Alicia de Larrocha plays Chopin etude Op. 25 No9

[thom2629]

lisitsa's version is better

[3087390]

que falta de respeto poner no me gusta a una pianista legendaria

how misrespectful to put idont like it to a legendary pianist

[dship98]

@daytonmlivingston i like both of these pianists, but I find that lisitsa doesnt play with as much dynamics... just feels like shes playing a piece...

[DICACIO1]

Chopin would've asked Alicia on a date after this! :D

[tedly10027]

@DICACIO1 that is a nice thing to say! hehe... in any case, i think Chopin would have greatly admired Alicia's playing.

[CanadaPisces]

A sparkling performance by an outstanding pianist!

[MuseDuCafe]

One of the tiniest pair of hands and the biggest / greatest musicianship in the business.

Music was lucky to have her....

[POPYLOLY8]

PERFECT!

[bellini7verdi]

ALICIA Y GUIOMAR......LAS MEJORES..........

[daytonmlivingston]

Valentina Lisitsa is 100x better....

[lisilisin]

@daytonmlivingston Wrong. You should say that you like better Lisitsa's version. This does'nt mean that, hers,is a better version than the de Larrocha. Both are great pianists. They are just different. I prefer the Alicia de Larrocha's one.

[daytonmlivingston]

@lisilisin Yes, I guess you are correct. I prefer Lisitsa's version over Alicia de Larrocha's.

[mikejr41387]

@daytonmlivingston comparing the youtube showoff  lisitsa to a legendary artist like de larrocha is laughable dont you think?

[daytonmlivingston]

@mikejr41387 I strongly disagree. Lisitsa is to me, much more talented and plays with so much creativity and fluent finger work. She is not a show off, she is trying to get her name out because she deserves it. Lisitsa's video is much better.

[364abraham]

No se mucho acerca de música clásica pero el final me encanto...

[brtherjohn]

I particular enjoyed the crescendo at the end - even though the score says othewise!

I'm still waiting for these gems to be transferred to CD (and properly remastered this time - not butchered like French EMI did in the 90's with her other '60's recordings...)

[mombeekmarcel]

waw!



[freeqwerqwer]

This is charming, like a Renoir painting. Chopin would have enjoyed her playing very much.

[pianoport]

Solo ella ha podido interpretar este estudio como Dios manda. Te quiero Alicia.

[refaful]

merci pour cette vidéo,grande dame Larrocha merci

[paulostroff99]

Lovely playing!

[lovesGenet]

DeLarrocha had it all taste,technique ,temperament and a will power to do what ever she could Brahms 2 Rach 3 .nothing stopped her and such finesse ! Richard third as a third reich leader .These are great shakespearen ideas.Hooray for modern dress and other ways of doing things.Secretly ,i listen to Chopin jazzed up and adore pogorelich in Rach2.Utter horror. taste is made of a thousand distates said the oft quoted frenchman in da toilet .Larrocha had it all amazing for her little size!

[doritoman1999]

I LOVE 0:23!!!!!!

[tubedabo]

Isn't a lost. We have been so lucky to listen her moving performances. Thanks Alicia. She worked hard. Her music will be with us forever. Lovely person, touched by heaven where now I am sure she is.

[MATTDUNCAN1]

such a loss to us all :(((((

[chaos4u2]

Perfect interpretation!!! Thank you very much for posting this.

[tudeiz]

Now you are playing for the Angels! Bless your beautiful heart Grand Dame!

[penguinmama88]

RIP :(

[hswatnik]

Rip Maestro Larrocha-

[Pischnaholic]

Hi,

If Bach can survive the Moog Synthesizer, Shakespeare could survive Brooklynese, He's ALREADY had to endure "modern dress." [Macbeth as a Mafia Don!]

Nevertheless, hateful is still hateful, even if it manages to become "The New Norm."

There never has been a dearth of bad ideas, and yet humanity is still shuffling around this mortal coil. Take hear tfrom all the great stuff available right HERE. An astounding Gift from the God of Technology.

Cheers!

[Pischnaholic]

Great virtuosity and great style. She's way up at the top in the Pantheon of Pianists, but I do think she misunderstands the little coda. The music does not call for all that sudden application of power. The "butterfly" is lost and becomes transformed into a buzz bomb. It's brilliant playing but expressively inappropriate.

[DiamondPaul2000]

Did you know that Chopin didn't want his students to play according to his interpretation but their own? There is no such thing as inappropriate expression. Each is unique and belongs only to the performer. Is Bethoven's or Rachmaninov's variations inapropriate?

[Pischnaholic]

Just because one CAN doesn't mean one SHOULD. Her pianism is always first rate. Usually her taste is impeccable too. In this case the burst of extreme bravura towards the end is, indeed, inappropriate for the scale of this miniature masterpiece.

How could "expression" ever be inappropriate?

