I'm blown away by the climax of the No.5 Etude here, he doesn't play it anything like the Horowitz jackhammer - he plays it like you were being chased by a tornado and then all of a sudden you're in the eye of the storm, watching the carnage slowly build back up. Incredible.
Ashkenazy at his peak producing extraordinary playing. He has always shown a complete understanding of Rachmaninoff's intricate yet ultra romantic keyboard style.
Один из любимейших исполнителейЭталон исполнения и передачи мыслей и чувств гениального С. В. Рахманинова .Изумительный Музыкант --Пианист .Слов нет ! Восхитительно .Пианист от Бога Спасибо
Absolutely fantastic! Ashkenazy's take on Rachmaninoff's diplomatic ET is uncanny. He renders them with such strength and confidence: that's the ticket. I'm always particularly amazed by his interpretation of the first étude-tableau: he just cuts to the chase.
Ashkenazy has a huge repertoire, and he plays everything superbly (Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev).
I heard him in Yeovil of all places in 1994. He played Beethoven Op31 No1 and 2 and Prokofiev sonata No 8. It was absolutely mindblowing, pure music making and taking the audience on an incredible journey. His technique and musicianship are quite simply at one with each other. Every student should watch and listen to Ashkenazy not to dishearten but inspire as an example of this. At the end of the concert he had time for everyone for at least an hour and he was so alive and fired up. What a musician. What a man.
It's good to see this old footage again. There was a time when recitals like this were regularly televised - but not anymore! When was the last time we had an actual piano recital on terrestrial telly?!
I really appreciate that you share this. It means an enormous amount to me. Fabulous playing and marvellous interpretation. My favourite music played by my favourite pianist.
+ADGO Totally agree!! :) Thanks man. Ashkenazys recording of the etudes op39 and Corelli variations was one of the first classical CDs I bougt and remains top 5 without a dobut. Awsome to see him play these live!!!
Fabulous performance, but the sound is afflicted by an ugly bass-heavy sound, similar to his Decca recordings...but it's obvious that he liked it this way. Given his world-class reputation, I would think that he would have had the clout to direct Decca to record him properly...
I heard Rubinstein very often and no producer EVER was able to capture anywhere near what the most ravishing sound ever. Some singers never recorded well. Yes, this piano needs some work but not the player!
Русская фортепианная школа - это высокий эталон исполнительской культуры и достояние современной России на фоне чиновничьей необразованности и искусственной "оптимизации" всех областей человеческой деятельности
This man's musical sensibility of these compositions are beyond reproach. They are very difficult compositions to perform and he does it with such clarity.
The one aspect of Ashes playing that still amazes me today was his ability to play full-out and be absolutely 100 percent accurate. Even some of the big artists today cannot play as dead-perfect as VA. It is simply astounding. I saw him live once sitting on stage about twelve feet away. I will never forget that experience. I kept waiting for him to drop even the slightest wrong note. I never happened.
I saw him in Phoenix in the late 70's. His playing is so exciting. I remember being shocked when he entered the stage wearing an old looking, frumpy wool suit and clunky shoes. I guess that was before the turtlenecks. His playing was electrifying, I just had to keep my eyes off his clothes...
@@amber40494 He is so driven, so electric... and yet never makes an significant mistake. His speed and precision and timing are just so perfect. With fast tempi. Seems to be driven by something beyond him. What a player.
He sits quietly at the piano, no distracting facial grimaces, just gives us the music. Such a great musician, both pianist and conductor. Vast repertoire. How anyone can learn so much music is simply beyond me.
Ashkenazy has been a favorite of mine ever since I first heard him ....he was a friend of my cousin's in London in the 1950s. I love his Rachmaninoff..
+Mapesbury100 Apparently he was much admired by Richter no less. I attended a couple of outstanding recitals he gave in london during the 1960s when he was comparatively young and at his absolute peak.
Such a shame that he didn't play the beautiful no.8 in this recital! Why did so many great pianists like Richter and Horowitz always avoid playing op.39 no.8? Nowadays, it's still a neglected masterpiece, but luckily some pianists of importance, like Volodos and Lugansky, actually perform this etude no.8 live on stage regularly. I wonder why Ashkenazy didn't add the etude to the program of this concert.
I heart this music ten years ago for the first time. Simultaneously with the etudes by Franz Liszt. I devoured a lot of piano music, very difficult to play from devil score. But very deep inspiration.
@Gregg Michalak: Exactly, with exception of a few, and he came along at roughly the same time as Glenn Gould. What with all of the latter's posturing. I would have loved for the two of them to have hooked up in a ( play off ), so to speak. It was a frequent event in the 19th century. Ashkenazy would have matched him note for note. With the exception of Bach. And that only because Ashkenazy claimed he didnt have an affinity for the composer. I paraphrased here ( not remembering his exact statement). He has since played some Bach. Check out his ( now dated ) pressing of Prokofiev's 2nd In g minor. Lightning speed. Born to.play the instrument. Sergei's second concerto, that is.
I would rather listen to Ashkenazy. Gould was very talented. And gifted. But not on this level. Gould always feels planned. With Ashkenazy, it always feels live. Instictive feel for the right way to play the music, the ability to sight-read anything, lightning reflexes, a convincing interpretation of each piece, immense power, fingers of absolute steel, a gorgeous sound picture and a feeling of excitement and adrenalin that imbues everything. Ashkenazy's Rachmaninov may actually be better than Rachmaninov's Rachmaninov... certainly it is equal. The intensity, the impact, and the feeling that you have just heard the 'best' interpretation of each work... is hard to shake. I liked Murray Perahia's versions of Op. 39 no 5 and no 6 as they were the first I heard.... But I just keep coming back and back to Ashkenazy for these. They got into his soul. And his soul got into them!
He came to Croydon England in the 1960s Astounding!! Only Richter comes near Ashkenzy and Richter were the two greats of the latter 20th century Brilliant
Ashkenazy's Etude-Tableaux op. 39 and Corelli Variations (Decca Digital) is one of the greatest piano recordings ever released. Here we can see he could do it all, live, as well. Unbelievable. Thanks for the inspiration.