Alexei Sultanov on Late Night

[gkollias14]

I find you more of a jerk commenting without your brain in your head, realising how difficult of a life he might have faced.

[lenrfrjyatnrfq]

0:17 Aleksander Sultanov lol what a jerk

[harmony14447]

@lenrfrjyatnrfq You want to say-Alexei.

[gonrolgonrol]

They seemed all to be in shock after the pianists playing. I think they at a subconcious level understood what happened- just did not know how to appreciate it.

Just as a guess :)

[MyDarksea]

LAMENTABLE PERO MEMORABLE , QUE LETTERMAN TUVIERA A UNO DE LOS MEJORES PIANISTAS DEL CONCURSO CHOPIN EN SU PANEL Y QUE LO TRATARA COMO A UN PAYASO ES MUY LAMENTABLE PERO A LA VEZ VEMOS LOS INICIOS DE ESTE EXCELENTE PIANISTA Y "ESO" ES MEMORABLE

[cubanbach]

what a frigginnnnnnnng idiot LETTERMAN is....he can't lick the shadow off the sidewalk of JOHNNY CARSON..........I wish he would "get the hell of TV"

[free0fight]

Wow...truly tragic...

[BONHZEPPELIN]

Letterman has always been a FIRST CLASS A+++ #1 A**hole! I take great satisfaction in knowing there is some justice in this world, and this P*ick is wallowing in talentless misery and cursed fortune. Same for that annoying Paul Shaeffer, Shafter, Whatever!

[1Thompsonmusic]

@BONHZEPPELIN

Well to you yes. To me, Letterman is a funny guy who shouldn't be taken seriously.

[martimtavares]

I say the dumbest one is Paul, the resident pianist, who kids at Alexei, like if he would ever be able to play a 1/1000 of what he played. It's like watching Clyderman making fun of Richter os something like that

[Doug19752533]

well Dave letterman is an idiot anyway, never liked him. Thank god he didnt make Alexi sit down and interview him

[korglove]

letterman, you are moron and sick fuck.

[mikejr41387]

ahhh. this is so pathetic!

[lovesGenet]

GOd this is shameful. shows why american mind is what it so often is.

[TICETOCAR]

why is everyone pretending that the pianist is a 3 year old who, by the use of candy, got lured into a t.v. show that is all about fun.. ?? Sombody must have whispered it in his ear.. besides, there are already plenty of other (concert) platforms to boast of pre conceived ideas about how when and why classical music should be played and appreciated.. the silly comments below illustrate perfectly why classical music is NOT selling so well nowadays..

[mrmolinodelahoz]

This is a telling and deplorable exhibition of the empty minds that fill American television with utter nonsense while ignoring a genius in their presence.

It is sad as it reflects the poor state of the world. Letterman you are a jerk.

[keelan111]

30 seconds of a great, award winning pianist playing, and then on to mediocre late-night goofiness? That's ridiculous! That's like hiring Glenn Gould to stand outside of your local KFC dressed like a chicken, handing out flyers!! XD

[MEpianist]

Maybe Aleksej liked Dave? It's just late night yucks, whats the big deal?

[Steinbrennerheit]

и какой ещё Алексэндэр? Чё за параша?

его зовут Алексей. и вот как бы ещё без смеха бы..во время игры

[Steinbrennerheit]

а какого хрена там нашлось смешного?

[Gratiti]

America meets art.

[lospazio]

I think that the first person to blame here is Sultanov himself. I can't possibly understand what the hell he was doing there.

[kcostell]

Sultanov was from a USSR that hadn't fallen yet. How was he supposed to know what he was getting into?

If anyone should be blamed its the Van Cliburn Foundation and whoever booked this for him.

[dsamogray]

agreed

[jackjiezhang]

maybe it was meant to be a sketch, letterman and his audience are known for their stupidity anyways.

[DERFNAM72]

Brutti cazzoni!

[monelleny]

I really wish you would take this clip off the internet. It is in terrible taste, especially in light of the terrible tragedy later suffered by Sultanov. Please--show a little respect for the dead, if not for music.

[sparkyfry]

But isn't it worth seeing Sultanov back in his day? Letterman and his crew are clearly totally ignorant as to who he was, but I don't think they're necessarily disrespectful. And it's always great seeing him play the Prokofiev. I was really excited when I found this on an old videotape.

[monelleny]

Thank you for responding, sparkyfry. The entire Prokofiev sonata is on youtube, although I admit that it was not when you posted this. If you do not feel that the entire crew (including the host) is being disrespectful, I suggest that you watch it again. They laugh and show no interest in Alexei whatsoever, and sadly, he does not even seem to know it. Also, please read the comments of all the viewers who feel this is shameful and painful to watch.

