Berezovsky plays Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No. 1

[@pjm5660]

The amazing thing is to realize that Liszt could play and compose this in the middle of the 19th century when pretty much only he could play it. now we have wonderful pianists like Berezovsky who are able to bring this incredible music to live performances all over the world.

[@umegghju]

E Thalberg, Chopin, Alkan? Solo per citare Parigi/la Francia.

[@amcity-nu7vs]

@@umegghjuils étaient forts en art, les français, à l’époque.

[@JNieves1986]

back in school i used to live and breath this piece hoping someday i could play it.. Berezovsky just inspired me all over again

[@izzyvilens9559]

Nice

[@katttttt]

And have you played it ;)

[@tedsta485]

It's the obsession of my life

[@5stringofFernandoSor]

That was so lovely. Such expression on his face- as if he's listening for the piano to tell him which keys to hit next. This guy is now one of my favorites.

[@izzyvilens9559]

Cool

[@ukdavepianoman]

Incredible performance. Staggering technique, speed and accuracy. But most important of all, an expressive and emotional performance. Best performance I've heard.

[@camilledelorme3853]

Some comments disgust me. It's a live performance on stage. You should see his face. I just want to see people who wrote these comments play a piece like that, in the same conditions of temperature, stress ... So please shut up and enjoy this ''anormal performance'' ... that is the respect

[@alsatiancousin2905]

Absolutely right, and it does not add to anyone's "cool" with youtube being alive even if they say they never read commentary or watch their own videos. In regards to your comment I must say mistakes are a unique part of any live performance, and they make the experience UNIQUE. I'm sure any professional artist whips themselves over mistakes but one is a perfectionist at a level to achieve. There is no lip sync here, no Madonna concert, no bullshit, this is the real deal and he is the best pianist ever. IMHO!

[@alvexok5523]

Yeah, I know. Anyone knocking this guy is just ignorant anyway. He's a remarkably talented pianist, and he's doing something which most people, including the ones insulting him, can only dream of doing. There's nothing wrong with how he looks, he's simply seen putting in alot of effort, which it definitely takes to play a piece like this the way he played it. And he's sweating because he's sitting under hot lights while working hard. And the way he played this piece is amazing and sounded fabulous

[@villaporfin17]

You should see Trifonov playing the “transcendental studios” from Listz and see how he is sweating and drops falling down. Nobody says nothing while the interpretation is perfect . Please be polite

[@KenWangpiano]

Most interesting interpretation I've ever heard! Awesome.

[@alvexok5523]

Amazing performance. I love this piece. And it really gets to the best part in this video at around 6:03

[@vishwa6127]

No I think the best part is 6:38

[@viggos.n.5864]

100% agree

[@MatteoRamonArevalos]

Incredible pianist, amazing musician!

[@carbideblue]

If you disliked it, let's hear yours.... LIVE! Of course, there is always this and that, that so and so does better, especially in the studio. And while it's good to know what we like and who is our favorite, to do better than Boris, in front of a hall full of people, represents a whole other dimension.

[@elmodeadinside2760]

Here this is a reply to your comment, you should be triggered right?

[@cayetanomelerocerban5256]

7unb

[@amxmachine]

watching his hands puts me in amazement what they are capable of. in this vast universe, in our little corner of reality, we can make things that only we understand. feats of time and energy that no computer or machine can reproduce with such subtle variation. my mind is blown...

[@Piacevole]

What I like about Boris is that I don´t always like him. Sometimes I adore him. Sometimes he provokes me. That´s the beauty.

[@GarguzGilva]

Such an insane piece! It is flabbergasting when you see someone playing it live. It seems rather impossible to move your hands at that speed.

[@MasterAzunai]

I doubt liszt was this good. Absolutely flawless technique. FLAWLESS!! And what an amazing rendition! 1000/10

[@ciararespect4296]

Probably better

[@coiladdict]

If you think this is flawless, then watching Liszt play would probably give you a heart attack.

[@Ash1nerTV]

This has sooo many mistakes though? Flawless has a real meaning you know

[@catherinesciarra7131]

BRAVO!!! This was magnificent!! I truly enjoyed listening to Berezovsky's piano expertise. It touched my inner soul.

[@paulostroff99]

A gorgeous piano piece beautifully played.

[@JanosKmetyko]

bravo sehr schön.¨!!!!!!!!!!

[@xombiesftw]

I don't really understand how people claim he doesn't play passionately, I believe he plays very passionately, and if anyone were to ever claim that I didn't play a piece passionately, I would be upset. Putting all that time and effort into learning and playing a piece; you can't help but be emotionally involved in whatever it is that you are playing.

[@gixelz]

9 years late, but i agree. hope this last decade has treated you well.

