Who needs a right hand? Pianists but only their left hand

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@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

When I shared this video, it was blocked due to copyright. I made some changes, had to remove or replace many recordings. If you are curious, you can look at some of the recordings I removed: Julius Katchen - Benjamin Britten Diversions Gary Graffman - Carl Reinecke, sonata for left hand Zoltan Kocsis - Bartok, Sonata for left hand Study for the left hand

@PianoJFAudioSheet 4 ай бұрын

Try excluding those from the description next time, or at least shorten the track titles. Many recordings only get blocked because of the title. (Katchen could still be blocked without a mention, though).

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@PianoJFAudioSheet Interesting, I never thought it was like this, but I'll pay attention to it next time (especially on recordings by companies like Decca), thank you very much.

@brittopiano 4 ай бұрын

@@OzanFabienGuvener Thanks a lot for all the work you put, to bring these videos to life. I'm always amazed with the themes and recordings you bring every time.

@OzanFabienGuvener 3 ай бұрын

@@brittopiano Thank you for your comment!

@busraertas7381 4 ай бұрын

Great concept. Cortot is excellent as always

@kovvvas 4 ай бұрын

That's a spellbinding clip of Perlemuter. One of my favorites.

@Ezezpokuazo 4 ай бұрын

It would be great to make one with pieces for the right hand only

@steveegallo3384 4 ай бұрын

Outstanding incredible curation.....BRAVO from Acapulco!

@TheSoteriologist 4 ай бұрын

Idil Biret's rendering of that Chaconne is great !

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

Definitely! I have listened to some famous recordings, but they either do not reflect the polyphony well or they use the pedal too much and blur the melodic lines. At this point, Biret understood very well the logic of counterpoint and polyphony in Bach. The structure of her recording reminded me of the Chaconne recordings of Enescu, Huberman and the young Menuhin.

@dwacheopus 4 ай бұрын

Absolute miracle

@FingersKungfu 4 ай бұрын

I read that Paul Wittgenstein, the brother of Ludwig Wittgenstein, was a pianist who lost his right hand (up to the elbow) in WWI. The Wittgenstein were rich so he commissioned piano works that composed only for the left hand. But I don't know if there are recordings of these pieces.

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

The last five works in the video are connected to Wittgenstein. Britten's work for Wittgenstein was also going to be in the video, but it was blocked due to copyrights.

@ДаннилВторушин 4 ай бұрын

Is it possible to make a video about Alfred Cortot's favorite pianists

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

I wasn't sure if there would be enough material. First of all, what we know for sure is that Édouard Risler was his role model. He also said that he was greatly impressed by the piano playing of Chopin's students, especially George Mathias (but there is no recording of him). He praised Raoul Pugno's colorful playing. He spoke positively about the pianism of Claude Debussy and George Enescu (Apart from the roll, there are no recordings that fully reflect their pianism). As far as I remember, he also had high praise for his students Dinu Lipatti and Samson François. As a judge, Cortot praised competitor Michelengeli and appreciated Cziffra recording Schumann. He was close friends with some people: Wilhelm Kempff, Edwin Fischer, etc. He probably liked them too. I don't find it appropriate to share roll records, so there are very few people out there and it's not clear that some of them like them. But I must especially point out that he took Risler as a role model and even had an important role in his transition from conducting to piano. As interesting information: He did not approve of Diemer's playing and education, and saw Chopin's students as more important role models.

@berlinzerberus 4 ай бұрын

What's about pianists suffering from a sick left hand like LangLang? They are completely out of the running because there are not any score for right hand only.

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

As Josef Hofmann used to describe modern pianists who forget the bass: "right-handed pianists!"

@berlinzerberus 4 ай бұрын

@@OzanFabienGuvener Why don't you play the piano professionally Ozan.Because you are highly educated it would be nothing else than wonderful! ;))

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@berlinzerberus Thank you very much, you are very kind. Actually, I studied piano at Conservatoire de Lyon (I chose there for Éric Heidsieck, a pupil of Cortot and Kempff), but only for a year, then the "academic" problems I saw and the wrong perception of classical music in the professional arena turned me off and I quit. It didn't seem possible for me to struggle in an environment where I felt that even the most basic things were not understood correctly by many people. After, I focused more on music composition, but I didn't want to make music professionally, If this is going to be a "job" I have to make compromises. You know, music in the 1930s was made for composers, for other musicians; Nowadays, music is made for companies, academics and society. This changes the whole perspective.

