How to play all 5 Beethoven Concertos at the same time | Garrick Ohlsson LIVE Interview

0:00 Where in the world is Garrick Ohlsson?
2:17 Garrick hates packing. Hates it.
5:00 “It a lot easier after a hundred times.”
7:13 Garrick has never had a memory slip
11:55 The hardest spot in the ‘Emperor’
16:05 Garrick thinks he’s a fraud
19:07 Influence of Arrau, Richter, and Horowitz
22:41 Learning from conductors
25:48 Beethoven Concertos vs. Sonatas
Where in the world is Garrick Ohlsson?
Join tonebase Head of Piano Ben Laude as he tracks down Garrick at the Bellingham Festival in Washington state, where he was engaged to play all of Beethoven piano concertos in a single weekend.
Garrick break down these cornerstones of the piano concerto repertoire, discusses how they revolutionized the genre, and describes life behind the scenes of a concert pianist practicing all 5 works at once.
Full 90-minute LIVE interview: app.tonebase.co/piano/live/pl...
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[@willycat7445]

"Addicted to the gratification of sound" Pianist's quote of the century.

[@joshuakolpak8820]

Garrick’s pianistic memory is unreal

[@annettefallon1652]

Yunchan will be playing the Emperor Concerto in Texas in September!

[@phoneticalballsack]

Who asked?

[@chaiteamusic9222]

@@phoneticalballsack ur mom

[@ryanli5222]

@@phoneticalballsack Me

[@marshan1226]

Literally no one Asked ?? Wtf

[@chaiteamusic9222]

@@marshan1226 did it hurt you? Is it offensive? Is it inappropriate? If it doesn't check any of those, then it is okay to say it. I personally find it cool because it's just a short 3 hour drive to go see the performance. So when someone says that no one asked, or before your no one asked. Put it through your head that maybe they are just saying some that's an interesting tidbit related to the video.

[@michaeleaster1815]

I'm addicted to the gratification of hearing Garrick talk about music.

[@thegreenpianist7683]

I could listen to Garrick talk for hours, as a matter of fact, I already have. The man is so knowledgeable, engaging and well spoken.

[@Nordicroo]

It was nice hearing Mr Ohlsson speak of Claudio Arrau. I love Claudio Arrau's wonderful renditions of Chopin's Waltzes. Bought his album of them back in 1980 and have loved it ever since. I haven't heard anybody play them better.

[@BEVERLYRANDOLPH-lx4qu]

I once heard Claudio Arrau play the Beethoven 3rd concerto and it was astonishing. It was so liquid, it was as though he had no bones in his fingers. His hands floated across the keys. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was in San Diego in the 70’s.

[@itsjudystube7439]

He is so interesting. He inspires me to go to the piano and rebuild my playing.

[@retrogamerdave362]

Garrick is one of my favorite pianists, just as a person.

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

I'm addicted to the gratification of sound, as well. 😍😍🥰🥰 Love this guy. Great interview. Does Garrick rehearse what for questions he will get and practise the answers as well? A gratification of sound. PostScript : Stanislav Richter as well, was one of my very Special pianists. Serendipidously, listening to the local Radio Station, BR 4 Klassik, I even won a couple of Tickets to a performance of Stanislav Richter playing something Beethovan as an homage to Marlene Dietrich in the LMU Aula. As he returned from the stage to the wings, he looked up to me, sitting directly above and smiled. Tears come to my eyes when I think of it. Tucked away carefully amongst my things is the handwritten programme with Programme notes!. (Sigh...) I loved that guy as well.

[@musicagg3601]

I thought you mean Sviatoslav Richter?

[@BrianOxleyTexan]

"addiction to sound" What a beautiful phrase! Throughout my day I hear phrases of music in my mind when I'm not focused on work

[@mikewhelan9561]

what a great guy

[@user-dg4wm7bu5x]

I was at Garrrick Olsons's concert once. He played a full serious of Chopin's preludes. And he mixed up the sequence. Skipped one prelude and jumped to the next one. Only after a few first bars he realized the mistake, stopped playing and started the skipped piece. It was a kind of a memory slip but definitely not a typical one.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

He actually DID have a memory slip - he just doesn't remember it.

