Dvořák: Cello Concerto / Isserlis · Gilbert · Berliner Philharmoniker

[PJEssence]

steve nash on oboe!

[marian444]

Wonderful!!!

[thehoodedman53]

Or alternatively the orchestra could follow the soloist... agreed, the conductors beat is a little too fluid to follow during the crucial rubatos, but surely the players have ears as well? Not that much to ask of the famous Berlin Phil surely...

[cire9984]

@thehoodedman53 An orchestra is an incredibly fragile thing, one guy dancing out of line can ruin the entire sound. You have to be in perfect coordination and if someone strays at the live performance, the only thing you can do is play over it. There really was no perfect way to solve it, the soloist and the conductor apparently disagreed on the tempo and by definition that's the soloist's fault.

[thehoodedman53]

@cire9984 Not the only thing - if the conductor is as alert as he should be, and the players are watching him as they should be, a professional orchestra should be able to follow him - if the BBC Phil can, why cant the Berlin Phil? In most well established orchestras like this, the players will always play nearly just as well without the conductor as with, the conductor is not always there simply as a metronome; i would have thought that the players would hear that the cello slowed down.

[cire9984]

@thehoodedman53 The orchestra does what they previously agreed, ie practiced. There is little to no room for improvisation during the live concert, sounds boring but there isn't really any other way.

Let there be no misunderstanding, it's a mistake on their part, it should not happen and is not what I would expect of the Berlin Phil. Let's not be overdramatic though, you sound a bit like you were just waiting for the tiniest mistake to bring up the BBC Phil, which isn't even the same league.

[thehoodedman53]

@cire9984 to blame therefore are the management or the conductor, as either the management did not allow the conductor+orchestra+soloist combination sufficient rehearsal time, or the conductor did not allocate said time suitably.

Snide comments aside, I would point out that rigidity of playing and expression is a common feature amongst German orchestras, and a slightly more versatile and musical approach can often be found in orchestras such as the BBC Phil, who are by the way highly acclaimed.

[yumiko313]

しびれるうう！！！！

[MrAugustasG]

Yo-yo-ma<Isserlis<Rostropovich­

[pzlavln]

Unbelievable orchestra sound. Great cellist, too.

[MrAugustasG]

This guy is awsome.

[jason101other]

He is doing all kinds of weirdness to the tempo in this. I was thinking "I would hate to be conducting that." The conductor had his hands full just keeping the orchestra with the cellist. Isserlis has some weird interpretations and sharp notes, but I like it for being different.

[clementia101]

i actually prefer isserlis' interpretation far more to jacqueline or yo yo ma's.... they're all brilliant, though xD

[c1trax]

woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[JC5268]

well the first line has some interesting things huh -- we usually don't do rubato on that line!

anyways that's simply AWESOME

[shib340]

Holy crap hide the kids!

[GregHales]

He is good but not my favorite cello player, not always a fan of his sound.

[kurtkaboom]

I wish I had hair like that.

[k73f]

@CEdubsLO idiots with no taste in amazing music or playing! i thought the same thing.

[1995Blizzard]

I have heard the version by Jacqueline DuPre, in comparison, the celloist may be too paranoid and has too much behaviour (overbehavioured)... Sometimes he is too hurried.

[georgerannie]

Bravo Steven.

[mynameismaurice]

isserlis is a really incredible cellist. my 1 and only problem with his playing is that he uses gut strings!! sometimes its just impossible to hear him over an orchestra!

please, save it for bach steve!

[timsuffolk]

I saw him perform this with Dudamel conducting at Snape Maltings- a fine concert hall with excellent acoustics- a few years ago, the first time I had heard the piece or seen the performers, it was amazing!

[mdivisio]

Lindoooooooo!!!! 

[padredemishijos12]

I think that Alan Gilber is destined to be a great conductor. He has still much to learn. I hope that his ego is not too big and he goes to Venezuela and absorb their pioneering work in classical music. If you see Dudamel conduct, he never uses a score. He memorizes and internalizes it, and give the orchestra 100%, and you can hear the results. All Venezuelan conductors memorizes the scores or at least the very good conductors like Christain Vasquez, Diego Matheuz or Manuel Lopez Gomez.