[@Theframes418]

His hands...They mirror the feverishness of the piece and by the end of the piece it seems like they have been possessed themselves. Brilliant in both technique and in bodily expression.

[@Transition333]

James Yan Yes, I noticed it, too, but could not express it as well as you did. Very good!

[@rocioaguilera3613]

I think all of you are so much more pianists than Berezovsky, and will perform this difficult masterpiece in a better way

[@phillach5181]

thats stupid. Doesnt have to play better than him to criticise his playing

[@lemonsgrasses]

every pianist who plays Liszt's Mephisto Waltzes has an expression of panic as they play.

[@jackcurley1591]

Probably because it's so incredibly difficult?... lol. Most pianists tend to express themselves a certain way when they are playing a difficult passage of music in a piece. If you look closely you'll start recognizing patterns.

[@lemonsgrasses]

I was indeed commenting on the difficulty, I just find it amusing. Most pianists just get a look of intense concentration in the trickier areas, but Liszt inspires some truly beautiful facial expressions ^_^

[@jackcurley1591]

Indeed! My teacher, when he plays Liszt, or anything difficult for that matter, tends to tuck his chin into his neck, making it appear he has a double chin. On top of this he is also making the "deer caught in the headlight" look of fear! It's rather amusing.

[@avantikaroy5146]

Check out valentina's version. She was as relaxed and cool as a cucumber. That woman is a goddess.

[@cislak5669]

trifonov

[@정재형-c1y]

wow amazing i like it

[@CAaronD.]

Insane :/ This piece is so hard I laugh nervously just hearing it due to the sheer difficulty :/

[@PIANOpartner]

Liszt the master of technique. this work of his is amazing with fast tempo and different melodies

[@annarosebelanger]

i just don't understand how is it possible

[@MuriMorello]

+Anna-Rose Bélanger 20 years of playin, last 10, 10 hours a day? :)

[@francescotavaglione5271]

Nah,I learned this piece in 8 months pretty good(i do a couple of errors) by practising 1 hour a day

[@MuriMorello]

Francesco Tavaglione link?

[@elmodeadinside2760]

It's not

[@edwardlam1095]

russian piano training! course every single day + talent

[@izzyvilens9559]

This is a long it’s so long wow you are amazing

[@lesliehuff4777]

how he plays ,reminds me when i was younger, great job my friend!

[@flicfan416]

he gives a wonderful jazzy feel to the beginning. i love his interpretations

[@amber40494]

Hes also a jazz musician. I think he improvises every night at some nightclub

[@Orchidoclastie]

Un de mes plus beaux cds!!

[@thomasthompson6378]

He plays this much less fluidly, much less "romantically," than I'm used to. But I very much like his approach, which is quite daring because it makes his playing more exposed and mistakes stand out a bit more than they would otherwise. Still, what an astonishing performance! Really quite something.

[@nikolauswilliams3124]

I think there is a misconception that Romantic style performance is somehow "fluid"/"flowy", if you listened to recording of performance done by the late romantics like Rachmaninov, their style of performance is pretty aggressive and often noticably fast than their sheet music suggests. So in general I'd say that to have Romantic performance would be a very overt, aggressive, and passionate one, especially for a piece like this. Now I do understand you probably just meant "romantic" rather than "Romantic" but i just thought i'd make the distinction anyway

[@tedsta485]

@@nikolauswilliams3124 100% this piece is about pushing it to the limit to showcase technical capability. It loses much of it's appeal when played slower and romantically

[@antoniowu6587]

Boris the best!!

[@Blazingkeys]

Why are we arguing about Jazz vs. Classical? I'm a Classical musician turned Jazz musician, and I'm in the process of learning this song right now. Both are so broad, unique, and enjoyable that a simple comparison of which is better is just silly.

[@sunnypark8915]

the best mephisto waltz

[@alvexok5523]

Yes, Berezovsky is an extremely talented pianist. And, I love this piece. I love Liszt's piano works

[@hadrieneverard8121]

André laplante's is good too and in a far better sound quality

[@fryderykfranciszekchopin5716]

Dimitry Shishkin performance is pretty good too

[@ralfsteinhage1310]

No the best is [André Laplante]

[@ralfsteinhage1310]

@@hadrieneverard8121.......Yes best Quality !!!!

[@kesmarn]

A wonderful performance of a difficult piece before an audience that actually knows how to listen.

[@Cardstacker]

Whoa, I have a bit of experience in fast play and still find this impossibly hard... well done Amazing Berezovsky.

[@brandonhwang1027]

I love this piece so so much

[@izzyvilens9559]

It’s amazing

[@beenthereonce]

Bravo!

