Bach: Passacaglia in C minor BWV582. Roberto Prosseda, PedalPiano

Roberto Prosseda plays Bach's Passacaglia BWV582. Pinchi Pedalpiano System with two Steinway pianos. Live in Lucca, Auditorium San Micheletto, March 17, 2013. Pedalpiano recital for Associazione Musicale Lucchese.

[@EpicPianoArrangements]

As a piano player - I can't express that while 2-hands are capable of bringing the most incredible nuances and majesty of the piano, THIS WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!! Not only have you made piano music EVEN MORE fantastical, you've managed to bring 3 fantastic layers of piano with just one person. This is a performance unlike ANY OTHER!!! I only wish there was a proper studio recording of this, as I’d happily pay for a high-quality performance of this.

[@enriquesanchez2001]

64 YEARS and I have never heard of this instrument! ♥♥♥♥♥

[@LKemp-lr1ky]

84! Nor I--and WONDERFUL!!!

[@TheScienceForge]

I think that’s a regular piano that just modified to be played with foot. To play pipe organ works without deducting sounds while transcribing it to piano.

[@inraid]

The Pinchi Dual Piano System was only released to the market in 2012.

[@איןסוף]

@@TheScienceForge it's harder than the organ, in my opinion.

[@antiquet3301]

While it's true that this particular system is modern, pedal pianos have been around for centuries.

[@gerardvila4685]

Stunning performance. I took in the explanations of this thing on other videos with interest, but only here do I actually get the point of this instrument. All hail to Roberto Prosseda!

[@sebastianf5551]

this is the greatest composition , i ve heard in my entire live. on piano it s a 1 Million times bigger, than on organ

[@peteacher52]

Excellent! The only other "pedal" piano I've seen is in archive footage of Albert Schweitzer playing one at his African hospital and health centre.

[@davidrodgers45]

Check out the Borgato pedal piano. They make them although the pianos and their pedal piano additions could be made more intelligently. This performance reminds me a bit of Borgato. In fact, I was looking for the name on the side of the piano during the video... Still, a well voiced Borgato sounds much better than this instrument did.

[@georgemastellone5620]

That's quite a contraption connecting the upper piano to the lower one. I couldn't tell how the pedals were connected to the lower piano and if the pedals could be 'piano-forte” or just like an organ pedal. I'd have to look it up, but I believe Bach had a pedal clavichord at home (a good quiet instrument to practice on) which would allow subtle changes of volute and vibrato on even the pedals! I think Albert Schweitzer had a pedal piano at his hospital in Africa.

[@cesarbini8926]

What can i say ? sublime ? awesome? full bach pensamiento ... Gracias , thx etc

[@pietrorantica8470]

Mediocre interpretazione.

[@Bernarchitecte]

Stupide appréciation,,,,

[@apxpandy4965]

Nice performance - but, is that how they get 'baby grands'? Always wondered.

[@davidrodgers45]

You know, of course, that the construction of the baby grand increased after the invention of the "diaphram"atic sound board. Makes you wonder...

[@apxpandy4965]

+David Rodgers I guess that's what happens when people get key-bored? rofl!

[@cyprn6600]

you're unstoppable

[@apxpandy4965]

+CYPRN That's 'grand' of you to say so! rofl!

[@numbereightyseven]

It's an honour to have found this comment stream

[@willwoodhouse2827]

That bar at 11:08 never really made sense to me before as on most organs the pedal part is so dominated by the manuals, but here with the extra clarity and ability choose the volume of parts so much easier really shows clearly Bach's real intentions for the sound.

[@SDGRTX1455]

That part is really heavy metal

[@johannsebastianbach3411]

we need 32' on an organ to make that pedal part stand out :D

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

​@@johannsebastianbach3411 There are 97 note Pianos which go down to C0 & Busoni used those extra Keys to emulate the 32 ft Register on some Pipe Organs in his Piano Transcriptions of some of the Bach Organ pieces.

[@johannsebastianbach3411]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 True dat, the imperial grand is a beast!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@johannsebastianbach3411 A good sounding beast that plays. The Octobass can hit that Low C0 of an imperial Grand Piano.

