F. Chopin/M. Reger - 5 Spezialstudien (Special Studies) after Chopin

[@Chopin-Etudes-Cosplay]

Double thirds etude in double-sixths...hilarious and awesome at the same time. And what he did with Op. 64 No. 2...omg...this compilation is so great, thank you so much for sharing it.

[@Vincent_Xia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tackontitan]

Op. 25 No. 6 gave me such grief back in university but seeing it written in sixths makes me thankful I just had to learn it in thirds.

[@alessandropelizzoli6613]

Semplicemente eccezionale...la grande raffinatezza e delicatezza chopiniana si unisce con estro e colore barocco alla tecnica contrappuntistica del Sommo Reger.... Sublimemente Kitsch e di grandissima gradevolezza!

[@SCRIABINIST]

Reminds me of the Godowski Chopin Etudes, both are great reworks of already great pieces by Chopin

[@melvynmsobel210]

My first time hearing Ullen--- and I'm thoroughly impressed--- and these studies. Phenomenal beauty! Wondering why Markus Becker didn't include these Special Studies in his so-called complete Reger Piano Music? Becker's Reger traversal is stone cold; would that Ullen had taken up that mantle! Chopin would be delighted by his playing. Gorgeous, hands down. Thanks you for posting!!!! Still flabbergasted that Reger wrote these! Will (new) wonders never cease?

[@antonylikallio4021]

Ullen is a really great pianist, this is supremely exquisite playing! And the recording of the piano sound also sounds very colourful. I’m very happy i stumbled upon this, as i was not familiar with these transcriptions.

[@neilsaunders9309]

Another facet of this extraordinary composer, so misunderstood and underappreciated.

[@bosareva]

Was für ein großartiger Komponist Max Reger doch war! Diese Bearbeitungen zeigen es wieder, wie einfallsreich sein Musikdenken ist. Ullen ist ein kongenialer Pianist. Bravo! Danke fürs Hochladen!

[@Aberystwyth123]

Such delightful piece to listen to in the beginning of the new year!!!

[@blabla5268]

Damn re-writing the double thirds to double sixths hurts my wrists just by thinking about it. That being said, i like what Reger did with the valses

[@Vincent_Xia]

His approach towards these pieces, even if admittedly a little hamfisted on occasion, is nonetheless interesting!

[@blabla5268]

@@Vincent_Xia oh no doubt

[@skylarlimex]

what an amazing performance this was! it definitely sounds like there are two pianists in the op64no1

[@piyamaslimaichay9061]

These​ studies​ are​ incredibly​ beautiful.

[@giuseppecardarelli3666]

Questi studi di Max Reger sono dei veri piccoli capolavori. Molto bravo Fredrik Ullén!

[@BelliniHighTV]

what a wonderful composer

[@helvete_ingres4717]

who, Chopin? This is his music with some embellishments

[@BelliniHighTV]

@@helvete_ingres4717 Reger

[@stacia6678]

@@BelliniHighTV Listen to his Concerto, it really is amazing (-ly difficult)

[@alcyonecrucis]

Lovely

[@felixalexanderhasler596]

Brilliant

[@nickk8416]

Really brilliant writing. Especially loved his Op. 64 #2. Thank You!

[@Vincent_Xia]

You are welcome!

[@bobschaaf2549]

Just when I'd given up on Reger, this comes along.

[@themoonfleesthroughclouds]

Ullen 😍😍😍

[@thenameisgsarci]

Uwoooooooooah!

[@Archiekunst]

Brilliant set. I just heard Max Reger in a church the other day. Ullen does a great job. Ironically, the d flat waltz feels more like a waltz here than an etude while the original version is played more like an etude at breakneck speeds. He could have accentuated the second voice a bit more on the impromptu B section.

[@Vincent_Xia]

I think Ullén does a fantastic job with these pieces. Given that these paraphrases are chock full of double notes and other pianistic horrors, it's very easy to make a performance of these sound very laboured, and Ullén manages to not only avoid doing that, but he also makes them sound magical and graceful. I think his performance is a big factor into, as you said, why the waltz doesn't sound very etudal.

[@tharkun21280]

Reger is the Loki of the Classical Music Universe. Love it.

