Lola Astanova Plays Rachmaninoff - Sonata No. 2 (1st movement)

[wisecritic333]

she'd better play the leading part in a martial arts movie. That way she could act out her strange aggressive feelings and wouldn't have to rape poor Sergej.

[pepsi962]

She plays a set of scales rather than a sonata! Fuck off!!

[ajskdlfla]

i like the passion hahaha

[servandin]

esta vieja si la pela un chingo!!

[Hervinbalfour]

I would like to see some of Lola's performances with an orchestrah.

[becanny]

your performance is absolutely ASTOUNDING. and i ve realised you post videos quite often, which means you learn these pieces so quickly!!! itll probbaly take me ten years just get get myself familiarised with the piece, let alone play it so quickly and wonderfully!!!

[FtmfwId]

Imagery and passion in this piece makes it a very playable piece in my establishment. Outstanding!

[Chopinsonate]

Dear Lola,

I often listen to your Sonata of Rachmaninoff. I love your interpretation of this Sonata a lot! It's a very nice peace and you play it so wunderful!!! I love this Sonata, I love the music of Rachmaninoff and I love you, Lola!

Mario, from Germany

[ignisfatuus67]

there u r again. Lola's personal Youtube bodyguard and channel char! You seem to get never tired cleaning this site from any "bad" commentary.

[Hervinbalfour]

LMAO! Her pitbull that is. Now we can all agree to disagree. Is this the most profound,absolute best interpretation of this sonata? No. Horowitz, Ponti and Kocis still do it for me. However is it still a very good perfomance? Absolutely! She is not a bad pianist. But this particular "YouTuber" (MariaIn08) always seems to creep up out of no where with her totally beligerent comments. We all know that on cue she will be in here attacking ANYONE who goes against the her favoroite pianist.

[NOLIFEONLYDEATH]

Never ever heard of you before. But you truly are talented, you play this with such exquisite passion and emotion I love it! =D

an instant favourite! 5 stars!

[figfire]

I think you're an amazing pianist!

[DucoNonDucor]

People, it's a comment board.

And what I see is people arguing.

If someone doesn't like that way she plays the piece, so be it. Don't scold them.

It's not a "know-it-all" attitude. It's an opinion.

I'm not being a know-it-all by expressing how I feel. If you don't concur with a comment, say you disagree. But let's grow up, okay?

It's not classical music without "class."

[thejazztenor]

wow

[teslaphysics]

I have never seen someone play with such emotion, such a passion!

[adarkfrozenflower]

hello i was wondering if u could make a video wit some tips on how 2 play chopin ballade no. 1 in g minor im tryin 2 play it but i want so info on how the 1st an second theme should be played thanx

[hotty198]

WOW! she is beautiful and plays awesome! can it get any better? wish she was my GF or wife.

[mannyboy2680]

This goes out to all the negative commenters and conspiracy theorists out there:

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I can only speak for myself, however, i think most people will agree with me. There is no mafia. Just people without the need for hatred and jealousy towards more talented performers than yourselves. Please, stop "trolling." If you feel the need to say harmful things to other people, you need help. That attitude is the one that will end the world...

[wborgstro]

When Sergi sits back to enjoy a listen to what he has written, THIS is the artist he approves of most.

[GreyAlexander913]

Ahhhhhh she is a real breath of fresh air in classical music! Superb technical skills, artistry, beauty....a superstar in the making!

[MariaIn08]

Silverstone, I respond to comments from people like u (cynical, malicious & belittling) for one simple reason. U killed classical music! YOU! With your know-it-all attitude, self importance and a habit of speaking on behalf of the music itself. And I will keep calling u on the nonsense and slurs that u spread. Again, stop implying that u r somehow superbly musically educated and speak on behalf of all professionals. U do not!

[SilverstoneXL]

U r absolutely right. I don't speak on behalf of all professionals!! We don't need 2 support each other. And we don't need 2 antagonize people like you who might be attracted by "thrilling productions" that focus on silly self-display. If you need it, go on twisting the statements of everybody who doesn't think like u do. Draw ur own axis of evil and regard these people as your enemy. Fight the murderers of classical music. YOU r strong, you'll win ; )

[MariaIn08]

What I don't understand is why do so many haters come here? If they hate this so much, why "torture" themselves? There is a million of snoozefest pianists out there to their liking. Why come here and spread vicious slurs and lies? It's clear that they are jealous of Lola's skills and her looks, but do they have to make it so obvious that she chips their shoulders so much? They successfully choked the hell of classical music and now trying to demean this superbly gifted girl. It's outrageous!

