George Cziffra plays Chopin-Polonaise in A-flat Major Op.53 "Heroique"

Very rare Video - George Cziffra preformed *8. Chopin-Polonaise in A-flat Major Op.53 "Heroique" live in Hungary 1983 03. 17 * Gyorgy Cziffra born in Hungary, Budapest November 5, 1921. Died: January 15, 1994 - Morsang-sur-Orge (Senlis), France. The noted Hungarian-born French pianist, Georges [originally György] Cziffra, was a son of Hungarian Romas (his father, György Cziffra Sr., was a cimbalom player and played in cabaret halls and restaurants in Paris in the 1910's). He became noted at the age of 5, improvising on popular tunes in bars and circuses. His teachers at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest included Ernő Dohnányi. His education was interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Hungarian army. After the war he continued his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy with Ferenczi, but was once more distracted from music when he was arrested in 1950 for his rebellious political views, and was held under forced labour. He was released from jail in 1953, but was again endangered by the abortive Hungarian revolt in 1956. In 1956, convinced that he could have no peace under Communist rule, on the eve of the Hungarian insurrection and after a stunning account of Béla Bartók's second piano concerto (EMI References), György Cziffra escaped with his wife (Soleilka - of Egyptian origin) and son to Vienna where his recital at the Brahmsaal caused a sensation. News of this event reached The New Yorker. His Paris debut the following year caused a furore - his London debut at the Royal Festival Hall in Franz Liszt's first concerto and Hungarian Fantasy similarly. His meteoric career continued with concerts throughout Europe and debuts at the Ravinia Festival (Grieg and F. Liszt concertos with Carl Schuricht) and Carnegie Hall New York with Thomas Schippers. He always performed with a large leather wristband, as a memento of his years in labour. In 1968 he became a naturalised French citizen. In 1973 he founded the St.-Frambourg Royal Chapel Foundation in Senlis, France to assist young musicians and artists. He died in Senlis, 72 years old, from a heart attack resulting from series of complications from lung cancer. György Cziffra was best known for his interpretations of works of the Romantic repertoire. He is most known for his brilliant and extravagant recordings of Franz Liszt's virtuoso works. He also recorded many of Frédéric Chopin's compositions and those of Robert Schumann (his account of Carnaval de Vienne admired by Alfred Cortot) Cziffra also made a famous transcription of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, written in interlocking octaves. Many of his recordings are controversial, claimed by some to be showy and unmusical. Others regard these reactions as professional jealousy. In any case there is generally little doubt that Cziffra had a remarkable virtuoso technique and was a master at improvisation. He published Des canons et des fleurs (Paris, 1977). György Cziffra's son, György Cziffra, Jr., was a professional conductor and participated in several concerts and recordings with his father. However, his promising career was cut short due to his death by burning accident in 1981 - said to have been accompanied by a suicide note - an event that sparked a progressively diminishing morale in Cziffra, Sr. Cziffra never again performed or recorded with an orchestra, and some critics have commented that the severe emotional blow had an impact on his playing quality as well. While many thought that his pianism deteriorated after the death of his son, some felt that his playing was deeper than before. **György Cziffra was best known for his interpretations of works of the Romantic repertoire. He is most known for his brilliant and extravagant recordings of Franz Liszt's virtuoso works. Cziffra had a remarkable virtuoso technique and was a master at improvisation.

[@hyoseonl11]

Mr. Cziffra was capable of the utmost virtuosity, yet he knew when to respect and play music with nobility and passion, perfect for Op. 53.

[@tiffsaver]

Are you taking Oxycodone again??

[@frankiewinters1255]

What? How did you come to that specific assumption based on that specific sentence?

[@agostinodarmini8623]

​@@tiffsaverma tř

[@angellesl9497]

This is exactly how I envisioned Chopin himself playing this most amazing music. The best rendition of this piece I've ever heard. Most rush rush rush it and we miss so many important notes. I absolutely love this piece by this genius.

[@sam08g16]

How lucky we are to have all these awesome recordings available at our fingertips

[@RockyM-ew4dc]

Indeed! And so much of a pity that we don't know how did Chopin played it himself :(

[@RockyM-ew4dc]

❣

[@zihanwang4078]

Technique and such wonderful interpretation, this man had it all...

[@UTUBEME2010]

VERY MASSIVE & IMPRESSIVE VIRTUOSO - SO WONDERFUL EXCELLENT

[@tiffsaver]

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING??