[@TempodiPiano]

what is a loki? :-)

[@tharkun21280]

@@TempodiPiano LOL. 😇

[@josephweise8937]

1 & 4 actually sound really nice

[@Varooooooom]

18:57 - I have to wonder if Doucet’s “Chopinata” was partially inspired by this haha. Wonderful performances showcased here. These studies seem to make a small trade of musicality for technical exploration here - or maybe they’re trying to see what new musical opportunities await with different, unexplored techniques. Regardless, Ullén had quite the behemoth to handle here, and he pulled off these performances incredibly musically while giving them a very subdued, lowkey atmosphere. Love it, love it, love it. Thank you for sharing, Vincent :)

[@Vincent_Xia]

Thank you for your kind words! Yes, in addition to showing Reger's takes on these Chopin works, I wanted to make this video to highlight Ullén's brilliant playing. Despite these studies being packed with double notes and multiple contrapuntal lines, his performance never seems laboured, and it sounds like he had a lot of fun with these pieces musically speaking (I also like your comment about his held-back style of playing; the time-stamp you provided is a great example of this, and he manages to make it sound so clear yet still understated). The studies themselves are also quite interesting; the way he uses the material in the waltz transcriptions to reach new technical heights. And I think for the most part, these studies can still sound really musical, helped in no small part by Ullén's magical touch. Btw, Ullén apparently also has recordings of numerous other Chopin paraphrases, which can be accessed here (just look at how many versions of the minute waltz there are!): kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5zFfHatpM5gedE I want to create more videos showcasing Ullén's other performances. I'm considering creating score videos of Isidor Philipp's transcriptions next, but we'll have to see haha.

[@imdarealani]

It sounds like it's in a round, the way he repeats the themes.

[@davisatdavis1]

You can tell he had lots of fun with op 64 no 2

[@EdoardoFittipaldi]

Reger is infinite!

[@andrewc9643]

I would like to be in a concert where a performer, performed these next to the originals. Especially the double thirds -> double six comparison would be nice.. well all of them!

[@kingeye-yi6by]

"Double sixth" is very very interesting. Not because of the difficulty, but the thing that there're many people who made "double-sixth".

[@titusbeertsen]

13:15 ... that hurts to even look at

[@martathequenn3835]

super GENIUS

[@imdarealani]

18:25

[@Leopold_Godowsky]

Oh..interesting

[@tarikeld11]

What, this is Max Reger? Not even Godovsky? :D

[@oboethai]

As if the original wasn't hard engough!

[@ethancolmancomposer]

I like when these composers do this. I think it’s fun and nice little spin. However, Imo they are nothing compared to the original. The original is so clean and genius. These can be a little much. The A-flat major waltz is really interesting!

[@yagiz885]

I think you are underrestimating the genius polyphonic writing Reger used in these studies. It's not easy to make all these voices fit!

[@ethancolmancomposer]

No, I know. Reger was certainly a genius. However, I think the originals came out of thin air. And I think it takes more talent to compose the original melody and pieces. Just my opinion :)

[@yagiz885]

@@Whatismusic123 how so?

[@yagiz885]

@@ethancolmancomposer Sorry for the late response. I respect your opinion. But I think there's a balance between both. Chopin dealed with the melody and harmony, but cared for contrapuntal/polyphonic writing very less in his waltzes. Reger did the opposite in these etudes and I think if it wasn't the equavalent of chopin's sense in terms of ingenuity Chopin would include these in his waltzes too.

[@yagiz885]

@@Whatismusic123 I dont think you can assume that. Yes, it is different. But is it really for the sake of being different? Ever thought of how complex these musical aproaches are? We are listening to music and if I am hearing musicality at top, it should be okay.

[@TempodiPiano]

why did you write "studies" instead of "etudes"?...

[@Vincent_Xia]

The original German title for this set was "Fünf Spezialstudien (Bearbeitungen Chopin'scher Werke)", which translates to "Five Special Studies (arrangements of Chopin's works)". I used the term "studies" because that's the term Reger originally used. In the context of music, the words "study" and "etude" mean the same thing ("etude" is taken from French), and are practically interchangeable.

[@mcig98]

hm very interesting studies, not particularly what i expected from Reger im not exactly a fan of Ullén's playing though

[@Vincent_Xia]

If I may ask, what do you not like about Ullén's performances?

[@imdarealani]

@@Vincent_Xia It sounds like he is struggling with the sixths.

[@imdarealani]

Reger... WHY ?

[@thepianocornertpc]

Goof effort Max but nothing beats Godowsky.

[@thepianocornertpc]

@@melvynmsobel210 Nah!

[@melvynmsobel210]

"Nah?" @@thepianocornertpc

[@thepianocornertpc]

@@melvynmsobel210 Nah!

[@melvynmsobel210]

OK@@thepianocornertpc

[@beecolor]

Fun, but musically it doesn't add much

[@yagiz885]

Can't you hear the polyphony he added?

[@Jonathan_Moene]

@@yagiz885 i was thinking the same. it becomes more like.. Bach? And we all know chopin loved bach so i dont really think he would be so against this playing!