Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit, May 20 1960 Prague.

No copyright infringement is intended, if any still exists. Posted solely for the artistic exposure of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli's performance of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit May 20th 1960, Prague, Rudolfinum ( The House of Artists )

[@vurria123]

We are fortunate to hear this. A miracle. One of the highest moments in the classical piano, post-WWII. Imagine being in the audience, in a small theatre with such good acoustics.

[@ninjaassassin27]

As a piano technician, I am astounded by how well this piano is tuned. It could not possibly be better.

[@ninjaassassin27]

One of the very few who actually deserve such work.

[@wayneclark3020]

Agree totally. And The sound engineer deserves a medal for so faithfully capturing this performance.

[@pietropertot9249]

L'arte ha conosciuto grandi, grandissimi pianisti, Benedetti Michelangelo è stata una meteora, un diamante proveniente da un 'altro pianeta

[@LUCASANNAsannadoremifasol]

...Non era di questo mondo....Impossibile!!!!!! ....È IMPOSSIBILE OGNI CONFRONTO....

[@wayneclark3020]

This is so overwhelming not just for being a technically brilliant performance but the fact that it was sooo well recorded. Hard to believe this was from 1960. This sound engineer was a genius!

[@MathieuPrevot]

We have *much much better* recordings from Horowitz at Cargnegie hall, in his historial return, though it's few years later, or, before, like his Scarlatti sonatas.

[@OrbiliusMagister]

Non riesco a spiegarmi bene, ma il senso ritmico di questa esecuzione è unico, tale da far sembrare altre interpretazioni "inesatte": non è troppo meccanico alla Prokofev né troppo liquido alla Chopin.

[@silvio2869]

Ottima osservazione. Michelangeli, a mio parere, rende perfettamente l'idea del Gaspard come la versione novecentesca del mephistowaltz di Liszt.

[@allemande_]

Out of this world..

[@tomtriffid]

He was a wonderful, wonderful pianist. If one has any quibble with this performance, it would be that his Le Gibet seems rushed, and taking it at that fast pace rather undoes the feeling of dread that should attach to the piece.

[@auerod]

The 1959 London is close but this is the greatest Gaspard of them all. The lines and voices are so clean and clear and effortless that it takes your breath away. There is not one hint of technical difficulties. Michelangeli is all about pure music making. Simply extraordinary!

[@SELMER1947]

+auerod 100% agree with you... In Ravel and Debussy (and for me in Chopin too) , Michelangeli is alone at the top of the Everest, very far in front of all other pianists...

[@auerod]

+Yo Shi (yoshi's story) He really is misunderstood. It took me a long time. It's so tough with ABM because his recording output is comparably limited but he's one of the greatest Chopin interpreters IMO. My favorite Chopin recording is his 2nd Sonata performance from Tokyo 1973 and still to this day, I have trouble listening to any other performance. They just don't have the polish, the dark soul and pain of this particular performance. His 1966 Carnegie Hall 2nd Scherzo performance is ridiculously good, absolutely scintillating. And I can go on and on about his Chopin.

[@ianm8137]

I forget this is piano when ABM plays.....there is only the music !!!!!!!! Brilliance without equal...Maestro is hardly an adequate description for this concert.....Scarbo is beyond comparison....

[@silvio2869]

@@auerod listen his performance live in Arezzo, 1952. Very dark

[@alcyonecrucis]

They didn't know whether to clap! ;) great ending Ravel

[@geoffbrown9054]

My teacher in Prague knew ABM and always told us that this formidable technical power was kept up by solid practising of the basics, a lesson for us all.

[@johnpearcey]

Interesting. My piano teacher said ABM rarely practiced at all and spent more time with his girlfriend.

[@thepianocornertpc]

@@johnpearcey How did he know that?

[@johnpearcey]

@@thepianocornertpc He got to know ABM very well personally having studied under him for some time in Italy.

[@johnpearcey]

@Themis Anthony Lindsay

[@johnpearcey]

@Themis "The Maestro", not master. You should surely know that.

[@francescoterlizzi1710]

La migliore interpretazione di Ravel in assoluto

[@EmptyVee00000]

Dopo Ashkenazy!

