I can't understand why most pianists fly through this piece as if the devil himself was chasing them. Surely this is a better way of playing it. Love it.
Agree! Kissin is superb, but for a more dance-like interpretation listen to Zimerman in his performance of 14 Chopin waltzes (available on RU-vid): not rushed, a fluid and sparkling dance.@@emmanuelsebaali1767
I didn't talk about who was the best at interpreting it... I was just saying that this piece sped up for the guy who made the comment, might be the original tempo
The transcript is more of a guideline. I would be very surprised if Chopin didn’t use rubato, or play it (mildly) differently from performance to performance.
While Kissin is arguably one of the best pianists alive on earth right now, there have been really many pianists who played this piece so beautifully. I just want to use the word best for true best-est. Because it'll happen..
This is how it should be. It's not rushed or pulled along by the scruff of the neck as some pianists play it. There's grace, dignity and romance in this interpretation..sheer brilliance.
Mr Kissin is simply brilliant, this performance hypnotizes me every single time. not playing for applause, playing for music. It's like he's telling some story. pure and magical
This is probably the best rendition of the Chopin Waltz Opus 64 Number 2 (in my opinion, of course). Firstly, I think a lot of pianists, even with the likes of Rubinstein and Ohlsson, tend to play this piece with a bit too much speed, and end up almost losing the three beats of a waltz with the extended rubatos (again, just my opinion). Not only is Kissin able to manage the tempo, his rubatos are evident but executed so on point that the integrity of the waltz still remains. Also, the voicing and tone in some sections of this piece is just unbelievable. For example, at 1:21, he is able to play out four different voices (try to listen to the left hand bass' tone and voicing throughout the piece) with just two "obvious parts". Apart from this, there are many other great things about his interpretation, like how his legato and phrasing is also superb, and how his control of the notes/tone as well as dynamics also was very on point.
I agree, this is an excellent comment, to the point. When I tried to play this waltz 35 years ago, I was looking for a paradigm in the sense: How I would play it if I were a concert pianist. At that time, there were still record and CD shops where you could listen to the CD before you decided to buy. I chose the interpretation of Claudio Arrau ( I guess Kissin and Wang were in their toddler years, if at all). Arrau seems to me today (2023) as an almost completely forgotten pianist, I don't know why. Please also listen to Yuja Wang's ENCORE at the Carnegie Hall, 2017. This is a very special rendition, extremely interesting, very personal..- Thanks for reading. PS: What distracts me a little from Kissin playing is the very beautiful young woman sitting right behind the piano😉
I would disagree with you on various points. Firstly, Rubinstein and Ohlsson are not particularly indulgent with rubato (I might refer to Hofmann and Cortot for instance). Besides, I don't believe "too much rubato" is a valid criticism as it is far too broad, vague, and subjective. With respect to the tempo, I believe the piece must be played faster. A waltz is by definition a rhythmic, if not lively, dance; that essential aspect of the piece is lost when the tempo is slowed down mawkishly.
Master...!... I myself play this piece for 30 years now and I admire the way he accomplish to hold back the tendency to roll over the tempo and stay with that interior peace to express all this piece has inside, and take it direct to my heart.
Without Chopin my life would be sooo different .. i would have never started piano and never would have fallen in love with classical music ... i want to thank him so bad but i cant :'( i hope i can meet him in heaven and have a talk with him hehe (in 80 years please lol)
Listen to Rubinstein or Zimerman - even better IMHO! :D But Kissin is a great pianist (actually my no. 3 of living pianists behind Krystian Zimerman and Hélène Grimaud)! ;)
Sometimes it's the audio quality that makes the difference, don't forget that. Earing a piano piece in 320 kbps compare to other videos that are 128 or less, and also the Stereo/mono contrast. Many factors can be involved. Better quality = closer to real life (still far unfortunately). Yet this interpetration is still a chef-d'oeuvre.
***** If the audio quality is a criterium you don't only listen to the music! I don't care if Karajan has a "perfect" stereo recording of a Beethoven symphony when the mono recording of Furtwängler is musically so much better! :P
Too many pianist simply show off playing this beautiful waltz and because that they do not put their heart into this very nice piece of music. Thank you Mr. Kissin for playing this waltz the way it should played. ❤❤❤
+Victor P. Hahahaah Kissin is my idol but every time I watch this performance he has this boyish look to him. he wouldv'e been 40 when he performed this lol.
