Yuja Wang plays Ravel's left hand piano concerto with Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in June 2016. Lionel Bringuier conducting.
@@segalanicolas5608 Honestly I think she was *answering* a call (not making one!), for the person who called says the first line in the joke to which she responded "nah, just a regular night, playing..."
I just learned, that Ravel wrote this to a pianist, who lost her right arm during the World War, and since then I really wanted to see this concert. It just so happened to pop up on my RU-vid feed. And I must say that Im really impressed! Edit: ok, my bad, it was a man, not a woman. Thanks for the correction!
I actually heard of this piece of music on an episode of MASH. A GI, who happened to be a concert pianist - unbeknownst to the surgeons, lost the use of his right hand during surgery. The surgeon, Dr. Winchester who was a snob and fan of classical music found this piece of sheet music and gave it to him. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ijEiwBLCXeo.html
Until you forget to turn the page because you forgot where you are in the music and get the death stare from Yuja Wang for not being prepared to turn pages for her.
I'm not complaining about it, but am amazed that this was allowed to be worn, when most orchestras cannot have glitter or skin showing. I have been told that my dress was to short when you could only see my collarbones, wrists, abd ankles... She looks stunning, but the dress is different from what most people are used to seeing. Maybe it is because she is a soloist.
bloodgrss I think it's likely it's just there to show that right hand is not needed in this concerto, given Yuja can play some dozens of concerti from memory 😆
martha jane: "+Don Maguire I am far from a prude but she looked like she leads a double life, like she had to go back to the red light district after the concert, someone needs to school her on etiquette, you can be super sexy w/o looking like a Chinese hooker, she has some serious self esteem issues. She said she can wear long skirts when she's 40, really? thanks for the confirmation, being a lady has nothing to do with age." Bravo martha!!
Gabriella Villa it’s not hatred to question something. You’re right: she’s a great musician. You’re right: she’s attractive. What I question is why make music about fashion? Why make it a contest about nice legs? People think this is about women’s empowerment, which is understandable. For so long women have had to play a role, and it’s been no different in music. But is this really progress? A person goes through many hurdles to clear something, to get to a point of great fame. And so much of that clearance comes through record companies who in this case look at this woman, don’t give a shit about her musicianship, and think “she’s hot. People will buy her records because she has great legs. Sign her.” THAT’s the clearance. That’s what you are supporting. And then the equally talented musician who is ugly as sin doesn’t get a shot because she doesn’t look like a model. It used to be that people didn’t defend the elites. That all changed because people got hoodwinked. And the sad thing is they don’t even on realize it.
Gabriella Villa “musicianship, ambiance, and aesthetically pleasing visuals”. I agree with one out of the three, which is why we won’t see eye to eye on this. And I’m neither belittling this musician nor intimidated by her. I question why she’s dressing the way she is. Ravel didn’t compose the piece for left hand and mini-skirt.
@@spb7883 She just wants to? You say all this crap about record companies not caring about her musicianship yet you're the one making a fuss about her fashion. You're just part of the problem. You question why she's dressing that way? That's already been answered 4 times above. End of story.
having worked on this piece substantially, i can personally say that cadenza is hard as nails from a phrasing standpoint, balancing the lyricism of the theme and squeezing in the accompanying patterns, and she just NAILS it. very few do. it sounds so natural and as effortless as if she were playing it with two hands. ugh, she's just flawless.
Thank You...I used to play piano from age 4& 1/2 to I was 11...what she has to do is NOT easy...Ravel was great in Composing but when performed by Ravel he had the intuition in multi-tasking...But When people interpret Marice's Works most people who conduct Symphonies earlier years were tweaking Ravel's works to assure the quality of each piece...Again Ravel is still highly underrated and underestimated..
There is a piece for right hand? And rumor has it that someone has attempted to correlate these two works into a Finished Work...Be nice to know...Thank You...
Ravel, besides composing the piece for a mutilated officer, served as a French Army Truck driver 1916-1918, during the Battle for Verdun, taking up Ammo and stores, and bringing back wounded, all whilst under German Artillery fire...la Voie Sacree ( the Sacred Way) where hundreds of truck drivers were KIA. Ravel was no slouch!
Wittgenstein who commissioned Ravel for this composition would be proud of this performance. Yuja Wang has the technical perfection to express the emotions phenomenally. I am 80 years old and happy to have lived long enough to still experience this pianist
Wittgenstein himself didn't like this piece much, scribbling out things from pages and revising it. So I bet he probably wouldn't care for this performance.
The jazz musician scene has this joke. Q: how do you recognize a bar pianist? A: from the 'strong' left hand, because he frequently needs the right hand to toast a drink.
So full of emotion and combinations of tremendous instruments in orchestra! Her Left hand is beautiful sound and explicit with Yuja’s left fingers and hand- clear! Well done !
