Mariam Batsashvili - Solo Final

Die Lorelei, S532
Sonata in B minor, S178

[@capmar100]

Just as difficult it is to pronounce her name, just as esay to be enchanted and impressed by her virtuosity, profoundness and interpretative skills. A bright star on the music firmament.

[@MaartenWisse]

Great performance. So much power and attention to detail. So much feeling also for the meaning of all of those quick notes that only seem to serve showing off one's virtuosity.

[@nataakhaladze7006]

no words! what a great performance!

[@Bear66Dog]

Amazing performance on an amazing instrument! The Yamaha CFX is one of the great pianos of the world and was the most popular choice of the pianists in this competition. And, of the 3 finalists, 2 selected the Yamaha CFX and 1 selected a Fazioli.

[@ChlorisPiano]

Thanks for the information.

[@nosehow2liv525]

+Barry Frost The choice of Yamahaha completely sinks any possibility of musical expression. Yamahaha is an excellent tool, to complement technical work, (silent pinos, easy transport keyboreds, etc in difficult circumstances...), but should never be considered a musical instrument. Here we hear the perfect clarity, efficiency; etc, but no color, no tonal variety, no possibility of blending of harmonies; for Bach, Mozfart, etc, that can pass, but for Liszt and almost any other major Romantic figure, it's a disaster. But in the modern internut age, ignorance is rife, efficiency is all. By the way, the performance, (as much as i've heard so far), is inefficient, (as notes go), inexpressive,(as expression goes), and tonally aggressive and unvaried, (as one would expect from Yamahaha), but in this internut age.... anything goes, (as long as it makes money and has long, sexy dark hair..) Credit to the player for having observed the score and not abused the bass B's as so often. Enjoy, (as much as it's possible).

[@benjaminsmith2287]

That's becoming the norm in competitions. Sometimes the Hamburg is chosen by most contestants but somewhat more the CFX and Shigeru Kawai's SK-EX are chosen. At times, the Fazioli is popular. Hamburg Steinway still gets chosen, but it's a known quantity so some pianists pick the alternatives. I also notice some will play different pianos in different competitions. I think because they may just choose the piano they think feels and works best for them, not always the name on the fallboard.

[@benjaminsmith2287]

@NOSEhow2LIV, I totally disagree with you. The Yamaha CFX played by Dina Ivanov in the 2017 competition displayed the piano at its full capacity and she has a wonderful relationship with it. It may not have the raw horsepower of the Steinway but it articulates finer, sings sweeter, shows more shades and dimension in the music, and truly brings out more musicality in not only the 2017 Liszt competition, but after hearing various works of Chopin at the Chopin competition in 2015 played on the CFX vs. the Hamburg D, it does so in that competition as well. In fact, it's making the Steinway D sound like an "old" piano now. Yamaha has really accomplished something wonderful in the CFX.

[@TheRonnos]

What happened with all those great Steinways!!??

[@privateperson8289]

Such power by a tiny woman, lifts right off her seat 26:26 amazing to watch :)

[@alapiano3568]

thanks Mariam, with your Sonata, Liszt is with us again !

[@alwatsonpianist]

Beautiful interpretation!!!!

[@EkaterineI]

Bravissimo!!!! Your performance is amazing!!!!!

[@zenzihni]

Dear Mariam, I can't hardly wait for your talk show on my radio station next January 21st, 2015 on La FEMME 88FM Medan - Indonesia

[@Ringelb]

when i see her hands in the b-minor sonate, i have the assosiation of two fast moving huge spiders :) fantastic

[@DannyVFiddler]

Batsashvili 💖💖💖👏👏👏

[@polenc7167]

Playing alla Horowitz with relatively straight fingers. How does she do it? And so wonderfully.

[@victorgallardo6375]

Fantastica

[@darbiter90]

0:56-1:18 is sublime! Her facial mimes are peerless and infallibly irreproachable.

[@dvardeman]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[@ChlorisPiano]

I went to Listen great pianists played Liszt on Steinway. I understood what Arjens complained for. Pianists in this level should appreciate the sound from Steinway. It is so different.

[@darbiter90]

1:51 is brilliant! I have never seen a pianist have a doggie door in the back of their shirt.

[@MartinVanBoven]

9:25 - 9:30 Sonata "quasi una Fantasia" in b minor

[@reginapaulinapereiradefari5608]

Maravilhosa!

[@wheelie63]

she plays as if carried aloft by magic.

[@claudioparrella183]

Die lorelei deliziosa: La sonata di buona fattura per una pianista giovane: con più di un errore e sprazzi geniali

[@resultant64]

Very dramatic and beautiful... Yamaha is a beautiful piano bit not powerful enough to capture all the dynamics. Steinway (Hamburg) Bosendorfer or Faizioli might have been a better choice..I think..

[@dickkehoe4740]

Agree

[@thomasg321]

You are a moron

[@marcius7308]

🎶🎶🎶🎹🤩😍 👍👏🎩 🎀💐 🇮🇷🖐️

[@DavidNamdvili]

10:30-დან კაიფი დაიჭირა :)

[@PalumboComposer]

29:30 .......

[@MrPanohead]

What are your complaints about the sound of the Yamaha, arjens0?

