An Afternoon with Gregor Piatigorsky

[@LloydRMaes]

What a master of the cello! I heard him play 55 years ago with Laszlo Varga at San Francisco State. It was a marvelous program!,,,

[@c150gpilot]

I watch this again and again. I've read CELLIST, and Terry King's biography, for the inspiration. Piatigorsky died at age 73. I started cello at age 74, after most of my life with violin. I've come to prefer the cello.

[@vladiinsky]

Hello sir. Glad you have started to learn cello. Casals was asked when he was quite old, why does he still practice. He allegedly answered: Because I feel I am making progress! Cheers :)

[@vova47]

Smart!

[@terryshirley-quirk7069]

I was lucky enough to be in a master class with him. I studied with two of his students, Larry Lesser and Steve Kates. It was a long time ago, and I was very young. I was in total awe of him, and the whole class is engraved in my memory. He was witty, insightful, and gracious. Phenomenal musician and human being. I often wish I wasn't so young, so I would have actually had the courage to converse with him!

[@cellom.9227]

Hard to believe he died only a year after this. Great philosophy of life and music.Thank you for making the film.

[@josephhapp9]

The smoking probably did not help.

[@ZaddyGohan]

What an incredible video of an incredible man. I would’ve liked to have an evening to just sit at talk with him, he seems to be brimming with wisdom and perception. One of the best to ever play cello, rest in peace Mr Piatigorsky!

[@nina3594]

He has a wonderful voice. It sounds like his cello

[@AlamoCityCello]

Gregor Piatigorsky had a profound influence on my life. Even though I never got the chance to met him. His music making and teaching shaped who I am today.

[@medievalmusiclover]

Great for You!

[@haeunkim7832]

As a pupil of Raphael Wallfisch at the Royal College of Music. I feel very blessed to found and watching this video. I am actually working on Schumann Concerto with him. It gives me huge insight and inspiration. Thank you very much.

[@voraciousreader3341]

Bless your heart, and blessings to your art! I’ve received such pleasure from hearing both Piatigorski and Raphael Wallfisch play, he’s one of my favorite cellists, and I especially love the recordings he made with his father. His mother is a real inspiration, as well. Good luck!

[@MaQuGo119]

Nice

[@culturehorse]

So rich in its brevity and depth of place this short reminiscence holding civilized Man's and Arts' richest values as a enduring and empiracal testament. Thanks so much.

[@monelleny]

What an amazing gift to be able to watch this on youtube. Thanks a milion!!!!!!!!!

[@Apalexpe]

Learning about this fascinating master from the amazing Terry King, his beloved student, has been one of the greatest gifts ever.

[@extrasalt4595]

I knew Terry King at Grinnell College, 79-81. He was in the Mirecourt Trio, whose violinist, Kenneth Goldsmith, was a great mentor of mine. Hoomeyow!!

[@Apalexpe]

Extra Salt Thay is amazing! Thanks for sharing, Terry and Laura are incredible human beings and musicians. I met Kenneth before I met them actually!. I went to high school in Houston and a lot of my friends studied with him!

[@underlinedluke]

Great man, great artist. What a beautiful film. It somehow reminds me of Bergman's Wild Strawberries. The calm narration, the silent wanderings, the evaluation of one's life and purpose. I wish this was at least 90 minutes long.

[@billyhuang]

This is a beautiful piece of history Mr. Grumette. Thank you for capturing these moments and sharing with the world so many years later.

[@Wessex90]

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful film. As a cellist this is something far more valuable than gold could ever hope to be. Fun fact, Rapael Wallfisch was my first teacher's teacher :-).

[@MrArchibald7]

What a beautifull film!

[@valika00]

What a wonderful person, and teacher!

[@nicolotar]

Thank you for capturing such eternal, insightful moments and sharing them at this much needed period,,)

[@luizamsalgado]

A GIANT! LOVE HIM ! Many thanks for this...

[@RoomanJohan]

Many thanks for sharing these valuable moments of a great cellist !

[@lylezahn817]

I appreciate your upload very much! He was my teacher's teacher. I try to imagine the two of them working together & it is overwhelming!

[@florestan8333]

I've watched this for the fourth time in three days...The music is magnificent, but also what he says is so thoughtful and unpretensiously profound. (And what a voice - on the cello and personally!)

[@monahasan3169]

Magical short film, gratitude to know that thinking is an art itself! A Great calm gentle film that inspires creativity!!! Thank you!!!

[@coolxjl]

Such a short video, yet we're given a lesson in life.