[@RediForKing]

I think he probably has the best technique of all pianists today. He some kind of super virtuoso.

[@micheldvorsky]

Staccato touch from 5:20-5:50 is really brilliant.

[@vivacecilia]

The best teacher for the piano

[@artemvsprime]

It’s a triumph!

[@roby087654]

BEST PERFORMANCE!!!!!

[@hassansoliman970]

So characteristic of Berezovsky! Very "different" or "odd" but really brilliant! He sure knows how to produce a really "crisp" sound, doesn't rely heavily on pedals, actually barely uses them, also very interestingly "odd" phrasing.

[@TomPField]

quite clearly one of the best things ever.

[@gcaee]

the best interpretation !!

[@saxangel45]

El mejor sin dudarlo, the best

[@konstancapiano]

incredible performance...

[@alexxseeman]

Brillant playing! Thanks for uploading

[@mkeysou812]

Big Boris certainly pushed himself to the limit with this one. His speed is incredible! Certainly a risky performance

[@НатальяХахалина-п4щ]

These things are dangerous to play

[@Nanotechxe123]

He made it look very easy...

[@sigalig]

I wouldn't say easy...but I get what you mean. I swear the most impressive parts of the song he nailed, while other simpler sections he messed up on. This guy is a beast, no doubt about that.

[@РоссийскаяФедерация-б4я]

sigalig I think messed up is a strong word

[@bianco971]

@@sigalig 1qqqq++qq++

[@JramLisztfan]

@@РоссийскаяФедерация-б4я “messed up” for berezovsky standards is playing a single wrong note lmao

[@theowinckel]

@@РоссийскаяФедерация-б4я he completely messed up the octave leaps

[@izzyvilens9559]

Very good

[@cattleman6420012000]

Amazingly well played.

[@triplem3827]

I always find the transition from the first third into the slow waltz section at 2:30 to 2:55 to be so incredibly hard to play. its like the first section gets me all riled up and i dont the slow section romantically enough.

[@angelicamiranda2732]

The best !!!!

[@thegreatapologist]

WHO DISLIKED THIS PIECE OF PURE EPIC!?

[@carmen6169]

Mexico. Alta dificultad. 🤚🤚. 💐☑️ 🎹. Exelente. 😅.

[@MichaelKaykov]

The CLASSIC!

[@damumo]

Awesome.

[@Solomonik1973]

Great Pianist!!

[@rekdinhopoetico]

GREAT!

[@VikramShankarMusic]

@EnviedCure776 So true! Nuages Gris = Malice Through the Looking Glass! I usually equate Nuages Gris to a subdued Funeral Fog or Blashyrkh actually. And Trauervorspiel und Trauermarsch is totally classical black metal as well :P

[@Imagine727]

Brilliance

[@saeheehwang9376]

Great! He drawing picture by way of play the piano.

[@RediForKing]

@Laudan08 I know. Hamelin is definately a supervirtuoso too. But Hamelin is more like a robot. He just plays all notes correctly without single mistakes, which I really like. But I think Berezovsky has more passion when he's playing.

[@PhoenixS4444]

ehehehe At 8:58 he looks at his hand and he's like : "seriously ? you didn't have a lot of things to do..."

[@ramirezvelazquez7285]

Молоток Березовский! Ничего плохого не могу сказать! Красавец!

[@JohnEBPiano]

Mephistopheles is the 7th prince of hell, not the devil himself. The scene of the piece, as described by Liszt, is that Mephistopheles and Faust are walking along and they come across a wedding. Mep. snatches a fiddle from one of the musicians and begins playing a seductive tune, while Faust dances with one of the maidens. The sound of the fiddle gets fainter as Faust and his maiden dance further into the woods.

[@JMillerBayRidge]

there is no one better..

[@Patryk429]

Very Very Beautiful Hardest Music I Love I Gave Paw Up Greetings

[@playingmusiconmars]

Liszt actually nailed Mephistopheles' character with this piece. Most people interpret him as an embodiment of evil and sin while actually he's just an asshole that tricks people for fun. Maybe not a very pleasant person but by no means evil, the playfulness of some passages here reflects this perfectly.

[@evifnoskcaj]

Then you would absolutely LOVE the pianists of "Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli" and "Art Tatum". They are legendary for their incredibly motionless technique and producing some of the best sounds to ever come out of the piano. The first time I heard both pianists, I laughed at how perfect they were and then laughed even more at how stupid perfect their technique is! They're incredibly and you should definitely check them out.

[@mylove0922]

Good~~~!!

[@zigmyzaglife]

내가 일곱 살 때 마스터 한 곡인데, 다시 들으니 추억 돋네....

[@PfJun]

네??