[@ClassicalOverContemporary]

What a mind-blowingly great performance and interpretation. I thought Rubenstein had likely the best interpretation of this piece... Horowitz's was also fun. But this... is the most well-polished of them all. The voicing, the dynamics... the tempo. All perfect. There was a seamless structure to the entire piece with flawless transitions among the many different sections. Bravo

[@wittekjmusic]

Recorded in Hungary - Zalaegerszeg on 1983 March 17. Unfortunately the original video tape was a gift from Georges Cziffra wife Soleilka to me. The Video recorded on the SECAM format and I had to converted to NTSC format and I lost the original sound quality. Sound like out the tune. The piano on the Video, Georges Cziffra favorite Yamaha concert Piano. The most important "not the (bad) piano", You can see a very rare live performances from Georges Cziffra.

[@vgmessze]

Szvsz ez a POTE aula, a nagytotálok (4:50 meg 8:05) igazolják. Pécs. Ott voltam. Nagy élmény volt.

[@gergelycsallo5133]

igen, valóban az...egyetemista koromban mennyi koncertet néztem itt végig... szép élmények, dacára a borzalmas akusztikának :)

[@gergelycsallo5133]

actually it was in Pécs, Hungary

[@sidneycurtiss8882]

Gergely Csallo I

[@sam08g16]

Thank you so much for sharing with us

[@sargeantpepper]

If this is a very incredible performance, just think how Chopin played this....Cziffra the best technique pianist ever.

[@hugod327]

Dinu lipatti was on a similar technical level. Compare both of their gnomenreigen by liszt and you will notice. There are also rachmaninoff and horowitz who are on a similar technical level

[@GrV1Ty.]

@@hugod327 no not horowitz. horowitz is not known for his technique and that is because its not what makes him special. its his interpetation. so no horowitz doesnt have any kind of well technique for a professional pianist

[@MathieuPrevot]

@@GrV1Ty. Rachmaninoff himself said that he ignored the possibilities of the piano until Horowitz played. He also considered that Horowitz played the thirds concerto better than him and said: "that's Horowitz's concerto". Horowitz defined virtuosity at his time, and still today IMHO. Beside stopping your fake news-like to troll-like claims, you also might want to write a more proper english.

[@GrV1Ty.]

@@MathieuPrevot no horowitz is not known for technique. Yes rachmaninoff said that i know and you know why he said it? Because horowitz interpretion and musicality was really great not because of his technique.

[@opale1572]

@@MathieuPrevot 👍👍👍👍

[@jonathanmelamed3456]

when you put all the factors of a great pianist together. mr cziffra was the greatest of them all.

[@tiffsaver]

You're dreaming.

[@tejaswi5119]

@@tiffsaver no you are

[@Eunicecastro2000]

Amazing performance. I love Cziffra.

[@all7509]

So beautiful and wonderful performance. Thank you.

[@agujasypuntillas]

Amazing composition of chopin .... incredibly !!!

[@mostsfa780]

Chopin is in my heart 🌹🌷🌼🌸💐🌻🌺

[@piano345]

It must have been very difficult for Cziffra to return to his homeland Hungary in 1983 after the tragic death of his only son Gyorgy Cziffra Jr. in a house fire in 1981. Cziffra was devastated and never played with orchestra again.

[@miguelleiton3645]

Solo la Música nos puede mantener con fuerza para continuar frente a la pérdida de un hijo....

[@michellenormand8858]

je n'ai jamais écouté une si grande interprétation De la polonaise.

[@ecommoy]

Tout à fait d accord. Mais écoutez quand même seong Jin cho , le coréen !

[@migorigor8819]

Uram atyám:)) A világon nem lesz még egy ilyen művész!:)

[@margitsallay7159]

De lesz, majd úgy 100-200 év múlva....

[@karjun53]

This is a very interesting story - and an amazing performance of G. Cziffra! Thanks for sharing this interesting history summary and the great Chopin performance.!

[@ana-marijamarkovinapianist302]

genau! this is a very interesting story...

[@윤태석-t5u]

I like the way he plays softly but strong enough. :-)

[@nxs1-n1d]

Tempo perfecto ... ejecucion perfecta ... George Cziffra for ever !!! 🤩👏👏👏

[@nicoleroger119]

Sublime et émouvant interprète de Chopin !!!! Je crois : le MEILLEUR 😌

[@pablosouffron8277]

Nicole ROGER et Rubinstein ?

[@skellez83]

This performance just makes a lot of sense to me and it’s very tasteful. He has just the right tad of “out of the schemes-ness”

[@gaillardjacquie1244]

Un très grand virtuose que j'ai eu le plaisir de voir jouer . Souvenir inoubliable .