[@videoDemon]

After the din of centuries, after the dust of history, after the banality of us all there will remain the genius of Bach. Would that anyone of us could have achieved in a lifetime what Bach achieved in a day.

[@Pants4096]

UTTERLY FANTASTIC! I have loved many different versions of this on organ, harpsichord, strings, and full orchestra... but never has the pedal part been so clearly articulated as this! The visual element makes it even better, showing the sheer athleticism of the performer. Marvellous!

[@seamuskelly3408]

This piece was originally written for a double-manual and pedalboard clavichord, so it is very interesting to hear it on a pedalpiano.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It was originally written for Organ or Pedal Harpsichord

[@menialharpsichordist553]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 pedla clavichord was also used

[@nurulmocdoah6643]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 written ossia organo in the text It means that organ is the second option

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@nurulmocdoah6643 It says Organ or Harpsichord

[@susannaakkanen2411]

This work of Bach is so majestic and heart-stopping and I like this performance of Mr Prosseda very much.

[@weslenfreitas760]

Mr. Prosseda you should to use a Bösendorfer Imperial in the pedalboard in order to have a full 32 ft bass sound. It would be amazing!

[@matthewpearson9970]

This piece is tough on the performer. Written by Bach when he was about 18 they think.. Which is him consigning the previous superstar Buxtehude to almost oblivion, as Bach, dancing on this pedal harpsichord showed the world a whole new horizon of music. And on this strange beast the pedals are velocity sensitive adding a whole new layer of complexity to the performance . Take some time to think about the kinds of music Bach would have written if he had been sitting aloft upon that seat

[@philipbay1548]

Bach would have said "ewww, what kind of awful sounding contraption is this!?" and went back to his harpsichord

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@philipbay1548 Bach wrote it for Harpsichord.

[@topsecret1837]

Bach was actually quite the fan of Buxtehude in his early age. He even went to a series of Buxtehude performances out of Arnstadt (where he was holding his first job as organist and organ master) which caused the church there to be quite flustered with him several times for not being in line. His career however started in Arnstadt, giving him time in a small town to experiment with different tonal registers on the new pipe organ he and Wendel had collaborated on building and completing by 1703, and performed with bizarre chords for the time. He left for a post in Muhlhausen in 1707, also collaborating with Wendel on the organ there. Quite interesting that Bach actually helped build the instruments he performed on (Which STILL EXIST!) And Bach never played on a piano like this. Only in his final two decades did he ever even see one, and for most of those years he disliked the piano tremendously. Harpsichord with one or perhaps 2 manuals and the pipe organ were his instruments of choice.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@topsecret1837 He also had a Pedal Harpsichord which allowed him to play Harpsichord versions of Organ pieces right off the bat from the Original Sheet Music.

[@nehemiasalves9312]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 Interesting, i didnt know that, but pedal harpsichord is my favorite instrument anyways

[@matintaraz4236]

I like it.....Its such a perfect composition that you can play it on three kazoos and it'll still sound majestic....and that takes nothing away from Mr. Prosseda's mastery of the piece.

[@AffordBindEquipment]

LOL!

[@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS]

Here's a digitally synthesised recording from 1964 (which sounds like 3 kazoos): audio.textfiles.com/sounds/PDPMUSIC/passacaglia.mp3

[@aimilios439]

@@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS It sounds nice, I like this "8 bit" style, but why so many wrong notes? :Ρ

[@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS]

@@aimilios439 It's because of the primitive state of computing in 1964.

[@aimilios439]

@@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS Thanks for the answer. Still very cool though!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

6:13 That's a really interesting interpretation on one of the variations.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Those Steinways sound very good.

[@currawong2011]

The two pianos...an extraordinary idea, but so obvious once someone else has thought of it. Thank you.

[@ВалерийПостников]

Пасахалия с такой работой ног превратилась в танец. Замечательная интерпретация, браво!

[@Vortragskunst]

Пассакалия и есть танец.