[@loveclassic413]

열일곱이 아니라요??

[@nimisha6584]

진짜요?!?

[@soumiaghechami]

Nodame cantabile brought me here:D

[@komomo]

Oh,very powerful!

[@rocherpr_piano-classic]

I found an amazing live by a young japanese (Shunta Morimoto PTNA 2018 version). He has the same rythm, a bit more clearer and regular, more intense. So I understand and I also like the live of berezovsky, more dynamique than rubinstein for instance

[@watkinder8288]

I have learnt this piece, and I found the most challenging section that beginning at 6:55 with the leaping-to -8ves rh. I always splashed one or two notes; so it is refreshing to know that I am in more exalted company. He does miss alot of other notes as well, but I suspect he decided to throw caution to the wind to give that "devilish" flair. Most disconcerting for me, however, is that I find his touch too heavy in the more delicate passages...almost "thumped". He does a much better "Mazeppa" in my view.

[@mischacarlberg6631]

watkinder that part is no doubt the hardest

[@alexxseeman]

Unglaublich !

[@RXCN]

What a badass

[@musicpiano14]

@1steadman1 you are welcome, I very respect Alexey's playing

[@hotbebimauz]

I urge you to listen to the superhuman Mephisto performance of Mikhail Pletnev, if you haven't already. Totally stunning. However, Berezovsky's performance is also very good.

[@niemandniets9010]

7:41 oops, need to be one octave lower lol

[@ukdavepianoman]

Haha you noticed that too. Well his left hand is so quick, he was able to recover!

[@alvexok5523]

I didn't even notice. His playing is so good and it's such a minor unnoticeable slip, that it really doesn't matter

[@hadrieneverard8121]

Allen Richards yes finally someone who understands that classical music rehearsals isn't just about playing perfectly all the notes

[@Transition333]

niemand niets Gads, great catch!!

[@jonblablabla1014]

Wow.

[@ea863]

Wow

[@liszt17]

I realli like the first part...it"s awesome:P

[@jiggedy123]

@maxdesp I, too, thought that Berezovsky is channeling Liszt directly when he plays LIszt, any Liszt piece, but especially these concert pieces like the 1st Mephisto Waltz.

[@thecouchonfire]

@karazh i'm referring to the "if u can play it u can, if not practice.." part of your comment, because according this statement, playing it shittily is exactly the same as playing it well. and by the way, ARCT is in CANADA. not america.

[@mariasofiavalcheva6154]

GREAT INTERPRETATION! Love Boris with Liszt! With Mephisto Waltz, he obsesses me and shows me some other world! Brilliant pianist! Have my musical orgasm, ha, ha! The sound is great and very powerful!

[@evifnoskcaj]

What an incredible version! It's almost as good as Horowizt, but both still cower under the prowess of Rubinstein. This is somewhere in the middle...

[@pannie1000]

Genius

[@yokobyeol6255]

ΑΝΤΕ ΓΕΙΑ!!!!!!!!

[@Corleone1337]

@Frozentoes1 And Jack Gibbons. I'd like to see Berezovsky take a shot at Alkan's Concerto.

[@othesemo]

@2hyeok It's short for Mephistopheles, who's a devil who feature's prominently in Marlowe's version of Faust.

[@sissichopin91]

@skumbriawtomacie Great comment! Nowadays there are a lot of "great pianists", but there are few musicians! Listen to Rubinstein's permormance! I like this very much too!

[@PeterJohnston]

@twooffour It's a fantastic performance... but I'm not sure if she goes against the composers remarking. It does start allegro, and then in the later section - does say poco a poco accelerando until it gets to Presto. However, you gotta admit - she seems to bring a phenomenal life to each piece she plays.

[@dnephi]

@pianotalent Young Vladimir Ashkenazy, Carnegie Hall. Chopin Etudes along with the most stunning Mephisto Waltz recording I've found.

[@TanTzuKuang]

is there a studio recording for this piece by him on iTunes ? This is just beautiful best rendition!

[@Liszt31]

Una delle migliori interpretazioni del Mephisto no.1 assieme a quella di Ayako Uehara

[@cmonclair27]

Try Kissin's version on his Schubert-Liszt cd. Purposely conservative 1st section, profound seductive middle section (with those 2 mischievous, tip toe, devil dance intrusions), finally in the recapitulation of the 1st and middle section themes he just unleashes it, like entering a demonic vortex.

[@DanielCharry1025]

@RediForKing Look at Mr. Hamelin. He has starred a Japanese documentary about himself, and it's called "Supervirtuoso", it's here on KZbin. But, Berezovsky makes me giggle when i hear this. It's orgasmic, exactly how Liszt planned it.