Sergei Rachmaninoff plays Chopin-Liszt, "The Maiden's Wish"

[SevenCircles]

The quality is really great. This must be from his last recording session in 1942 or?

[forgottenbooks]

Rachmaninoff was a god.

[dantrush99]

kekakurasan12 how old are you

[gerardbedecarter]

Rachmaninoff's playing was always stylish [perhaps not always stylistic]. Wow - he plays it faster than I do, too!

[kekakurasan12]

lol i have play this for piano....and then i thought it was nice and waltz...slow...and then when i heard this..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­O i dont wanna play piano ANYMOREEEEEE lololol its HELLA FAST!!! well, good job to him, i hope i can do at least something like that...

[cynic150]

FANTASTIC! My first hearing.

[goyaskill]

@cynic150 

[albertacristie99]

Chaque touche resonait en moi avec une telle vivacité. Franchement, ces capacités ne sont pas dans l'ordre d'un pianiste. Mais plutot, d'une personne pouvant transmettre le message de son âme par le bias du piano. Rachmaninov a atteint la clé de mon âme !!!

[eLiMU6]

whomever the maiden was

sounds like she had an

insanEnigmatiCRaZ wish!

〠

[paopaomanalansan]

Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt - three of my faves! Thanks for posting...

[serjiusprimus]

When i listen to this piece, I am always at a loss who's to praise: Chopin, Liszt, or Rrrachmaninoff?? So? I set my choise on these three!

In principio erat musica, ha-ha!

[flomat82]

It is so light compared to most of their work I love it.

[TheSojournToTheWest]

um? omg? i cant describe it wonderfulness!!

[sergeidragunov1]

Thank you :)

[paulostroff99]

Beautifully played,as was all that he played.

[kempff95]

very hard

[Jtking3000]

i love liszt transriptions

[EneasHeroeTroyano]

Fantastic playing, so deeply moving. Thanks a lot for sharing it. Rachmaninoff is one of the best performers of the musical history, if not THE best.

[pianiplunker]

Great music, I must give Hofmann the edge over Rachmaninov on this recording however, the charm and poetry of Hofmann at his best is hard to match, even by Rachmaninov. I think this was Rachmaninov's very last (or penultimate) recording and he was suffering from bruised finger tips due to his illness but Rachmaninov at his worst is definatly better than most.

[CeaserXIX]

So,the difference between the interpretations of Hofmann and Rachmaninof of this piece is really impressive.

[matthew1722]

I agree with you completely, turbotibo. What we need to do is try to influence more people to see it our way.

[ferrycahyadi]

rachmaninoff...

i always love his music...

[ThePiano1991]

Do you mean his performances? Because this is a Chopin/Listz composition.

He was great though!

[turbotibo]

well, it's true, that classic is one of the cornerstones of the music world. With classic, music was taken really serious centuries ago, but there are also genres nowadays that really can match with the classics of that time. And yeah, there is many commercial music that just irritates me. It's about the mass and the money, not the real music anymore. It's becoming all the same and less original. So much music from mtv and tmf is just commercial crap.

[truecrypt]

My patience is over. User "reinedparis" is blocked due to inappropriate language and behavior.

[jaserific]

@truecrypt Thanks for posting. I love this version ;D

[jaserific]

@jaserific Thanks for posting. I love this version ;D

[alvinkuo777]

look it up in the dictionary or are you too lazy to do so?

[alvinkuo777]

Uh...did you escape from an asylum? Are you out of a job, and just blowing gas here? You need serious help.

[alvinkuo777]

classical reigns supreme; I like other genres, but classical remains the cornerstone of Western music and will last long after AC/DC, Beatles, and other bands have been forgotten (nostalgia usually plays as a factor). Yes "emotion" exists in other types of music; just like there is junk food for those who disdain good cuisine.

