived. Supreme explosive musicianship full of freedom, excesses fresh ideas and fantastic playing, combined. His playing so unique, is intantly recognizable and impossible to imitate.

[cortor3652]

I fully agree. You have in relatively few words exactly caracterized this wonderful musician.

[Purenicotine]

There was a lot of inconsistency back then in regards to tuning pianos, you had a lot of hacks out there that would tune the piano's higher register an 8th step higher than the rest of the piano, and in this recording you can really tell. This piano, unfortunately, is a victim of those hacks, and the recording suffers because of it.

[boomzxz]

Oh my god, didn't they have punkbuster back then?? Frigin cheaters with hacks oh my god!!

[boomzxz]

The only comments you ever leave anyone are hostile. Lighten up a bit mate :)

[Purenicotine]

I agree.

[dido93]

Cortot, Cortot, Cortot....e ancora Cortot...!!!

[NGS712]

I didn't realize that that part was the cadenza, I thought he messed up. :S

Now that I know it isn't, it sounds good. :)

[aldebussy]

Did you hear that cadenza????

[paulostroff99]

Stunning! Bravo! TY.

[mrrusss]

God I wish I would have paid attention to who performed this on the tape I used to have of it. I never realized how may ways people could ruin this until I started searching it on YouTube. I liked Bugs Bunny's version better. Do what you want with the rest, but at least don't corn up the beginning, and give me a crescendo at that part at 1:00 where it obviously belongs.

[RabidCh]

Maybe you should pay attention to the recording...

1. It's distant.

2. It's old, and the dynamic range of the louder parts is limited; listen to the passages that should be loud and compare to the moderate passages, it's not that different besides the tone.

3. He does do a small crescendo at 1:00. Not only that, he changes tone, which is a definite indicator of dynamics.

[boomzxz]

I think you underestimate the technology.

[RabidCh]

Listening over the higher quality (128kbps) version again... I'm probably wrong on my 2nd point.  There are parts where the sound clips/overdrives, which gives more evidence for that.

I think mrrusss was looking not for a "crescendo", but an immediate change in loudness, which happens to an extreme range in the Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Btw, there's actually a higher quality recording on YT.

[boomzxz]

Yes, I actually do agree the range may be withheld slightly, but I think that it was recorded with the best technology for the time, so it is exceptional compared to what some from the time period may have been. I think it is pleasant to be honest :)

[matildamother69]

man this guy had fast fingers!

[horowitzvs]

This is great! rare document!!!

[AlexPxr8]

Gorgeous, unique rendition! Cortot is phenomenal, what a discovery! I'd never heard him before youtube.. thanks for posting.

Never known for his technique? yeah I've heard it said that he made some fluffs, and you can hear some smudged notes but who cares? :) Anyway check out the rapidity of his repeated notes... improvised cadenza... leggiero passage work... sounds pretty amazing to me.

[Lontano]

He plays the beginning of the Friska (2nd part) so fast that the rhythm sound like it's in cut time. Quite interesting.

[Joe15980]

shrinkinggglasses the website you show for getting free sheet music is that horowitz virson?

[shrinkingglasses]

No, it's just cortot's cadenza

[bernardocarmopiano]

Cortot is the greatest pianist of th 20th century, nobody will never play Chopin, Shumann and Liszt like him. Besides, the poet os the piano.

[Alfencequinty]

you're forgeting Wilwelm Kempf.... Ouch

[cortor3652]

Thank you for mentioning Wilhelm Kempff who made som stunning Liszt recordings in the 1950-ies and 1970-ies (DECCA resp.DG)

[NGS712]

I prefer Hofmann's version as well, but it's good to listen to other interpretations. Not everyone has to like the same version.

[whitepower6900]

wow did he fuck with ending. what happened to the alternating left and right hand octave 16th notes? too hard for him? listen to hofmann do it right. even maksim at least attempts to do it right.

[serox901]

haha, attempts. cortot was never known for his technique! but his lyricism...

[xiangyik]

In the score, Liszt indicates that the pianist is supposed to improvise the cadenza, which most pianists nowadays do not do-they just use the one that Liszt wrote down. Cortot was faithful to that performance direction. Go look at the score yourself.

[oldladyplayspiano]

Xianquik got that dead-on! I think what would be great is to play it exactly as written; then move into an 'interpretation' - by consolidating the two, all that were listening could see the flexibility of this piece, as well as the magnificence.

I like the way Liberace would integrate passages from this composition, with other powerful and resounding rhapsodies and concertos. Diane

[matildamother69]

which part is the cadenza? i'm not good with musical terms.

[whitepower6900]

the cadenza is a short, self-written section that pianists write to flaunt their talent. "Ad lib cadenza" does not mean "fuck with the ending. Cadenza and ending are two different parts. ad lib cadenza is heaven sent for virtuosos because it gives them the opportunity to write their own section to insert into the song. the best example of this is hamelin's cadenza. but main point is that the ending was written to be played, and the option to insert a cadenza has no bearing on the ending

[whitepower6900]

the part from 8:00 to 8:58 is the cadenza. it's not in the score, check it out. that's the part cortot composed himself. the ending, on the other hand, is to be played as written after the (optional) cadenza.

[sab3156]

Very interesting interpretation.

[KazukiriMishamiota]

I'll admit that some of the halting notes were just that - halting - rather than expressive, but I like the way that he pulled off the finale. When I listened to Horowitz I kind of felt jipped when it came to that part and when I listened to people like Maksim and Lang Lang I just felt totally repulsed and could actually SEE the lack of skills compared to the older pianists. I really enjoyed this despite it being such an old recording.

