One of the few to actually follow what Rachmaninoff wrote and play with noteable changes in dynamic. So many people attack this cadenza and this entire concerto with a fury that completely ruins it. The true test of pianism in this piece is being able to control it and not let yourself become immersed in it’s agitated disgruntlement. Volodos does this brilliantly. In simple terms, the angry parts sound angry, the passionate parts sound passionate and the reflective parts sound reflective. Shame how many pianists play one or two of those adjectives, very rarely does anyone achieve all three perfectly.
Exactly, it seems like Arcadi can relive the emotion. People who play it like a machine are also impressive in their own way, but from the musical point of view, in such deeply emotional pieces like many of Rachmaninoff's, machine-like playing just doesn't sound that good.
Bonus points for your use of the phrase "immersed in it’s agitated disgruntlement". 😂 Actually, I completely agree with all your points! This was masterfully done in every way!
the mechanics and technique are only the means for the product (the expression), so really achieving this 100% of concentration into expression is every pianists goal
That is because (in MY opinion) Volodos is the most technically proficient pianist - EVER! He can make the piano ‘SING’ like ‘Angels passing through your room’! That touch is especially well suited to Rachmaninoff’s MELANCHOLIC scores, but Volodos is so versatile that I prefer his renditions of both Bach and Brahms to those of ANY other contemporary concert pianist!
@@ciararespect4296 In what way is he better though? He is certainly not any more expressive or moving than Volodos. Maybe on a technical standpoint, but that would only be because his repertoire is more vast and advanced than Volodos'. Volodos still makes practically 0 mistakes and on top of that i extremely musical, so to me Volodos wins in the expressive aspect making him the better candidate. Though both are obviously amazing either way.
@@user-sw5pw3cs4w Hamelin is good pianist, yet average compared to many. People on youtube, especially piano amateurs, believe that Alkan is very hard, thus Hamelin, for playing it brilliantly, is top pianist. In reality, Alkan is easy, and when Hamelin plays Chopin, Beethoven or Brahms, he makes mistakes like many others. Then artistically he is quite cold, he lacks the golden sound, but let's say it is an opinion, as such things are not quantifiable. Any way, to state the obvious, there is a galaxy between Hamelin and Volodos, is factual, non disputable. Basically, Hamelin, except Alkan and Feinberg - second hand music, has no legendary interpretation of anything, his classics have nothing special, while Volodos set the standard for everything he has recorded.
@@mew_lune I'm 11 months late, but let me clarify that the reason I use the word distasteful is because I am pretty sure that omitting those measures was a conscious choice, not a mistake. He's not the only pianist to do it and I just can't comprehend it. Those measures are perfect the way they are written and even though they may sound like they're repeating, Rachmaninoff does a different rhythm for each iteration and that gives them charm. I am not disputing the brilliance of this performance, I am just expressing my very strong disagreement with that choice, if it is indeed a choice
Lang lang 2001 interpretation is amazingly fire and I would dare to say even better musically than this one ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nmEGlf28Phs.html
#LangLang is obviously technically as good as anyone, but I don't like his timing/tempo/cadence(?) on his version and he doesn't make the most of the famous slow and powerful notes either, a bit rushed. #AndreyGugnin was good from an early age too: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wdLZYehIyOo.html
I think it's amazing how correctly he plays them, not only the notes, but the rhythm as well. These chords are so far apart and so difficult to play evenly....
There is an amazing version (I think than even better than this one, although Volodos’s is completely admirable) of Yefim Bronfman playing with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Waldbuhne. He puts so much weight on every single chord, like if his fingers were hammers and he reaches an incredible sound. Hope you watch it and you like it
Then I would like to suggest to listen to Kissin. They are the only ones around who both play these chords with almost the same tempi and timing and dynamics. Perfection on his finest.
Volodos' Ossia is the best, the best the best. So emotional, so sympathetic, so heartfelt, so awesomely epic and so masterful in technique, vision and faithfulness to the spirit of Rachmaninov.
When Volodos plays I feel like Rachmaninoff's music is intended and has to be played that way, the only way, especially the concertos no. 2 and 3. He makes it hard to listen to others. No words can describe how wonderful his interpretation is.
I've actually bothered to listen to dozens of takes on the Ossia Cadenza since I've decided to tackle the piece. I think Volodos plays it best(personally I think Volodos has played better than this in a different Rach 3 performance). Bronfman's is a really good take as well.
