Kapustin Sonata no 1 (Sonata Fantasy) complete performance, analysis and commentary-all movements!

8:20 1st mvt
12:27 2nd mvt
17:37 3rd mvt
20:56 4th mvt
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[@xgihavoc]

Big Kapustin fan here. Thank you for your videos! It's a tragedy how underrated they are, but they do not go unappreciated!

[@grahamtwist]

WOW, Cole! B R A V O ! What a performance! I was mesmerized from the first to the last note with playing that was never less than virtuosic and any 'slips' were of no consequence whatsoever. And that is because you invested yourself fully in this performance and gave the music not only its own energy, but also all of your vitality. You really are amazing and a total joy to hear and watch. I see that Nikolai Kapustin is hailed as a Ukrainian composer and pianist, even though his musical life blossomed in Russia. One can only imagine how the current conflict would have distressed him.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you Graham! Yes, Kapustin was in good company with other artists who were born in cities in the present day Ukraine-including none other than Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter and Samuil Feinberg. It must be something in the air there...

[@wernherwilhelmson7688]

@@TheIndependentPianist The spirit of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union were in the air there at the time :)))

[@grahamtwist]

@@skittering Thank you for the insight - 'politics' is never straightforward! However, no-one can take comfort in seeing a homeland ravaged by war and innocent lives massacred for the sake of political ideology. Humanity should be better than this.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

​@@grahamtwist Well put, Graham. It is extraordinary to me the lengths to which some will go to find confirmation for their biases.

[@counterpoints_]

The nod to the Ravel Piano Trio, YES! I've always felt the same thing as well. This sonata is filled with fragments of his subsequent Op.40 Concert Etudes. There are obvious nominal connections -- many parts in Mvt 4 here resemble the rhythmic patterns in Etude 1, which is a "Prelude" in its own right. Having this first sonata related to a Prelude is that exact "Hello World" statement that opens up the kaleidoscopic expansions in Kapustin's ensuing works. I wonder if it is worthwhile to draw all connections to the neighboring work to motivate the cross-study even more so.

[@alexisnienov4677]

Thanks for the great work! Only at 10:29 the last note of the melody in the red frame is A Becare.

[@billsmathers7787]

Gorgeous playing! Thanks for the analysis as well.

[@MichaelConwayBaker]

This is just fabulous. Thanks for sharing this great music!

[@xhl1234]

Thank you so much,your work is helpful for me!

[@eliasleverato9373]

bravo bravo. great analysis

[@xanderbenhampianistcomposer]

The greatest sonata ever written.

[@federicoruellicubertie2296]

Very interesting interpretation. I would go as far as to say that it's better than kapustin's one, bravo!

[@supersonicchef]

Bravo! Fantastic! Love all aspects of it - music, your performance, analysis & commentary. What a feat. Thank you. It's not just a very difficult piece to play, it's hellishly hellishly difficult to play & at the speed you've played. Well done. Thank you again!

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you! Yes I think "hellishly difficult" sums it up pretty well. Definitely the most difficult piece in terms of stamina/precision that I've played so far in my life. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[@andrewshears2077]

Fantastic. I had the experience of seeing Yuja Wang two nights ago in Los Angeles, and she performed a few Kapustin pieces (though she didn’t provide a list of works for the concert, so I could only identify the oft performed concert etudes). Having your commentary to go along with such a dense (though not at all impenetrable) piece stands as a great example, and stands in contrast to the concert I mentioned, of how to bring listeners into a less familiar work. Thank you. Also, for what it’s worth, the dropped chords didn’t bother me in the slightest, and this performance can stand against any you’d find in a live setting.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thanks so much! That is a very interesting insight you offer as well. It is interesting that even now many fabulous concert artists are often a bit hesitant to speak to the audience. Hopefully more performers will start trying to bring their audience closer via some (brief) spoken comments during concerts. I've always found that it adds a lot to my enjoyment as well.

[@lucawuthrich6594]

Fantastic piece and performance

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you!