Спокойно, ровно и без крайностей и срывов. Tempo giusto, без больших темповых и ритмических отклонений. Кисин дал возможность насладиться звуком каждой ноты. Многие исполнители просто напросто загоняют это произведение, так поддаваясь соблазну чрезмерного увлечения пассажами что с трудом удается распознать вальс. Мне понравилось. Легко, без вычурности и ненужного драматизма.
He plays this music with such tender care and produces something so beautiful ! Chopin must be smiling down at him from wherever he is . . . This pianist is not just a technician but a real lover of musical expression. This is a lovely, glorious interpretation of a truly romantic soul !
Мой день начинается этим невероятно тонким иисполнением.Я помню его еще ребенком,Спиваков всегда брал его на концерты в Ереане.Безумно прекрасное исполнение.В нем сохранилась детская чистота восприятия музыки.
I am so grateful to have seen Kissin perform this piece as an encore in Munich in early November. My god. So perfect and so much emotion expressed in his interpretation.
우리 트바로티 김호중님도 이곡을 좋아하시다니 이곡이 명곡이긴 합니다. 느무 슬픈데 느무 섬세한 뭔가 이루고자하는데 만만치만은 않은... 인생에 슬픈 멜로디만 흐르겠습니까 인생에 기쁜 멜로디만 흐르겠습니까 인생 그저 희노애락이 한데 어우러져 정신없이 이 나이까지 왔네요~ 그동안 슬픈 멜로디가 가장 많이 흘렀다면 그래도 흐를지라도 한번쯤 크게 행복하고자 두팔벌려 닥쳐올 멜로디에 몸을 맡겨 봅니다.
Always, I find Mr. Kissin so deeply mindful of any piece he is playing that one, like me, can not help but be drawn into the magic of the music. Chopin's Waltz here is one such example. Thank you for posting this.
Such a sublime performance. I love the chords used by Chopin. Unpredictable and yet they flow so perfectly. Harmony students note - rules are meant to be broken... that's where the greatness is created.
I know this is a bit pedantic/nitpicky but I think Chopin is more someone who plays around with rules and bends them to his own will than someone who just completely disregards and breaks them, which runs the risk of sounding harmonically incoherent. You expect to be taken in one direction and he takes you in another, yet he does it in a way that does not make it sound in any way outlandish. The thing is, once you take a closer look at the harmony, you start to see how some chords are closely related to each other in ways that you might not have thought about, how some are modifications of chords that sound different but serve the same function, the use of parallel minor/major chords, how he uses certain chords to make transitions sound smooth etc. etc. As a composer and pianist, this is the type of stuff that I like to analyze more deeply, so sorry for the essay, even though this is probably just scratching the surface
Дорогой Евгений! Поздравляю Вас с прекрасным исполнением Вальса Фридерика Шопена до диез минор ! Браво! Замечательное исполнение и интерпретация! Желаю Вам больших творческих успехов дальнейших ! Слушал Вашу прекрасную игру и великолепный концерт в Одесском оперном театре и балета в рамках фестиваля Алексея Ботвинова Одесса Классика ! Это действительно было откровение , особенно интерпретации музыки Фридерика Шопена! Успехов творческих я Вам желаю! Всех благ! Привет из Израиля! С уважением, пианист Владислав - из Одессы!
Великолепное исполнение. Так тонко и нежно. Казалось, что знаю каждую ноту этого вальса, а увидела совершенно другой мир. Мир гармонии и теплоты. Спасибо.
Only the Sergei Rachmaninoff recording surpass this. No others. Like, no others ( except Sergei Rachmaninoff ) surpass the late Sviatoslav Richter's piano achievements. Dinu Lipatti was a giant, sure. But the Rachmaninoff/Kissin interpretation is far better by sound, spirit, inner voice, i.e. all these things, which are behind the bars and notes. Listen also the Kissin / Sir Colin Davis Beethoven concertos recordings! And you will understand why the Kissin is one of the 3 best pianist today.