[@gabrielkinzel3389]

Ah yes, the piano organ

[@clodinedebuchy8324]

grande découverte que ce panier pédalier. Très belle résonance des notes graves au pédalier et clarté du piano à deux mains. Roberto Prosseda est un très grand musicien. Merci, merci mille fois à lui pour tant d'émotions.

[@thereyougoagain1280]

What an odd contraption. It has a beautiful tone, though, and the Passacaglia sounds great on it.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Yeah it's a Piano

[@thereyougoagain1280]

CircuitsAndStrings 2 Mr Stern well aware of that. But I’d never seen a pedal piano before.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@thereyougoagain1280 It looks like a Piano but interestingly there's a 2'nd Piano played with the Feet via Foot pedals that activate mechanical fingers to hit the keys. There are 3 pedals (16, 8, & 4) which can all be used together to get a great sounding bass line.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@thereyougoagain1280 That's the great thing about a Pedal Piano, it's ideal for doing Piano Renditions of Organ Pieces from the original Organ Sheet Music.

[@winterdesert1]

Same here, I didn't know they exist and I've been playing piano for a while! Very odd looking. If you're also going to have pedals I actually prefer the bass sound on an organ. The pedal clavichord is also interesting, and I've learned to like that sound.

[@grahamsutton-jj7lx]

This is heavenly on piano! The whole piece feels like it's steadily rising towards an infinite or divine realm. Your playing really moved me emotionally. Thank you for sharing!

[@jonm2969]

Magnificent rendition of a timeless classic on pedalpiano!!!! Thanks for sharing!😄

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

E Power Biggs played it like that on his Harpsichord, the Pedal Piano version is amazing. The Pedal Piano is quite a useful instrument. It's very expressive by how hard you hit the Keys so you can litterally control your dynamics this way.

[@zimonslot]

The harpsichord version was an eyeopener for me.

[@davidrodgers45]

Yes, and much more delightful on a pedal harpsichord. Especially those equipped with Regal pipes in the pedal in place of strings.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@davidrodgers45 The Pedal Harpsichord has that Twanging sound:kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmGUqGuDpbSerq8

[@ProdigyImprovisation]

Wow, very interesting modern piano!!! Lolll. I'd never think of a pedal piano, it is sooo weird! But very influential, this is the only reason why I would accept this instrument as a production instrument, even though it isn't, but it'll just be great & a change to the world ESPECIALLY for Bach's music if it was! This modern instrument will in fact also even more popularize the music of Bach just because of its very unique influential pedal manual on a freaking MODERN piano! I mean pedal clavichords/harpsichords are already pretty rare, Never would I expected to see a modern version of it!! Truly for solely the appreciation of Bach's music is the reason for such an idea! This is why I think it will be great if it were actually being considered a part of a production model or option?!! This will more greatly affect the popularity of Bach's music & we'll at least have more musically educated people, the world will slightly become a better place to live in!!! This is a must!

[@DangerRussDayZ6533]

Awesome instrument, but the audio quality of the video is terrible. Makes it really hard to listen to the piece because of the reverb in your ear. I'm sure if you can afford a "Pinchi Pedalpiano System with two Steinway pianos," than you can afford a better sound/recording system. Good luck!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Why not 2 Electrified Steinway Pianos? Then you have an Electric Pedal Piano.

[@apxpandy4965]

Actually, just watched this right through - again. I originally said it was a 'nice' perfomance, but now, I think it is a 'Great' performance! Thanks Mr Prosseda. Are there similar posts?

[@russedav5]

Very good. 1. Good @ 7:33 having the "thema fugatum" come straight out of the passacaglia without a break, unlike most, yet 2. regrettably @ 11:45 there was no cadenza on the Neapolitan fermata as seen at kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHTbgHyQmdN-mbM @21:22

[@fabiorchestra]

J'avais jamais vue un piano qui se présentait sous la forme d'une orgue !! Sinon il joue exellement bien

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@UC1h_mxi37lC41tDkLFaLEdg I wish I had this kind of Piano (but it has a Pickup so I can play through my Guitar amp) because it's great for playing Organ repertoire on the Piano from the Original Sheet Music.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@ePedalpiano @UC1h_mxi37lC41tDkLFaLEdg I notice that sticking out from the Pedal Board are those Mechanical Fingers.