[necuhoctli]

interesante

[arsfilosofo]

Hasta donde se y conozco ,a mi modo de ver, Liszt es , tras el gran Ludwig Van Bethoven el segundo más grande música que jamás haya existido

La interpretación es sencillamente lindando con lo sublime

Gracias

[Emlomor]

Fascinant...

[rhadamanthes82]

je trouve cette version si différente de ce que j'ai pu entendre, si personnelle, et j'aime la façon personnelle dont Cortot aborde les oeuvres.

J'aime cette interprétation !! je le dit.

Bien sur, ce n'est pas la "bonne" manière de la jouer. Mais peu importe selon moi.

[K189T]

Ben, tu crois que y'a une version officielle?!

[almax154]

Peut-être ne saviez vous pas que Cortot était et reste le plus grand pianiste du monde ? technique transcendante, musicalité et lecture hors norme... Magnifique !

[godelike]

C'était le maître de mon maître! ;)

[K189T]

qui était ton maître?

[godelike]

Jean Micault! ;)

[K189T]

connais pas, il est bien? :P

[godelike]

Très.

[Cthulhussama]

@almax154 C'est absolument subjectif ! Personne n'a entendu Chopin ou Liszt jouer, personne n'a entendu debussy ( excellent interprète de chopin paraît-il ) non plus.

[maci25]

This version of the rhapsody of the rhapsodies hurts my ears!:S I think this is not the correct way to play this.

[K189T]

How would Liszt would have want him to play? You talk to Liszt lately? Lol, to me his interpretation is beautiful: Cortot was really a poet, he looked for anything that was extraordinary...

[RustyRagnarok]

this is an old recording you jackass, thats why it doesn't sound that great

fantastic playing from Cordot though

[K189T]

An old recording is not a problem at all. It mustn't prevent you appreciating the piece.

[pandawatch87]

I think he fits more feeling in half of this piece than most pianists do in the whole thing. There isn't just speed in it. I like it.

[libetta]

@maci25

this ain't mathematics child. there's no wrong or right way

[Nyiregyhazi]

Is the Cadenza actually written by Cortot, by the way? The same cadenza (transposed down a semitone) is featured in Franz Bendel's version for piano duet.

[junglejim66]

Statements about nazi/jews are hardly relevant. Chopin supposedly hated jews but that does not lessen my love for his music.

[voolare]

never read anything about Chopin´s anti-semitism, except for some contemporary internet blogger.. I read many Chopin biographies and many of his own writings and never found trace of it. Also his contemporaries never wrote about this. On internet there are bloggers who claim that even Mendelsohn was antisemitc !(he is jewish btw).

[jonatan871]

as a jew i hate cortot and all that he represent polyticaaly , but lets no forget that GOD gave him a gift,for us peopele to enjoy and appriciate,for me he is one of the great pianist/musicianes of the 21 century

and for that BRAVO CORTOT

[japidon87]

this touches the soul

we all know our talk to god in a moment so alone

[donthuis]

Cortot also produced a Duo Arte roll version of this Rhapsody in 1927. The same year he demonstrated afterwards in playing live and by roll alternatively that it was almost impossible to distinguish with your eyes closed which was which. I first thought you took the roll too, but the strong background hiss and the limitation in dynamics is a sure sign of 78rpm disk being used. For those of you who dislike Lang Lang as much as I do: listen to Yundi Li instead. His Chopin is OK.

[cziffra1980]

The 'limitation in dynamics' is the sign that this is a 78 over a roll? I think that a rather better sign is the beauty of cantabile and the audible variety of dynamics in the playing (despite the recordings quality). I assure you that I have heard very few piano rolls that are not easily identifiable by ear. Cortot is a pianist whose distinctive style suffers extremely badly on piano rolls. No roll captures his cantabile as genuine recordings do.

[gianbattista83]

grande alfred!!..mi hai sbalordito...da te non credevo!

[IrritableChicken]

This interpretation is absolutely gorgeous! Alfred Cortot is still the best french pianist ever, I think. But let's not forget taht he was also a fucking nazi who collaborated

[pianopera]

Actually he was from Switzerland. And he indeed supported the Vichy regime, but his wife was of Jewish origin.

[jo1u]

Why shouldn't we forget? Because it's so nice and easy to be wise in retrospect? Fucking moron.

[cortor3652]

Sorry, Cortot was never a member of the nazi party.

[chopinalpiano]

Is there an orchestal version of this great piece?

[IrritableChicken]

yes there is, you'll find it on Itunes store

[shrinkingglasses]

There's a version here in youtube: watch?v=goeOUTRy2es

[StrivetobeDust]

Thanks for posting this. I've got this version on a 78rpm sp, but the edge is broken an I couldn't listen to about 30 seconds (15 a side).

[abbjorko]

Great!!! On eof the most interesting version here in youtube.... modern pianists are so boring and dumb! Those few, but great, of the past will always be the best! Rachmaninov, Cortot, Fiorentino... that's almost all... Horowitz, of course, and very few more... Richter... Argerich.. I don't know! Lang Lang must fuck himself and keep practising!

[ProkofievRules]

I believe that practice is the last thing Lang Lang needs. He has such technical capability that all he dreams becomes sound reality...it's just so unfortunate that he uses those abilities to be a fucking goof. The man needs a real life, with real pain, with real love, with real mundainities; else, he'll remain a fucking goof

[brianCIM]

there are many, MANY pianists with just as good fingers as Lang Lang. technique has alot more to do with playing notes fast and loud. tone production, dynamic range, sense of structure colors and pedaling. he might as well be banging on pots and pans. i know that is harsh but he can console himself with his box office receipts.

[pianoking100]

thats NOT TRUE

who ever told you that is wrong

[snaaptaker]

Priceless! Thank you.

[mlleprufrock]

That's a great pic of Cortot.