Around 1969, while attending the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, I sat in on a master class taught by Leon Fleisher. He had at that time suffered the loss of the use of his right hand because of a neurologic disorder. In looking for his performance of this concerto, I was surprised to find a video of his master class with a young Yuja Wang from 2004. He was a wonderful teacher. Brilliant, beyond words, both of them.
I'm almost more impressed by her reading the music off the iPad... seriously, how tf are you playing that fast and powerfully without even looking at your hands???? also I would be HELLA scared of that thing shutting off or deciding it needed an update in the middle of the concert x.x
95% of the time she doesn't look at the iPad. She knows the notes by heart, but maybe there's the odd passage where the score acts as a reminder. I'm sure she charged it to 100% before the concert!
Andrew V. Funny that you mention this, I saw her in London this Jan and saw the low battery reminder pop up twice in the 1st half! The first time it appeared she tried to press OK to get rid of it and missed it the first time. My heart almost skipped a beat! She did not look impressed at all at the end of the first half. During the break a staff came on to charge the iPad and for the whole of the second half it had a white cable hanging off it😂 you'd have thought someone would check that it was at 100% before a concert but apparently not!
@@amesakurako1 I think, soon the conductor will manipulate the scores on the tablets that all musicians will have in the front of their noses...pressing every time a button in the baton, when turning the page or reaching a certain compass. A software will adapt the score for each instrument and turning the respective page when proper....Is this already being developed or already in use?If not, this would be a prospective big business!
The cadenza alone in itself is an amazing work of art. Ms. Wang and this orchestra under Mssr. Bringuier are in perfect balance and a thrill to experience.
Artist of the year! The most breathtaking performance of Ravel's masterwork! I was so lucky to see and hear it in Rome last year. Bringuier and Yuja Wang - Ravel's "clarté française" as it should be!
Altough technically a stunning performane it lacks the drama and electrifying cataclysm of the Cluytens- Francois or Boulez-Zimerman pairings or Alicia Delaroccha...Not even close.
I have heard of this concerto for years but never heard it until tonight. It is much appreciated by those of us with only one arm and this performance is appreciated by those of us blessed with sight
Can you imagine just playing a solo part reading from ipad and your friend video calls you when you're just about to turn the page, so instead of turning you accept the call, and then your friend just yells YOOOO WASUP.
Everything about this young woman is perfection. Her attitude in style. How the height of the boot heal brings her leg length up so she can sit taller at the keyboard and her forearms can lie horizontally to the floor. How the halter neckline narrows the shoulder line. How the slit allows her movement and freedom to pedal. The haircut is perfect. A beautiful and talented young woman.
I attended in person the concerts (in the same performance, Yuja played also the Piano concerto in Sol yet from Ravel). This is one of my favourite pieces ever. Listened to it tenths of times (and more tenths I will). Ravel composed it commissioned from a good Austrian pianist at the time, who had his right arm amputated after participating in an action of the World War I.This time, listening at the final cadence here on youtube, I have come my eyes glossy. A sort of Stendhal syndrome. Many thanks Yuja Wang :)
When we classical lovers end up in the 9th circle, we will spend eternity listening to an endless loop of our favorite works interspersed with these commercials.
I love the beginning of this concerto, we can almost feel death and despair at 1:24, and then a resurrection with these waves of revival at 1:44. Beautiful stuff
Yes. She can't play Beethoven. She tries, but it just doesn't work. It's technically fine, and her wardrobe and makeup are excellent, but it doesn't measure up to Schnabel, Rosen, Solomon, Pollini, or Brendel. And I haven't heard her Goldberg Variations. There are college pianists throughout Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea who are better, but they lack her skill at self-promotion. Exciting!
This was great! I have recently developed a love for Ravel, and this is another great one, I don't always like piano concertos, sometimes the piano and the orchestra just don't blend, but this was a masterpiece. I think that Ravel's unconventional use of the piano plays perfectly with the rest of the orchestra. Bravo!
Love this concerto and I love how a composition for the left hand begins with a Bassoon in the low register and ends in a glorious finali at the low end of the piano. Very appropriate especially knowing the context of this wonderful composition.
Piano goddess. Excellent description. What a great piece of music, so playful. And her hands look so powerful like she could break a two-by-four with one finger.
She didn't get that good playing video games. It took years of hours of practice times. When I went to UCF I had to practice four hours a day just to get by. I knew piano majors that would practice all night long for a forum performance. Some were too good for me to compare to my level. I had a long journey ahead of me which ended not long after I never went back and took electronics instead. 73
Ah Ravel, the sublime master! He moves me in ways that Bach, Beethoven and others never could. Well, all are unique and wonderful in their own ways! Kudos to Yuja!
Heard many top pianists live and recorded in a long musical life.Discovered her comparatively recently.. Absolute musical class. Such poise and so calm in all departments. Wonderful!
A beautiful piece, written for a pianist who lost his right arm in WWI...moving and beautiful, showing how man evolves to overcome adversity. Still as beautiful as the day it was originally composed. 😊
Ravel most most impressive piece of art. GRADE: GENIUS! And then, Ms. Wang appears, making the best combination of a music author and the magestuosity of this amazing piano girl.