[@mauriziosorelli9566]

Le Variazioni Goldberg potrebbero essere state pensate per cembalo con pedaliera e due manuali: sono difficili da suonare su una sola tastiera, con incroci frequenti e virtuosistici

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@UC1h_mxi37lC41tDkLFaLEdg You can always use all 3 registers on the Bass Pedal Piano (16, 8, 4) to get a great sound.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@ePedalpiano @UC1h_mxi37lC41tDkLFaLEdg I notice the Pedal Board is playing in Octaves.

[@ZTLChords]

Is there a recording available on streaming or for buying digital of this?

[@iiiiii1374]

Peccato x l'acustica! L'interpretazione è estremamente intensa e le voci risaltano molto bene! Maestro in tutti i sensi!

[@lohphat]

I like the performance but I thinks the mics are misplaced and the levels not set properly. They’re too far away and it sounds like he’s playing down a corridor.

[@jeremyandre3733]

Thank you ! It's like 2 lovers...

[@DieMasterMonkey]

Someone circuit bent a grand piano!

[@kazuhikofurukoshi1750]

ピアノでバッハのオルガン曲とは、ペダル部もピアノの音がする。迫力に圧倒されました。素晴らしい。

[@Bernarchitecte]

Je viens juste d'avoir un coup de téléphone de JSB il m'a di t" C'est extra ordinaire " je lui ai répondu " t'as raison Grand Frère !"

[@mauronicoletti6552]

Seguo le sue lezioni di musica su rai 3, oltre che bravo didatta stupendo pianista.

[@oscarmicheli8260]

Semplicemente FANTASTICO!

[@albertosansi2468]

La miglior esecuzione della Passacaglia per piano pedale. Bravissimo, complimenti per la tecnica pianistica applicata alla pedaliera

[@doctorjazzband8654]

Roberto is the King of Kings! I made a pedal piano in 1980. Using a 72 note Casio electric piano and a DX100 Yamaha pedals slave driving a Roland piano module. Touch sensitive. MIDI connection, no hum or other electric noise came out except pure jazz. I played the same instrument yesterday, (Melbourne Cup Day) at Tilba Winery NSW. Sorry, only jazz, no apology, some of it very tricky stuff, inc Jelly Roll Morton gear! "Vive Roberto"!. Vive Les Pedals! Forever". Mark Whitty of OZ.

[@Vortragskunst]

The pedal sounds imho much too brutal.

[@elrobertingonew6771]

Buona esecuzione. Bella interpretazione.

[@andybrucenet]

OMG. Freaking awesome.

[@adanayup9268]

Una genialidad...

[@СергейКопылов-б7т]

Шикарно!

[@amaniindia1]

AAhhh YESSSS! Beautiful. Twelveth time is the charm!

[@Geopholus]

I love this performance on this amazing double piano ( with pedals ),... unlike many of the other commentors, i would say the distant microphone technique covers everything with a veil of leading echoes, and a lack of clarity. I bet it sounds better in real life. Kudos anyway. i would love to see a video about this pedal piano.

[@adolfopalaciosgonzalez9398]

Yo no podría valorarlo sin obtener una mejor grabación, porque me da la impresión de que el sonido de los pedales tiene demasiada presencia en esta grabación, y además hay pasajes que no suenan limpios, como el de los tresillos a partir de 6:12.

[@vladimirsmurans4933]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@filipi58]

On peut penser ce que l’on veut, chacun ressent la musique différemment, pour moi c’est magnifique, que d’émotions dans son jeu. Bravo

[@paulblake8903]

I like this arrangement, great performance.

[@lior1328]

It's amazing

[@robertgift]

Wonderful! But room to echoey Dislike the pedal notes disconnected. (Should have kept both of our grand pianos!)

