Rachmaninoff plays Chopin Ballade No. 3

Ballade In A-Flat, No. 3, Op. 47
Composer: Fryderyk Chopin
Performer: Sergei Rachmaninov

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Rachmaninov
• Rachmaninoff
• Chopin
• ballade
• no.
• 3
• op.
• 47

[123mortimer456]

himitsunosallychan - you say, "If someone tried in competition, they will be gone in first round." Right on! And that's exactly what's wrong with much of contemporary classical music. Why could Rachmaninoff play like this? Because he was a composer himself. He encountered Chopin as a colleague. Today's "urtext" worship is largely a feeble substitute for musicians' lost creativity, a crutch for their insecurities, leading to the familiar sterility and conformism.

[docmalthus]

Master composer and master pianist meets master composer. And we pick up on the results. Nice!

[Bret6464]

@paulybarr Your comment makes as much sense as saying the earth is flat. What is wrong with you? You also believe you were abducted by aliens who messed with your intellect? LOL

It would be nice to see people who know nothing of pianism, musicality and artistry desist from making such inane and idiotic comments such as yours! NOT on Rach's performances :-)

[deserteacher]

there is so much soul in this interpretation--its like he's writing beautiful poetry

[yenrabaraho]

@paulybarr

i'd like to respond to that by saying that this passage has the same "kind of slip" as when Horowitz misses. It's not the result of sloppy playing as you alledge, but rather the payoff that is either rewarded or robbed of an artist when they take total interpretive risks. The soft chord at the end of the intro is worth the price of admission alone, and requires just as much skill to present. This is a very indepth and profoundly beautiful presentation, paced beautifully.

[joelwagnerpiano]

@paulybarr

Who says teenagers can't be brilliant pianists?

[paulybarr]

I'm truly shocked by the number of wrong notes! Listen to 6.37 for example- it's a bloody mess of split octaves and missed notes. And throughout the whole piece the rubato is so extravagantly exaggerated, as was the custom at the time, that it seems laughablytrivial- there is no accumulation of weight. i love Rachmaninoff's music but this performance is shockingly bad- I've heard teenagers play this better.

[ArunGarg001]

The maestro has just given the perfect example of cantabile! It's all about his amazing coloration.

[Deexxtro]

Hey bitches, first thing you have to do to listen music is to shut the fuck up.

[Bret6464]

@TheJV15

I do not believe anyone has approached Rach in his interpretation of the 3rd ballade, Cliburn's is the only other one I can even stand, let alone listen to in its entirety! :-) 

[TheJV15]

Although I do love Rachmaninoff and his style of playing, I personally feel that his way of playing this ballade is not very enjoyable to listen to. Sure, he's playing all the right notes, and his dynamics are correct for the most part, but there is something breathless about his interpretation overall. There are so many important pieces melodic expression that we simply do not get to hear because he is playing at break-neck speed. His technical brilliance swallows up the beauty of the piece.

[abracadabranque]

Un toucher d'une rare finesse,mais le compositeur semble prendre la place de l'interprète.