@berlinzerberus 4 ай бұрын

@@OzanFabienGuvener You're welcome Ozan. Well, I got to know Mr. Heidsieck through a KZbin quiz, made by ADGO several years ago and what I remember was the very nice sound of his piano playing.I won the quiz by chance because I was slightly faster than the others. You must have been lucky, I think he was a good teacher. 'then the "academic" problems I saw and the wrong perception of classical music in the professional arena turned me off and I quit. It didn't seem possible for me to struggle in an environment where I felt that even the most basic things were not understood correctly by many people' I can understand exactly what you mean and it is quite annoying to hear todays pianists playing, who haven't the faintest idea of what they are doing. It would be going too far to explain everything here. But I think the education generally is too one-sided and specific. Sometimes I think that 'there is a time for everything' Hoping it isn't too late!

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@berlinzerberus As you said, music education has become very monotonous and individual characteristics have been diminished. The problem here is, first of all, that composers have their own characters; Even Chopin and Liszt, Mozart and Beethoven, Debussy and Ravel are not the same; they have very different aspects from each other. Instead of teaching this versatility, they treat them all uniformly, because it's easier. These people have not even read Liszt's writings or Mozart's letters, never listened to Debussy's, Rachmaninoff's, Busoni's, Bartok's Schöenberg's, Grieg's or Stravinsky's owns recordings. They accepted whatever they were taught as fact, no questioning. Another problem is that my own individual aspects are being diminished, and teachers are imposing their own truths. Students of names such as Liszt, Cortot, Leschetizky, Neuhaus do not seem to come from a single mold, they have different points because they did not impose on some issues and allowed the performer to find their own character. Cortot, Leschetizky and Rachmaninoff were not telling a pianist to play like this, they were saying "convince me". Although they conveyed their views on characters, some technical elements and composers' structures, they did not expect these to be taken verbatim; What they want is for the performer to understand the basics and come up with a convincing interpretation, not to imitate them like a parrot. Moreover, the people in modern academia are neither as knowledgeable nor as creative as those names. People who are already very knowledgeable also realize the ambiguity of knowledge in art.

@ДаннилВторушин 4 ай бұрын

OzanFabienGuvener favorite pianists

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

My personal favorite pianists?

@ДаннилВторушин 4 ай бұрын

Yes, it's interesting

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@ДаннилВторушин The problem with a video on this theme is that my favorites vary from composer to composer. Because the elements I look for in each composer and what I expect from pianists differ depending on the composer. And pianists in general do not change their style enough from composer to composer. For example, Michelangeli is great for Ravel, but I think there are problems with his Chopin and Debussy. Because while Ravel wrote everything in his mind on paper, Chopin and Debussy were not like that; You need to think about colors, rhythms, styles that are not written in the score and since these composers were pianists, they also took into account spontaneous situations at the time of performance. Composers like Debussy, who write as a pianist-composer, are different; composers like Ravel, who think purely compositionally, are different. I can even look at it differently from work to work and my expectations may change. For example, I can say that Backhaus and Lhevinne is better than Friedman in general, but when it comes to Chopin or in more miniature works other than Chopin, in my opinion, Friedman is superior. But if we look at the Chopin etudes, I think Backhaus and Lhevinne are much better because Friedman pedals too much in my opinion and I don't like the way he does it. He stopped practicing at that time and that's why I think he's "cheating", It not only bothers me technically, but the musical elements related to it also become problematic, because when excessive reliance is placed on the pedal, the musical lines interfere with each other and the rubato disintegrates. But I adore Friedman's recordings of Chopin mazurkas, waltzes and nocturne. So this is a bit complex. I think there are different classifications. Or... Hofmann and Horowitz are incredibly good pianists, they are also good as musicians, but their pianism can surpass their musicianship, they approach some composers too pianistically. Richter, on the other hand, is a great musician, but sometimes he doesn't care much about the piano, I may not like his tone etc. (but in his Debussy recordings, both his pianism and musicianship are very high). At this point, there are very few people who have influenced me 100% both as a pianist and as a musician: Cortot, Rachmaninoff, Busoni, Lhevinne, Risler. Maybe these five pianists are my favorite overall but it seems very difficult to make a very generalizing list. Because when I evaluate composers like Mozart, musical and pianist criteria also change. Maybe I can think of more specific lists, like "My favorite Chopin pianists," "My favorite Liszt pianists," "My favorite Mozart pianists," etc. It is possible. For example, when it comes to Liszt pianists, I can say that Cortot, Rachmaninov, Busoni, Sauer, Risler, Rosenthal, Petri, Hofmann, de Greef, Bolet, Kempff, Barere are my favorites for Liszt and I can also give reasons. But when I look at Mozart, I find pianists with very different characters suitable for Mozart: Landowska, Horszowski, Schnabel, Moravec, Fischer, Kraus, Haskil, Casadesus, Curzon, Britten, Arrau etc. For Schumann? I can say Cortot, Gieseking, Bauer, Sauer, Nat, Friedberg, Arrau, Novaes, Cziffra, Haskil, Davies, Collard, Horowitz etc. I did these very superficially but I can think of some lists like this.

