+Jenny Mae Yeah, Especially from 8:00-8:45, I totally made up the orchestra part in my head! I didn't know that a piano concerto "solo" can be this interesting to listen to!
The main theme of this concert , so romantic, so sweeping, must be the most beautiful piano music ever composed....... and this solo version with Valentina enhances the pleasure even more since we can appreciate the nuances in the piano score. It just lifts my soul...like the great concerts by Beethoven.
I absolutely love how at 7:45 Valentina plays F and A at the top of the quasi glissando instead of F and D like it says in the score. So much brighter and more exciting, and it feels like a resolution from the Ab in the opening quasi gliss.
Valentina, as best as I can recall, said she carefully studied the recordings of Rachmaninoff’s performances on his concertos. She has stated that sometimes the score and the recording differ, she always goes for the recordings way over the score I believe in an effort to replicate Rachmaninoff’s style in his playing.
Love the triumphant ending of this piece. This concerto cures my depression. Despite at an very early level of piano, I am now practicing this piece. Hope I can perform it someday :)
قمة الروعة والإحساس الدافئ والذوق الراقي واناملك تنساب كالموج فوق مفاتيح البيانو انا اعشقك واعشق عزفك واحساسك المرهف ورغم أن هناك الكثير جدا من العازفات في العالم ولكن تبقين إنت في نظري الأولى على العالم ولك مني كل الحب والتقدير
it's amazing, her playing makes me feel as if i would hear the whole orchestra. this music really leads to forget everything around you and dream. people, love honor and admire this great composer!
Comment from an independent observer, who is a well trained pianist & good amateur musician (not myself !): "..that was truly amazing - her fingers seem to be 10 instruments in their own right. And she's so matter of fact, she makes it look easy! How can anyone make Rach's #2 look easy?! What a talent." We agree, Valentina never ceases to amaze !
It is really eye opening to hear this concerto (a favorite of mine) without the orchestra. So many nuances that are brought to light. I will never listen to a "full" rendition the same way again. Thanks Ms Lisitsa!
This is absolutely brilliant, Valentina. Such a joy to experience the purity of your musicianship and art expressing Rachmaninoff in this way. I enjoyed this very much. Thank you!
Hello , Valentia Lista I am listening classicals you are present about 7 years or more before. I am practicing Piano day and night. I try the best I can, I think I am not look like you. You are the great pianist. All most people here . They are pianist. Thanks so much
I have been waiting for years to hear only the soloist in this and other piano concertos. I discovered hundreds of notes I never heard before. And what a performance! More please!
Wonderful! And a part from how wonderfully Valentina Lisitsa plays this, it's incredible! I know this concerto practically by heart because I've heard it so many times, and while she plays, it's like if I can hear the orchestra in my head!
What a unique experience...with the orchestra playing in my mind and Valentina ever so masterfully in the piano...it just blows me away to Neverland!!!
Not only 8:41 is epic, the whole package is just incredible. Really unbelievable. And great to hear it without the orchestra. It really shows how incredible difficult Rach is.
Rachmaninoff would have kissed you on both cheeks for this performance if he was still alive, and I would like too also....You are a gift from God to all us music lovers. Bravo!
I had the most distinct and wonderful pleasure of being at her concert in Saint Petersburg,Fl. last night, I was overwhelmed by her incredible talent. She becomes part of the piano when she plays, so seemless; her hands are like feathers floating on the keys and then can transform into the most powerful tools of expression! I am very grateful for the chance to witness this live, I highly recommend attending one of her concerts.
I so love her strength and power combined with dexterity, crispness, fluidity and gentle touch when called for. I'm twittering and FB'ing her videos almost every day. The long slim fingers of course help but there's lots of long fingers out there with no talent or soul like that of this pianist.
The ending of this piece where the pianist really has to play their whole heart into it, each chord as loud as possible 7 times for emphasis, is the purest moment in all of classical music to me
I had the privilege of watching this amazing pianist play this piece with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra on July 8, 2011. In the process of learning more about Valentina Lisitsa, I stumbled across this video, as well as the ones for movements 1 and 2. Thank you, Valentina, for offering this very wonderful way to view and enjoy this amazing piano score in a unique, focused, context.
I agree Bucciflash. It's VERY interesting to hear what was actually written from the piano end. We're all used to hearing the complete work w/orchestra all meshed together. It's really cool that Ms. Lisitsa posted these Rach clips. I'm a pilot, not a piano player, so for me it's sort of "educational" to now understand what's going on from the piano's point of view. Great videos!
this are gonna be really helpful when i come to learning this concerto! thank you very much! I may learn the piano orchestral part and play along to this for fun and claim that i've played with Valentina Lisitsa :)!
I saw Valentina play in a small church last night (21 Nov 09) in Alexandria, DC. Rach sonata no1 was on the programme, but at last moment she said she was to play Rach 3 without orchestra instead! It was amazing....Valentina - please put this on RU-vid!!!!!
Incredible to say the least: without the orchestra there is nothing to disguise. As usual in Rachmaninoff this score is fiendishly difficult to execute, but she succeeds. Bravo! One almost wishes that at least towards the final ending a Liszt type of transcription is added to fill in the gaps in the melodic line now sadly missing.
i can just imagine what happened before she started recording this. its two in the morning, she wakes up, yawns, walks over to the piano and thinks to herself, im going to play rachmaninov's piano concertos and just sat down and played. i wish you're music was on itunes so i could listen to you 24/7!
Its hard to find other composer whose wrote piano concerti the way Rachmaninoff had. The piano part blend perfectly with orchestra. His difficult and almost awkward solo part is not for the sake of virtuosity, but to enhance the tense created by the orchestra
I love your Rach. You have the hands of a magician. I think your hands are instilled with all the emotions and passiion you have for the music, that's why your facial expressions and body movements can be reduced to a minimum. Await for your recording of all Rachmaninoff's piano music.
Pura magia y arte, sin duda una de las mejores pianistas de la actualidad. Guarda similitud con Martha Argerich en sus inicios. Pude verla en Bogotá y volvería sin dudarlo si volviera.
Everyone who has watched this has said it sounds complete without the orchestra. A tribute to the composer, and to the performer who understands its purport so well. Very remarkable - I keep coming back to watch this set of videos and sending the links to people. One person says she plays as if she's a Hindu Goddess with 6 arms :)
this is really fantastic, and sometimes a little weird without the orchestra during the many call-and-answer sections. i love her bravery, sensitivity, aggressiveness, and clarity. i feel she truly understands this work.
"As my eyes close over the sun as it rises, the reflection of that beauty burns through to my soul, leaving a lasting imprint where time never enters. And I feel a breath of life return, as you forgive all this guilt that remains. The reason and memory of something let by, the longing, break deep inside me." -jmi
Interessant auch mal ohne Orchester - so hervorragend - nur den Klavierpart zu hören -: schon satt genug der Klang, von Rachmaninow war auch nicht weniger zu erwarten. Danke!
