Beethoven Sonata Op 106 "Hammerklavier" Part 5 (mov 4)

[IAmTheHound]

Breathtaking technique and a superb performance of an exceptionally difficult movement of an exceptionally difficult sonata.

[TatTwamAsi]

I forget the start of the 4th movement ...

The remaining polyphonic disharmonic contents is wonderful! This is - and has to be revolting and lovely naughty like a school boy! I enjoyed it.

[peterbringenhoes]

Strange reaction, dear matsuokashiro.

I just admire this interpretation, and just compare

it to one its clearly inspired on.

But fine days in another future.

[bobcinq]

Wonderful performance. Fantastic clarity. Gilels is still my top choice for this piece.

[matsuokashiro]

Kempff is good, but young female Levitsa is REALLY something else. We should not RANK those great human geniuses as if in a horse race. If you really like Beethoven (and all other great composers) we should take attitude that they taught us something of human value, and act accordingly. Likewise to Kempff and Lisitsa; not entertainers like in circus.

[Mjfanlittlemonster]

I just wanna say that you are one of my idols! i wanna play the piano exactly like you! you are amazing and the way you play is just jaw dropping! i'm 14 and i've been playing the piano since i was 5 :)

greeting from Egypt

[mgpoliveira]

The greatest fugue ever after Bach, it is almost impossible not to relate this piece to him. I can say that it is Bach in Beethoven and both in the pianist.

[peterbringenhoes]

Great performance!

Liked the interpretation of Wilhelm Kempff most, but this kind of energy

and clarity is new to me, astounding.

[JoEbYX]

I love the orchestral half cadence at 5:18 suddenly interrupting the very pianistic hopping trills. Then another suprise cadence at 8:05. Most performances I've heard don't put a ritardando with the latter cadence.

[FantasyPiano317]

Imagine that Franz Liszt was able to play this piece with 11 years! :D

[manhattanvor]

@FantasyPiano317 So could Claudio Arrau

[guilh1979]

Amazing!!!!!

[sebastianrc]

7:53

[Scalatti]

At last, a "Hammerklavier" fugue that's everything LvB would have wanted out of the written notes. All fast and furious and kaleidoscopic. A fugue on acid. Bravissima, Valentina!

[camomile988]

There is no use in comparing any one or anything with Valentina. All I see here is music that Beethoven wanted to depict. The existense of the instrument of the performer is no longer a deal. I do not know what to say.

I like Beethoven because he described the wonder of human beings throughout making music.

Thank you Valentina for showing us the wonder of human beings and music. Your are making really good music.

And I apologize for spelling your name wrongly in previous comments.

[alexissomebody]

I like your videos, these are the first 5 I have watched by you. I started playing piano 3 months ago; I think your skills as a pianist give me more encouragement. thanks :)

p.s. greetings from CA, America

[manhattanvor]

Tempo in this movement is excellent for the hall and the instrument. The use of the pedal demands a slowing from 144, which would have been on a more diminutive instrument without the "klang" that this one has. This seems to be between 132 and 138 and sounds just right. Maybe a little lack of clarity here and there, but fantastic in its excitement and facility.

[ChrlieBphD]

@manhattanvor Clearly most of the 'lack of clarity' attributable to the large 20th century instrument? Compared to most performers on non-period piano, her playing shows a *very* judicious use of pedal and is exceptional clear...to my ears...just sayin', :)

[philglassfan]

Bravo, amazing, brings tears to my eyes....Beethoven is the human spirit personified.

[COCOONFABULA]

Will you play it at Beethoven's metronome indication ?

[100jllp]

I keep telling people, Beethoven isn't pussy music....

[johnst66xx]

This is fantastic. I love the way she articulates the structure of the piece. The sense of ebb and flow is wonderful and very hard to achieve in this piece -a difficult beast to tame.

[EricTheRed03]

I don't like Valentina because she never responds to 1 of my emails.

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

@EricTheRed03 maybe she's more committed than you?

[BPECA1]

@EricTheRed03 Maybe she doesn't want your scat sex offers.

[EricTheRed03]

@BPECA1 : You have a dirty mind.

[sangreal1476]

Valentina, you are really the best pianist!

[AntiProUltra]

Great performance, though it does illustrate only too well how hard this movement is to play well: on the one hand it's a 3-voice fugue demanding a degree of clarity, but at the same time it's also a stormy drama demanding something more punchy than crystalline perfection. I think you have a solid handle on the drama, but occasionally the clarity suffers as a result. The version I usually listen to is Pollini's from the 1970s - technically outstanding, but lacking drama in certain places...

[mgpoliveira]

The greatest fugue ever after Bach or perhaps even better than any of Bach.