[@adolfogonzalez8366]

This is a pedal piano is not an organ, stupid boy

[@pipeorganfan26]

Ya I Would Have To Agree It Is A Nice Concept But The Pipe Organ Is Truly The Only Way To Play This Piece. The Piano Is Still Just a Piano & A Piano Sound. A Pipe Organ? A League Of It's Own.

[@davidrodgers45]

Yes, the king of instruments. Still, if that instrument had been better built and played, I believe your opinion would have been somewhat different. Still, yes, the organ works so well for this piece.

[@resultant64]

true... hear the piece played on the harpsichord also....

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@resultant64 It's a Piano played like an Organ

[@איןסוף]

in my opinion, the pedal piano is in a league of its own; because not only do you have to worry about dynamics for both the feet and hands, you also have to take the sustain pedal into account.

[@eroscristini9706]

Grande Roberto !

[@spacemissing]

Twice as much "fun" for the tuner setting up the instruments! Ferrante & Teicher could have had two pairs of pianos...

[@Bernarchitecte]

oeuvre inclassable comme Bach mais aussi une des plus belle de Bach. et qui résiste à la "vigueur" limite de cette interprétation que je trouve cependant génialement engagée, gaie, puissante et ultra lisible merci à Roberto Prosseda !

[@rodovre]

Wow - first time I see this in action. Wonderful sound.

[@antoninopirrone2541]

👏👏👏♥️💕

[@angelonucellese1411]

Complimenti.. 💙💙💙💙

[@davidrodgers45]

Since this was performed via two basic pianos using a simple Pinchi interface, many choices for tone could have been made but I believe these choices were all made badly. Frankly, I don't see much value in the pedal piano's use without using a pedal instrument capable of descending to 32' CCCCC which means an Imperial would be required which would have assisted greatly in balance and the build to the climax. The pedal instrument is far too bright, harsh and loud for the keyboard instrument. The strings of the pedal piano are scaled far too high in tension giving them a strident and forward sound which is the opposite of what is needed in a pedal piano extension performing a piece best played on the organ to begin with as most pedal piano performance, by necessity, must be. (One must try to reduce inharmonicity so as to bring the sound into league with the pipes of the organ.) The room doesn't help. The hammers in the pedal are voiced way too hard and the artist is playing the pedal far too loudly. (Which he probably couldn't help.) It drowns out everything else. Positively ugly sounding. And this said by a man who designs and scales pedal pianos.

Almost no organ in Bach's time had a 32' stop. Arp Schnitger's organ in St. Jacobi in Hamburg was one of the greatest of the time, and it had two 24' stops in pedal (that is, went down only to F). Gottfried Silbermann's organ in Dresden Cathedral had a 32' stop, but it was built in 1755. The deepest stops on Bach's organ in Thomaskirche were only 16' stops.

[@davidrodgers45]

Oh, I know and agree. I was not clear enough; forgive me. I meant to say that even such music there is no real need to play it on a pedal piano unless the instrument goes down low enough to add some deep color. An organ at 16' can produce warm, and room shaking results that are very in accordance with the music played in the video. But without a 32' octave on a piano, it won't possess a large enough sound board or sympathetic responses from deep strings to reinforce the sound enough to produce a convincing result. It just falls flat on a standard piano. If the pedal instrument had been an Imperial, voiced to not overpower the manuals, then it would have been great despite the lack of a need to use the actual 32' strings. Those strings and the sound board needed to install them adds to the sound even if you don't use them directly.

Oh, I see. I haven't thought of it this way, quite fascinating!

[@lerippletoe6893]

It's probably hard not to do that from his perspective and how the acoustics are in the room, even parts not using the peddle already sound horribly muddled together which doesn't help. Agree on how the tone needs to be darker.

[@hdrenginedevelopment7507]

It doesn't matter. BWV 582 is epic no matter how it is played.

[@armenmkhitaryan543]

Обогревать огромную церковь, чтобы органист упражнялся, сочинял музыку? Слишком расточительно. Тем более, что кто-то еще должен раздувать мехи. Вот и у Баха бы дома педальный клавесин.

