Shura Cherkassky live in Amsterdam - Lully, Chopin, Hofmann, Liszt, Morton Gould, Mussorgsky (1992) 

He was 83 years old when he did this live concert. Simply incredible. Such a fabulous technique. A great artist.

As a 17 year-old university student and violinist I was Mr Cherkassky's valet and practice gofer at the home of his New Zealand hosts who I was boarding with. One morning after he had finished his 4 hours of dead-slow practice he asked me to go upstairs to his bedroom to get a newly-purchased DGG recording from his suitcase and to play it on the gramophone for him for his first hearing of it---which I did. The recording was of Bartok's second piano concerto performed by Paul Badura-Skoda, whom he admired very much. Before we listened to it I asked Mr Cherkassky if he regularly listened to recordings by other pianists, to which he replied "Almost never." I then thought to ask him why on his present demanding concert tour he wanted to listen to the Bartok concerto. His reply amazed me: "Well, you see, I will be performing it in Vienna in two weeks' time and I haven't played it before, so I want to hear how it goes before I study it from the score". I heard some months later that his note-perfect Vienna performance of it received rave reviews from the critics. No surprise. He had an absolutely phenomenal memory and matchless confidence and was considered by his "peers" to be the greatest pianist alive.

It amazes me that Cherkassky, who truly belongs to the golden era of pianists of the 20-40s would be alive and performing in 1992. Its a total miracle.

The apex of civilised artistic joy, a summer evening in Amsterdam hearing a magnificent pianist ...

Shura Cherkassky was the REAL "Last of the Romantics." I was fortunate to see him several times during the last deacde of his career.

What a pianist Shura Cherkassky was, what a pianist ! One of the giants of the twentieth century. How unforgettable were the times I heard him.

He made me go all funny with the Chopin Ballade. Nobody plays that ballade like Shura

How I liked his LISZT!

Cherkassky was aged 83 at the time of this concert!

Would have been a wonderful concert to have attended. I love Europe.

Прекрасный, умный Шура!!

The most remarkable "Prinsengracht Concert" I attended. Indeed Shura Cherkassky (born in Odessa, Oekraïne) was after Horowitz the so called "Last Romantic" pianist. After Shura had to replace Ashkenazy, every year he was invited by Mr. Riaskoff for his series famous pianists. So I visited many of his recitals in the great hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. A lot of his colleagues visited his recitals too I noticed, probably to find out how The last Romantic pianist played. Shura played works nobody else played, like Hoffman's Kaleidoscope, a very difficult piece. And of course his Prélude Pathetique, which he composed when he was eleven years old. An other reason I will never forget this open air concert, was that in same afternoon a Jumbojet crashed in a flat building in one of Amsterdam's suburbs. The pictures I watched on TV were horrible as there were many casualties and a lot of people were never found again.

Magnificent from the first note to the last.

Marvellous. I was privileged to hear him in recital in Glasgow in the early 1990s. As with the other great virtuosi of the era, no waving of elbows, heavenward glances, screwed-up faces or swaying of body necessary to convey the power of the music (which the great Earl Wild wryly remarked tend to disappear in the difficult bits anyway!). Just the music.

Rarely do artist, venue, composer, and audience come together so flatteringly, lovingly to each other. Each brings out the best in all the others, so it becomes so much more than an enjoyment and celebration of music. It becomes, on this level, a celebration of culture and the human spirit on a broader and deeper level than "just music." By opening with the Lully that way, a hyper-refined, understated baroque suite, and audience rising to the occasion in rapt attention, it is established at the outset that this is going to be about the profoundest respect in all directions -artist, venue, composer, audience- and together they all make it a transcendant event. But at the center, Mr. Cherkassky showing himself to be a giant of a mensch, with the musical talent to match his heart and spirit. And the audience fully realizes it, responding with pure love and appreciation.

Stunning tone from Cherkassky, I am completely blown away by the singing tone and complete vocal quality of the playing. What an inspiration for depth and imagination. Listen to how he gets that Chopin to sound so warm, emotional but full of hope and charm. God bless you Cherkassky.

How I would love to have been a member of the audience. What a stunning performance!

Спасибо за эту запись, гениальный пианист, подумать только, здесь ему 83 года...

Extraordinario pianista!!!

Gorgeous playing from a master of course, but I must say, the recording quality is astounding, especially given it's an outdoor concert. The recording engineer is a genius.

AWESOME !!!! INCREDIBILE....... CHAPEAU!!! 👏👏👏

OMG every concert should have people honking horns during applause! hahaha

Incroyable... quelle implication et quel art. Meme sous la pluie!

A True sound master!!!! He makes the piano sing like a master vocalist!!!!! To be reckoned with !!!! Role model for aspiring pianists!!! Thank you so much for the post!!!!!!!

Fantastic ....a favourite artist of mine... fabulous

How many other pianists could entrance you from the first note with Lully? And what a simply amazing performance of the Chopin Ballade. Never will you hear it played with such colour, imagination, poetry and sheer beauty by any of today's young pianists. Truly this is playing of a bygone age. Fabulous ...

