This cellist is perfect, a genius! His playing is very human, very natural. Listening his playing makes me change my way of play cello. My friend, could you post the complete movie? I would be very grateful!
Piatigorsky remains unmatched in his delicacy and refinement. This recording does not have the advantages of modern day technology, but it is still an invaluable recording of a musical giant!
I used to teach his wife the basics of Macintosh in the early 90's. She gave me her book and that's when I discovered her husband's wonderful music. He used to be the Chair of the Music Dept at University of Southern California. There is a bust of him in his honor but some idiot covered it in sparkle paint.
The "Batta-Piatigorsky" cello is named after the distinguished Dutch cellist Alexandre Batta (1816-1902) who purchased it in Paris around 1836. This instrument was Batta's steady companion for most of his career, but in 1893 circumstances forced him to part with it, and he sold it to the London dealer William E. Hill & Sons, who purchased it for the violin collector Baron Knoop. The great Russian-born cellist Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976) acquired the instrument from Dr. Daniel Catlin, the son-in-law of the art collector and Metropolitan Museum trustee, Horace Havemeyer, who himself owned and had lent Piatigorsky another important Stradivari cello, the "Duport." Piatigorsky wrote in his biography: "I played the 'Batta' for a long time before appearing in concert with it. In solitude, as is befitting honeymooners, we avoided interfering company until then. From that day on, when I proudly carried the 'Batta' across the stage for all to greet, a new challenge entered into my life. While all other instruments I had played prior to the 'Batta' differed one from the other in character and range, I knew their qualities, shortcomings, or their capriciousness enough to exploit their good capabilities to full advantage. Not so with the 'Batta,' whose prowess had no limitations. Bottomless in its resources, it spurred me on to try to reach its depths, and I have never worked harder or desired anything more fervently than to draw out of this superior instrument all it has to give."
as i don't want to talk about Bach,etudes,accompaniment.....i just want to say that Piatigorsky is a great cellist, i think this is a point that you will all agree on! :)
@aimson its from "Heifetz and Piatigorsky." I have the DVD. its good, the video of Heifetz in his studio with a narrator talking is from the DVD as well.
Thanks so much for this. Piatigorsky was just a name before, now I can see why he has remained so famous. btw he is not playing the Batta. That cello has a distinct discoloration on the left shoulder and this does not. Also this is not from the movie "Carnegie Hall". He only plays "The Swan" in that film.
@farfenheimer Ahhh, you are correct. This clip was not from "Carnegie Hall." I've been doing some research and can't actually find out where this footage is originally from. I've searched for movies with Piatigorsky and a discography of his work and still am stumped. Anybody able to find this information out for me? Also, for the record, Piatigorsky is Ukrainian, not Russian, as some sources have stated.
This footage is from the movie "Carnegie Hall"(47) directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, it spotlights many great classical artists including Piatigorsky. Does anyone know if he is he playing on the "Batta" or the "Baudiot"? I know he owned both, and started wondering after his comment about the Strads.
I suggest, if you're suspicious that bach didn't write them, and perhaps his wife or byron did, then look for writings on the matter. I'm sure people have put forward good arguments.
This recording is anything but "straight." Don't forget that Piatigorsky played at the height of the romantic movement. By your logic, should we all play etudes as boring finger exercises merely designed to improve technique? How about we play etudes (scales even) as peices of music and art to be played with as much beauty as possible? Stop trying to guess what Bach might possibly could have almost sort of wanted 300 years ago and just play the music.
Although I agree with you that these suites should be played like great pieces of music (which they are), they are in fact etudes (and so are his violin partitas and sonatas). Of course Bach, being one of the greatest composers of all time, couldn't help but make great music out of everything he ever wrote and therefore, we have the greatest etudes ever written.
He has a loveiy singing tone but to me his playing of Bach sounds rigid and metronomic. Not very dance like. Listen to how Casals makes the music dance!
Etudes? Why would an ORGANIST write a bunch of etudes for CELLO? In case you are unfamiliar with cello literature, Popper, Duport, ETC. were all great CELLISTS writing etudes for their own instruments. You don't write etudes for someone else's instrument.