[@pjbpiano]

😂

[@jeanpralica462]

Garrick Olson is such an elegant figure...

[@Henri.d.Olivoir]

I love Garrick! Glad to see him again!

[@Hadley205]

Agreed!

[@coralreef909]

Enjoy if that’s all you’re getting out of it.

[@arturkranz-dobrowolski2959]

When you play five piano concertosby LvB, you don't play them all. What about the sixth, which is a piano version of LvB's violin concerto? Is Garrick ever going to perform it? It would be a great pleasure to hear this piece performed by him.

[@kindnick58]

White Plains in Westchester NY?

[@raffigorski6850]

I love Garrick. But I’m sure you’re aware that Yunchan wants to do all of Beethoven’s Concerti. In fact, he’ll be doing the Emperor in September. Btw, when are you guys going to do an analysis of Yunchan’s Liszt Transcendental Etudes? That was discussed endlessly on an earlier thread.

[@marshan1226]

Are you normal or what? This isn’t about him

[@ottomontgomery4298]

@@marshan1226 y u so mad

[@bierbrauer11]

What Garrick is describing is impostor syndrome. I have it even though I am at my dream job

[@lxdgr8]

Bellingham? I’ve been there before!,

[@MiguelSousapiano]

Your channel is incredibly good! Keep up the good work!

[@gdmoore]

When will people learn that the secret is practicing...

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

Garrick's Chopin recordings are great. I especially love the Mazurkas, Nocturnes, and Scherzi. However, his Chopin is very bold and extraverted. It's a more on the side of an operatic Chopin, than an elegant, aristocratic Chopin. My greatest concert experience was when he subbed for Pollini at Carnegie Hall. He played the Liszt/Busoni Fantasy and Fugue, S. 259, which is rarely played. A work, that I think is the equal to his B Minor sonata. The rest of the program was filled with other Liszt works, including Funerailles, Les jeux d'eau a la Villa D'Este, and Mephisto Waltz (if memory serves). I've never heard such a gargantuan, rich sonority from the piano at Carnegie Hall in my life. What a legend!

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

I once put on Richter's Feux Follets from 1956 in Prague and tried to copy him. It didn't turn out well. The fact that I struggle with Czerny didn't help.

[@philosophicallyspeaking6463]

Garrick, above and beyond his mastery of the keyboard, is the kind of well-spoken musical...'pragmatist' (and intellectual, though that is less important in this instance) that classical music needs to celebrate more publicly. If classical music is to win greater popularity, such as may be needed to survive in difficult economic times, it needs to win broader favor and greater public purchase with people who find it hard to connect with the...exaggerated 'artsiness' that it ill-advisedly defaults to to prove itself more commonly and conspicuously. It is the case that it is the people that 'pretend' to classical music, with the aid of 30' long multi-colored scarves, capes, and the like, who would propose themselves as being more representative 'of', and significantly participant 'in' the culture than they are, for lacking the...'pragmatism' necessary to the 'actual' working musician's responsibilities and duties, which affect the kind of eccentricity that is...off-putting for millions of regular Joes who otherwise love music more than they know. I think that it is this unaccounted bias against the...theatre of 'manufactured' eccentricity (that which is proposed by bad-faith, talentless actors in 'the arts', both literally and figuratively, for being more easily and conspicuously 'proposed' in a public forum by those without the discipline necessary to champion innate ability) rather than any legitimately caused emotional, psychological, or intellectual quirkiness that obligates strange practice, that is so distracting and off-putting, regardless of what identity one attempts to celebrate by and through it. Classical music celebrities, those who carry the torch onto the public stage, would do well to leave all such extra-musical 'performance-art and artifacts to those who need its costuming for lacking the talent to propose it otherwise. In music, if not so too in visual art, such 'choreography' is the hallmark of 'the arts amateur! Real musicians, real dancers, and yes...even real visual artists, prove themselves by their play and practice alone. All else is slavish buffoonery and beneath the dignity of actual artistic expression, which is otherwise relevant to all. Of course, I extend the same compliment of distinction to Ben, who is similarly and enthusiastically musically pragmatic. Keep it up!

