Silver Medalist at the Van Cliburn. I believe it was 1991? He won the prize for his in interpretation of Morton Gould’s ‘Ghost Waltzes’, the commissioned piece for the competition.
Valery made his transcription by listening to Horowitz's performances and copying them down note by note. He then performed it at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy (I believe). Thomas Frost the recording engineer who had worked on many Horowitz recordings heard Valery in Bolzano and enthusiastically told Horowitz about the young Russian. Horowitz was mightily impressed and he wrote Valery a charming letter. Horowitz invited Valery to visit him at his home in New York, which Valery did in early 1989, I believe it was. Horowitz was full of praise for Valery's extraordinary technique and musicianship and invited him to return to New York for lessons. Sadly, Horowitz died in late 1989 and the lessons never took place. queuing
The first time I watched this, I couldn't tell it was real. Then the next step was being jealous. Now I'm at the step of pure awe and appreciation. I'm a good musician, but it would take me another couple lifetimes to play this.
This is my favorite rendition of this arrangement for two reasons. One is it is extremely clean; you can hear every note. The other is the tempo. This is a march, and if it is played too quickly (which Stars and Stripes often is), it loses the feeling of a march. A march, by definition, is something you should be able to march to.
Also towards the end I was really impressed how he played the melody and the background part at the same time, which I tend to find that most arrangements (of any song) don't do.
I agree. Not only is the tempo “right” but the tempo variations feel just right, especially the grand ritard heading into the last verse. Also, like you said, this rendition of Horowitz’s arrangement is extremely clean. You can clearly hear what are essentially four parts played simultaneously - the bass pedals, the marching chords, the main melody, and especially through the piccolo sections, the intricate piccolo parts with clear articulation of the multiple dramatic trills. Bravo...!!! 👏👏👏👏
I just LOVE how the members of the orchestra, who presumably have a more informed view than us mere mortals, are lost in jaw-dropping appreciation of this pianist’s talent!
To all that have been asking who the pianist is, his name is Valery Kuleshov (russian). According to his biography, he transcribed this piece (in the late 90s) from listening to a Horowitz's LP (at the time, it was unpublished). This concert is from around the year 2000.
It still is unpublished. Horowitz wrote this but stopped performing it because people only liked this and disregarded his other pieces that he played during that performance. "I'm never going to play this peace again, and neither will anyone else" Many people have done a similar thing but they won't be 100 percent right
The first time I ever heard this was on the radio and I became convinced it must be a duet. How could just one pair of hands hit all those notes ? I was astonished to find out it is played by just one pianist. It must be one of the most challenging pieces in the whole classical repertoire
I was searching for "video of horowitz playing stars and stripes forever" and couldn't find a copy. I have been dying to see what his fingers were doing in an arrangement that clearly needs three hands to play. Thanks be to God this guy figured it out. My understanding was that another pianist had done so during Horowitz's life and he never forgave him.
More than three voices... Bass, accompaniment, counterpoint melody (trombone), main melody, piccolo descant. The piano/keyboard is the superior instrument. I'm totally not biased.
Most impressive part of the video? Adjusting those glasses at 3:05. For real, though. I wonder if the orchestra knew about the performance prior to that day. I'm sure they knew, but maybe he didn't practice with them during rehearsals? Some of those reactions are as though it's the first time seeing him play.
By the way the audience is clapping at the beginning, it may have been an encore. So the orchestra most likely never heard him play it during rehearsal.
Yes, I think that just at the beginning, you can see that the pianist is actually returning to the stage for an encore call, so it might have been just as much of a surprise and a treat for the orchestra as for the audience. You can see that some of them, no doubt masters of their own instruments, are absolutely mesmerized at the performance.
Casey Rivera Volodos' is quite impressive indeed! Nevertheless, I consider that this guy's interpretation is musically richer in terms of expression and tempo! Thanks for your opinion Casey!
Kyle Peterson I am actally a he hahaha! On one side, you are right: in my humble opinion, Horowitz's transcription is the best I have heard so far. On the other side, I think this guy's interpretation is more expressive and full of color compared to Volodo's which plays it too fast from beginning to end. Thanks for commenting!
If you youtube the original version by Horowitz you'll hear the best version, in my humble opinion...this guy, while very good is no match for Horowitz. The 'voices' in the second half are incredible. Also, Horowitz is smoother overall. Enjoy!
WOW! I have never seen this played with anything less than 4 hands and many times with 8 hands on two pianos. Amazing, simply amazing. My mind could never think fast enough to move my hands that fast to play those notes, LOL!
Wow!!! What a brilliant pianist! What a majestic performance!!! Performed better than any I have heard play this masterpiece before! It makes it even more sweeter being a Russian pianist!!! I love it!!!
To all who wonder, this concerto took place in Sr. Petersburg on 16'Jun'2000. Kuleshov played this encore after playing Rachmaninov's Concerto no. 3 Op. 30. There is a video of the full performance in Kuleshov's RU-vid channel.
2:03 In this part appear the most iconic part of music in the history of the Argentina TV because this part of the song was used by Cronica Tv for show the news in the program
Dmitry Krivonosov Absolutely! He plays with passion, force and humour. Great player. Используйте свои пальцы как гром Ispol'zuyte svoi pal'tsy kak grom!
Thank you for the attribution. I see that Valery Kuleshov is an "Artist in Residence" at the University of Central Oklahoma. He's bound to make his way to Carnegie Hall sometime.
Indudablemente que demostró ser un gran pianista ya que organizó toda la composición en un solo instrumento con sus dos manos a tres y hasta cuatro voces con una magistral seguridad como todo un gran pianista. No sé si alguien notó que al inicio me pareció algo Chopianesco que le quitaba un poco el aire de Marcha, si tiene sus partes chopaniescas pero no obstante estuvo espléndido, magistral, irrepetible, irrefutable. Le plus 👏👏👏👏👏👏
@pianoenthusiast11 - Rach III....I was there.... and lucky to get a seat as there was standing room only in this great concert hall... Concert was a huge success .as Kuleshov is extremely popular in St. Petersburg....
I like this performance. The artist played at a slower tempo than one often hears (not that this is too slow), and in return he gained crispness. In the "piccolo" sections you can hear every note, clear as crystal. Also in favor of the slower tempo is the fact that this is a march.
there was a snort snippet of him playing part of the intro when Mike Wallace interviewed him for 60 Minutes in the late 1970s, I think. He demurred, but Wallace got him to play a few bars. There are of course recordings of Horowitz performing it but no full videos that I know of. But I could be wrong . . .
