Yes indeed, one of the very best performances of this great music I've heard. Her tonal palette paints the distinctive essence of each of theses vignettes.
Je pourrais la regarder et l'écouter pendant des heures, des jours, des mois......Million de merci a ses parents qui ont découvert ce trésor car tant qu'il y aura des Alice's Sarah Ott...il y aura de l'espoir!
Wow! The first version of "Pictures at an Exhibition" which I ever heard was the one of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. What I liked most (besides the theme of the "Promenade") was the enormous dynamic in "The Great Gate of Kiev": The impressive fortissimo parts versus the beauty of the quiet parts in between ... Later, I heard Mussorgsky's original version played by different pianists; I heard Maurice Ravel's orchestra version; but in my ears, none of them reached the virtuosity of Keith Emerson on the Moog synthesizer. There are very, very few pianists who really get the dynamic of "The Great Gate of Kiev" to my full satisfaction. Alice Ott is not only one of them, but probably the very best. Surely, her grand piano must begin to tremble when Alice Ott sits down and starts with "Pictures at an Exhibition" ... After just having looked and listened to an interpretation of another pianist (also here on RU-vid), I'd like to add another thing that stroke me, comparing the body language of the two pianists during my favorite quiet parts: The other pianist seemed to be absorbed by the piano keyboard, almost as if she had lost something there. Whereas Alice Ott gets totally absorbed in the music; looking at her face can touch you as much as listening to her play...
The real problem is that most pianists in my experience tend to play the whole piece very loudly which makes the fortissimo parts underwhelming because there is not much difference between loud and louder instead of the intended dynamics of piano and fortississimo.
I love this piece on orchestra and piano. This interpretation is one of the best piano versions I've ever heard. You can really feel the burden of the cart. But hey, the Hammond - Moog version is still my favorite. I think Emerson, Lake & Palmer made more of my generation understand classical music, then any.
I also heard it for the first time on that same recording! Literally opened a new door that from that day enriched my life in so many ways and on so many levels!
The first time I hear it was in Sweden in the early seventies, a little of it played by a prominent pianist who's name I forget, with descriptions of what each piece was describing. I enjoyed it but would have preferred the whole piece played through first, then the descriptions. Oh well. Then I stumbled over the ELP album (still have the LP), which was very different. I like equally the piano and orchestrated versions but it is always a pleasure to see and hear Alice play, regardless of what she is playing, it is always excellent.
This is a superb performance of Pictures, and the sound quality on this video is excellent. I've known and loved the work for decades and have probably listened to it a hundred times, but I heard things in this performance that I haven't heard before. Wonderful. And La Campanella was none too shabby either!
Very fine and outstanding. I still have a preference for Henriette Gaertner's version, also in You Tube videos. Possibly because she seems less dramatic and more relaxed in her performance in many sections. But they are both very good.