[@spodermanmemes]

Thank you for this beautiful melody

[@robert982]

Thank you for this and other lovely posts of Cziffra playing. Much appreciated.

[@marksmith3947]

Very elegant and graceful. The left hand octaves are not rushed either

[@beverlybrodsky5053]

Extraordinary! Bravo

[@DihelsonMendonca]

I´ve yet to see someone play this polonaise Op 53 and don´t sweat ! :) It´s rather demanding piece !

[@mangogyfufi6453]

Horowitz

[@DihelsonMendonca]

I don´t agree. I´ve seen even Horowitz playing it and his expression after the final Ab is kind of "Ughhh" ( demanding piece ). I have played it for my entire life, and I feel the same, no matter how phisicaly I am prepared for it. It consumes much energy, you can´t play it softly...

[@marshan1226]

Dihelson Mendonca Listen to Cyprien Katsaris play it, perfect technique and no sweat !!

[@seksanammawat8682]

How's about Madame Argerich?

[@MarcAmengual]

@@seksanammawat8682 and Rubinstein, of course...

[@i-told-you-sodear1526]

The best rendition of the "Heroic Polonaise".

[@tiffsaver]

Did you go to school to get stupid??

[@tejaswi5119]

@@tiffsaver dude stop. This is the best rendition

[@gordonmartin11]

Excellent ! Comme il aimait le dire, il avait "la souplesse" qui fait le virtuose...

[@eustachiodemarco]

MAESTRO ASSOLUTO!

[@brynmiller7547]

So effortless.

[@tiffsaver]

"Effortless," as in "Boring."

[@finderrio]

@@tiffsaver Bad take.

[@tiffsaver]

@@finderrio Really? How so?? And this time, BE SPECIFIC.

[@ilovemilfs69420]

@@tiffsaver Effortless and boring are quite different things, my man. And why do you keep replying random comments making assumptions that they're drug addicts? Are you on drugs? Please wake up. It takes years and years od experience and passion to effortlessly play a piece like that, but it's not at all boring. In the effortlessness, there are actual emotion and Cziffra slowing down his interpretation just shows his emotion. I am sorry and by no means want to offend you, but what part of your brain are you using? Please excuse my not at all adequate English.

[@tiffsaver]

@@ilovemilfs69420 BORING IS THE WORD. Nothing in any of my comments regarding this player is either "random" or inaccurate, other than your lavish praise of this guy's performance, one so utterly lackluster as to defy description. This obvious imposter had about as much PASSION in his playing as my little brother did playing at this first recital. I don't know who this guy is, but by any recognizable standard of great playing, this guy would get booed right out of Carnegie Hall, or any other recognized classical venue that I know of. I've seen 9-year old Asian kids who played with more panache and feeling that this lump of coal in a tuxedo. Once again, pay close attention to the poor guy SLEEPING in the front row of this "exciting performance." He was mercifully unconscious, no doubt due to the coma-inducing quality of this guy's totally uninspired, mechanical performance.

[@robertoteixeira774]

Excellent !!!!!!!!!

[@batorlilia5841]

Cette musique est une merveille du piano

[@sziszi050]

Szerintem is és, hát a zongoristáé is! 🙂

[@neljoj4767]

Exelent 🎼🎹

[@keepinfotechsimple]

5:23 !! Love that part

[@79Tomasso]

Always loved the chord at 5:35

[@pozitiv490]

Очень понравилось!

[@Rodney-hw2mp]

Great technique

[@sergioorlandodias5062]

Цифра это легенда фортепьяно. Виртуоз, интеллектуал инструмента, бывший узник концлагеря, которому целенаправленно ломали руки, чтобы не играл. Такой музыкант вызывает любовь и уважение на всю жизнь . жаль он ушёл из жизни. У меня есть его редчайшие записи.

