The Yamaha U1 upright piano's were some of the best of the best and still are a coveted piano. They were built in the 80's. Indeed one of my favorites.
Listen to this guy's version and prepare to be catapulted into a different universe. I positioned it at the fugue, as the fantasy that precedes it, is not so interesting. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QJUs6gRf-Ao.html
Just beautiful in every way possible. The fugue itself is one of Bach’s finest and the performance is sensitive in terms of intelligent and musical dynamics as well as impeccable playing. And I agree with another commenter here: do all you can to NOT be the next Glenn Gould. You are already a star in your own right...and you seem to play simply for the joy of it. How very refreshing. Bravo. (The upright piano: superb choice to display this work.)
@@a.f.4248 Glenn Gould was awesome. Nothing equals his singing polyphonic tone on the piano. This pianist has a dying tone, his left hand almost produces no tone and the recording is software enhanced with reverb.
I watched this for the first time a few years ago and I keep coming back to it, amazing performance. It's so precise and yet you really bring out all the wonderful Lisztian Romanticism. It builds up wonderfully, and it's so exciting to listen to. Bravo.
This piece has four different parts and you play them with only two hands, and you played it so well, I really think this is amazing! You're very talented :)
I've been listening to this interpration for a few months now and I feel I just have to leave a comment. Your performance is beautiful, you use great phrasing and great dynamics. This is a brilliant recording and I will listen to it for months if not years to come.
This is no amateur. Among the best in RU-vid in my opinion, congratulations! The upright piano is an interesting and rare take, because it takes away some dynamic, which makes it better for Bach, but worse for Liszt in my opinion. So the beginning sounds really great, better than a grand piano, only in the end bars the lack of dynamic is a bit strident (5:00).
Really nice commen amgemin. Im a fan of different pianos - for different reasons in any contexts.. one might argue that at (5:00) the sound saturating a bit - with lots of overtones is a great device for the climax), but in any case your point is made very well.. And I love this performance/interpretation... I love how he lets it play itself. The emotion comes across as mature and sincere.
No amateur, but he plays like an amateur. His left hand is completely lacking tone, and only trots along, there is no polyphonic treatment of the voices at all, he plays and learned this like computers read code from perforations inside rolls of paper in the 1970's. This could be an advanced pianist but it's not a professional performance.
Absolutely brilliant, and that opening 40 seconds .... eye shutting!!! 😑😑😑. We’re utterly indebted to Liszt and the brilliant Mendelssohn for bringing us Bach from the mists of time! How the German populace of the time could forget Bach’s music still makes me a little angry, his music only kept alive by the very few scholars and specialists during the 100 or so years of his music’s hibernation! Whether his music was considered old hat or not, it was and will always be ... utterly ASTONISHING!!!! J.S.Bach, the greatest achievement in the history of music!!!!
Interpretazione curata in ogni minimo dettaglio e di grandissimo pregio. Colpiscono non solo la sobrietà e l'eleganza dell'esecuzione, ma anche la raffinata modernità della regia e la grandissima qualità sonora. Ascoltare questa registrazione è una gioia assoluta.
I'm currently practicing BWV542/2 on the organ. I enjoy this Liszt arrangement as well. I'm practicing the version for organ, but quite often I also play the manual parts on the piano just for fun; the rhythmic sound of the piano (fast attack and decay) is an interesting and fun change from the sustained sound of the organ.
There's of course no "wonderful Lisztian Romanticism" in this transcription :-) Both the music and especially the interpretation is artistically transparent in its contrapunctial facture. Ben's playing is very sensitive and full of variation in articulation and dynamic shading and development. Thank you very much for this recording. Give us more !
An interesting perspective. After all, the interpret is the first one to enjoy the outcome of his/her own production, so an upright piano is something that aims toward that goal. And a great interpretation as well. I wish you a successful career, Benoit.
I'm currently practicing this, just started, and having a hart time splitting the voices in my head as I play. This part is crucial for me when learning Bach otherwise it just sounds garbled. Thanks for playing this, it helps me hear it.
This has GOT to be one of not only my favorite all-time Bach fugues- but also one of my favorite piano's- A Yamaha U1 if I'm correct? The bass notes are VERY reminiscent. Each note here is so clean- minimal reverb, perfectly played! Enjoyed this immensely! Thanks for posting! Regards, Nigel from Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
@@bpat74 Yup, thought so. Probably my most coveted piano. Only played 3 of those models in my lifetime- Two U1's and one U1F. I particularly have a love for the tone of the older Yamaha upright's of the 80's and early 90's.