[@ivsonmartins7211]

The best youtube video! Thank you so much for this upload!

[@murielrezek1481]

Great celist and man, thanks.

[@benjaminrubenschnirman2292]

Dear Mr. Grumette, Thank oh for this marvelous historical document of a beautiful person’s Life, thoughts and feelings. It is stunning and essential to hear Mr. Piatigorsky’s thoughts and attitude to the world in regards to music, teaching, boredom and more!

[@TejaJaensch]

"A good servant of art..."

[@ovinr3187]

Piatigorsky was my teachers-teachers teacher!

[@karenpomer9891]

Sadly. when his widow Jacqueline Rothschild Piatigorsky, a wonderful sculptor and champion chess player, died in 2012, at age 100, the new owners demolished this beautiful home with complete disregard to the home's historical significance including the music room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Jr.

[@Jeff-wb3hh]

I'm very sorry to hear that. When I was watching this documentary, I thought, what a beautiful home inside and out.

[@karenpomer9891]

@@Jeff-wb3hh Grew-up two doors away and it was heartbreaking to the neighborhood when his house was demolished. My childhood home, is scheduled to be torn down this Spring.

[@Jeff-wb3hh]

@@karenpomer9891 Oh no. Too many people have too much money and not enough respect for old things. Imagine the cost of buying a home in California and then demolishing it and building a new one? We need to preserve our history, so we can appreciate it and learn from it. My goodness, if the fires don't destroy them the ones that don't appreciate history will. Perhaps a petition to government to declare these homes as National Landmarks so the new generations can't destroy them would help save them.

[@mrFalconlem]

Why are you worried about that, be glad we had all this music recorded how shallow to worry about philanderer FL wrights room which no one saw. I came here for the music, not the Room in his House

[@karenpomer9891]

@@mrFalconlem excuse me? Piatigorsky house could of been turned into a museum dedicated to him and the wonderful artists who performed and studied with him. Instead there's a monstrosity of a house built by an indifferent narcissist.

[@catalinadermenjian]

thanks for sharing this documentary. My cello teacher, college professor Georg Pedersen was also his student, and its amazing to learn the same method he taught to his students. omgg so magnificent

[@Lost2024-r4k]

I love him so much, thank you❤

[@kfmiller1947]

These days I wonder about the depth of the human spirit. When I hear his playing I am reminded of how rarely, especially now, it is, that one can hope to encounter a such an incredible soul. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that Terry King has written a fantastic biography of this great man.

[@florestan8333]

Indeed, he was a profound musician and thinker. But the human spirit hasn't changed all that much - we are all much more complex than we're given credit for, even if it doesn't seem that way! (Though not that many of us can express this so beautifully through music!)

[@wpoon1]

Although music is language without words, it deliveries the feeling or idea to be shared by the composer.

[@TonyCello]

How wonderful to see a young Raphael (my old teacher) playing!

[@thezealouscellist1966]

Ah, that was Wallfisch! I was trying to figure out who it was.

[@vladiinsky]

No, that was your young teacher playing! I paused for a moment, thought that it was the italian cellist Umberto Clerici, but he is today maybe 40 years old so I thought, is he a vampire maybe...good that I know who it is now :)

[@thezealouscellist1966]

My college cello professor had been Evan Drachman's (Piatigorsky's grandson) teacher and one day, at one of our lessons at his home, he happened to have one of Piatigorsky's cellos Evan had let him borrow. "Would you like to try it?" he asked. I must say it had a beautiful tone and handled so well, though, sadly, I think I was too young and inexperienced to realize what I had in my hands. Certainly my playing at the time was not enough to do it justice!

[@LNcello]

1:55 - 2:31- "Requiem" by David Popper (for 3 celli and piano)

[@road2acoustic99]

This is the Jascha Heifetz of the cello :-D

[@claudiopescatore77]

Wonderful

[@bogdanprzekop]

This artistic treasure reveals (perhaps) the substantial Presence of Deity in one's earthly sojourn...

[@renetaenunn5638]

Thank you for sharing this documentary of a passionate master specially after listening to Evan Drachman as well and seeing his grand fathers beautiful Cello in life

[@morenamellace3534]

This is amazing

[@rheumer]

Beautiful. Thanks!!!

[@anapastorgomez4444]

rheumer ii

[@lotus92620]

This is priceless....thank you!!!

[@richa671]

Kudos for adding to youtube!

[@galnyska]

thank you for this upload!

[@littlekiwi9724]

How wonderful

[@lawnerddownunder3461]

"They deal with beautiful matters, so they must become beautiful themselves." I had to stop watching and swoon a little over that.