[@silvio2869]

​@@EmptyVee00000 dopo ciardulli

[@randmgenericname5077]

They were holding their coughs until the end of ondine...

[@Tom-iv5pw]

Best Ondine ever, hands down. The section of the descending triplets at the climax is simply incomparable. I've listened to so many recordings of so many different pianists, and none come close to that pristine sound. Perhaps the closest to do this is Martha, but I think her interpretation fails to balance the bass notes (in her version, they are either difficult to hear or completely dominate the sound). Absolutely masterful work by Michelangeli.

[@pianopera]

Breathtaking!

[@bachopinbee5991]

His Gibet is just Platinum level! So consistent, and imaginative...as for The Scarbo, l still understand more Lucas Debargue's musical architecture

[@johnpearcey]

I have had this recording for 35 years. But I never knew when and where it was recorded. Simply the best ever rendition of Gaspard by light years.

[@voraciousreader3341]

........in your opinion. Classical music isn’t a horse race with clear winners and losers.

[@johnpearcey]

@@voraciousreader3341 As my piano teacher used to say, you can't teach taste.

[@voraciousreader3341]

@@johnpearcey Well, then! You’ve been told!

[@johnpearcey]

@@voraciousreader3341 And my piano teacher was a pupil of Michelangeli.

[@christophera3330]

@@voraciousreader3341 Good reply. I am fed up with these supposed "cultured" people ranking performances and the resorting to ad hominem when confronted with it.

[@alessandrodelmonte5765]

"L' Altissimo poeta" della Musica.

[@Lquark]

Best interpretation of Gaspard de la Nuit.

[@nope5426]

lol

[@catherinevidor6181]

After Sanson François

[@daniele8716]

G . Vidor You mean Samson, I presume. I do not agree with you and at least technically speaking this is much more astounding in terms of control and precision ( though I like the first recording by the French pianist too). Remember, this is a live! In a studio things are very different.

[@catherinevidor6181]

Daniele I mean spirit, not technique. Samson was not a « technician » . And technique is difficult to appreciate ( piano, recording, etc...)

[@ezralowery7915]

Ondine - 0:00 Le Gibet - 5:28 Scarbo - 10:38

[@AsrielKujo]

The stories beneath these three pieces are just breathtaking... Thank you for your time!

[@fullerpianostudio4891]

Michelangeli...truly another level. Absolutely sublime!

[@mirandac8712]

You forget about the technique, so you're free to consider the ideas -- or more precisely, you're free to consider ABM's ideas about Ravel. And I love how it's in Prague. Michelangeli is such a sensitive artist that it's possible he's channeling the unique spirit of Prague (among other things the first place in the world to understand Mozart).

[@geuros]

interesting... but like almost every place in the world, the "modern consumption society" has conquered even Prague... if you go to the Rudolfinum for a concert now, you will meet a lot of people, that don't bother themselves with turning their phones off, they cough like they were going to die because of TBC in the next week... sorry, that's the biggest of today's world, it's a big issue. If we go a bit down in the importance of our problems, and start discussing what we like, the performance of ABM, then... hats down to his technique, playing Ondine in less than 5:30, oh my... ok, he made some mistakes, but who cares. He's straight, no rubato, just dry, hard, "dure" Ravel. Michelangeli himself developed and played this piece differently in different stages of his live, but that technique... I think he had to sacrifice a lot, he was something like today's prodigious asian pianists who play chopin's etudes at the age of 13. He, ABM, reportedly played this piece, the Gaspard de la Nuit, for the composer himself, at the age of 15!!!!! And Ravel said after that performance, that it was exactly the way he would his piece to played... That is something. We can adore Pogorelich version e.g. (I love his staccato in the ostinato around 1:40 of his interpretation), but unless we hear that performance of ABM when he was 15, I guess we aren't able to discover the preffered interpretation of Ravel himself. Or except, he was really gifted composer and he knew exactly, what he wanted, and he wrote everything into sheets, so if you respect his tempos, his notes, and maybe if you do only what he wrote and nothing over that (no rubato when there's no rubato), maybe then you play it as he wanted. Of course, Pogorelich's slight rubatos make it a lot different, but still I think top 2 performance... One thing is for sure - I wouldn't argue with Ravel about the way HE wanted this piece to be played :)