[lelanddutcher]

I'm grateful that sparkyfry posted this. I'd never heard of Sultanov - I was simply looking for old Letterman clips. I quite enjoyed this clip and as a result have now found so many Sultanov clips on YouTube. Sultanov was amazing and it's great that his performances, INCLUDING HIS APPEARANCE ON LETTERMAN, survive on YouTube! Thanks sparkyfry - there is nothing shameful here - clearly Sultanov knew what he'd be doing on Letterman and this preserves that history.

[monelleny]

If I'm wrong, I'm glad. It's painful for me to watch, although I admit Letterman and his crew makes themselves look like idiots, not Alexei.

[wildejagdlover]

stupid show and poor alexey

[Rusalka1975]

They laugh after every stupid frase. I have a shame to watch the gifted pianist, winner of a Gold Medal, to play there and they laugh after the name of the musical piece! Scary show.

[danydruzy]

IDIOT

[belshep]

He says "Alexander" instead of "Alexey"

[Gman6755]

Letterman is such an asshole!!!! I cannot even watch his show at all anymore!!

[pianonine]

What would possess a talent like Sultanov to waste his music on a david letterless show? Did Davey even know AL was there? No acknowledgement whatsoever. Hey artists, don't waste your incredible craft on assholes like DL...what a dickhead!

[LongOnAllFronts]

Does Letterman have the faintest notion of what that music is about... ? Does he, hell. Might he have had the slightest inclination to get hold of a CD and start listening so as to find out... ? Would he, hell.

[maggieohio]

Letterman is so trite, so unappreciative and crass. Sultanov gift was truly fantastic!

[EDDICT69]

hey go fuck yourself he is almost none of those those things except maybe a little unappreciative of sultanov but thats just because its not his cup of tea

[C3F6D4]

Letterman's problem is he thinks he is funny when in reality is nothing more than a mediocre stand-up comedian. He pales in comparison to Johnny Carson.

[dsamogray]

true.

[Ferrante109]

February 2001, dizzy from the flu, Alexei fell and struck his head. A week later, he walked into a neurologist's office almost unable to speak.Within hours of the diagnosis, Alexei was in surgery to stop internal bleeding that was putting pressure on his brain. He awoke with no discernible impairment. The strain put on tender blood vessels caused the massive stroke. Alexei Sultanov died on June 30,2005 at the age 35.

[Ferrante109]

To find out more, Google his name. Lots of stuff on this great talent!

[LVB1770]

sparkyfry,

Alexei Sultanov passed away? When and how? That's awful.

[sparkyfry]

Yeah, I hadn't heard about it either until I googled him right before posting this video. It's really a sad story. There's information about him on his Wikipedia page, and the external links are to stories about him.

[LVB1770]

sparkyfry,

Thanks, I found it last night. Sounds to me like he played himself to death. I bet he practiced way too many hours. I was blown away at his power in the ending of Rachmaninoff's 2nd. I was almost like he could have had a stroke from playing so hard. So much much pressure for a 19 year old. I think he put way too much pressure on himself. Very sad.

[Ferrante109]

He fell in his bathroom and hit his head on the bathtub I think. He suffered a series of strokes and then eventually died a few years later. Truly Sad.

[LVB1770]

Ferrante109,

a lot of people injure themselves or die in bathrooms from slipping. Sounds weird but it's a dangerous place sometimes. Truly sad indeed!

[omarfarahat]

he is certainly one of the greatest piano artists to ever live... we will miss him termendously

[ChatlaninUef]

Idiot show, but Sultanov is great.

[sultanamonkey]

my last name's Sultanov. Heh!

[brimelka]

Awful! I wish they knew who he was! Could not even read his name! I am honored to know him. His Cds are permanently in my car. Never tired fromhi Chopin. You are with us, Alesha!

[brimelka]

That's awful! I always thought they were talking with him at least! Idiots! I wish they knew who he was! I am still crying over his Chopin. I am so happy he sent me once his CDs . They were recorded in Japan. Anyway, you are with us , Alesha!

[robsputin]

Sultanov was one of the nicest, most humble, and truly brilliant human beings I've ever met.

[uhrkraft]

My piano teacher was friends with him in their Soviet school.

[brimelka]

Who is your piano teacher? I was in the same school

[hunyghan]

Alright Kevin, put down the cards it's apparently over. Man that was funny! I never saw NBC Dave, did they used to do the top ten list at the end of the show once a week or something?