[@cellokeith]

very nice documentary

[@evanij]

Nice!

[@jondesouza1296]

Thank you

[@65attila]

How stunning !!!!

[@vladimirlopez7840]

That cello case was amazing I wonder if it still exists in someone’s home.

[@AlexanderEggleston-w4k]

Its in NY city Met museum of Art Watching this video next to it was otherworldly.

[@williamgregory1848]

When Piatigorsky first chose the cello in 1910, it was not considered a viable solo instrument. Very few people played the cello with competence or beauty. Cellists were rarely employed as soloists with symphony orchestras and almost never performed recitals. Audiences couldn’t imagine listening to the cello for an entire evening! But Piatigorsky developed and expanded the technique of the cello making it as facile and expressive as the violin. He also transcribed, arranged, composed and commissioned countless works for the cello thereby increasing its repertoire. His mission was to show the beauty and nobility of the cello’s voice the world over. It is a testament to Gregor Piatigorsky’s career that perhaps the most famous classical instrumentalist today is a cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.

[@navneetkumaryadav7280]

Beautiful!!

[@MrXiaoda]

Piatigorsky was also a philosopher, a true giant.

[@vanessablacksmith3200]

amazing

[@jonjoe9657]

CAN SOMEONE LIST ALL THE PIECES HE PLAYS PLEASE

[@Ronbo710]

Loved seeing his beautiful Wife Jacqueline at the chess board. An accomplished artist in her own right.

[@davidmdyer838]

She befriended Bobby Fischer and tried to bring him back into competitive chess.

[@erybotond]

Does anyone know the piece played before the Popper Requiem?

[@culturehorse]

Also beuatiful film quality cinematography. What is the outro music, Schumann?

[@sgrumette]

Yes, it is from the Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 65: III. Largo

[@culturehorse]

@@sgrumette hi much honored thanks. Enjoyed and edified by the mise en scene. Not familiar w that work, will remedy that. Appreciate it & hope alls well -hva a wondrfl summer. -nyc

[@SuperHuchting]

Great Cellist!

[@3lptruckinginc216]

R.I.P. GREAT GREGORY

[@whiteowl1137]

Wow,!!! Just Wow

[@duwir5959]

Is the student Raphael Walfisch? Looks a little bit like him.

[@sgrumette]

Yes, the student is, indeed, a very young Raphael Walfisch!

[@dr.greggrove4413]

I can't find a date in which the film was produced. Would the 1970s be accurate? Gregor along with several of his chamber music cohorts were all RCA Victor artists. I suspect if we had more videos in which the artist comments on music, his aspirations, his beliefs, more students would take instruction all the more seriously.

[@sgrumette]

Greg, the film was completed in the spring of 1976, a few months before Piatigorsky died.

[@philippo21]

Beautiful! The question came up a few times already, but may I ask again, if you know what solo piece Piatigorsky is playing in the garden in the very beginning? Thank you!

[@sgrumette]

I wish I did, but unfortunately, I don't.

[@philippo21]

Thank you! @@sgrumette

[@SimonStreuffViolinEducation]

I love how unpretentious he plays the Bach!

[@mireliancovici555]

Does anybody know what piece is he playing in the beginning ? Thank you

[@zaferteomete5284]

FANTASTİC CELLİST

[@tizianomattei4000]

Thank you for sharing this gem of human and musical richness... I'd like to add Italian subtitles for my students to enjoy it, could you possibly enable community contribution for that?

[@sgrumette]

Dear Tiziano, I have just enable community contributions for this video. Best wishes, Steve3

[@tizianomattei4000]

@@sgrumette Thank you so much!

[@tizianomattei4000]

@@sgrumette subtitles submitted! :)

[@tizianomattei4000]

Maybe you have to approve them or set the video to use them, because they don't appear, yet... Thank you again!

[@sgrumette]

@@tizianomattei4000 I just checked on KZbin, and it says that the subtitles are now under review, so it make take a little time before they're up.

[@neilfunk1857]

Can you please tell us who the young cello student is?

[@sgrumette]

Raphael Walfisch

[@bytheway1031]

🎂Gregor Piatigorsky 04-17-2022

[@3lptruckinginc216]

MAESTRO!!!!!

[@ashenmunasinghe]

Can someone mention the piece played at the beginning of the video, by the maestro himself? Thankyou

[@roryyyyyy]

Which piece are they practising at 3:35 please?