Panzerino02 Your opinion - not mine: I like Krystian Zimerman even better at Rachmaninoff than Rachmaninoff himself! :P Also here I prefer Rubinstein, Lipatti and Zimerman. Kissin for me lacks some pedal at Chopin! *sigh*
My dad used to make me listen to classical music as a child ... last night I watched the episode of Poirot-The Plymouth Express and suddenly in one scene there was this wonderful music ... unfortunately very far from the memories as a child, I remembered this music but not its author ... captured by this melody I tried to memorize it in my mind and then this afternoon whistle it to my brother on the phone. He who has an incredible musical memory managed to find it and so I arrived here and I am listening to it with this masterful interpretation. I'm sure I put it on my playlist right away and that I will never abandon it
Великолепно! Браво! Настолько уходишь в музыку, что по окончанию еще не можешь придти в себя и забываешь поставить лайк. Всегда удивляет и поражает Шопен. За 39 лет столько создал гениального.
The little accents during the ‘chorus’ is amazing, just like in the rubinstein’s recording. And I like the fact he uses pedal during that section. Definitely the best
Wow, this is really amazing. Chopin made a amazing piece. Without Chopin life would be so empty. Kissin is an extraordinary pianist. I love this piece.
I remember when I was 6 I was doing the choreography in Russian school under this musical piece, this piece is very close to my heart and I still vividly remember how majestical it was. It was deadly quiet, you could only hear the rustle of ballet shoes. The smell of paint fills the old Soviet room with wooden poles and floor. The clumsy movements under this musical piece were not felt at all, you had a feeling of full control of your body. The pianist was an elderly woman with a Soviet mentality, she was strict and profound. However, when she played Chopin's music she was completely immersed in this melancholic atmosphere. As far as I know, she died 8 years ago in her old Soviet apartment. Thank you for the memories. Rest in peace.
Love Evgeny's interpretation. It is very expressive, the slow tempo helps a lot with that but also the distances between each note is played so accurately, but also the relationship between each note is so contextualized within the piece. Every note has a dynamic direction and every phrase has a shape. This is definitely something to remember. I also love that he plays with so much conviction and honesty, that is what makes this piece such an attractive interpretation.
I like the way he starts the piu mosso... He gets slowly and peacefully into it and manages it to get faster, but just to the point where it's not to fast....respect
It was a dream of my youth: late evening, silence, I'm sitting and listening beautiful piano music. The dream has been realized; Night and I'm listening Chopin. And the civil war is going outside my window (I live in Eastern Ukraine).
My father played Chopin while his foot tapped the tiny floor cradle I was in as an infant just at the side of the piano bench, rocking me gently. I believe this piece must have been the first one I heard. 60+ years later, it still moves me deeply. Kissin has immortalized it!
Every time I feel a bit down, I listen to my favorite classical composers, then scroll to read the comments , and when I see so many people enjoying great music- everything looks better. there is hope -I think to myself.
This performance has been my main reference while studying as I was recording this piece for Steinway&Sons a few months ago: the way Kissin uses velocities and phrases here is SO EXCELLENT that I had almost put down the idea of recording/uploading it and I have listened to it maybe a hundred times without even noticing he had inverted two phrases in the middle section. Nothing musically relevant, so it's not even a mistake, this is to say that the great musical flow of this interpretation is so powerful that I almost forgot what I was listening to. As Toscanini said, he made me follow the music and not the notes. Incredible pianist.
@Ruggero Pilla: Agreed - Kissin's is also the only interpretation I've heard that really nails (or even attempts) emphasis of the left hand thumb as a second voice in the B theme. @luargambino You mad me for a moment, and I actually listened. While not a horrible rendition (well, except for *severely* rushing the B theme in spite of not being able to actually play it just reasonably well at that speed) - it's doesn't compare even remotely to the insight and musicality of Kissin's.
i can totally agree with you, we Kissin was at the peak of his career when he was 15, every critic thought that his talent would slowly degrade over time, but he proved them wrong in 1998 at the concert that took place at the Royal Albert hall when he was 23, now he is improving and persevering in every possible. one day he will be a legend and still be that little child prodigy he was 30 years ago yet better. Kissin is one of a kind.
This Pianist not only plays Chopin very well but he seems to lives him too - what a beautiful performance - I`m learning a lot by looking at his playing.