[@mirandac8712]

geuros WOW. I did not know that ABM played it for Ravel. Per your other points, spot on. :(

[@geuros]

***** I read my comment again and I did many mistakes, sorry for that, I hope it is understandable. I didn't search for that information about ABM playing for mr. MR ( :D ), but a few years ago there was a channel of the Czech Radio (kind of equivalent to BBC, except it has no TV channels), that channel was called The Academy, and it was a reflection over several interpretations of a chosen piece of music by respective artists (meaning each recording played by different artist), it was led by one of piano legends, Ivan Moravec (requiescat in pacem). On one evening, he was playing recordings of the Gaspard de la Nuit by ABM and by Samson Francois and then he said that information about ABM playing for mr. Ravel at the age of 15. I could find that one for you, but you wouldn't understand since it was in Czech.

[@mirandac8712]

geuros Perfectly understandable. Moravec's one of my favorites, by the way. I like his Beethoven 4 with Brüggen. I'm pretty old school, I guess -- I like Kempff, ABM, Moravec, definitely Gould and above all (ALL) Gilels. It's very difficult to deal with "American" musicians (I do categorize most of those with big world careers as American, since America took over the world) who have such skill but essentially no personality and nothing to say -- I saw the NYPO last night, dreadful. As in film and literature, Eastern and Central Europe provides a definite resistance, and it doesn't only come from Russia!

[@geuros]

heh, I found it. Ravel said after listening "Like this, this is the way I want it to be played, like painted on the glass" :)

[@kristiandelcantero]

how long do you think he practiced the right hand beginning chords for? a) all of eternity b) none, because he is the creator himself

[@user-ep4mb3bb8r]

Answer is a AND b... ☺

[@Dancingjulien]

assolutamente incomparabile

[@fulviojommelli6193]

Didatticamente sì. Cioè, ABM ti fa sembrare le composizioni difficili - come questa - non più difficili di come lo sono già.

[@silvio2869]

Praga doveva essere di magica, mistica ispirazione se sia Michelangeli che Richter vi hanno suonato in una così incredibile maniera

[@fulviojommelli6193]

Davvero un peccato che ABM non abbia inciso questa composizione con la Deutsche. Era troppo severo con sé stesso. Comunque immenso.

[@giovanniberetta8039]

Le leggende bisogna saperle costruire. Forse non avremmo la fortuna di ascoltare questo oggi con una versione ufficiale a confronto. I dischi DDG sono vent'anni dopo. L'evoluzione dell'artista è legittima.

[@fulviojommelli6193]

@@giovanniberetta8039 Hai avuto l'abilità di trovare un punto debole nel mio commento favorevole per potermi contraddire. Ti hanno pagato per fare quest'operazione?

[@giovanniberetta8039]

Nessun punto debole, anch'io spiavo l'uscita di un eventuale nuovo disco DDG. dopo la sonata di Schubert con le ballate di Brahms, ma, niente fino ad un ultimo secondo libro dei preludi di Debussy. Ecco perché, non appagato, si cercano queste registrazioni che testimoniano di una storia più lontana.

[@antoniocoppola7644]

Un brano diabolico eseguito da un angelo.

[@MathieuPrevot]

Recordings are protected for 50 years, so this one is in public domain since 2010.

[@jasperpabroa4737]

Good Lord this was haunting

[@Matthan678]

A torrent of savagery wrapped in liquid black and gold.

[@alessandro6024]

Esecuzione celestiale 😎

[@Paolo00ism]

Divina.

[@michele4078]

This is insane, who is playing is not an human, this is more than miracle, this is God on piano. Nobody can do it, nobody nobody, this is God.

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

The brutal Hacker ABM.The real Gods of the piano. Better piano sound players .A.Rubinstein E.Gilels W.Kempff R.Lupu. More genius than ABM V.Horowitz G.Sokolov M.Pletnev D.Lipatti And so on

[@silvio2869]

@@RaineriHakkarainen tarapia tapioco

[@andreasneumann]

Incredibly organic and fine.

[@Paolo00ism]

Irraggiungibile.

[@charlespehlivanian4799]

Really superb. I wish he had recorded Ravel's entire catalog after hearing this. I can't decide if I prefer this or Perlemuter.