[MariaIn08]

Oh, brother. Of course, SilverStone, It's mafia! LOL. It can't be that many people simply found some comments here not just critical but purely hateful, demeaning and parochial. No, for sure a conspiracy! Cause after all, people that leave hateful comments speak, no doubt, on behalf of Rachmaninoff himself, right? And the rest of us, who enjoy genuine excitement and passion are, well, "a mafia".

S, if u r fake and rigged - don't apply that to others. Ur cynicism is utterly disgusting!

[SilverstoneXL]

Just out of curiosity I checked the comments to this vid and found that you didn't write any comment for quite a long time...until you discovered "negative" comments. I didn't offend anyone who enjoys Lola's performance. Musically uneducated people might react to her show and that's O.K. and I never accused them to be a Mafia, that was YOU. Bad agressive tactic to impute a statement to s.o. to have sth. to argue against. You don't support Miss Astanova with that "parochial" behaviour.

[SilverstoneXL]

I don't understand, why so many authors withdrew their comments and why all the negative comments get so many negative ratings here. This really scares me. There must be an Astanova Mafia working here. Maybe she doesn't know about all this, but it's obvious that somebody controls this site

[birminghamcritic1987]

Sorry, but technically brilliant, but your trying too hard to be different and stand out, with your playing too loud, you are not showing off your good musical sound. fast and loud is easier to do than musically. Sorry, just my opinion, couldnt sit through it...

[birminghamcritic1987]

Just thought I'd add, I have just listened to the Fantasie Impromtu performance you posted, and THAT was brilliant. Showed off your quality of sound. I guess I was just dissapointed by the sheer violence that I felt in this specific performance. I have recently started note bashing on this piece, and have already noticed how easy it is to get carried away, like all rachmaninov, its easy to get over excited...

[MissPianist]

The beginning was so exciting! I've never seen a pianist who actually thought about breaking the circle of having to stay seated all the time. She's so brave, modern, inspiring and so much more!

[gabrielmmoses]

WOW! This woman is amazing. I play guitar and find this vid inspiring. For you critics out there you know you can't do what she does so why not be a little more gracious of such talent? That's a retorical question by the way.

[kalimadragon]

Who cares how she moves? Everybody that plays an instrument will tell you that music affects them your entire body should become one with that instrument. The proof is not in how she moves but what effect she has on that instrument. I could watch her forever. The fact that she is more into the instrument than the camera is exactly where her mind should be.

[hgraxirena]

omg...I love your passion ... u had me from the G.

[ignisfatuus67]

post yours, you expert.

[wborgstro]

When you have mastered the art this well you can do what you want. Comprendez-vous?

[bcbdaggtrf75]

I'm performing this next month, I have to say she's very, very skilled, her technique is phenomenal! All those unnecessary body movements are not to my taste, but at least they are just for showing off, being hyper-dramatic, rather than for compensating for lack of skill, like with so many lesser pianists with exaggerated body motion

[mynameisandycostello]

Well, there's actually a very practical benefit of making these sort of body movements. If you notice, all extra movements are ways of keeping the muscles loose and flexible. The only exerted energy goes into her fingers, while every thing else is relaxation. It's so easy to tense up when playing pieces of such physical demand, and she does a good job in maximizing her physical stamina. I'm also a big fan of pivoting on the left leg... It makes you feel secure and in control of your body.

[cricketbrn]

unnecessary...but passionate, perhaps?

[vysehrad]

I think the movement is irrelevant artistically, whether she's doing it try to be like a rock star, or whether it's just an odd sort of compulsion (like Glenn Gould's humming) that helps the artist in some way. She sounds like a good pianist to me in any event.

[amanda0100101001]

The fact that she can perform Rachmaninoff of all things with that kind of energy and perfection, taking her hands completely away from the piano while never once losing her bearings on the keys, with no sheet music, is just insane. I can't even fathom being at that level. Well done!

