There are many great technicians in the world of piano but from a purely pianistic perspective I don't think anybody has quite the palette of colors that Volodos possesses. Nobody else makes the piano sing in quite this way.
@@ganjamozart1435 I think it's fascinating how directly sound correlates to the movements of the pianist's fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. It seems strange that the mechanics of the action of the piano would be affected by such things. I think the difference between Volodos's and Babayan's sounds can almost be seen when you look at them play. I think Babayan's tone is almost softer, while Volodos's has a more ringing quality to it. Volodos, in my opinion, is the first pianist since Gilels who has the ability to seemingly keep the string vibrating at the same rate after playing a note.
Just came back from hearing him play in Madrid... There is no doubt to me he IS one of the great pianists alive, along with Sokolov and Pletnev: mature, intelligent, sincere and deep playing. And a great joy to see that his incredible innate skills and supernatural technique have not driven him into the "easy" path of just virtuoso playing, but into the way of a pure musician in constant search for the essence of music. Bravo!! I hope to have the joy of listening to him for many years to come!
One of the great transcribers ( and one of today's greatest pianists ) playing transcriptions by one of the greatest pianists of an earlier generation . Achingly beautiful !
Он интонирует, пожалуй, лучше большинства вокалистов. Такая гибкость и выразительность фразировки, несмотря на невероятную навороченность фактуры вокруг
That's wonderful! Earl Wild did a fine job transcribing Rachmaninoff's songs into piano pieces like Liszt did with Schubert. Arcadi has the right power and the most beautiful cantabile to imitate the human voice. He has this certain 'golden tone' indeed.
Wild told me privately that he thought Volodos "has something special". He told me also that Volodos had asked him for the rights to one of his Rachmaninoff transcriptions (I wish I could remember which one). (Wild declined the request with the excuse that he had written the transcription for his partner's birthday.)
Yuja Wang in her admiration of him stole his thunder - literally. She played a few of the same encores and the very same concertos (Prokofiev 2nd was Volodos who first of the major pianists to tour with it in past two decades), and his Turkish March - but let's be real. Today it is not about who the best or most talented pianist, it is about the show and presentation and the faces and what you wear. Sadly, Volodos is just purely great - something that only is considered popular if you are 70+ like Freire and Sokolov. And when it comes to still being at the height of their great playing, Volodos is one of an extremely extremely few.
+classicalalways Yeah, I think he's the hero of many of the talented pianists of today. Evgeni Bozhanov, for instance, plays Volodos' transcription of the Andante from Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata. I think Volodos is doing fine with his career. He just isn't a super megastar like Kissin, Wang, Lang, et al.
+Danny B. I think if you asked him that, he may disagree - sadly. He may not be the Sokolov type who cares to be world known, but he also had a taste of playing with most of the biggest orchestras in the world, regularly recorded for a big label, and regularly played in the most important concert halls in the world. Sadly, that is not the case anymore. Perhaps he has become withdrawn, and Richter-esque - staying away from big places. And that in itself would be sad - as many have forgotten him (except the concert pianists who can not wait for his next transcription, though Fazil Say sadly is the one Yuja Wang most recently played in Moscow of his jazzy Turkish march (as did up and comer Claire Huangci). Is it that Volodos may be too difficult to work with, as was the case with a couple of great pianists such that the big conductors and presenters lost their interest? Or is it that he no longer is interested? I would love to know, as it is sad that his incredible artistry is becoming increasingly lost - and his repertoire is now virtually set in stone by now and no longer evolving (minus his Malaguena, which most concert pianists don't know because it appears only I believe in audience shot videos on RU-vid - which he may one day have removed).
+Abram Kreeger I meant Sokolov may not care to be world known (he certainly told one of the major Russian music centers that he will not play there) - that Volodos may wish to just be true to his craft, unlike the other mega hungry ladder cliimbers who do whatever it takes to climb the ladder.
+Abram Kreeger Hi Abram, you may like to read this interview in a spanish newspaper about 2 years ago... it seems it is his choice to keep a distance from " noisy world"... www.abc.es/cultura/musica/20140119/abci-entrevista-arcadi-volodos-201401172058.html
Exactly.Volodos is "pure".Not allowing others to exploit him.V.does not care about views on YT.He communicates music only to knowledgeable audiences instead of consumers audiences who have been manipulated by ruthless managers into believing something that isn't there. What is so exciting about Volodos is that it is the tonal idea that defines his technique:from ear to movement..and not the other way around as we can clearly observe in the playing of so many "hype"pianists of today.
Doesn't the ending of In the Silent Night remind you of the ending of Volodos' Cello Sonata transcription? I guess he must have been inspired by Earl Wild! What a delightful performance, sounds otherworldly.
I feel like Volodos wrote those Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky transcriptions in a deliberate attempt to pay homage to Earl Wild. Earl Wild imitated Rachmaninoff and Gershwin's pianistic idom when transcribing their songs to piano, Volodos evidently inheritted this idea of 'transcription through imitation'' in his own 'Horowitzian' transcriptions. There is a deeper art of imitation that Volodos is conjuring in his own music that originates at least in part due to his exposure to Earl Wild. At least thats my theory behind his artistic philosphy/methodology.
Heartwarming and heart-healing gems with the amazing for our time resonance capacity! Thanks for this and other similar postings that help form the “good taste”, to retain the standard in music that is disappearing, sadly