[ZachEatonMusic]

I ... am without words. O_O I've often thought that when someone says, "Words aren't good enough to express fully how great this is," I think, "Surely they are exaggerating."

But that really is absolutely what is happening here. She is so good that there really aren't words to properly express just how mind-blowing this is.

[toshiajapan]

This is bravississimo that nobody else has ever achieved. Videotaping of Hammerklavier!!!

[hatatske]

beethoven's passion is intertwined with every single note in this fugue

[ledzed]

Its like she has 2 right hands. Seriously, look (and listen) to what that left hand is doing! Such clarity, speed, and dynamics control. And such a musical genius, how she brings out all the voices of the score. Unique talent, as this world rarely sees.

[bkthugs10214]

the compexity of this fugue is making my brain hurt...and i cant stop listening to it .

this is GOLD

[publicatucuento]

How do you do to remember play those complexe pieces from memory?

[ykd5l]

she played more notes in 545 seconds than me in my hole life

[sstuddert]

My favorite piano sonata - this is one of the best performances i've heard, maybe the best.

[MozartK365]

I don't like fugue, but this one, and Beethoven's Great Fugue in c minor, are exceptions...

[ManfHoerz]

What a performance! Excellent! Tell me, do you play also Bach? I would like to hear

"die Kunst der Fuge" from you. It must be great!!

[aarif0711]

thank you from karachi... wonderful!

[GlitchforSora]

This is just awesome and words can't describe it :DDDD

[zackyboopanda]

I hope you are doing a DVD/Blu-ray/CD for this Sonata (and hopefully eventually all of Beethoven's Sonata and other pieces)! I would definitely buy them! Also thank you for putting up all these videos of your magnificent playing for us to enjoy!

[TikiFury]

If you'll excuse me, I have to go and dry the tears off from my face after seeing this....

[eutenhodoisfilhos]

adoro a técnica e a forma como toca excelente, magnifico, divinal, soberbo.

[Teroctador]

very nice, not only was the music magnificent but the hand movements went right along with the feeling of the piece. fantastic performance!

[bellinianodoc]

Bravissima Valentina, la tua fuga è davvero vertiginosa. Ed è incredibile come si possa tenere interamente a memoria un brano simile. Mi hai fatto deliziare. Ciao!

[garfreed]

Stunning!

[zhangensprachen]

Bravo! Valentina, are you working on or planning on working on any Scriabin in the future? I often find his music awkward sounding when not completely mastered from a technical perspective. This is a real shame since I think he is such a genius. With your technique, you can unlock so many hidden treasures in his music!

[brasiliennr1]

im just a girl from germany who has a question for u.

first of all i love every piece u play, and with the grace u do it...love it!

my question is, have u ever played something by Prokofiev? and if yes, which piece is your favorite?

if u have something on tape, in your archives maybe, could u upload it? maybe the Piano Concerto No. 3?

thank u,

robin

greetings from germany!

[ValentinaLisitsa]

@brasiliennr1 Sure, it is on my site under multimedia.

VL

[brasiliennr1]

@brasiliennr1

thank u!! ^^

[mdehkram]

is there a piece with more trills? There is a page with a series of trills in both hands, and leaps, it looks so difficult, it is around 5:14. It actually makes sense.

[A8opi]

she is greaat ! but i didnt like her performance too much, try to check Alexio performance at master classes with daniel barenboim, best performance i've ever seen of this sonata

[manuelspcool]

THIS IS SO BACH!!!!!!!!! CE' MAGNIFIQUE = )

[paopaomanalansan]

Virtuosity at its best, bravo!

[debrucey]

I really hope we don't have to wait too much longer for the CD of this. I am so excited.

[1770LUDWIG]

Thank you

[endomayor]

demasiado rapido para Beethoven...valentina se le escapa el movimiento...y lo dificil no es tocar las notas sino evitar que esta transcurriendo el tiempo...la velocidad no el espacio existen....es una obra apocaliptica y por tanto esta en otra escala vital.

[adamsanek]

Incredible: the movement, the sonata, the hd video, LvB, and Valentina :)

[Sword1479]

Bravo!

[Desireyso58]

Lo Máximo

[Laudan08]

WTF! So complex.

[kingjepoy]

AMAZING! Clap, clap, clap!

[piano361]

ahhhhhhhhhh what the fuck is that xD

such brillant technique ... i hope i will be abel to play like thsi after some few years xD

[christophermanners]

Absolutely brilliant in every way. Has to be my favorite version of this piece. That technique is amazing!

[musicfanBRA]

This is such a monumental piece, it's hard to know whom I admire more - the composer or the pianist.

