25 Pianists Play Brahms D Minor Concerto 2nd Theme (Leon Fleisher Memorial Tribute by Lydia Seifter)

0:00 "The starry rapture of Brahms"
2:03 Sandro Russo
3:15 Spencer Myer
4:32 Alexander Kobrin
5:45 Daniel Shapiro
7:05 Seymour Bernstein
8:32 Paul Barton
9:58 Kevin Ayesh
11:28 Chiara Bertoglio
12:41 David Deveau
13:58 Roberto Plano
15:29 Tatiana Primak Khoury
16:42 Regina Shenderovich
17:56 Fred Karpoff
19:08 Matthew Hagle
20:30 Marian Hahn
21:52 Marina Scalafiotti
23:16 Albert Stanziano
24:26 Joshua Pierce
25:33 Konstantin Lifschitz
26:58 Rachel Naomi Kudo
28:14 Peter Miyamoto
29:27 Clifford Curzon
30:35 Gary Graffman
31:42 Arthur Schnabel
33:27 Leon Fleisher
Leon Fleisher would have celebrated his 95th birthday on July 23, 2023.
This tribute was conceived and organized by pianist, teacher, and writer Lydia Sheifter. Lydia came of age as a pianist listening to recordings of Schnabel and Fleisher. After studying at Oberlin, she was invited to study with Claude Frank, Fleisher's "Schabelian brother." Leon Fleisher is her "musical uncle."
The original tribute can be found here - • Leon Fleisher Brahms D... - with performance submissions and written testimonials from dozens of pianists found in the comments section, including more from Michael Charry, WCLV's Robert Conrad, and the eminent Brahms biographer, Styra Avins.
Leon Fleisher was the focus of a series of filmed interviews and master classes available in the tonebase video library.
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[@tonebasePiano]

Correction: The late Albert Stanziano's name is unfortunately spelled wrong at 23:16. To learn more about Albert Stanziano and his life and influence, check out this memorial video put together by his colleagues and students at West Point: facebook.com/USMADFL/videos/last-spring-cadets-organized-a-tribute-concert-in-the-memory-of-maestro-albert-s/1074144226789601/

[@mitchnew3037]

Thank you

[@ds61821]

I'm happy Leon lived so long. My mom was born in 1927 (and I have still a few of her music books) but she died in 2000. Leon was well loved.

[@PeterMaleitzke]

It is true, that in Brahms, Leon Fleisher soared. I had the privilege of studying with him in 1982-1984. We always had group lessons. Almost any piece a student played, he could sit down and play without a score. I randomly played Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue one day. He demonstrated the entire piece without a score. He would also spend 90 minutes on 5 measures of Beethoven. This tribute moved me to tears. Thank you.

[@chmarie]

Thank you! So interesting. My wonderful teacher was his student and she speaks of him almost every time. He is mesmerizing.

[@juditherwinneville7797]

A wonderful, fitting tribute, from my favorite piano concerto. I hear this and think of Fleisher's most famous student, Andre Watts, playing this piece in Cincinnati in 1981. I had the privilege of interviewing Andre back then about both Brahms concerti. The Op. 83 was his favorite, but he did Op. 15 well. It is sad to realize that Fleisher and Watts are both departed from us; what a wonderful legacy they leave. RIP, gentlemen. Thank you for this tribute.

[@LydiaSeifter]

Thank you so much, Judith; I'm very moved by your comment. My best to you, Lydia

[@patrickgomes2213]

My Leon Fleisher was Walter Green, a dear sweet man, and bassoon player who had played with most of the great conductors from the 60's onwards. The stories he could tell about how to shape music. His conducting left … everything to be desired … but his knowledge of the music was impeccable and passing on that knowledge to a feeble teenage singer was invaluable. That's why I'm enjoying these tonebase videos so much. It's not just the technical expertise, but the history of playing. Rest in peace, Walter. Rest in peace, Mr. Fleisher. Thank you for all the music.

[@KareemPilot]

Very late to this but it’s an incredibly moving tribute and Lydia’s words were unbelievably touching… The Fleisher/Szell albums (all of them) are lifelong favorites for me. Thank you 🙏

[@LydiaSeifter]

Thank you so much!❤️

[@rhfactor2106]

Brahms had to be a fantastic human to write a theme like this ❤

[@vivianrose6805]

He was

[@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094]

I love Brahms 😭😭😢😥😊☺️😍🥰🤩

[@JWentu]

If i remember well his biography, I don't think he was particularly easy to get along with, especially when he got older. Still, he remains my favourite composer.

[@rubinivincent1305]

@@JWentu Well that is true, he was not pratically fond of Lizst and envied his talent.

[@alejapiano]

Maestro Seymour, I want to express my profound gratitude for the love and the music you share when you play. It transcends to the intangible, and becomes an inspiration for life. Thank you!

[@saltburner2]

Leon was always a favourite - a great musician and a very humble man. If he had a successor, it has to be Manny Ax - another humble man and dedicated musician. Both utterly and selflessly dedicated to the composer and the score.

[@ruthie682]

Could not agree more. 🇨🇦

[@jackiec1175]

For sure.

[@c.f.3503]

Beautiful

[@Bailey2006a]

What could be more beautifully appropriate than to pay homage to a beloved teacher in this manner…I am moved to tears. RIP Maestro.