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

It's not sacrilege. I'm the same way. Horowitz is one-of-a-kind. However, Richter is the one I gravitate towards 9 times out of 10. Even though Richter's virtuosity was beyond description, I never pay attention to the piano playing. I'm so deeply immersed in what he is conveying through the music. I feely connected to the music more than with any other pianist. Also, Richter is one of the few pianists, where the quality of the recording doesn't impede the connection to his performance. The only other pianist I can think of that had the same communicative power was Cortot (in his case because of when the recordings were made, in Richter's case, because a lot of his earlier stuff is from live recordings that were made with sub-par equipment).

[@sirwan505]

You could say he was a 9 on the RICHTER scale!!!! ha.

[@coralreef909]

Brahms 2nd concerto 1st mov’t. Execution of the dominant 7th scales spanning 3 octaves in the right and left hands. CEGAB-flat RH Fingering of 12345 LH fingering of 54321. All in one sweep without any breaks connecting the whole scale. Any advise to Pianist learning this concerto ? Anecdotal advise on executing these dominant 7th scales ? Most editions of this concerto give the fingering suggestion as RH; 12345 and LH 54321 repeat pattern for 3 octaves. The same scale occurs a 2nd time on FACDE-flat in both hands. Also of note is the climaxing Cadential tremlando trill B-flat +D-flat in the right hand. Any advice on execution?

[@delphi123]

Leon Fleisher’s “cheat” was to leave out the A in the L.H. You won’t hear the difference.

[@MegaMech]

10:55 I believe he's alluding to music internalization. Which is so true, you really need to hear the music in your head. Which is what makes singing so important.

[@BowenMa01]

I’m learning the 1st movement of the emperor now- and I have to say Ohlssons suggestion is actually really helpful! I’ve had countless teachers recommend different techniques and this has helped lots. There’s a reason why he’s so respected

[@highstimulation2497]

frauds indeed:) might be "imposter syndrome." totally relate.

[@sicelonkwanyana1982]

What I find amazing about Garrick is the amount of work that he has performed. His is easily one of the biggest repertoire.

[@SCRIABINIST]

I heard him play the Emperor before, it was an amazing experience

[@peter5.056]

I've been on stage a few times, and when I feel I'm going to have a memory slip, I close my eyes and intentionally relax as much as I can, and I just let my hands go where it feels like the path of least resistance, and it just about always ends up being correct.

[@JohnSmith-oe5kx]

Yes. Even if relaxing doesn’t ALWAYS work, tensing up and/or overthinking it always makes it worse

[@carlhopkinson]

Can you see the doper needles on the beach??

[@martinvanheusden9832]

Pardon, all FIVE pianoconcertos by Ludwig van Beethoven? SEVEN! Besides the five officially numbered ones there is the early concerto in E-flat major (from Bonn) and Beethovens own rewriting of his violinconcerto in D-major into a real pianoconcerto. So... SEVEN pianoconcertos by Beethoven, NOT five. Thank you.

[@benji104]

are they (the two non-standard) on youtube?

[@nihilistlemon1995]

You forgot the triple concerto you simpleton.

[@man0sticks]

No, thank YOU!

[@martinvanheusden9832]

@@nihilistlemon1995 A TRIPLE concerto is no SOLO concerto as the 7 piano concertos and the violin concertos are.

[@nihilistlemon1995]

@@martinvanheusden9832 a violin concerto isn't a piano concerto either, fool

[@JohnSmith-oe5kx]

I think that Ohlssen is fabulous , but I cannot STAND Arrau-he cannot get through a page without fifty tempo variations, more than one per bar. It literally makes me uncomfortable to listen to, I find it very unpleasant.