[@ChlorisPiano]

As a player, when I play Liszt on YAMAHA, i am very satisfied my clarity, and meantime, when i try on Steinway, I figure out it is not that brilliant.......I truly believe if I had Yundi's fingers, i definitely will choose Steinway, it shows " golden age, golden tone.", specially for Romantic music.

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Steinways vary a lot. So does Yamaha. I go for how the technician prepares the piano. Yamahas vary a lot because they are a huge company that calls their budget pianos the same thing they call their rare hand-built world-class pianos. They are all Yamaha. But they vary from bright to mellow to medium to percussive to dark and variations in between. Steinway has the NY and Hamburg, and there's more variation in NY, but some in Hamburg as well. In general, Steinways are lush and big with the singing tones and orchestral approach (heavenly when they are voiced great) and Yamaha doesn't sit still and keeps updating their sound. They now have this long sustain and controlled sound with many layers, much different than the ones that came out before 2010 in some, not all, of their range. I feel the Yamaha takes the ultimate pianistic approach to bringing out musical phrases but has less power than they used to. But the technician voices the pianos. And, IMO, a lot of the contestants go for the piano where they like the combination of the voicing and the action, and feel the most connection to. Some of them are paying less attention to who makes it.

[@MathieuPrevot]

@@benjaminsmith2287 This is an advised comment ! I find my CFX (pre 2022) singing and sustaining more (beautiful and long harmonics) in medium-high than the few best Steinways, but the basses with Steinway can "inflate" more and get more messy (and I like to be able to go there), but with bad Ds, it's just too much and the CFX (tried only one) is actually really clear there (cleaner harmonics), but kind of weaker, less imposing. Unissons are as well lightly shifted (not exactly the same, as in orchestras) in both but I could not quantify/qualify (maybe less with the CFX's current tuning). Do you observe such things too ?

[@benjaminsmith2287]

@@MathieuPrevot That sounds like a great description of the differences in sound of the two makes. The Yamaha has a really clear bass but it isn't as growly, messy, imposing, any of the words as Steinway. And the upper treble of Steinways are the same way. Maybe not messy but quite present.

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

This guy's really good! Mariam is an unusual name for a dude.

[@XPKpianist]

She’s not a dude 😂

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Congrats to her but after hearing Dina Ivanova play at the 2017 competition, and using the same piano, I find this tame in comparison.

[@gergelykiss]

Ah, interesting! I actually felt the opposite: Batsashvili sounded a lot wilder to me, I felt she took more risks - and Ivanova was a lot more controlled (not in a bad way, at all!). This I found also reflected in the number of mistakes they made - much fewer with Ivanova. Enjoyed both of their Sonata performances a lot - I probably prefer Ivanova's, but many sections from Batsashvili were exceptionally wonderfully interpreted.

[@ferube4171]

IVANOVA TUVO 3 AÑOS MAS PARA PRACTICAR E IMPRESIONAR SOLO EN PARTE

[@mkeysou812]

They're too bloody gentle on the contestants in these competitions. They should insist on some seriously impossibly hard Liszt stuff, like his Grandes Etudes, the Clochett fantasy, the smugglers etc etc, that would sort them out

[@ChlorisPiano]

I agree.

[@ThomasSMueller]

maybe such pieces were required in the earlier rounds or even as entry requirement. you don't know that. and besides, those technically hard pieces always loose in musical expression. the musical touch is more important. anyway, mariam played yesterday in bayreuth at the wagner festspiele: some liszt tarantella that made your head spin. it was ridiculous. and she played it like it was nothing. so, rest assured, she would pass your "sort them out" - test.

[@heyjianjing]

She won Liszt competition for youth in 2011, now she won Liszt competition, hope you're not thinking you're more qualified than the judges on Franz Liszt

[@TipoQueTocaelPiano]

A final round with etudes? No, thanks. This sonata is harder than any of Chopin's competitions everywhere. You can easily notice that this performance, although very good and in fact she won the competition,, has plenty of wrong notes and slips. This sonata is technically very challenging, but also musically and interpretatively. I couldn't think of a better choice of piece for a final round.

[@user-cy9lu9dm6n]

That might end up like only 5-6 people applying for the competition and only technical people are left for medal and they will not do well in the careers

[@AnnibaleBormida]

Niente da dire sulla tecnica, ovviamente; e così pure sulla interpretazione rispettabilissima. Ma sarebbe bello vedere meno mimiche facciali esagerate (Lang Lang docet peraltro).

[@lmcpadmos]

I might be considered an uncultured behemoth asking this, but are the facial expressions really nedessary?

[@mariselaiii]

+Lucien Padmos It is not in the subject of whether it's necessary or not. Even though sometimes might seems really dramatic, I think facial expressions of performers can come naturally.

[@ferube4171]

YES SI OUI CERTO DA YES YES YES!!!

[@Dbsabzbzb]

/-:

[@lawrencelikaiso]

I am dissenting with popular opinion, but both pieces drag quite severely. She focusses too much on making pretty sounds but not much attention is paid to making music.

[@milton3204]

...faulty damper? LOL

[@Eristhenes]

Must agree. This behemoth of a sonata was soft and weak. All you hear is the saint, not the sinner; the beauty and the longing not the diabolical or the anger. One should never even attempt this piece until one has "sat" with it for some time.

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Eristenes: nice comment. Good points.

[@davidrichards2113]

So who do you like?

[@MathieuPrevot]

How can you tell "not much attention is paid to making music" ? references ?