[@LydiaSeifter]

Deepest thanks for your beautiful comments. My very best wishes to you, Lydia

[@teds4987]

After listening to each performance I went back to the first one by Sandro Russo and noticed that it bears more similarities with some of the historical pianists in this concerto, like Sir Clifford Curzon, for example (my favorite in this 2nd Theme), than his contemporaries. Russo's sense of line and "classicism" is exemplary here and he seems among the few who truly value the term "dolce" in Brahms music. Beautiful and original tribute!

[@LydiaSeifter]

Thank you!

[@c.a.savage5689]

"...starry rapture..." a sublime choice of words to describe Brahms and especially this piece.

[@LydiaSeifter]

Oh, thank you so much for your lovely comment!

[@apricotcookie4850]

Towards the end of his novel "In Heaven as on Earth" M. Scott Peck describes a huge amphitheater, suspended in light and darkness. The souls assemble and sing without words, communicating every nuance of thought and emotion. With this video, I'm picturing a similar amphitheater (piano-shaped, of course) and the souls of the great composers and pianists communicating in the most complete, intense way: music! Thank you, thank you so much for this video.

[@juliorodrigez-fuentes6629]

Moving tribute. ❤

[@LydiaSeifter]

Thank you!💜

[@iampracticingpiano]

I really like how Graffman voices the chords and balances melodic elements in both hands (choosing to ignore the wrong note).

[@justsomeguy7044]

I agree. I love his recordings of Prokofieff too. I prefer his Prokofieff 3 3rd movement to the breakneck performances. He plays the end at the correct tempo and it's hypnotic, not frantic. It is electrifying in a different way that feels better to me. Great musician.

[@quaver1239]

Thank you!

[@christophercurdo4384]

Very moving.

[@jaspernatchez]

cool idea for a video!

[@tonirose6776]

Exquisite. My favourite changes as I listen more. Generally, I like what (most of) the women do with the sparkly second half, and most of the men in the anthem first half. All of them are inspiring me to learn it. Thank you so much for posting this.

[@quadricode]

This is a wonderful tribute, and a many great pianists were featured. I'm especially happy that Paul Barton was invited to play, who is an incalculably sincere sensation to the piano community on KZbin. 8:33

[@benharmonics]

Favorites: Hahn 20:30 Curzon 29:27 Graffman 30:35 Schnabel 32:28 Fleisher 34:15

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

The best Brahms piano concerto no 1 players are Really=Radu Lupu Maria Grinberg Emil Gilels Witold Malcuzinski Bruno Leoandro Gelber! Brahms concerto no 2 the best Grigory Sokolov Sviatoslav Richter Edwin Fischer!!

[@zombieperson3695]

⁠@@RaineriHakkarainenyou mean your personal favorites?

[@chmarie]

I am so moved by the way Leon Fleisher sounds, no words.

[@kkmk9014]

A perfect tribute. I have never met anyone else who could transform someone’s playing with such economical precision, grace, and humor.

[@chazinko]

Feed me Seymour!

[@milesgilbertpiano]

😂 I love this comment

[@Dodecatone]

My favorite version has to be Brendel.

[@vinylisland6386]

He's right, the D minor has a freshness and ardour that Brahms never quite reached again. It was my pleasure to hear Planeva Mangova deliver a perfect, fiery, impassioned, perfect performance of this work at La Roque D'Antheron. Highlights of a previous account can be sampled here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lX2ZkomriZamjLs.

[@geraldbamberger927]

Forgive me for this slight digression in a tribute outstanding in both its conception and execution. I was somehow drawn by this to listen again to a youtube recording of that infamous Gould/Bernstein Brahms D minor concerto performance. During Glenn's performance of this theme, the audience seems to have had an outbreak of tuberculosis. We think of other things when it comes to that collaboration, but I wonder to what extent it contributed to Glenn's decision to stop performing publicly just two years later.

[@watutman]

Smokers

[@dskim24]

Dr. Shapiro, yay!

[@hopeyoulikemostofit]

Did Seymour not let you put Gould on the list?

[@stevendefroe128]

Where is Radu Lupu

[@jonnsmusich]

No longer with us, sadly...

[@user-jj8kg5ef2t]

Julius Katchen, where is Julius Katchen?

[@partituravid]

Bernstein the most poetic, Graffman very balanced voicing; the surprise for me is Curzon, musically unified, one long phrase after another (like Schnabel). Everyone else very bangy w LH and short ideas...

[@dkant4511]

1. Gary Graffman 2. Joshua Pierce 3. Alexander Kobrin Honorable mention: Seymour Bernstein

[@iampracticingpiano]

Brahms' internal lyrics for the first nine bars of the theme: "Clar-a Schu-mann, I rea-lly like you! And I hope you like me a lit-tle bit too! When Ro-bert's a-sleep, please come to my room, and we'll have some fun, oh such fun, lots of fun, and I'll show wh-at I-I ca-an do!"

[@francescodefendi3201]

16:41 and the gold medal goes to…this piano! 🥇 (don’t worry Johannes…it will pass!).

[@iampracticingpiano]

Next from tonebase: 25 Classical Pianists Play Rush E.

[@mcbainst]

Why Seymour? Nooo