@dolcespiano 4 ай бұрын

Regarding your point about Debussy, I was under the impression he was very strict on articulation, and that he also "wrote everything on paper" as you put it. While pianists should evoke the images Debussy wished to portray, Debussy was also quite clear in how he wanted his piano pieces to be performed.

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@dolcespiano If you carefully examine the recordings Debussy made with the piano Mary Garden while he was at the piano, you will see that he is not actually rigid. Especially in rhythmic elements. Even if the themes are repeated on written paper, they undergo some changes while being played. This is like a bird constantly singing the same melody or a wave in the sea. They are repeated, but they do not return with the same intensity, the same rhythm, the same tempo. Debussy does not write these in the notes. Repetitions are renewed with certain changes, just like in nature. He does many things that are not written in the score, take for example the Green recording: Debussy's piano is at a very hasty tempo when excitement is indicated in the poem, in the middle of the poem, when the subject of the poem is tiredness and sleep, Debussy reduces the tempo very naturally; The opening theme is renewed, but this time there is not the same high dynamics and tempo. It makes the character feel tired. In the second repetition, not only the tempo and dynamics but also the emphasis and phrasing change. No other pianist does this on the "Green" recordings because, unlike Debussy, they do not treat the score as a living entity. Piano rolls are not exactly reliable, but we can get some ideas. Debussy does a lot of unwritten things regarding tempo and pedal in the La cathédrale engloutie prelude roll, as there is a cathedral that rises above the water and goes under again depending on the story. When above the water, the bell effects are given without pedals and with strong dynamics, when he goes under water, Debussy drowns out the music with the pedal. These are not written in the score. Cortot achieves a similar effect in the 1947 recording. There are also many anecdotes on this subject. Debussy: "Pedalling cannot be written down, It varies from one instrument to another, from one room, or one hall, to another.' Marguerite Long: "Some time in 1917 Debussy went to hear the Suite played by a famous pianist. 'How was it?' I asked him on his return. 'Dreadful. He didn't miss a note.' 'But you ought to be satisfied. You who insist on the infallible precision of every note.' 'Oh, not like that.' Then emphatically, 'Not like that.' " During La Mer rehearsals, Debussy constantly spoke differently, and Debussy said to the conductor, who got angry: "I don't feel music the same way every day." There is a very distinct difference between the pianists who studied with Debussy and the pianists who studied with Ravel. While Debussy was clear in some aspects, he left areas that required spontaneity and creativity at others. Debussy even refused to write metronome values to musicians who requested it. Debussy was a pianist/composer in the tradition of Chopin and Liszt; He declared that the best pianists he had ever heard in his life were Franz Liszt and one of Chopin's students (Debussy's teacher). According to Cortot, Debussy said that he played the piano like Chopin. Chopin and Debussy simplified the score considerably. But they did it so the performers could do more. There is a similar tendency in musicians nourished by nature, such as Debussy, Chopin and Mozart: Disorder within order, flexibility within rigidity. In nature, waves come in cycles, you know that, but there are things that remain unclear: When will the second wave come? How big will it be? How fast will it be? How much will it foam? That's why some musical elements were not written.

@fredericfrancoischopin6971 4 ай бұрын

Enormous concept! I'm not even talking about the records... Does it come for the right hand too? :)))

@chopin5981 4 ай бұрын

I need my right hand to play them this way, I can't play them with just my left :)

@Seleuce 4 ай бұрын

I would need 3 left hands! :D

@kaleidoscopio5 4 ай бұрын

No Bortkiewicz Piano Concerto 2? 😢

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

I know that piece, but I didn't include it because I wasn't completely satisfied with the recording. But I will listen to it again, I have listened to it a long time ago.

@kaleidoscopio5 4 ай бұрын

@@OzanFabienGuvener try Nadejda Vlaeva at the piano 😎

@OzanFabienGuvener 4 ай бұрын

@@kaleidoscopio5 Okey i will try, thank you!

@kaleidoscopio5 4 ай бұрын

@@OzanFabienGuvener 🙂