[hermanshermits124124]

@musicfanBRA ... seriously? ...

[musicfanBRA]

@hermanshermits124124 - That's just my humble opinion.

[hermanshermits124124]

@musicfanBRA Ofcourse the composer is greater. First of all he created this out of nothing, second of all he was able to play it as he intended aswell...

[HarveyTruffaut]

Bravo

[MrDesperateArtist]

a listener for the first time, can not comprehend this one...

if i am berenboim, I WILL KICK HER ass!

she doesnt know how to performed the fugue to the audience...

every passage must be carefuly uncerstood before performed..

the human ear can not comprehend this one....

[dripglass]

Yes, we are thankful when someone can help us all appreciate this great music just a little better than before :D

[danjuan88]

I've heard a lot of very good recordings of the 'Hammerklavier', and you all probably know the pianists I relate to; but watching this has just left me completely speechless. I wouldn't dare go near the music myself, but I never thought that a performance so powerful, and with such clarity, was possible. Bravissimo indeed.

[joaquindalessio]

Más de un musicólogo ha fundamentado detalladamente que esta fuga lleva a sus consecuencias extremas el contrapunto bachiano (el cual muestra su cúspide en "el arte de la fuga", la última obra de Bach). Más de un pianista la ha colocado entre las obras más difíciles del repertorio pianístico de todo el siglo XIX y parte del XX.

[Segura99]

sick

[LAnonHubbard]

Amazing.

[MartinetPhilippe]

Thanks a lot for this beautiful and powerful music. There is so much mental strength in your interpretation. Really impressive dynamic and deep expressive frasé. I like it a lot!! Bravo! Bravo!

[LakewoodBroadwayRose]

Freakin' LOVE the HD video... it's so awesome!

[riversea07]

remarkable, thanks for sharing

[5681asg]

Limpia de técnica, clara de concepto, y sublime de expresión.Profunda, magnífica y madura versión de una de las mejores representantes de las generaciones jóvenes.

[BachToChopin]

Great voicing in the fugue!! A lot of people play it quite beautifully without making it clear to the listener that it is a fugue (in my opinion).

I actually like this playing better than much of her Chopin (which is still extraordinary).

Just go to my favorite part.. starting with the mixed straight and retrograde stretto in D..ah, perfection!

Honestly I think this is the best performance of the fugue I have heard. The control is amazing, the musicianship and style spot on.

[dorpik]

what can I say? jaw drops all the time while listening and watching... fantastic, just fantastic!

[palcsi]

Wonderful!

[PhilPhilUSA]

truly and literally an incomparable performance!!!

[MrPiano1994]

I really hope you continue with rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto, I want to see you play the ossia-candenza ;) Anyway this fugue is pretty amazing and very very complex...I just wish i could play like this one day

[OrangeSodaKing]

@MrPiano1994 Rach 3? I want her to play the ossia on the very last page! :D Andre Watts and Sokolov are the only two I've heard play it so far.

[shubus]

Stravinsky called this fugue "Inexhaustible and exhausting" but Valentina, you really bring this thorny work to life with this amazing performance.

[aedo41]

Valentina, you make every challenge a piece of cake, with an additional extraordinary element: Passion!

Bravo from your fan in Brazil!

[ValentinaFan]

I wasn't familiar with this sonata. I've looked around Youtube at other versions (Richter's for example) & I appreciate the "hugeness" of this work.

As for Valentina's approach and playing of this she has left me stunned.

[UndyingAnguish]

Brilliant performance! I never get tired of watching your videos. Thank you so much for posting more. I'm still hoping you come back to the DC/MD/VA area again soon.

[sebastianrc]

Beethoven would be the only one that could possibly play this better, and I'm sure his proud listening wherever he is

[debrucey]

Isn't he dead?

[VideosAlcides]

Valentina, fico verdadeiramente hipnotizado pelo movimento de suas mãos...

Pela dinâmica, pelo desenvolvimento das frases...

Sublime é a perfeição!

Bravíssima!!!

[rarescores]

OH MY GOODNES! BRAVOO!!!!!!!

[RenanGarciaMoura]

Amazing performace!

Love you!

[debrucey]

Valentina you really are spoiling us with all these free recordings. I look forward to the day where you can say you've recorded all the Beethoven sonatas and the world will be a better place. x

[gisuona]

Minchia!!

[889michael]

Looks like your "Beethoven Sonatas" is coming along swimmingly...Bravissimo signora!!!:D

[Minanto91]

I'm the first to comment this video :D Valentina we love you you are fantastic

[pinkgirly222]

Just amazing!! :)

Love you Valentina!!