[juanortu]

@padredemishijos12 I agree almost completely with you, except that Dudamel does use the score sometimes, although he knows it by heart (see his video conducting this same concerto). Almost every conductor in the world conducts a concerto with the score, because you never know what the soloist could do! Celibidache was the one that conducted everything without score, until one soloist did crazy things in the concert and he couldn't follow. After that he conducted the concerti with score!

[padredemishijos12]

@padredemishijos12 Makes sense what you say. Thank you for the infomation. I stand corrected.

[sergiobantam]

O interessante é que a música de Dvorak traz esperança e apesar da dor evidente, surge algo como um colo materno, maravilhoso.

[adax19hiro]

Wonderfull...I can't play like this. oh...

[clementia101]

it's so awesome that his high notes sound lyk a violin!! xD

[gera1262]

@clementia101 yes. because string instruments have a homogeneous sound.

[clementia101]

his cello playing is HOT!

[eccb31]

That's amazing! What movement is that?

[BerlinPhil]

@eccb31 It is the finale, "Allegro moderato".

[Dbrazz88]

My favorite all-time cellist. Got to play for him when I was 15, a day I'll never forget!! :)

[spikeran100]

Its really good, but my fave is Jaqueline du Pre. She plays these concerto's best

[cbrey]

Best, most interesting cellist playing today. No histrionics, no flailing, no insipid faces, no bad habits. Just extremely fine, thoughtful, passionate playing with an awareness of score detail. Thank you.

[spicypolack14]

what is the name of the song in that cello challenge video? it was fantastic!

[BerlinPhil]

@spicypolack14 It the "The Swan" from Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals"

[physphilmusic]

1:11 ownage. Really, I've never seen it down more convincing visually (even Ma).

[mortalfrog0815]

actually the oboe wasn't early, at least it wasn't his fault... as part of the orchestra he has to stay perfectly in time, has to follow the beat and the conductor! if the soloist chooses to do a rit. it's ok but the oboist can't know that! that's artistic freedom...

[Mizzles240]

@mortalfrog0815 soloist dont just choose to ritardando out of the blue, they rehearse this stuff beforehand. theres some miscommunication between isserlis and the oboe obviously. but it did come in early

[mortalfrog0815]

@Mizzles240 no! it wasn't early, it was in time! i don't know if they rehearsed it differently but it seems more likely that it's the soloist's fault cause normally such things as rit.s are noted in the score!

[Mizzles240]

@mortalfrog0815 well the soloist is always right especially someone as expressive as isserlis so its the orchestras job to play into his sound not vice versa.

[mortalfrog0815]

@Mizzles240 i guess you've never played in an orchestra!

[mortalfrog0815]

@Mizzles240 no! it wasn't early, it was in time! i don't know if they rehearsed it differently but it seems more likely that it's the soloist's fault cause normally such things as rit.s are noted in the score! and now just leave the poor oboist alone, they're also just humans...

[makuletboy]

@mortalfrog0815 Thank you for pointing that out for the idiots that feel the need to find a flaw in this beautifully written work and the brilliant orchestra playing it.

[conversejunkie2222]

when i was 6 years old i went to a steven isserlis concert, and he saw me in the audience, and was so happy to see a little kid enjoying classical music, that he played an encore, and dedicated it to me. after that he invited me and my family to a performance of the elgar cello concerto in Philadelphia, and we met him backstage!!! He is really an amazingly funny and generous guy...he has inspired me to keep playing cello for 9 years now.

[yeusyeus1]

where can i buy this recording ??

[BerlinPhil]

@yeusyeus1 Unfortunately, there is no CD or DVD of this performance, but you can watch the complete recording online in the Digital Concert Hall.

[yeusyeus1]

thank you for your email me ... really happy to know it ... but i did not find website link out... could you send it to me (i mean this concerto link ) really really thanks !!!!