[reinedparis]

I just want to say here , musician's that were being recognize by its talents sometimes have mistake as well , don't keep judging and force others to think they were great because their name were being recognize in what kinda fucking history. and stop discriminate people who you think he or she was not famous of anything , if you can do that to others i can do that to you as well , gerryrains or truecrypt , because you both aren famous. cheh. but did i ? no i didn't

[alvinkuo777]

Wow. That was pathetic. Some people are famous for a reason, bud, but then I think you best spend the time finding that brain of yours.

[truecrypt]

reinedparis;

Please watch your language. Seems like your manners are a good fit to your knowledge. If you have to say something, please do... otherwise you'll be blocked.

[reinedparis]

block lah , you think i really want to come back here ? if not your friend send a message to me and ask for a debate again , i won't even give a damn for it , duh !! watch language and manners wor , yeah yeah you very high class , high class citizen ;P blek ~ vomit

[alvinkuo777]

I see there are some idiots here who can't appreciate the greatest recorded pianist in history. Good thing that Rachmaninoff's recordings show how good he is, especially compared to mediocrity that reigns today.

[reinedparis]

just because people doesn't think it was good , then you call them idiots , so i think is not good , but you think it is , you are idiots. :)

learn to respect pls.

[alvinkuo777]

earn my respect then. Lots of people like to criticize their betters, usually due to envy and realization that they can't do that. Yes even Rachmaninoff can make mistakes (though usually musically not technically), but then you don't seem to realize the meaning of interpretation. Frankly, I think you're just another loser who is trolling for attention.

[joeyjojo4]

I've heard better.

[truecrypt]

you're very lucky then...

[TomBarrister]

"The Maiden's Wish" was a very early Chopin song that wasn't published in his lifetime. Liszt, who was a good fried of Chopin's, "trascribed" it later, adding much to it, while staying faithful to the original composer.

[alexioco]

Is this piece a duet by Chopin and Liszt? Somone told me it was, if not, then is there one?

[francorussie]

Rachmaninov is an absolutely great / genius Russian composer and he was a virtuoso pianist, but this interpretation is not a marvel, I find it somewhat superficial, and I even doubt it is Rachmaninov ' s: it is playful but lacks that famous Slavic "singing" inspiration

[joesubaruson]

I do not think this is Rachmaninov playing. This pianist is giving too much rubato at the beginning of the Polish theme("Gdybym ja byla" on the Chopin song). Any student from Moscow or St. Petersburg Conservatory knows Liszt should be played with more strict tempo, in the display of the original theme. This pianist can move his fingers pretty fast, but the forces in his fingers are not very uniform. People from Russia, what do you think?

[truecrypt]

Dear joesubaruson;

Probably I can speak for "Russian students"...

1. It IS Rachmaninoff's playing and every good Russian piano student would confirm that.

2. Why Chopin-Liszt should be played in "stricter tempo"?

3. This pianist (Rachmaninoff) could move not only his fingers better than anybody else, but also could move other people souls...

4. People from Russia think -- you need to take a very extensive course of music appreciation at the nearest community college. ;)

[reinedparis]

And he's right although he had the speed , but still it wasn't that uniform. Not perfect enough. But overall it is good , just it wasn't great for me. A professional pianist should have done more better.

[truecrypt]

Very few pianists (if any) have ever played "more better" than Rachmaninoff. Please, try to learn more about history of the piano performing art. It's a very interesting subject! Don't rush to express your opinion - you may regret about it later. I don't mean to offend you, but truly - don't embarrass people and yourself with ridiculous comments.

[reinedparis]

oh so you mean ... chopin can't play more better than him ? haha , well ok , if you really don't have the patients and the ears to accept others people opinion and keep sticking with your idol , alright then. I won't. Cause is not worth it to leave any opinions here. You guys have ugly attitude. And is cheap.

[truecrypt]

reinedparis;

Among those who left recordings, Rachmaninoff is one of the Greatest. I will gladly accept different opinion, but yours is simply *unacceptable* - it's baseless. Let me "stick with my idols" and you are welcome to stick to yours.

[reinedparis]

for those who don't think rach is good :

pls never ever leave comments in here cause there is a fucking guy with the name of truecrypt can't accept people's opinions wor ! Rach is his idol watch out you might get fuck for just leaving your own opinion , no freedom , no free thinker here , only followers allow , oh and remember to add something like RACH IS THE BEST , YAY ! for your last safety. thank you.