[@thepianocornertpc]

Perlemuter? Very good but not on a par with ABM. Samson Francois might take that honour.

[@davidsheriff9274]

It's nice to see someone giving some love to Vladimir Perlemutter, he is my favorite interpreter of Ravel's music. Have you heard Pascal Roge,he plays a lot of Ravel and he is also wonderful.

[@notediclasse]

Sublime!

[@philipterzian4581]

I always grade 'Gaspard' by 7:10-7:50. Alpha-plus.

[@felleg4737]

love that A octave-split instead of G at 3:24 :D happens with the greatest perfectionists too.

[@testamatteo20]

Felleg 4 i

[@dennischiapello7243]

Can you explain a little more what you mean? I can't hear it in the torrent of arpeggios, and I'm not sure I see it in the score. Thanks!

[@julianereinheimer1999]

Breathtaking

[@enzomanueldelloglio1595]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3K1aZWmq6ehfM0 In questo video parliamo di questo gioiellino di Ravel ispirato all’omonimo Gaspard de la Nuit di Aloysius Bertrand. Vedremo come Bertrand ha rubato questa raccolta di poemi al Diavolo in persona👹, di come la critica lo abbia sempre snobbato e come Ravel con questo capolavoro abbia contribuito alla sua rivalutazione alla faccia dei critici d’arte ❤️

[@Seabass901]

At 11:21 where he just STABS it... Never heard anyone do that part like that before. Super cool. I think it fit well and set up the transition to the next part perfectly.

[@themagicducc2777]

right! i can’t even imagine what that would look like if i watched him do it like that

[@wolfgangwagner4484]

Wonderful ondine

[@rosariotorrisi1764]

Un incanto!

[@ronl7131]

Majestic Artistry……wish ABM had a broader repertoire. But what an Artist.

[@TreasureX7]

Скарбо.

[@1947laurence]

❤

[@betelgeuseromanee-conti162]

ミケランジェリがくる。

[@julia-hj8rb]

Magnifico Scarbo!

[@giovannifosco7272]

Idk why this sound like a midi

[@pineapple7024]

It doesn’t

[@thomasthompson6378]

Ravel would have criticized Michelangeli for taking the middle movement -- Le Gibet -- so fast. Michelangeli can be forgiven, however, as many other pianists make the same error. The complaint seems to be that playing it as slowly as Ravel wanted was to make the piece undramatic. I think, however, that the failure to take the piece quite slowly destroys the sense of dread clearly evident in the piece as Ravel wrote it.

[@degoylucien1423]

La question du "juste" tempo du Gibet me semble un faux problème. ABM a joué cette pièce durant toute sa vie en adoptant des tempi très différents, Ravel les aurait-il trouvés trop rapides ou au contraire trop lents? Peu importe. Ce qui compte ,c'est la puissance d'évocation dramatique que chaque interprétation est capable de restituer. Dans chacune de ses interprétations ABM nous hisse au panthéon du piano .

[@jukeh]

According to his pupil Ivan Moravec, the teenaged Michelange played this for Ravel, who found it an ideal reading.

[@ambergrainbaking]

How do you know what Ravel would have done or thought?

[@maetes54]

You seem to know Ravel personally, lol.

[@purrrpurr9365]

@@ambergrainbaking Because Ravel said himself that one can not play Le Gibet to slow

[@jackcurley1591]

Michelangeli was a fuckin beast

[@MartyNemko1]

As much as I like this, I like Martha Argerich's better: The gibet in slower and more mysterious, and throughout she seems to have more feeling.

[@daniele8716]

Marty Nemko Argerich (who was for a short period of time a pupil of Michelangeli and certainly studied this piece with him) adds a certain romantic touch. Michelangeli is more abstract and looks forward, not backwards.

[@EmptyVee00000]

I like Ashkenazy's the most.

[@twangbarfly]

Agreed - great as this is, I love the pervasive mystery in Martha Argerich's more pensive studio version. But it was a studio version...

[@accs4]

I like his Ravel better than his Debussy

[@megistes]

Je suis admiratif de sa technique et de sa maîtrise qui malheureusement détruisent toutes les nuances et émotions de l'œuvre...

[@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094]

??? Wtf