Brahms' Beautiful Intermezzo Opus 117 No. 3: A Mesmerizing Journey

Svetlana Belsky performs Johannes Brahms, Intermezzo Opus 117 No. 3 in the Logan Performance Hall at the University of Chicago

[@tomgilson7434]

Gorgeous playing, Svetlana!

[@nidhishshivashankar4885]

Excellent interpretation can really feel the atmosphere of Brahms intent

[@catherinerollin6397]

Very Beautiful!

[@DerisedEgami]

This song is brilliant. I used to listen to it, back to back, years ago. Well done Svetlana.

[@pmathew63]

Very nicely done

[@pierresilence]

Your feeling it is so beautiful. It is amazing and one of the best interpretation what I heard.

[@KentFarbach]

I like the tempi...especially that gorgeous middle section. Well done

[@roomfullofbasses]

Bravo. Brought to tears.

[@RobertoFrancaPianist]

Beautiful playing, congrats!

[@greatpianomusic9457]

Bravo: Thank you so much for this beautiful version of Op117No3. My best friend and I have just started learning it. Your camera angles are perfect for seeing your excellent octave fingerings.

[@alwatsonpianist]

Beautiful elegance and sensitivity!!!

[@askhadshogentsukov.978]

so soft... I love it

[@fabioaggio]

Beautifully played 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@magoit]

Very good performance. Thanks for sharing.

[@trustiful]

Svetlana, your tempo in the middle section is perfect! What a sensitive performance. Thank you for sharing it.

[@cambridgeport90]

that's my favorite part of the whole piece... and how your higher notes are more well pronounced than your bass ones. That's just how I hear it, too. I think that's how Brahms would have liked it played.

[@Val-mq6bd]

very nice

[@guilhermemb11]

that was very beautiful

[@williamdiffin28]

You're wonderful.

[@eyalli]

so romantic.........

[@pierrejulien9990]

Truly enjoyable, great tempi and control. A bit reserved and dry. Still better than most superstars.

[@jeffg5179]

Tweeting a link. Very nice.

[@Johannes_Brahms65]

I'm sure Mr Brahms would have been very happy with this interpretation (although he felt quite unhappy at the time).

[@SvetlanaBelsky]

Rik Hendriks What an incredibly kind thing to say!

[@SvetlanaBelsky]

Thank you for your kind words

[@denise385]

this aches more than van cliburn's

[@Polymath-xh2pt]

so Brahms

[@williamdiffin28]

many late Romanticism how to piano

[@brunovandevelde6446]

Belle version... appliquée ... manque de souffle

[@kiearatd]

It's a good interpretation; however, Van Cliburn's is the best In my opinion. And he played the tempo of the middle movement slightly faster.

[@randykern1842]

She’s playing the opening octaves in the right hand instead of the left. The score has the octave stems connected in the bass, which tells you to play them with the left hand. That’s what I did and it’s extremely uncomfortable but I knew it was like that for a reason. How does one know when it’s okay to take the whole phrase over with the right hand? I thought if I did that it would have been cheating or a cop out. Someone explain

[@SvetlanaBelsky]

Dear Randy, you raise an interesting point. Composers often notate music in a way that makes the voice-leading obvious, leaving it to the performer to figure out how to actually do it. Brahms marks the octaves as legato, which is not possible to do perfectly unless the notes are shared between the hands. Since this beautiful piece is not meant to be a finger exercise, it it far more important to pursue a perfect legato and thus be true to the spirit of the music. Anything else cheats the music of its profound meaning

[@randykern1842]

Svetlana Belsky thank you so much for your reply! I did not have the chance to study this with my professor while I was still in school and picked it up after I graduated, so I really appreciate your insight! That is why having a teacher is so important. Your performance was nothing short of wonderful!

[@SvetlanaBelsky]

@@randykern1842 As a teacher, I definitely second your statement! If you would like to play it (or anything else) for me over Zoom, please contact me through my website www.svetlanabelsky.com

[@williamdiffin28]

I find that interesting, because having just approached this piece (as a result of this video; the mid-section really is the hook isn't it, it's irresistible) I interpreted the opening left hand legato octaves as notated _senza pedale_ precisely as a technical challenge, and didn't think to share the octaves between hands in the service of making the phrasing more natural. I can stretch a tenth so I can readily play LH octaves 5-1 or 4-1 or 3-1, or 5-2 on black notes (also 5-2 on white notes and 2-1 on black notes at an uncomfortable stretch), which gives me some options for legato octaves without pedal, but it's more difficult than sharing octaves between hands would have been if I had thought of it. As notated the left hand becomes all thumbs whose frequent lack of fluidity has to be covered by the right hand. I doubt it's possible to become as fluid playing the octaves as notated for LH only, as by sharing them between hands, but I enjoy trying! But if I could succeed in doing so, then so what? It makes absolutely no difference to the musicality, only to the development of my left hand technique, and Brahms did not compose this piece as an exercise.

[@watutman]

I did not like this one until yours.