[truecrypt]

Dear reinedparis, I can accept different "people's opinions", but what you consider an "opinion" is a complete nonsense. You are "free", but you are not a "thinker", and here is the root of the problem. You (and alike) represent so called "aggressive ignorance" so typical for YT generation. BTW I doubt there will be many people who'd agree with you. And learn the correct spelling - RACHMANINOFF.

[gerryrains]

In the year 2000, living concert pianists were polled to see how they would order the pianists of the recording era:

Sviatoslav Richter came in first.

Sergei Rachmaninoff came in second.

Of course these were only the greatest pianists in the world - I'm sure that you know much more than they do (ROFL).

Seriously, who would you have picked for the top two? I'm just curious!

[reinedparis]

yeah yeah i know you are very high class lah ~ sitting infront of your only so call piano , and with your high class country , thinking that only classical is the best lah ~ break dancing and shuffles are bad lah,not art at all , only classical musics are arts , and you want to be an artistic person , so don't play those dancing and stuff , don't listen to music that aren't classic , with those tradisional minds , no new things ,and follow whatever other's said. old folks .

[gerryrains]

Well, I just looked at your home page. Of course it's hard to read with the pink background and all of that motion, but knowledge of break dancing hardly qualifies you as a musician. DO YOU play the piano? Out there in Malaysia have you even heard a live concert by a great pianist? BTW, if this performance is so bad, why do you think that it's averaging five stars?

[reinedparis]

gerry rains :

i put five stars >> i love rating is nice to see those stars rates and rates , is cute

yes i play the piano , love breakdancing doesn't mean , hardly qualifies me as a musician , so you mean , you discriminate breakdancing or or pop music or rock music ?? ohhh ~ i see ~ for you , music is only categorize for classical ehh ?? if is , then you are not the one that deserve talking to me , because YOU i forgot the fuck of your name don't even know what's music means.

[reinedparis]

is hard to read eh ? well then sorry , but i love the motions behind , is cute , will change after a while then. do you want me to read it for you ? OH you wear specs ?

[gerryrains]

On a friendlier note:

One of the great performances in the music world (IMHO) is by the great Turkish pianist Fazil Say. He can play anything, but I'm going to recommend one of his recordings in particular:

''FAZIL SAY plays his "Black Earth" (Recital in Firenze)''.

Firenze, translated into English, is Florence, Italy. If you like this, and who couldn't, try his improvisation on the Mozart Turkish March. I think he calls it a Fantasy. His incredible skills shine on this piece.

[gerryrains]

reinedparis,

My three recent comments were directed as replies to you. I forgot to put your name there.

[reinedparis]

and , i can sense that your history knowledge is bad , and you love discriminating others ehh ? Malaysia , is a great country ,you better study it more ( especcially cultures and stuff so that you can learn about what's call humble ) before talking to me , we have everything here , i m sure much more than your country does , go back and study lah ~ dumb ass

[alvinkuo777]

Thank for your patriotic spirit...it surely relates to this video.

[xiangyik]

Yes, from what i know, Malaysia is the most fucked up place in the world. Bumiputra Racial Discrimination, bad education systems, dumb politicians, bad economic policies, etc. Culture? What crap. You can't even choose to convert from Islam to another religion in Malaysia with your stupid Sharia Law/Constitutional Law distinctions.

[truecrypt]

xiangyik;

I blocked reinedparis because of his behavior and "poor" language. No need to fight him here again... Please, let's stay away from political/national/racial issues. I know - you are not the first who started this kind of arguments, but let it go! ;) Forgive this guy - he doesn't know much and, as a result, substitutes knowledge with "hot air". Enjoy the music! ;)

[xiangyik]

Yeah, we should just be ignoring him. :) Sorry.