[@MegaMech]

15:45 it's not a trick. I strongly disagree. If you analyze how a passage like those thirds are executed I think you can describe how. My first thought is don't use your fingers. It has to be forearm up down for each one. And if you need connected you add just the tiniest amount of finger technique. This is one of my gripes with piano teaching. "I dunno, I just do it" doesn't help students and it's not true. You just didn't think about how you did it.

[@man0sticks]

He didn’t say “just do it!” He said that you just have to practice, work at it. By “trick”, he and his interviewer were implying sone kind of secret shortcut to mastery. There is no great mystery about this. Find a fingering and technique that’s comfortable and produces the desired result, and practice it until you’ve mastered it to the point where you no longer fear it.

[@MegaMech]

@@man0sticks Find a technique that works isn't a great tip. Everyone does approach piano differently but there are universal elements.

[@KingstonCzajkowski]

@@MegaMech The tip was "practice." That is a great tip.

[@MegaMech]

@@KingstonCzajkowski That's not a great tip at all. That's like if your theory professor didn't teach you theory and just handed you the final exam on the first day.

[@KingstonCzajkowski]

@@MegaMech How are those two things alike? It certainly seems like a great tip to me - you can't improve without practice.

[@CH-im6eo]

Playing all 5 Beethoven concerti together is not that amazing for now, since Eliso Virsaladze played all 5 in one evening at the age of 77 from memory!

[@pjbpiano]

And because of that, it’s not an amazing feat??? That’s some thinking.

[@belialah]

Dude, you need to slow down on the weed.

[@normanswazo8586]

Poor editing

[@MegaMech]

I don't have the desire to watch one piano Concerto. Who would listen to all five in a single session? The form is so deprived of any creativity stooping only to technical showing off and imo that's not what makes good music. The reason etudes can bypass this issue is they are only two minutes long.

[@benharmonics]

Almost burnt myself on that hot take

[@MegaMech]

@@benharmonics ha. I just don't like pretentious music that doesn't bring much to the table.

[@benharmonics]

@@MegaMech Pretentious?? The piano concerto repertoire contains some of the most dramatic and beautiful music ever written. As a pianist, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

[@MegaMech]

​@@benharmonics Mozart's piano concertos are pretty good. Once we get to Liszt and Rachmaninoff it became colourless virtuosic show off pieces. And that just turns me off, honestly. Listen to Blue Ridge Saga by James Swearingen. The piece tells a story, its fluid from beginning to end. The piano concerto's "orchestra vs the piano" type formula just doesn't work in a way that can keep an audience interested nor was it ever that great of an idea. There's some beautiful sections in piano concerto's. I'm not claiming otherwise, it's just I don't care to listen to 20-40 minutes of music for one or two good sections and the rest as just filler. Take Rachmaninoff's piano concerto 2. It's got a cool opening. And the pianist has all these arpeggios right at the beginning that you can't even hear over the orchestra. There's literally no purpose for those notes other than "Well, it had too be hard" it doesn't fit the music. And that issue exists in nearly every piano concerto throughout the whole concerto. And that's why I don't like them. Difficulty for the sake of difficulty is stupid. Chopin Etude 4 is cool. It's 2 minutes long. It's an experimental piece essentially seeing if you can keep notes going for 2 minutes straight while having a clear and concise story to go with it. There's a _reason_ for it to be hard. Piano concertos are only hard to pump up a pianists ego and narcissism. And I dislike that.

[@benharmonics]

@@MegaMech @MegaMech Interesting. I've never heard of James Swearingen. I'll check out the piece by him that you recommended. But I strongly disagree with what you say about Rachmaninoff. The opening section of the Rach 2 first movement, with the strings playing the melody and the piano playing arpeggios, is wonderful. The piano part is not hard for the sake of being hard, but an essential element of the music. Even if you can't hear every note, the arpeggios add a sense of movement, making the music much more powerful. It's like the piano is driving the orchestra forward. I agree that Chopin etude op. 10 no. 4 is cool, but the Rach 2 is more than cool. In my opinion, every section of that piece is brilliant, not just one or two. But if it's not your cup of tea, it's not your cup of tea.