Liszt "12 Transcendental Studies" No. 10

[ericrouach]

i'd like to tell all the hard-workers not to try this at home :) because this is not achieved by any hard work!! for kissin, that's as easy as pissing (forgive me), his amazing brain makes it as limpid as clear water to him so that...

the best you can achieve with "standard great talent" is an excellent performance which could make you win some provincial or if lucky international competition which would make you one more excellent pianist in that cruel world...

[gymgymgymgym]

" Again and again, and again and again" LOL

[Kris9502]

6 people can't play liszt trans etudes

[MrNewchange]

Kissin is ASTOUNDING

[Martel211996]

what the fuck is wrong with the commentator? its like hes narrating the bible and what not. its acting like evgeny is a saint. hes a great pianst dont get me wrong. but its a little over done with the sucking up. horowitz does not get the same words said. maybe he does, but in a more proffesional way

[karazh]

@Martel211996 because horrowitz nerver had been so talented, in the age kissin played chopin as a grande master, the other concertpianist played wit h a ball ;)

[Martel211996]

@karazh thats a very inaccurate comment. Horowitz recorded Rachmaninoff 3rd piano concerto before he was 20. Tell me that isint talent, furthermore Rachmaninoff said he played it better than he did.

[karazh]

@Martel211996 teachers of horowitz said he was never realy special, he was good of course but there were a lot better "classmates" or students. than he started to work very hard for what he is now, like in his old years he finaly started playing mozart, but it took him a long time. kissin is gifted, i bet he is the pianist whos practicing the least!

[Martel211996]

@karazh and what is your opinion on Nikolai Lugansky?

[karazh]

@Martel211996 he is gifted too of course, maybe same amount of minutes or seconds practice per day ;)

[Bret6464]

@karazh Kissin had great musicality when young, as he got older the technique improved but the musicality lessened. I heard him live in Rach 3rd. Kissin has much more talent and artistry than Lugansky who is bland and pedestrian in everything he performs.

Your stories about Horowitz have no basis - Horowitz was considered a genius very young even before he came to New York. When Horowitz performed Rach 3rd Rachmaninoff himself said he did not think it could be played that well! :-)

[littlerainworm550]

stunning!

I looked at it with my mouth opened!

[Sitbon08]

An attractive man but that hair style/cut does nothing for him at all.

[PIanoReview]

While Kissin can be remarkable in Liszt, Berman "owns" this trascendental etude. since Kissin lacks the drive and intensity that Berman brings to the table in this monster piece.

[otonanoC]

In my opinion, Kissin owns this etude. It is as if Liszt wrote it for him specifically, in a psychic move a hundred years before Kissin was born.

[SebastienLoong]

The commentator sounds like IanMcDiarmid(?).

You know.....Palpatine from Star Wars, Lord Sidias, and Hugo De Vries from Inspector Morse.

[electronicjo1]

i would have liked to have seen more head banging

[mkeysou812]

that narrator (the one that seems to be on every musical documentary ever made) was so over the top describing Kissen, I mean he's awesome but all that shyte about his "gift of music" and being "possessed by his instrument", c'mon, gimme a break!

[139steven]

Alan Yentob is his name, he is creative director of the BBC.

[gouloum2222]

@mkeysou812 LOL " the one that seems to be on every musical documentary ever made "

[trigalg693]

That was a truly passionate, moving performance of the Transcendental Etude.

[cattleman6420012000]

He is such a truly great pianist. I heard a recital by him in Dublin,he was incredibly great.

[keysofanxiety]

Jealousy is a cruel mistress.

[debussy84]

yes, you're right, i wish i was a virgin

[keysofanxiety]

I didn't say that, but thanks for telling me how you feel about your virginity. You must have lost it in pretty dire circumstances =P

Nah, but seriously, I'm just saying that it's very easy for you to rag on this guy, especially through Youtube, but if you had the opportunity to just become as good as he is on piano, I doubt you'd discard the opportunity.

Besides, I have no idea about this whole 'virgin' preconception that you keep alluding to.

[debussy84]

I consider myself to be pretty good, obviously not as good as him. I find Kissen to be very quirky and eccentric, it was meant to be a joke. I did say he was a great pianist from the start.

[keysofanxiety]

Oh sorry, I guess I took what you said a little literally.

Incidentally, I was wondering if you could maybe upload a video? I'm genuinely interested to hear you play =) And I don't mean that sarcastically or maliciously =)

[yannook]

great performance!

[zetangie]

kissin no que belleza, es hermoso y talentoso, porfavor!