Hofmann and Cherkassky personalities and musicalities like none other.

what a concert! And wouldn't it be great to give a concert and being applauded by a symphony of boat horns!! Incredible performances and so wonderful to see the general public just living life and listening....

wow. fantastic video quality for this old video

Было очень интересно: и музыку слушать,и смотреть на реакцию слушателей. Благодарю, Вас!

Thank you so much for this - SUPERB! Great playing - and what a delight to see such a huge audience taking in the performance with such rapt attention!

Cherkassky shows in the first selection that you don't have to make a big noise to make a profound sound. Delicate, beautiful, and penetrating.

Un si beau son pour honorer Chopin. Merci 🙏

интереснейшие трактовки!👌👋

Magical music, magical audience and setting. Peformed with humility and great human understanding. So interesting to see the effect on such a large audience in such a public space. Hypnotism.

One of the truly great pianists of the 20th Century.

What a wonderful treasure this is! Oh to have been there live, on that evening! Watching it here and feeling the atmosphere this great man created, makes up brilliantly for not being there. Thanks so much for sharing!

A very special recording of what must have been a delight to attend. Can't have been many/any other examples of open air piano recitals of this calibre and magic. I agree about the Chopin - such warmth and sensitivity. And all woven with Cherkassky's humility and unflowery brilliance.

Fantastic musician and a great musical experience! Thanks !

The complete recital - excellent picture quality and sound. Thank you for this upload. I have been a great admirer of Cherkassky since my teens.

The Chopin is marvellous - really special. The guy attached to the lamppost at 19:11 must have felt like he was floating at that moment. Peerless Cherkassky. Thanks for sharing this.

Ooh! A summer evening by the canals - and Shura Cherkassky at his best!

Has long been a favorite of ours since seeing him in Pasadena so many years ago.The pieces by Lully are exquisite-he was pure angel to include such lovely music here.Thanks for the fantastic video.

Thank you so much for posting the whole performance AND grateful thanks for not stretching horizontally to fit wide screen format !!

I like his ironic face at 32:45 - "maybe some people say I'm too individual" :D Really an incredible pianist! Thanks for uploading the whole programme.

チェルカスキーは、ポカリスエット(PocariSweat)が大好物でした。 私は大阪で、２度　演奏を聴きました😊

the f minor ballade is superb... so lucky to have heard him several times in concerto and recital...

❤️

Incredibly transparent playing combined with clever production work make the entire recital as memorable as any I have enjoyed.Thank you, Shura - we miss you.

marvellous

Muchas gracias

Pura magia

... If you listen to nothing else in this recital, listen to the Nocturne: Cherkassky makes it "speak" to you like a lover who has to leave (what magic at 30.17!).

grazie Olanda!

What a beautiful performance and sight ~ Thanks for great upload :)

it's a miracle as a recital, thank you for sharing !!!

Thank you.

meraviglioso

Wonderful recital at any age but keep in mind he’s 83 here. His tone is magical and lyrical. I wonder how he played at age 30.

Bellissimo Concerto. Un mostro di bravura nei Quadri di Esposizione di Mussorgsky, ma anche negli altri autori!

Ай да Шура! Как звучит Steinway!

Saurá Cherkassky tinha uma “ energia lisztiana” maravilhosa, e uma técnica extremamente límpida!

Is this unique in piano recital history for needing an umbrella held over the pianist?!

I must eco Piratebreadstick here and give a shout to the recording engineer. No hiss, no background noise. He must have placed mics under the piano and very close to the strings. Recording engineer, können Sie sich melden hier?

Well, I was going to start my own second session of daily piano practice. Until I found this! Guess I will be starting late. With an extra dose of very slow work. Many thanks for this utter master-class.

I would love to read the comments of some of the people who were at this concert. The venue appears to be very quaint and trendy. It appears to be on a harbor in front of the Pulitzer Hotel. Do they still have concerts there? Dinner, wine, boats, and honking horns - what more could you ask for at the concert of one of the great 20th-century pianists? The interview was also very spectacular.

How strange to do his encores, and then follow that with the Pictures.

5:25 I didn't know John Mayer was such a fan of classical music!

The 4th Balladed i think he was trying to make sure he could communicate to audiences not use to serious music. Strange ballade playing strange as the cowfart and horns like a renaissance burning. The piano tonal variation is miraculous I places, his is personal ! His type are rare even I this rarefied world of piano Megastar superheroes!

Remarkably, this concert started and ended with church bells, the first one from the nearby church and the second one from the magnificent interpretation of The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition. Shura Cherkassky's rendition of the bell sound was as close as it gets to real bells sound of a Christian Orthodox church, which was probably the intended effect meant by Mussorgsky. He caught the accelerando and crescendo of the bells melody and achieved the excitement second to none. For comparison, you can listen to two Christian Orthodox churches, one in Russia and one in Bulgaria, here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ezpPxgbIIug.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MsRYcui-2sw.html

Its my dad really

00:14:10 omg crazy..

What a strange repertoire.

How on Earth did he get through it under these rotten conditions?

have you noticed - noone is checking their phone

PESSIMA ESECUZIONE DEL MUSORGSKIJ...!!!!!!!