Imagine hearing Shakespeare performed with a thick Brooklyn accent -- or an extreme southern drawl for that matter. It might be "interesting," but it could never be "appropriate."

[jjdra]

Thnak you thank you thank you for posting this lovely and healing comment!!! Where can I cite that about Chopin? Thanks again.

[TikiFury]

i have to agree, Eritaña could easily be one of the most complicated pieces of the spanish repertoire and certainly Albeniz has nothing to envy from Liszt, after all, he was his pupil...

[austinsguitarhero]

self beauty is shown by here amazing musical expression!its beautiful.

[jannokas85]

Gosh, so beautifully played!

[TheLamb2]

I think this is one of my favorite interpretations... I dont know how it's possible to play this etude fluently without being capable of reaching an octave... Its astonishing if it's true.. although on this specific etude I see having a big hand somewhat of a disadvantage, atleast for me... can't explain, just how I feel...

[lespou]

It depends on the digitation you use. My hand is not very large and I use the index finger (2) and the ring finger (4) for the thirds, despite the advice of my teacher, and I'd appreciate having a larger hand, or at least a larger distance between big finger (1) and index finger (2), because it's tiring to stretch them all the time. You see, same notes, same instrument, but so many ways of playing it, that's the magic of it all.

[guboub]

A student of my teacher was playing the Rach 3rd and could not play a 5 notes chord that was spread over a 9th, despite that his hand could reach a 12th. My piano teacher, a rather small lady, has a more common hand (10th), and she was able to play the chord solid. She has what I call good "internal stretching", she can keep her full length (C-E) even when she plays a E with her index.

This long story to say that large hand is far from everthing. And it does not maye you a better musician.

[guboub]

It's not true that Alicia de Larrocha can't reach an octave. I have several recordings of hers and she can play them without breaking them. Imagine, she would not be able to play virtually a piece from about Mozart to present time without being breaking several chords per minute...

But even with that, she would still be a musicial I would not get tired of listening to...

[lespou]

I personally don't like the final crescendo, but I like her style. Someone told me that her hands are so small that she cannot reach an octave.

[lespou]

Well, I remember now that it was my piano teacher who told me that, but when I think about this etude, I can figure out how to play it withouth reaching an octave,... if that's true, it's actually awesome

[JakWho92]

yeah.. and la campanella xD

[bcnjd]

Just two quick thoughts, I studied with Alica for 8 years, the campanella on youtube is Alica and was comercially released by EMI in 1967 and she performed it many times in concert. She had no problem reaching an octave, listen to her lizst sonata or Rachamnioff 3 rd or Brahms 2 live; yes a very small hand but excellent training. I will up load soon a live recording of Gaspard, she played it all!and by the way Eritaña or Lavapies is much harder than campanella!!!

[lespou]

Some songs in Iberia Suite by Albéniz are really tough, indeed, and I don't think they can be easily compared to Lizst's works. It surely depends on the pianist's personal perception. Thanks bcnjd for the comment, I'll tell my teacher not to use that argument against me again, he's always telling me "imagine how could Alicia do that! and you have a bigger hand". And I do agree with you in the opinion she has a little hand but excellent training. I'm looking forward that recording. Ets de barna?

[bcnjd]

Umm si soc de Barna . . umm bona pregunta fa 23 anys que visc aquí :-) vaig nàixer a USA però en el passaport espanyol posa que soc catala  realment don soc es bona pregunta!

[lespou]

Es pot ser d'un lloc i pertànyer a un altra, supòs. O es pot ser de molts llocs alhora, esperit cosmopolita. Supòs que tu seràs un d'aquests. Jo sóc de mallorca. Quin honor haver estat alumne de Larrocha... ets pianista professional?

[andrew17660]

This was absolutely awesome...

[bobon47]

Fluid and drive.

[stienwayz]

I loooooooooooove Lllllllll-arrocha

[guboub]

Such a (good) surprise to hear that crescendo at the end. Chopin only wrote pp. Completely unexpected but not at all out of context. 

That music makes me happy!

[cooperalia]

Wat a fantastic interpretatio!! What a great artist she is!!!Alicia de Larrocha is very well known for her superb interpretations of spanish music, but I think that she is much more than that. Mozart, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Grieg, Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, 2nd of Brahms, Shumann, Shubert, etc, etc, etc. I had the chance to be in many of her live concerts and, believe me, she has been one of the best pianist of our time. God bless you, Alicia!!!!!!!!

[pjf2272]

Such a huge sound from such a little lady!

[stephenTGV]

Fabulous performance.

[wildejag]

I learned this from Vera Lendvay. I love it!

[aldebussy]

So soft! Reminds me of my teacher! What an incredibly velvety touch!

[oidoabsolut]

she makes it seem so easy!

[lezlyeberrio]

Maravillosa interpretación .