[SIlentPianist47]

To everyone,

I'm sorry about what that person had done. I am a Malaysian too~ I'm not continuing the political talks. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am and wanted to tell you that I am very ashamed of that person. I think Rachmaninoff is great! I'm a Classical Music Enthusiast too ^^.... Rachmaninoff is one of my favorite composer too =D. And I think this is quite stellar! Sorry for giving you bad memories. I just don't want people to view Malaysia as a very "fucked up" place.

[truecrypt]

SIlentPianist47,

I'm very proud of you and your country!

Best wishes,

T

[SIlentPianist47]

Thank you very much ! =D

[xiangyik]

Rachmaninoff was a professional pianist, boy, and composed AND played some of the hardest works every written for the piano. Go read up and listen to his piano concertos number 2 and 3.

[reinedparis]

yes i agree with you , i don't think this is liszt who was playing ... even though is not liszt .. still i think is a student playing ... because it sounds normal to me , and the skills doesn't sounds like a professional playing...

[truecrypt]

May be you should read first WHO is playing!

Your comment is a very rare example of COMPLETE nonsense.

[reinedparis]

ok sorry sorry , i apologize for my mistake , but indeed i think joesubaruson is right , he has his own point too , erm maybe you should listen to evgeny kissin or others pianist , they could play better than that ~ really , is totally a different , compares to other pianist , can't feel anything at all from this , well the skills wasn't professional enough , didn't put much afford on it , sounds really just advanced student playing..a real professional pianist isn't just like that.

[truecrypt]

Sorry, reinedparis, you simply have no idea about "professionalism" in piano performance. Not to mention one should have "guts" to criticize Rachmaninoff for lack of it! Don't you feel ashamed by posting such comments?

[reinedparis]

yes stricter tempo might bring more passion in it.

[truecrypt]

really?

[xiangyik]

No list of the 20 greatest pianists of the last two centuries excludes rachmaninoff. He is one of the GREATEST pianists of ALL TIME. And you compare him to Kissin???? Don't be daft.

[reinedparis]

don't tell me because of the list , you anggap everything on his music , was the greatest of all ? Do you have your own point of view ? did you really think he was great at playing this song? If you were saying that he was great because !! the last two century great musician list included Rach , then you are a nothing.

[truecrypt]

reinedparis;

Probably you are one of those who's trying to be very original by expressing contrarian views. The problem with this "approach" is that it doesn't work with artists like Rachmaninoff. Yes, this performance is GREAT and your opinion is MORONIC because Rachmaninoff was a GREAT musician and you are... who you are.

[reinedparis]

then tell me who you are ? for not letting people leaving any comments and judge people's opinion with your own views ? You can just shut up , alright ? you are just a noob that doesn't know anything about public thoughts and freedom , you tradisional fuck , can't accept people's opinion then just shut up , the one that talks more shit more , you talk so much for what ? i know , just to make sure that everyone shut his mouth about those critics on rach mah !!

[truecrypt]

Well... dear reinedparis, looks like your only argument is "who are you?" and "STFU". I know more about freedom (and lack of it) than you and all your friends all together... as for "thoughts" - your thinking process is not producing anything interesting. BTW so far you could express your *naive* views quite freely and I didn't limit you in any way. And watch you language, young man. Obscenity is not a substitute for knowledge.

[pincheruso]

Phantastic!

[chad410]

reminds me of Richters solid tones. thanks so much T .

[smithsherman]

Crypt,in a foxy move worthy of Kutuzov,places his "Maiden's Wish" out simultaneously with 1 revisionist,"Hofmann" & 1 of the last traditionalists,"Rachmaninoff"­...Sergei demonstrates the monumental spontaneous vividity that alone belongs to the Traditionalists.BRAVO SERGEI!!!!

[smithsherman]

It's a joke on the Modern Objectivist Revisionists of the 1920s & 1930's that Sergei received so many bad reviews & his performing career was destroyed thereby.

They concluded that this great musician

"simply didn't know how to play correctly."

Where is my pistol?!?

[smithsherman]

Sergei masterfully demonstrates the Hallmark characteristic of the traditional style...absolute unpredictable spontaneity of phrase...and the resultant vividity.