@@akg_table gosto muito também da do Lazar Berman. Ainda tem sido a minha preferida. Um grande abraço! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jgjsBAmedw8.html
Настоящий гений ,пианист от Бога 🙏🙌💕☀️❗ Аркадий проживает каждую ноту Душой🙏🙌🙏❗Браво Маэстро 👌👍👋❗Всех Благ Вам и Вашим Близким 🙏🙌💕🙏❗ Благодарю Вас за чудесное исполнение прекрасной Музыки, 🙏🙌🙏❗
Years ago not many pianists would play this cadenza- seems they were scared of it, or plain too bloody hard , but seems to be making a come back as I heard this on my car radio two days ago.
its because Rachmaninoff himself felt like this cadenza was too much of a climax for the first movement, thus he made this one the ossia cadenza and composed the other one (which after playing both I'd say its the most difficult of those two) that the main recordings of this piece, such as Horowitz's for example, play.
@@MrMasterBasket Horowitz said that the big cadenza is like an ending in itself, and the concerto doesn't end there. He said, "Rachmaninoff didn't play it, so I don't." On the other hand, the great German pianist Walter Gieseking had a student who played the smaller cadenza, and Gieseking asked him, "Why don't you play the big cadenza? Are you lazy?"
When I began getting into Classical music, it started from the film shine, a biography of the life of David Helfgott, and from that moment I fell in love with the "Rach 3". This performance I believe is everything that the Rach 3 should be.
@@arieblock2337 actually, I’d beg to differ, in his prime you would be correct, but certainly his 1977 version is not the best, arguably even Yunchan Lim’s or Evgeny Kissin’s versions are better. Horowitz lost a flare he once had when playing Rachmaninoff, and I don’t say this lightly, due to the fact that Horowitz is my favourite pianist of all time and pretty much listen to his recordings of anything.
Kissin the ice cold piano sound! This latest hype student Yunchan Lim played colorless dry cold piano sound Rach concerto no 3 in the Cliburn finals! Dimitri Bashkirov her teacher Anastasia Virsaladze teach saying to Bashkirov the most important Lesson is the Love of the colorful beautiful piano sound! This was already in 1930s! Really Shocking! Todays players are all cold and colorless piano sound players like Zimerman( robot with colorless tone!) Kissin( ice cold piano sound!) Pletnev And student Yunchan Lim! And crazy deaf people claiming they are the greatest! All the beautiful colorful sound players are gone dead like Emil Gilels Wilhelm Kempff Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy!!
In my humble opinion, Arcadi Volodos has the must amazing touch of ANY Living concert pianists and this short video demonstrates that to the fullest extent! Powerful, when the SCORE demands it, yet SOFT in a way that makes you believe the piano is singing a melancholy PRAYER - just for you! If you compare Volodos’ version of the ‘OSSIA’ with other ‘fine’ pianists, you will notice that Volodos plays the chords with MUCH MORE STACCATO than ANYONE else! In my opinion it is closer to Rachmaninoff’s INTENTION with this beautiful cadenza than those who play it with more ‘fluidity’! I have listened to MOST of the Great pianists’ version of ‘Rach 3’ - and, as I professed, I prefer Volodos’ version ANYTIME!
I consider Bronfman to be the best living exponent of this concerto. He has the computer like precision on top of huge sound, impeccable musicianship and huge feeling. Volodos is excellent, but if one may say it I think this playing is overwrought. The music itself is so full already that it doesn't need extra juice to be expressive
Every time I'm reading the notes of this cadenza while listening, I have to laugh of unbelief. It's so magnificent and hard! I hope to play this one day, great challenge but I'm far from there. And I have small hands. Like, Scriabin small. And when the day comes that I'm ready, I'll be doing this Cadenza. It's the most powerful cadenza I've ever heard and so beautiful. Can't describe what it does with my emotions.
Volodos is an unbelievable player, very gifted. It almost feels like he can find in Rachmaninoff's music even more than other fantastic players. Go listen to Rachmaninoff's Etude op.39 no.8 in Volodos's interpretation. Mind blowing. In my humble opinion it just cannot get any better.
I came here because if someone who said Arcardi's Ossia is better than Horowitz himself! Now that I'm listening to this rendition I'm starting to understand things from their perspective.
Absolutely superb! infinitely better than his CD with James Levine conducting.I believe Volodos is constantly improving and should record this Concerto again.
With most composers like mozart etc, that's true. But Rachmaninoff and Liszt are an exception to this, and their ossias are generally more difficult than their original counterparts.
Van Cliburn, Actually this is the more popular cadenza in recent performances - Lang Lang, Van Cliburn (1950's), Berman, Lisitsa, Ashkenazay, Freddy Kempf, Lugansky, Bronfman and Helfgott!
RU-vid boys, knowing nothing about nothing, thinking classical music comes down to La Campanella and "Rach 3", sigh... Don't ever tell them the cadenza doesn't end here but only way after the flute, oboe, clarinet and horn entries. They'd be totally crushed...