Probably my favourite Ravel, so excellently performed by Ms Wang...who most likely is ambidextrous, such talent is rarely fully appreciated, I doubt there's but a handful of pianist capable of playing this. Thank you!
"I doubt there's but a handful of pianist capable of playing this." Sorry, but that is certainly false. For example, I am currently learning this piece. However, if you changed it to "I doubt there's but a handful of pianist capable of playing this so well," then you would probably be right.
@@ogthekingofbashan333 Jealousy of people's praises and compliments. This also you can't overcome. You NEVER can't be even ⅒ as good as Yuja Wang. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏿♂️😂🤣
The dresses, the i-pad, the way she plays, her interpretation...she's injecting classical music with some new life and zest, which no doubt annoys all the stick-in-the-mud traditionalists.
I think the issue is partly that there is something to be said about appropriateness, like for example you don't attend a wedding or a formal event wearing a bikini or sportswear. Most people have a sense of the do's and don'ts for different contexts and settings, it's about respect for the venue, the art itself, the people present, etc. However for me personally the main issue is that I've yet to see a male pianist doing the same with their presentation - I specifically mean showing that much skin or showing skin at all (if you know of one please tell). I mostly see women wanting that much attention on their bodies, whereas men in general tend to be more sober and dignified which garners respect and shifts the focus to the art, the talents & skills they cultivated, rather than superficial attributes. But hey maybe this is just showbiz and this is her brand & the product she sells, perhaps the ticket price includes musical talents plus extras.
She can do whatever she likes. The world is changing. The world has changed. It has nothing to do with respect or appropriateness. That's all made up, subjective concepts. What does it have to do with the music? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Henk Balje - totally..... not to mention she’s so beyond all that thinking that it’s even petty and superficial to think about HER “pettiness” , in ITself..... she’s, so far, been changing everything ..... has brought unmatched life (and still bringing yet more) to classical music..... What’s even MORE amazing, and in general, (speaking to “appropriateness” and “tradition” if “aficionados” know their history (at all) they would know that GLEN GOULD himself was considered HIGHLY inappropriate and non-traditional for playing BACH on the piano AT ALL!! 😂😂😂 No one, (unless very few) were doing it. Now it is STANDARD ...... standard!! There are soooooo many other examples of this. Anyway, yup..... Yuja is such a wonderful gift to music making. So inspired by her playing , not to mention she’s advanced my hearing and musicianship. And literally opened me up to the repertoire in its utter entirety. Very grateful. Looking forward to listening to her latest recording as well. Maestra Wang is having a blast, celebrating life, and feeling every moment of the music she plays as Masters do; within their own perfection. Peace to all and wonderful musical experiences. ✌️🎶💫✨✨✨✨🌟🌈💎
im for comfort, we need to let these pianists strut out in t shirts and jeans, that's the most comfortable and effective clothing. It ensures maximum efficiency
The perfect unión of the great french composer , the superb direction of a great orchestra,and the Prodigy al the piano of yuja Wang ,makes this recording a history of this Century ...!
Yuja wang ,soliste formidable en concert .Mais gardez à l’esprit que cette merveilleuse artiste provoque une véritable addiction du plaisir d’écouter grâce à sa technique et sa musicalité exceptionnelles dans les plus grands concertos.❤😅
So hard challenge even for a great pianist!!! But she made it! 👏 👏 👏 Lang lang also practised this piece a few years ago, unfortunately he hurted his arm and fingers due to over-practising in a shorter time, then he took one year and 7 months to recover......
Au réveil c'est parfait ! 🖤 Merci RU-vid qui m'a fait découvrir il y a peu cet être humain qui sort vraiment de l'ordinaire. Du coup je savoure à petite dose pour faire durer le plaisir... Quelle femme Yuja Wang ! * pour moi elle incarne tout simplement la perfection.
The memory storage potential of the left brain is 30 to 50 years, while that of the right brain is 5 million years, which is 100,000 times that of the left brain. Judging from her left-hand playing skills, it shows that she has successfully unlocked the memory potential of her right brain, which is not comparable to ordinary people! Outstanding incredible 🌹
Notice the wrist musculature driving her thumb and index finger. Then note the size of the muscle at the heel of her hand powering her 5th (little finger) and and notoriously weak 4th ring finger. Note also the size of the veins sitting atop both of those muscles. I've never seen anything like it. So much power in those hands and wrists. She is amazing.
Fantastic piece of writing, and performance or a very difficult piece making a huge demand from the left hand. Great idea from Ravel and a great success.
Left hand for piano and right leg for camera. I rapidly got used to the leg, but will stay eternally in awe with the left hand. A wonderful artist for one of my favorite composer !
There is simply no greater contemporary pianist than Yuja Wang. Every musical interpretation is fresh and unique, and her virtuosity transcends even the most staggeringly difficult orchestrations. She is a profound gift to humanity!!