[@toothbrush6365]

26:11

[@RaptorT1V]

We need analyses of his concert etudes! Especially 3 and 6 )

[@sebthi7890]

What colourful and rich music, interessant und schmeckt dem Ohr

[@davikersulks9525]

17:36 i got an brazil flashback in that part

[@FesteringGhoul]

Good Lord. This sounds just like kapustin himself playing. Fantastic job. What a gift to share your analysis and commentary on the piece. I instantly subscribed!

[@asianpianoman]

This sounds way better than kapustin's recording imo

[@FesteringGhoul]

@@asianpianoman nah, it doesn’t

[@dukedome]

Hi. It's great only to post it. The only thing is the pedal in certain parts (the beginning, for example), that is not usual in Kapustin music. Maybe is in the score, I don't know but makes the piece's listening different....

[@neilkilleen3911]

Absolutely, the note-perfect ethos is counter-musical and creating our armadas of piano automotons. Take some risks, do things in the moment that are new and may go slightly off the rails. It’s a terrific performance Do you use the music (as a guide) in your video recordings ? I note your video on this topic 😳

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

Hi! Could you explain what exactly is the link between the second half of the first movement theme and the second theme in the fourth movement?

[@TheIndependentPianist]

The pattern of a descending line followed by a leap upwards.

[@op-th1yx]

What an incredible performance. I love Kapustin's music, but i am very hesitant when it comes to learning his pieces. I learned his op 41 variations a while ago, and it was probably the piece i spend the most time learning. Most of it fits the hand nicely, but the lack of repetitions and unexpected figurations, makes it a very tedious learning process. Do you have any suggestion on how to memorise and learn pieces like these more effectively?

[@terryss95]

There's no shame in playing in front of the partitura sometimes.

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

Actually there is quite a bit of repetition as far as the underlying harmony, that will certainly help with memorizing.

[@paradise3124]

Привет! А можно ссылку на ноты?

[@collinm.4652]

Do u have any plans for a sonata 2? I’ve played the first movement and understanding it from a theoretical standpoint sounds interesting lol. It’s quite the ride.

[@tonphammusic]

Wow this was well worth the wait, that last movement was especially incredible. I think you could surpass Steven Osborne’s recording if you get the chance to record this in a studio. Just some highlights, there’s no excessive rubato so that rhythmic drive is maintained, really taking your time with the rest before the second theme enters, your accents in the walking bass line at the start of the development. I didn’t even notice the missing chords shortly before the second theme recap until I specifically went to that passage to check a rhythmic error in my braille score when I was relearning that movement. That’s a testament to how enthralling your performance is and just affirms your comments on human fallibility at the start of the video. I didn’t notice the motivic development running throughout the entire sonata until you pointed it out in your comments before the performance. I suppose that is the consequence of learning the last movement first, haven’t gotten to the others aside from briefly going through the first. Unfortunately I can’t benefit from your highlighted scores but I still get immense enjoyment from your comments and performances. I had a similar introduction to Kapustin in the sense that I chose possibly one of the worst pieces to start with. It was the first movement of the second piano sonata, and that movement alone was so mentally exhausting that I ended up dropping it for 8 months immediately after learning it. Once I revisited it along with learning more of his music it has become far more manageable, but at the time I was immersed in a bunch of early 20th century French composers and Scriabin so going to Kapustin was quite the rude awakening. Aside from presenting different technical challenges from the composers I was used to, there was also the jazz idiom to come to terms with especially with rhythm.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

You are very kind-thank you so much. I obviously need to hear this recording by Steven Osbourne! I keep hearing about it, but I haven't gotten a chance to yet. I've looked over the 2nd sonata a little as well-the 1st movement is...substantial. I can imagine it would be exhausting to learn. It's remarkable how liberating the music is once it is learned though. It makes the whole process very much worthwhile. Best of luck with the other mvts of the 1st sonata as well. I'm sure you will have a great time with it... The 3rd mvt was the real kicker for me. It took me forever to get somewhat comfortable with it. If you can manage that, then you can really play anything.