[@sziszi050]

Tetszik! Bár nem egészen így történt. Valóban büntetőtáborban volt, mert az embercsempészek elárulták, amikor családjával külföldre indult. Építkezésen kellett dolgoznia. Köveket hordania. Amikor ilyen munkára kényszerítették épp a kezeit kímélni akaró társai, mentőakcióba léptek. brigádvezetőjüknek tették, adminisztrációs munkára. :)

[@sziszi050]

„Egykori miskolci rabtársa, Határ Győző építész-író így emlékezik a Dudujka-völgyi Rákosi Mátyás Nehézipari Műszaki Egyetem építkezésére és Cziffra György »rabkoncertjére«" "Feleségével és újszülött gyermekével Csehszlovákián át próbáltak meglépni, és a csehszlovák-osztrák határon kapcsolták le őket. S mindez az izgalom, ez a hányódás-sodródás nem napok, hanem hetek története volt: a lebuktató embercsempészek megalkudtak a bőrére a háta mögött. Három évet kapott. Nem nagyképűsködött, ismerték, tisztelték a táborban, de inkább csak távolságtartással. (…) Persze voltak a telepen, akiknél Gyurka nem volt népszerű: bumburnyák smasszerek; primitív surmók, akik a »zongoraművész« hallatára megbokrosodtak és mindenáron ki akartak babrálni vele" forrás Wikipédia A mentőakcióval folytatja és amit a rabkoncertről írt, még engem is meghatottak 70+-os koromban. Az itt a Wikipédián folytatja a rabtárs író :) hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cziffra_Gy%C3%B6rgy_(zongoram%C5%B1v%C3%A9sz)

[@GIOBODAN]

Che talento straordinario!

[@dustovshio]

cziffra is the greatest pianist since liszt

[@smudger671]

So you've heard Liszt play I assume?

[@Un-homme-avec-raison]

@@smudger671?

[@tiffsaver]

WHAT???

[@giorgiobrugaletta2878]

One of the greatest pianist ever, not THE greatest. Arrau, for exemple, or Richter, not to mention Rachmaninoff, was greater than him.

[@PrincessDesert]

Richter sucks. Arrau & Cziffra both trained under Liszt's post-pupils, get a clue; so quit comparing both of them like it's a competition

[@aricle123456]

The best!

[@myroslavadanilova771]

Brilliant!!!

[@tiffsaver]

BRILLIANTLY BORING.

[@tiffsaver]

Compared to who?

[@untonsured]

@@tiffsaver you

[@tiffsaver]

@@untonsured DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL TO GET STUPID??

[@untonsured]

@@tiffsaver I love you

[@diapasonabsolu]

Le piano YAMAHA n'est pas à la hauteur du talent de Cziffra et en plus il est mal accordé . Il sonne fêlé . Seul un Steinway aurait été à la hauteur du génie musical de Georgy Cziffra .

[@maximmerle]

bravo

[@EnricoMasala]

grazie!

[@ITZ-NOX]

the oscar peterson of the 20th century modern classical performance era.

[@tiffsaver]

Don't ever put down Oscar Peterson like this again.

[@glennthompson4725]

@@tiffsaver Wasn't a putdown of Oscar, rather and by omission, a lift up of Art.

[@camilloflaim8933]

For Cziffra to play op.53 of Chopin it's so easy like to play valzer slow FASCINATION !!!!

[@Deutre08]

Qué grande Cziffra!!, puede tomarse todas las libertades interpretativas que quiera, algunas me gustarán otras no tanto, pero para mí es uno de los grandes entre los grandes. Capo total!!

[@ericnewberg7090]

Great rendition but doesn't have the dynamic and speed of Horowitz at his prime. Bravo to any artists that takes in this piece. Hearing Chopin play this must have been quite a thrill.

[@philipjungelson8591]

Maybe Liszt obliged... Imagine it!

[@carmenrubio3786]

REALMENTE MARAVILLOSO

[@jupiterki]

George un tutorial por favor

[@jocelyneplaneix5700]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@stefaniavirgili697]

Fede:❤❤❤

[@oliverkang9905]

从容👍👏😄💪

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Marvelous! What a dud of an audience! Should be kissing the sweat off his brow. PHILLISTINES!

[@claudinegilbert8171]

"Le" Meilleur !

[@philipjungelson8591]

Non, un des grands, plutôt... Il ne s'agit pas d'une compétition, après tout...

[@kionawaka69]

リスト弾きとして有名なシフラは意外にショパンも多く弾いている。いささか抑え気味に弾いているが、それでも腕が立ちすぎるのか、技巧が空回りするフシがある。

[@Ludwig_Van_Beethoven1770]

My fav part 4:04-8:00

[@marekvollach7831]

Such fluid connection between hands, fingers and the keys: almost looks like technique… ANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY is …. NOT 😇😔🤣🙏🏼😎

[@vaxx2007]

interesting that octaves episode he plays more or less in a quality as I play. may be he was too tired

[@m0ment219]

Even though he was Hungarian, he really managed to give it a VERY polonaise-like feeling, which is mostly disregarded by lots of pianists, who just use their own play-style instead of the Polish one. This piece references the Polish revolution really well, and we don't know it, but maybe that's what Chopin even wanted it to reference. He played it very subtle which doesn't suit that theme very well, but the polonaise style... 😙

[@Ludwig142]

How i played?