[123eldest]

Great performance but so much body movement isn't really necessary imo.

[sypha0x]

I loved the body movement! It made it much more powerful!!!!

[fjaoaoaoao]

people forget that music playing is performance. sure it's not necessary, but especially considering this is in video form, a bit of spice doesn't hurt.

[JimmieBluffdweller]

First off, we really don't know what comes out of the instrument here because this was recorded from the microphones on a video camera; it's not like listening to a studio-made CD on a good system. I personally listen to this through the speakers of my laptop. I assume the piano is a nine foot concert instrument, but we don't know that. As far as interpretation goes, perhaps you should post your own playing of this sonata as a response and let others decide what they like better.

[danceofthegoblins]

Brava!

Awesome redition of this tempestuous piece!

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

Absolutely thrilling piano playing!!!!

I would play like you if I could.

[ddanze]

moving the BODY improves the playing

if done appropriately: lola brings a new

light to this, thanks lola and chuck berry!

[MichaelStevensG]

... <3

[rarescores]

Where is the 3rd movement?

[forXION]

OMG i just noticed something... there is no music in front of her in any of her videos... its all from memory. That said she truly is a beast.

[shrinkingglasses]

LOL

[legamature]

The young Rubinstein used to rise up off the seat, but not so high. He did it just for show. I don't know how it could improve ones playing.

[thegirlnextdoor365]

perfection and speed, love you so much, but just out of curiosity, do you use programs to help u with the speed or are you really just a perfectionist, by the way love u again lol

[ignisfatuus67]

Dear Marialn08,

thnx for the condescending jerk. Before you insult people you should think about if there is a reason to do it. I wrote, that in my opinion the pianist has great abilities and that she could be an honest and true artist, if she wouldn't care so much about "her show".

Where exactly is the point in my comment that made you so aggressive and hostile? Again, I think that this pianist has great abilities, but in my opinion she would be better if she would just care about the music

[marcoscatamaran]

You probably don´t know what´s motions does.What makes you think she is not honest and True?If you read about her carrier you are going to understand More. Take Care.

[ignisfatuus67]

Dear JimmieBluffdweller,

I agree with you that a lot of concert playing in our days is dry or restrained or just without personality and emotion, but I don't think that this pianists playing becomes "juicier" with her gymnastics. It's interesting enough without it.

[TommyRay2222]

Absolutely Amazing

[JohnLRice]

Excellent!

[Chicago10281]

You're A Whiz On That Piano! How Long Have You Been Playing?

[loves2listen]

@AskLola: I'd like to know how long it took you to learn the 1st movement and (if already completed) the other movements?

[nine1funk]

Just out of curiosity...did you make any mistakes while playing that or did I just witness perfection?

P.S. that's not a pick up line.

[dakaraabbccdd]

great body...

[pjkilmer]

Man, you can really lose yourself in this video. I just want to sit in silence for a while after...

[rachelclarkofficial]

Oh my god! You're AMAZING girl!

[loves2listen]

can"t wait to hear the rest of it...

[loves2listen]

I WANT THIS ON CD!!!! :-D

your playing is fantastic. thanks so much for sharing!!!!

[sagalat]

I am SOOO glad i didn't kill myself in Sao Paulo that time 8 years ago, if only to see THIS gorgeous ideosyncratic quixotic monster so HUGELY perform this difficult work. Christ, Where did she come from? Gotta lookit up

[jsin117]

megusta mucho

[collegeslammer]

Pretty Sweet!

[xAmandine]

Beautiful! I love how it sounds so free, as if it was improvised

[pjkilmer]

Lola, you don't play fair. You come along and mesmerize us, steal hearts, refuse to give em back, and then drop a bomb like this making it hopeless to ever get em back. Oh, you're stuck w me now ;)

This vid is great! Love it! 5 stared, favorited, forwarded, can't say enough about it. Such a compelling style. Thank you.

Your talent & beauty are both crushing. Together they're.. uh.. dah, there wasn't a word in the thesaurus for u. hehe.

ps, I lied, u were stuck w me after your 1st vid.

[alexm2484]

That was amazing!!!!! Great job!!!!

[marcoscatamaran]

Incredible like always!!!

[squeakD]

WOW!  Amazing performance!