[@tonphammusic]

I have a copy I can send, although it is an MP3 so if you’re looking for something with better quality you’ll have to buy the CD. Personally I think the first movement was his best work in that sonata, some incredible voicing there and he relaxes the tempo at the first entrance of the main theme to really let it sing. The rest of the sonata I have mixed feelings on. The second movement was gorgeous at first but then he is way too hasty with the B section, definitely prefer your tempo there. Then the last too movements are too light for my taste. Speaking of the B section of the second movement, is the A octave at around 14 minutes at the lowest register of the keyboard or is it an octave higher? I’m getting conflicting answers from Osborne and my braille score, here it’s written as the latter but I’m not sure if the transcriber just forgot an 8va in the print score. Duly noted about the 3rd movement, it’s probably one of his pieces that sounds deceptively straight forword until I actually look at the score. Yes it is absolutely worth all of the effort. I don’t think I’ve encountered another composer who is such a huge headache to learn but so rewarding to play once you get a hang of it aside from a couple of the nastier Scriabin sonatas. If you also decide to play the second piano sonata, that last movement is brutal. An endless stream of 16th notes and a constant 4 bar phrase of alternating 4/4+7/8+4/4+5/8 throughout the entire piece. The first movement is at least somewhat possible for me but I had to drop that last movement because some of the passages are physically not possible to pull off cleanly with my current piano.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

@@tonphammusic The A octave is something I took from Kapustin's own recording. Probably just an optional change that he made there. I'll but the recording at some point, no worries! Sounds very interesting. We'll see if I feel brave enough to tackle the 2nd sonata at some point.... :-)

[@tonphammusic]

@@TheIndependentPianist Ah ok, thanks for clarifying. Kapustin does tend to make slight alterations from his own scores so it’s very hard to tell at times if that’s the case or the braille transcriber made an error. I don’t think you have much to fear, you have far more experience than some random blind guy who’s barely out of high school.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

@@tonphammusic Not so random-seems like you have accomplished quite a lot already!

[@user-jb1pi1zr5p]

what is the music sheet publisher? i want to know finger numbers....

[@TheIndependentPianist]

It's Schott, ED 22655

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

21:19 is it too much of a stretch to suggest that the bassline here is like the first four notes of the main theme?

[@TheIndependentPianist]

It might be-it's hard to tell if that would be intentional or not, since it is somewhat subtle, but it could be!

[@asianpianoman]

Easily better than kapustin's recording. Phrasing, voicing, texturing, dynamic contrast all on fleek.So many great ideas and perfectly executed. Look forward to more!

[@TheIndependentPianist]

I'm honored by your remarks. Thank you!

[@mohammadbayazid5064]

I never understood the appeal of this type of music

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Could you explain what you mean? Then we might be able to discuss its possible appeal.

[@mohammadbayazid5064]

@@TheIndependentPianist the atonal and modern side of it🤷‍♂️

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

@@mohammadbayazid5064 What? There is nothing atonal about this piece at all. In fact, this is one of his most accessible pieces as far as listening compared to passages starting in the opus 50s where he does start making use of occasional tone rows or heavy chromaticism. I can understand not liking the jazz idiom it is based off of or not liking how it sounds in this strict classical form, but that first point is ridiculous.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Actually this is a perspective that I'm very used to and I also sympathize with. Music is really the most abstract of all the arts, so when you get something that is fairly long and complex like this, it can seem off-putting if you are not used it. It can really take a few listens to a complex piece before it starts to "sink-in," but then you might find that you really like it a lot. I always think of Stephen Sondheim, who wrote all those brilliant musicals-Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd etc. He said listening to "modern" music really led to a lot of the innovations that he brought to musicals. But, the first time he heard the Berg Violin Concerto (which is almost completely atonal) he thought it was just noise. But by the 10th time listening, he was singing along. I've had the same experience many times. A piece of music seems impossibly complex and forbidding at first, but after listening many times, it might become one of my favorite pieces. Or it might just not be your cup of tea! But then at least you know this from a standpoint of full knowledge and not just because it was "too difficult." Thank you for the comment. I hope my reply isn't out of proportion, but I find this topic very interesting! Complex music can be wonderfully rewarding, but sometimes you need to invest some time to become friends with a challenging piece.

[@mohammadbayazid5064]

@@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851 I didn’t mean that it is totally atonal, but there are ambiguous moments and if you compare it with say Mozart’s fantasy, you’ll see the difference I’m referring to.