[forlino2]

Listen to Pollini's live performance of this Etude on YouTube. His technique is effortless and extraordinary -- at least as good as Cziffra's and almost as good as Michelangeli's. Paul Miller

[celach]

This etude was one of the two Transcendental Etudes that Liszt did not give a programmic title, he left the title as "Allegro Agitato". This interpretation seems more dreamy and slower to me... he played it very well, no doubt, but that doesn't mean its a good performance in my opinion.

(Awaits the 'thumbs down' from Kissin lovers)

[SSOzzy]

again and again and again and again and again

[atticus10090]

he's very good! if people have not seen Lugansky's live interpretation (on youtube), it's fantastic as well (dare I say I prefer it more?)

[murraytaylor123]

i'm just impressed that he can play that fast when he moves his fingers so much more than he needs to!

not normally a reccommendable playing style, but obviously it works for him! bravo

[AlexPxr8]

Bravo, one of the best IMO! His Stretta (end section) is very very very good. I prefer the way Cziffra punches out the desperato but Kissin's crescendo into that section is monumental. The technical challenges of this etude are pretty crazy, those left hand leaps are massive, there's bits of the stretta where you pretty much have to be everywhere at once... and that infernal cadenza ad libitum part at the end kills me. I have yet to hear anyone play this piece note perfect in concert...

[zeldaevil]

Does anybory have this study without this boring man talking?! Kissin´s interpretation of this etude is just the best!

[classicalpiano92]

whoa whoa whoa. I've heard this piece butchered so many times, played too fast or with a wrong balance. In my opinion, his performance is the epitome of perfection for this etude. Thank you so much for posting this. I was seriously getting frustrated with the lack of videos of this etude on youtube.

[crack6662]

yea.. kissin's interpretation is beautiful. This is all they show of no10 on the dvd.. I'd really like to see the beginning... but then they edit half of his performances at the proms to death.

[29622]

Well, I agree it is. That is my point. If you look at the musicality that Kissin puts into his interpretations, you will see that he is a great pianist.

[29622]

Thing about some of the things he has been criticized for:

His Rach 3 is said to be too slow. But, Ashkenazy's 1973 recording just as slow but is consistently praised.

His Schubert sonata's 1st movement is said to be much too slow. Richter's recording was just as slow, yet he is praised.

Quite the double standard.

[antonioriva]

why the comment ho youtube about classical musica are all: "it's to slow", "it's to fast".?

It's a very limited view about classical music.

[barnold81]

The critics miss about 90% of everything by focusing on the tempo.

[29622]

I disagree immensely with people who say he's immature in his music.

What is immature about his music? He plays with lots of emotion and it shows both in his playing and in his gestures.

I believe people are just looking for reasons to pick on him and his playing. He is the child prodigy, and jealousy can tend to kick in (not for all, but for some).

[celach]

I agree, but is it really necessary to have... whats the term.. "epileptic seizures" (as Liszt termed them) while playing? :p

[ChrisWatch]

really? lol a lot of pictures of liszt always shows him throwing back his head a lot. maybe he meant lang lang stuff...

[Haeronthegreat]

It wasn't Liszt who said that, it was someone criticizing him! :P

[celach]

No, Liszt said it in one of his letters.

[Haeronthegreat]

Very well. I could be wrong. I'll probably be getting Alan Walker's biography, which should prove an interesting read.

[Aquilesv]

Evgeny Kissin es la reencarnación de Lizst

[RobertTBear]

Absolutely. I do not consider Kissin to be 'the best pianist'... ;-)

But I do enjoy his performance of this piece. More so than many others that Iv heard (several by pianists who I usually prefer).

I dont think that anyone can deny that ON HIS DAY, Kissin can deliver a fine performance of such material.

[vscanzi]

Funny. Kissin's performance gives me chills.

I love this guy.

[voolare]

Pogo's performance started with a very fast tempo and with a quite dominant left hand; the finale was breathtaking. The whole performance was incredibliy passionate; but this Kissin performance is at the top in the central part with it's beautiful left hand arpeggios and super-loud-singing melody!

[Brianjonestown]

Pogo's rendering of the Liszt B Minor Sonata has everyone beaten -- Horowitz, Argerich and Richter all take a back seat -- but he dropped it after the same early 90's tour where he occasionally played the Trans 10. His Liszt is sui generis.

[voolare]

Best performance of this piece I know of (together with Pogorelich' which I heard live in Milano in the early 90's, which was more passionate, but less controlled)

[go9zu]

What????what???I think you are a lucky guy!I could give my life to hear Pogorelich in this etude.Please...tell us more!

[hoborobo]

lol at you guys mooning over youtube-quality sound

[RobertTBear]

You know, I would be enclined to agree! I think Kissin can be hit or miss, but in this performance, he is sounds fantastic. I struggle to find a performance that I prefer more than this one (of the piece).

[iamke55]

omfg ridiculous technique

This is easily the best recording of this piece by FAR