[@sgrumette]

Dear Rory, Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of that piece. Perhaps some other viewer can identify it for you. Best wishes, Steve

[@DamianDaminator2012]

They're practicing the Schumann cello concerto (:

[@roryyyyyy]

Thanks!

[@rohanfernandes214]

Does anybody know the name of the last composition that was played during the closing credits?

[@sgrumette]

Chopin Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 65: III. Largo

[@rohanfernandes214]

@@sgrumette Thanks!

[@망히-z9z]

Piatigorsky and Heifetz were very close friends. Whenever there party Heifetz attend Piatigorsky was also. I am sure Heifetz musical taste was influenced by him and also the other way around. Piatigorsky was a heavy smoker and died from it .

[@peterrudolfi]

One of a kind, He.

[@wombat5628]

"Too many people are bored to death."

[@stflaw]

Steve, are you related to Lina Grumette? I knew her very well through playing chess at her home in the '70s & '80s. She was an important influence in my life. I remember seeing Mrs. Piatigorsky there on several occasions, and at Lina's funeral. I believe they were close friends?

[@sgrumette]

Yes, LIna Grumette was my mother. She and Jacqueline Piatigorsky were very good friends. Thanks! Steve

[@stflaw]

Your mother was a very special lady. Thank you for responding.

[@florestan8333]

Does anybody know what the piece he plays at the very beginning is?

[@АртурХромушин-г3ы]

Обалдеть, не мог предположить, что Григорий Лепс в старости будет играть на виолончели.

[@bckm54]

any relation to Lina Grumette?

[@sgrumette]

Yes, Lina Grumette was my mother.

[@Martini0621]

Beautiful capture, home and mix of modern art and music and his tone and taste is as it is generally with his generation outstanding. But Bach interpretations have mostly been boring back then. We have made huge progress since ‚inventing‘ authentic playing again and even players with modern set-ups are doing a different quality nowadays. And then, Bach isn’t for everyone.

[@paulharris3000]

...profound utterances from 1:18 to 2:50...

[@steveg2471]

Thank you for posting this wonderful video. Do you know which cello he used in this film?

[@sgrumette]

I'm not sure, but I assume it was one of his two Stradivarius celli: the "Batta" or the "Baudiot." Steve

[@mishakustanovich3954]

Batta.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

@@mishakustanovich3954 It looked kinda batta'd.

[@christianschumacher6689]

Can anybody tell me when this was recorded? Thanks for sharing this wonderful video.

[@sgrumette]

Dear Christian, The film was shot on 16mm in 1975 and completed in the Spring of 1976, a few months before Piatigorsky's death on August 6th, 1976. Best wishes, Steve Grumette

[@christianschumacher6689]

Steve Grumette Dear Steve, thank you for the answer.

[@ContraMundumPress]

Is this the entire film, Steve, or an excerpt from a longer work?

[@sgrumette]

It's the entire film.

[@anjinsanx44]

Sad he's gone ...a true human being of breeding n refinement

[@goddessfrost2668]

🎶♥🎶

[@ЛуизаМулланурова]

Удивительно, нет русских субтитров.

[@dobekhil]

I wasn't taken by it. But I wasn't taken by anything else either. What should I do? I wasn't taken by anything.

[@sgrumette]

I'm sorry you weren't taken by the film. What would have been required for you to have been taken by it?

[@dobekhil]

@@sgrumette I didn't mean I didn't like the video sir. In fact... it provoked a strong thought. Thanks for the video.

[@yowzephyr]

At the beginning he kinda looks like Jack Benny.

[@jorgewashoreynarojas1790]

This video pisses all over 99.999% of KZbin.

[@derekflanderschang9654]

Yessss

[@davidrauh7706]

W

[@medievalmusiclover]

Another great Jew!

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

Like Father like Son.

[@murielrezek1481]

violoncellist:-)

[@smilecome1]

I apolozige for my brainless commment. I was just saying, no offense. Thanks share the knowledge. But please save your curse. Peace!

[@penelopewhite1509]

No one in this video has very good pitch.

[@sgrumette]

Dear Penelope, Is it possible that the intonation errors you detected resulted from the limitations of the 16mm film technology available in the 1970's?

[@pviola314]

They're just having a lesson. Who knows how far away it is from a performance. Piatigorsky is old so it makes sense. There's ample evidence his pitch and technique are great in his career

[@piotrgach5073]

Very true

[@vladiinsky]

Because its not a baseball video, Penny!

[@homolix]

that bach is horrendously romantic

[@LloydRMaes]

What a master of the cello! I heard him play 55 years ago with Laszlo Varga at San Francisco State. It was a marvelous program!,,,