Yes, two unnecessary, repetitive measures at the climax. At this point, they're Rachmaninoff beating a dead horse, trying to top himself with diminishing returns. Cliburn, and I'm sure a few others, cut them too,
@@justsomeguy7044 This is the classic 1958 Cliburn performance, released on RCA. It always sounded to me like he was exhausted (too soon after the Moscow ordeal). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fR7YWzYe1VQ.html
@@robertschaaf8606 True. and Rachmaninov himself would approve. When performing his own works he often skipped certain parts. This was normal practice in those days.
My question to anyone who can give me the answer is : "Why dont other famous pianists play this incredible cadenza in this Rach 3 in which Volodos does ??
Ah, I took your question to mean, 'why doesn't anyone else play that cadenza that well'. There are two cadenzas by Rachmaninoff. This is the 'ossia' cadenza. Most used to play the other one, the 'toccata', but the trend, it would seem, has been reversing. If you like the ossia, Bronfman, amongst others, plays it; so does Berman, but I much prefer Bronfman.
A portal opened up from heaven and an arm reached down. A hand 🖐 opened a golden container spilling notes. A voice softly said”Sergei, take these notes and arrange them.” Sergei re-arranged the notes and The Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto was born. The rest is history.
Goatlips Sometimes my friend creations of exquisite beauty have received such a nudge. Quite unlike your sign-in name which could only be appreciated by the face on whose protuberances were placed!!
Yes, search on Ashish Kumar's channel, he also does a lot of work to clean up the audio, and his descriptions are also excellent. You will find all three movements in separate videos.
@@summushieremiasclarkson4700 that on Ashish's channel is from a different recording with James Levine and Berliner Phil -- a sensational breathtaking mind-blowing performance -- while this is with Mehta / IPO, excerpt taken from a wonderful documentary on Volodos. There are some more bits here - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2vCsUwAULiM.html - I don't think that the television crew only came to record a few minutes of the concert, there has to be a full stream somewhere... hope to find it some day. Also, you may check out the youtube channel ADGO - he manages to find some cool rare recordings, a recent one was Volodos' televised performance of Rachmaninov pieces, the same ones that came out on the aforementioned Rach 3 album; I want to believe there's a chance that this exact performance might pop up one day
for those of you who commented that volodos or this pianist or that pianist plays this cadenza the best i suppose you might not have heard yefim bronfman do it.
On a par with Y. Bronffman in my opinion. Technically as impeccable. Exact notes, on time, no slowing down to keep pace, and fast, very fast and energetic. The rest a bit behind at the most.
Nick... I gotta ask you where did this come from? I can't find the whole 3 movements anywhere of this specific concert? Your clip is all I can find! Is there any way you could post the whole 3rd Concerto please!!! Nowhere else on the internet can I find The MAN HIMSELF VOLODOS doing this mind blowing piece. If you have the whole thing please please please put it up online.
Very interesting way of playing the cadenza, which I really enjoy listening to. However it is not my favorite version of the cadenza, that is still Bronfman's version.
Can someone tell me why there are a few bars missing towards the end? Specifically at 2:30. Compared to sheet music and other performances (I'm trying to learn it). It's not the first time I've heard a performer miss a part of the cadenza (I think Horowitz does too) and I'm wondering if it's artistic license/intentional or just a performance blip. BTW this is absolutely incredible and only bettered by Bronfman.
Horowitz said those couple of measures are "absolutely impossible musically." If you look at them on the page, and try to play them, even slowly, you will see that they are two additional measures of repetition of the same thing, and they really don't make sense given the structure of the work. Volodos, though seems to leave out more, and I question this.
@@davidlevy3092I'll trust Rachmaninoff more than I'll trust Horowitz or any other pianist who, as amazing as they are at playing, don't have a fraction of Rachmaninoff's compositional genius
@@jameshakai1662 even in the recordings of Rachmaninoff playing his own concerto he leaves out that same measure as well. I was always wondering why Horowitz did it but when i heard Rachmaninoff himself playing it i understand now
When I worked on the Ossia Cadenza, I had to look at my hands on the keys. Otherwise I'd be an assahola missing notes everywhere. (It is besto play this fromemory.) Such poor camera work. So little of his hands are shown. Sad thathe vidiot did not allow us to watchis hands and see his face in the same side view.
This video is originally part of a German documetary on Arcadi Volodos (around 2000), and the journalist inserted a brief interview of volodos at that point during the cadenza. Accordingly it was not the best moment to insert it...
This really is tremendous, awesome really. But, musically, the original is better--this feels like an intermission, rather than an exciting commentary on the music. But, wow, what a player.