[@mustafa.06]

Vites degistirirken gaz pedalindan ayagini cekmek lazim

[@edgarhernandezmanjarrez2887]

Interesante la versión para piano forte. Pero prefiero la original para Organo.

[@Sathrandur]

What a wonderful instrument the pedal piano is. Its only shortcoming is the inability to use the sustain pedal while both feet are in action. If only that could be resolved it would be indisputably the prince of instruments.

[@davidrodgers45]

It would be an appropriate addition to add a knee board to operate the piano's damper pedal when both feet are busy at the pedal board. A very good point.

[@jimsaenger7316]

The sustain could be a second touch option. -Mentioned in an earlier reply to a reply A hitchdown would be useful for those of us who play the carillon.

[@philippeyared2050]

If the shortage of excellent pianists becomes more worrying than the shortage of Steinway Grands, yes, great idea. Otherwise a two-piano rendition might do the trick

[@איןסוף]

king of instruments.

[@איןסוף]

it's the king of instruments in terms of difficulty.

[@JoelvanLennep]

Those instruments need TUNING!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

They should make Solid Body Electric versions of this instrument.

[@bonobo2go]

I like his tippy toe foot action.....so used to seeing the heel toe method used by organists....this piece is just delightful.

[@elton1981]

Bach would have likely used toe-toe method, as radiating and concave pedalboards had yet to be invented. The pedals on German organs were fatter and in-line

[@peteacher52]

+Paul Wheeler The radiating concave pedal board was developed by Henry Willis and applied to his English cathedral instruments during the 19th century.

[@bonobo2go]

As beautiful as this is...for me it's better on the organ. My ears are hearing piano....my brain is interpreting it as organ.

[@michaelkac9158]

The piece was probably written for pedal clavichord or harpsichord - listen to E. Power Biggs's performance of it on the latter to get the full effect. Organ to me isn't incisive enough.

[@karlsonkab51]

a real treat and ethereal in depth !

[@alexmitzakof1498]

Audacioso sem perder a pureza, grande desafio

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

This awesome Piano can cover any Piano & Organ sheet music.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Associazione Mendelssohn It's a Piano alright

[@jh5694]

This literally makes my dreams come true ❤

[@michaelmiller1215]

Amazingly masterful performance!

[@hermanbrauner1318]

It lacks the sent of incense, so much the better.

[@andrearayner6126]

Pedal piano, brilliant

[@PointyTailofSatan]

This simply is not a piece really suited to a piano. ON an organ, you have the ability to create incredible color using different stops, mixtures, and mutations. This piece is written with this in mind by Bach. LIsten to Power BIggs version of this on the Harvard Flentrop, and you will understand.

[@schrysafis]

Karl Richter's version (1969) is a must listen. I think a long organ work like this one can hardly be fit into my ear as a huge organ listener ❤

[@tremelody]

Just an amazing performance and sound!

[@Serkin76]

Io c'ero! Bellissimo.

[@docteurmiracle5899]

Meraviglioso!

[@fenriquealvarez]

very interesting.

[@markenterprise]

Manch einem graust´s vor gar nix...

[@adanayup9268]

piano órgano bien!

[@ifilifi]

Thanks maestro Roberto.

[@a.hoessle6708]

bringt mich zur pause

[@jeannedondlinger5083]

beautiful

[@jimsaenger7316]

What are the unidentified pedals?

[@karlsonkab51]

in the linked video the function of two of the leftmost pedals is explained. There's also a separate sustain pedal for the lower piano. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKHbfmaQacaahrs

[@charleskesner1302]

WOW!

[@lawrenceshuda]

W.O.W.

[@emanuelbach2018]

Gran riverbero di suoni non mi piace,

[@PointyTailofSatan]

I'm not sure if it's possible to really control the pedal dynamics, particularly in fast pedal passages of something like a Bach fugue. A pedal in a pedal clavier is quite heavy, and has a lot of inertia.

[@salvatorecantarelli308]

Chi ha accordato lo strumento?