[BerlinPhil]

@yeusyeus1 It is right below the video player.

[yeusyeus1]

@BerlinPhil  thank you i will try it again now :)

[yeusyeus1]

@BerlinPhil sorry , do i need pay any money for watching this concert ?

[mortalfrog007]

this is the best version on youtube, i really think about buying it at the dch...

[k73f]

@mortalfrog007 it's so worth it. i watched it, and this guy just takes the first movement into another level.

[AsadaNagasu]

super orchestra

[dga471]

Wow. The Berlin Digital Concert Hall really is one of the best forms of video recordings of orchestral music. It's the first time I've seen and heard the Dvorak Concerto on video with such vividness of both visuals and sound. I'm sure other great cellists like Ma, Du Pre, Rostropovich, etc. are equally impressive, but the quality of this recording almost makes me believe Isserlis is the greatest in the world.

[TheMaestroBrad]

1:54-2:05 gives me chills; It has such gravitas. Mr. Isserlis really makes the cello speak like no one else. He takes you on an incredibly vivid and empowering musical journey--I immensely enjoy going on that journey with him every time.

[BulgarianVirtuosi]

Bravo Mr. Isserilis! It is fantastic performance of great cellist! Absolutely outstanding! Words are not enough...

[sweatinggrundle]

his technique is so f***ing good! look at his left hand! oh steven when will you release a cd of the dvorak?

[daytripper10108]

That guy's hair is AWESOME!!!!!

[cygannon]

ditto.

[violaissimmo]

When are you going to record and upload a viola concerto of some sort? Is there one in the Digital Concert Hall? You have the Britten Violin Concerto up here and then this Dvorak Cello Concerto. Where's Bartok's Viola Concerto? Or Hindemith's Der Schwanendreher?

[BerlinPhil]

We will be transmitting in the Digital Concert Hall the Bartók concerto in June (with Tabea Zimmermann and Semyon Bychkov).

[sweatinggrundle]

@BerlinPhil Yes! Bychkov is the best conductor ever..

[tommyk77]

Isserlis came to my uni the other day. Great player

[agentnibbles]

I can understand people moving while they play, and I do it myself sometimes (I play the violin.) But some people here need to control themselves!

[jmuzic77]

Oboe is early at 0:40

tisk tisk

[cellistopher]

@jmuzic77 HEHEHE, no. ISSERLIS plays defnately too much ritardando here...so no possibility to follow him :-)

[jmuzic77]

still... is he's in the Berlin Phil then he should be able to read a soloist

[yellow6363]

@jmuzic77 sorry but it it to fast to react in that moment, if they hadn't decide it before...

[Shamanmaster1231]

@cellistopher

eventhough Master Isserlis played too much ritardando( and that depends also on the personal feeling of each one:P ), the orchestra has to accompany the solist, eventhough he plays not in the correct way, so the critics are pretty correct there..., no possibility to follow is just a lame excuse that the opoe did not listen carefully enough to the solist:)

[yellow6363]

@Shamanmaster1231 there is no ritardando in the score and there is no reason to do it... sorry but I think the soloist is not always the "king" in a concerto.

[sweatinggrundle]

@Shamanmaster1231 dont be stupid you think steven isserlis didnt know exactly what he was doing? he wanted to be behind the orchestra, do you think orchestra and soloist have to be exactly together all the time? of course not! i personally like what he does, its like he's resisting the drive of the orchestra and comes across freer.

[Shamanmaster1231]

@sweatinggrundle i think you just did not understand what i meant, i wanted to defend Isserlis, because cellistopher wrote, that he played too much ritardando, i liked what Isserlis did too, i just dont share the opinion, that isserlis did so much ritardando that it was impossible to follow,of course, the orchestra should not be always together with the soloist, but if someone wants them to be together, i would say it was the mistake of the oboe which did not listen carefully enough

[orangelacko]

@jmuzic77 NO!!! It's LATE!!! Can't you hear???