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

Is that Gorbechev in the 3rd or 4th row?

[@Warauwater]

I’m so happy that he played with YAMAHA.

[@RobertSmith-le8wp]

Yamaha are wonderful pianos. When I’m able to afford it I want to get a Yamaha or Kawai baby grand, probably something 6’ or so. I’ve heard some older Steinway pianos that sound nice, but the newer ones didn’t impress me that much

[@Rudel23]

Thank you, where was recorded this video? What a bad piano, even out of tune...

[@classicalplayer255]

Zalaegerszeg

[@catherineperre1072]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@may7153]

His interpretation of this piece sounds quite similar to Cho’s performance in the Chopin Piano Competition in 2015. I can’t compare because of such low sound quality of this video but it still sounds much alike. I thought Cho’s was unique and new but maybe not so much. There was this legendary pianist way before...!

[@ecommoy]

Parfaitement d accord

[@cristiandone5749]

Increible como se nota los videos antes y el despues de la muerte de su hijo JR por su expresion.

[@adrolid1]

Magistral interpretacion pésima la grabación con saltos

[@batorlilia5841]

Chopin , le seul pianiste qui a donné la vie à cette musique

[@paulmacconnor5865]

Even Greater than... the Legendary... NEKEARBREV ?!!

[@albertomirandamiranda7073]

Like Horowitz..

[@techinoneminute]

1:52 he made a mistake

[@pamelafrancis4476]

at 1.53.5 I think.

[@ahmadfarran-9845]

Rabenstien's still the best cover

[@dustovshio]

it almost looks like he is double jointed.

[@tiffsaver]

It looks like he's on double TRANQUILIZERS.

[@ivorap8197]

@@tiffsaver Hahahahahah I’ve gotta applaud you for being so passionate about not enjoying his performance, rather incredible how much time and effort you put into making the world aware of your dislikes

[@tiffsaver]

@@ivorap8197 I would have never even contributed to this thread if the comments regarding this performance weren't so incredibly HYPED. If you don't understand the definition, look it up. I've seen 9-year old players with more passion that this colossal lump of coal. Even Liberace blows him away.

[@ivorap8197]

@@tiffsaver After reading your comments I was already pretty aware of your thoughts on him, but isn’t it much more preferable for the sake of your own time and mental well-being to just let others be hyped about something you may not agree with? Whatever your opinion is on anything, people will always believe the opposite. Trying to convince them will keep you busy for eternity

[@tiffsaver]

@@ivorap8197 It was purely "for the sake of my well-being" that I contributed to this channel in the first place! It reminds me of when people were claiming "what a great singer Madonna is!!" It was such a monumental JOKE that I was forced to say something, just as I did here. If you don't agree with my personal assessment of this pianist's performance of my favorite Chopin Polonaise, good for you... it's still a free country. But with people like you around, it won't be for long.

[@adriancook7078]

I have never heard of or heard this pianist before. Why did he play on such an awful piano ?

[@sziszi050]

Mert nem studió felvétel és az akusztika sem tökéletes. Egy magyar vidéki város kultúrterme lehet és nem a zeneakadémia hangverseny terme. Viszont a közönség örömére játszott! :-)

[@aliabrahimi3711]

very messy Heroique.

[@PrincessDesert]

You Amazing Moron ! Cziffra knows how to Play Chopin because he was taught by a Pupil of a Pupil of Liszt !!

[@tiffsaver]

@@PrincessDesert Yeah, right.

[@tiffsaver]

I don't know how anyone could even stay awake during this performance.

[@soundautomatic1]

Seems almost bored with the timing. Obviously this a fantastic player, but I think it's a pretty mediocre performance for a pro.

[@mhdfrb9971]

Look who's talking

[@GouganeBarra-u4t]

The piano is mediocre... NOT Cziffra. I have nothing but the greatest of respect for the man

[@alainspiteri502]

Always very viril : not here , except Listz j don't understand Cziffra , not interesting for me

[@tiffsaver]

You are the ONLY one on this entire thread with a good ear. This guy is like watching a dead man sitting up.

[@vdv3009]

La migliore esecuzione di questo componimento di Chopin rimane assolutamente quella di Arthur Rubinstein!

[@aricle123456]

The best!