Strauss/Schulz-Evler Blue Danube Waltz - Dimitris Sgouros

[uhartchristian]

this is perfect

[lovesGenet]

When "bad " music is played this well the pianism invites you to a special place.I loved this man only saw him once and he played Liszt sonata! Wish he was still playing allover like he did. Gorgeous tonal palette not just fingers and a temperament!!! This music is as fine as any ditty by top 40 songwriters. SO shut da f up!!! Lhevinne famous rec is a treasure.

[uhartchristian]

this is completely spoiled concerning the rythm. Sgouros is a big talent with lots of technical possibilities, but this isn t stable.... Hear the lhevinne version or rosenthal and you will understand what I mean....

[Bruce88keys]

@uhartchristian i completely reiterate your observation

I want to find Byron Janis's recording-I know he played this-

Josef Lhevinne rules in this piece- his rhythm is exquisite

[fabulouscountry]

well, the original version sounds too rinky dinky...this version, despite it being a bit overboard in its 'fancyness', it is still nonetheless a great piece because after all, it is schulz-evler's TRANSCRIPTION!!!<-------notice the word transcription. besides, this piece is meant to be an encore piece, not a part of the repertoire.

[ABBAERIC]

I like the original much better than this.Poeple try being smart and go say " oh i made my own version well guess what no one even has to hear it cuz they will know its junk like this." played good but the song ... nah bad bad bad.

[12rosebud12]

Ah, finally an artist who DARES to go out of the box. Still sticking to written sheet music repertory though, too scared of the critics and audiences probably despite his genius, but nevertheless. GREAT job to have dared. Sgouros, a genius 100/100, can sightread and play basically ANYthing, so the "effort" for him is not the performance but the going it alone, outside the trodden path. AND NOW a bumble-boogie + Kitten on the Keys for encores. NEXT step: throw sheet music overboard and play jazz.

[pincheruso]

Not bad performance at all...Just a bit lack of bases,and a few moshy moments...But,its good anyway - dont judge him too strict...

[Talokaaa]

However, he is better than you. Look at yourself before complaining next time.

[himitsunosallychan]

Sorry, wrong English, but this is miserable, I think. Sound like wiener ragtime. He obviously cann't play this work. Very very bad period

[elkaisernineteen]

shut up

[CHAYAMARO]

kid i know youre talented but learn the piece before you play it especially for an encore

[cesiniko]

nice.. nice .. nice ..=)

[3dogs1cat]

A dancer will be hard pressed to dance this version. The timing, dance-wise, is very uneven. I guess here it was meant to be watched and not danced?

[voolare]

the purpose of this transcription is to create a virtuoso rendition of the composition; certainly not for dancing.

[superclarenceboi]

yup I do agree with you. Most piano transcriptions are different from the actual ballet or orchestra performances. Piano transcriptions are meant to be more free, virtuosic and open to the performer's interpretations! That's why I love hearing these kinds of transcription; every pianist interprets it differently!

[54spiritedwill54]

I love this arrangement.

[lhiram23]

i like it. light, sparkling, not to fast. very clear..and charming

[Lester046]

I don't like the tempo, it's very fast!

[d60944]

Sorry, but I don't like this performance. Nothing like the degree of charm and wit that the piece needs. Sure, it's hard, but the runs and octaves all need much more shape and smile to them.

For exemplary performances check out Emil von Sauer, Moriz Rosenthal and Josef Lhevinne. Almost no modern pianists have the artistic and technical capacity to play this music how it's meant to go any more, sadly.

[davecarlson45]

I completely agree with your assessment. Not only is the performance foreshortened but it's very sloppy as well and played with an exemplary lack of feeling and yes, charm. Doesn't even sound Viennese. The Jorge Bolet version is much better as are both Lhevinne and Earl Wild's. And you're right about no modern pianists having the technical capacity to play this work. Last time I heard it live was Earl Wild in Carnegie Hall in 1966

[2JackSparrow]

No doubt Earl was masterful at this arrangement and MANY others... my personal favorite. However, I disagree that no modern pianist has the technical capacity. In a few years, watch for Behzod Abdurimov, currently a student at Park University and soon to knock everything out of the park. You heard it here first!

[eye2sea]

Should check out Earl Wild's version of this.

[re6356]

Earl`s interpretation is equal to any I have heard.

[cherkassky]

You can download a much better sounding *hi-fi* recording of the Blue Danube Waltz, performed by Sgouros in Munich (1988), from here -

tinyurl(dot)com(slash)2mmqrz

[tilooka]

hay man isnt this guy owsem!

[biegel88]

Lovely, Dimitris! I also love playing this as an encore after concerti.

[steinwaygrande1]

If this was a live recording, and the Blue Danube was an encore, then maybe time constraints forced him to omit certain passages . I saw him play a slightly different version of this in Perth in 1989

[Thecodebreaker08]

clearly he decided that the first 3 pages doesn't belong to this piece.

[burobbi]

yes he cut off the opening bars. i would have liked to hear those filigrees of finger-breaking scales too. i like the main theme that he played, quite well done. i wish i could play this piece as well as he did.

[noleno]

no me gusta esto

[charlzjin]

Is it me or does he skip some measures from the original in the beginning? I don't know, it seems shorter than what I have in my sheet music

[oktalp]

There is an intro which he doesn't play perhaps because Lhevinne doesn't play it (which I always thought was a recording time limitation of some sort considering when Lhevinne recorded it).

[kiptw]

I love this arrangement. I'm still ticked that Grove's Dictionary left Schulz-Evler out of its most recent edition. Who'd they put in? Philip Glass?

[lipotito]

Guachiguau!! ese yo quiero para mi cumple de 15!!! jaja o de 18 jaja Bueno. Excelente la verdad que Dimitris te deja sin palabras... NO hay nada que decir, solo sentarse a disfrutar!! Gracias Dios...

[michaelnightwalker]

are re elinara mou