[orangelacko]

@jmuzic77 SORRY!!! Really!!! obviously I CAN'T hear!!! HE REALLY WAS EARLY...

SORRY AGAIN!!!

[pierrot79]

@jmuzic77 Yes, but his quick vibrato on 0:13 is perfect :) By the way, how quick is this interpretation !!! I love it.

[Romanticloser16]

@jmuzic77 also hes trying to move his head like he has awesome hair like Isserlis. lmao

[MrAugustasG]

@jmuzic77

Oboe wasn't late.He played the right notes and he can't know how and when isserlis gonna play the end.

[usnhorn]

Dvorak sure can write a melody! So many gems in this little clip

[Shamanmaster1231]

just one word : awesome

his bow technik is just amazing

[Shafran3]

I like this!

[GregHales]

Not my favorite cello player.

[ulyssesjj]

Who is  your favourite then?

[Chocokriz]

The man is obviously one with the notes that he plays... and you can tell that in his music. Simply amazing.

[SMILEJEN7]

effortless! amazing!

[towlie1789]

All of you can diss Isserlis

however, his bow arm is completely amazing.

[SMoovem80]

To the person asking about his strings. I was by his cello a few years ago and he uses a combination of pirastro eudoxa and olive wound gut. I seem to remember it being a, d, g eudoxa and the c olive. Very distinctive sound he has...he shreds it. Weird guy though...who cares though he plays like a bad ass. My teacher couldn't stand the guys playing...I enjoy it. Not possible to replicate the guy, that's for sure!

[JeffreyCWang]

Over-expression or not, Isserlis over Dvorak or not, I am sure the last row audience in the hall could really feel his aura and passion for the music.

[polabenke]

love his playing but personality ...

[Jooseef95]

It's amazing that he can play as he does an still have such control over the cello and be so realaxed!

[AlamoCityCello]

Isserlis is always worth the listen!

BRAVO!!

[JayYard]

Isserlis is a baller

[ladanseestlavie]

I love him! His hair is awesome

his son is really good at the cello as well

[midnightcomes]

I love the music, but I literally cannot watch this man moving. There is such a thing as OVER-expression.

[Montagnanaman]

I see you´re all pretty much Isserlis fans. Sorry, but I have to say this is not my favorite type of playing: too many glissandos wich provide dubious taste to the music, wavering tempi, over inflated notes and the same vib almost all the time. I´ll go to the Berliner webpage to see if I can watch the entire performance to come up with a more complete opinion, but...I hera Isserlis, not Dvorak, and that really bothers me...

[towlie1789]

Well... I love it lol

[eltongo]

The cellist and conductor didn't seem to agree on the tempo, and decided to play their own...

[Pvannortwick]

You think so? I'm not so sure since Dvorak was inspired by ethnic music which is supposed to sound a bit off tempo. The big "pillar" points in which the orchestra and cello are supposed to be together are pretty spot on in this performance.

[PianistSk8er]

I noticed that too.  Not so much in this clip, but in the full performance. I don't know if it was intended, but it was somewhat distracting. Still, an amazing performance...

[bookishmuch]

Ha! get a load of that oboist. Awesome. The triangle is pretty awesome too.

How does he keep his hair from getting caught in the strings??? My hair was just shoulder length and that was very painful....

[medpiano]

guest conductor--Isserlis and Rattle couldn't possibly share the same stage--if their collided it'd be *bad*...heh

Too fast tempo aside, the lyric passages are wonderful, the stops are TERRIBLE. Scratchy, no meaty C-string to give some bass to the chords, ugh. Wonder how much of it is engineering b/c Isserlis is obviously a great cellist...

[medpiano]

...their HAIR collided...

[TheClassicalFun]

You do have humour... :)

But I hope to meet them once together: Rattle and Isserlis, in a concert, and then we will talk again....

Rattle is a man of details, all the details.

And this Cello Master, I love it how he is translating the notes into music....

[towlie1789]

I can honestly say that if I were to mute this video and just watch him, I would know exactly what he was playing and what he was trying to convey.

Just sheer brilliance.

[makuletboy]

HE has so much fun up there.....

[k73f]

ahh, i really wish isserlis made a recording of this concerto,

[Lezzaz]

this is too fast at the 'cello's entry: it is supposed to a majestic, proud piece; he treats like a casual, fun tune

[tinypapercube]

Yup. That's why I like his playing so much. He's a great antidote to the endless lugubrious recordings of this piece, and just about everything else. It belies his baroque and classical sensibilities. Why bother playing any damned thing that's been played a million times before unless you're going to do it the way you feel it? I mean, dear lord, there are plenty of lugubrious, overly-romantic interpretations of Bach and Haydn and Mozart. Let's let Steven and his gut strings have a go at Dvorak!

[PPchopin]

ta bueno

[loriziell]

gah look at the title!

i cant understand a thing and i want to know the name of the song

[aurilind]

Dvořák: Cello Concerto? O_o

[loriziell]

oh thats it? :D

[aurilind]

yeah :P

[loriziell]

thanks :D

[jaiobie]

This is the beginning of the 3rd movement (part) of the Cello Concerto by Antonin Dvorak.

[loriziell]

k thanks

[BattosaiX123]

Wow, the Berliner Philharmoniker is pretty epic. The Cello play in the front, is amazing. The players really do get into the music when they play. Look at the Cello players gestures in his solo 32 seconds. Its really cool that people really get into their parts. Its no wonder why the people in this orchestra have to be virtuosos.

[etiterum]

but listen how much better he sounds between 0:59 and 1:05 where not so much dandruff is flying around.

[BattosaiX123]

Although both parts are great and the rest of the piece is as well. The music in the beginning goes well with cello player in the front. I think when both he and the orchestra play together it means so much more.

[bdmntnfan]

Thanks a lot

[bdmntnfan]

Berliner Philharmoniker always has virtuosos for concertos - example - this one with Steven Isserlis and Beethoven violin concerto has Itzhak perlman. So the conclusion is that the standard is always high

[bdmntnfan]

The first violinist with the partly unshaven beard is really cool. Who is he and who is the guy on the triangle???

[BerlinPhil]

The violinist is Guy Braunstein, 1st Konzertmeister since 2000. On the triangle you see Jan Schlichte.

[x3x3yz]

@BerlinPhil

i don't know anybody in the world who is cooler than guy braunstein

[harvinsky]

the great performance indeed!

i think mr steven isserlis looks like

sir simon rattle about hairstyle.

[andiejanefisher]

he had the hair way before Simon Rattle did!

[yuehchopin]

sehr intensiv

[sutphoe]

odd

I recognise none of the BP players in this video

[Finners1551]

who is on 1st horn?? hmm

[NisbetAM]

probably someone form the Berlin Phil Orchestra Academy

[BerlinPhil]

It is Jens Plücker, solo horn at NDR-Sinfonieorchester

[bdmntnfan]

See the other videos for the same entry. The other cellists play it slowly but this video is the best.

[gnatural]

gave a master class at my school, i wish he would cut that hair. great performance

[Eliporto]

Uou! Great cellist!

1:49 to 1:54 - cool ;)

[violinsrockdude]

This is amazing!!! The soloist, the orchestra, everything!

[redhotchiliangel]

OMG, Really a good cellist!

[minsypie]

He is SO good!

[FungoBoy]

lol for a moment i thought Sir Rattle was playing cello....

[BernardProfitendieu]

haha - me too!

[shaosuye]

haha yeah,,,

[Leradcoris]

rotary valve trumpets are kick ass!

[loriziell]

man this sounds so good....

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic!

[MikeDrewYT]

Btw, is that the new conductor of the NYPhil? Like him...

[Marlene55M]

Yup, he is.

[nfajkblg]

Isserlis is such a showoff :)

[MikeDrewYT]

No shit. Such a glib smirk. But then I could never control what my face looked like either...