Samuil Feinberg - Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 3

[@tomdis8637]

Marc-Andre Hamelin is the most magisterial pianistic genius of our time. Perhaps of all time…from Haydn to Ives and beyond, his purity, fealty, and adaptability to virtually every musical style is unlike any other pianist. His towering technique, always in total service to his astounding musicianship, obviate any trace of ego or eccentricity. His recordings of the Feinberg sonatas, like all his recorded performances, are the touchstone against which all others must be measured. OK, much hyperbole here, but Marc-Andre gives us so much to work with! 😂

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Oh my god, what did I just listen to... Instantly one of my favorite pieces. Fire!

[@lucaslorentz]

Omg , what did i just listen to ... instantly one of my favorite pieces. FIRE!!!

[@SeigneurReefShark]

@@lucaslorentz FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lucaslorentz]

@@SeigneurReefShark *F I R E*

[@ciararespect4296]

Yes I played it but not very enamoured as someone said too many notes

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

Same, maybe not so much for the first two movements but holy shit that 3rd.

[@javiertw89]

I just realized the left hand at 23:18 is actually playing the theme from the prelude. Mind blown.

[@Perpendosi]

And right before that, the left hand alludes to the intervals from the second movement: Funeral March.

[@mysterium364]

What the fuck. I could tell this part was a reference to the prelude, but I never noticed that it was an actual restatement of the theme.

[@ianmoore5502]

It's a prepreludelude

[@Starry_9]

Whoa, I didn't know that. That's insane...

[@_rstcm]

How to sound like Samuil Feinberg: 1) Start the melody with the first few notes/chords/bars in the home key. 2) Write the rest of the music as if the key signature never existed, but keep the key signature to give the musician's eyes and brain a workout. 3) Keep changing the key signatures in between while the music is still chromatic, though write some non-chromatic parts in between to remind the musician what the key of the piece is. 4) In the end of the piece/movement, give a surprising resolution in the home key.

[@philip.stigaard]

This is so accurate haha

[@AndreaCalligarisMusic]

Or, if you want to write a sonata in A minor, just write random notes but occasionally put a low A natural in the bass so that everyone can see you're *obviously* still in A minor. :D

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Agree

[@mysterium364]

@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji You changed your name lol

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

@@mysterium364 I haven't...it's just my 'handle'

[@enriqueernesto738]

The final fugue is a purgatory of insanity, passion and pain in contenmplation of death and utter destruction

[@EggBenis]

It would be a reflection of the situation going on in Feinberg’s time, considering that the Russian Empire was soon to fall, and the fact that there was a war of unspeakable atrocity.

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@EggBenis Egg

[@yeetthebeet]

egg

[@DynastieArtistique]

egg

[@imberus5801]

egg

[@EmilianoManna]

One of the pinnacles of the entire XXth century repertoire, simply mind-blowing stuff

[@timothythorne9464]

Emiliano it's fantastic! It's Scriabinesque in places and not unlike some of the more daring efforts of Lizst

[@jnaneshwari368]

1

[@GUILLOM]

@@timothythorne9464 h

[@GUILLOM]

@Shostacovid-19 no

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

HA!!! Great to see you here!!! The usual suspects...

[@marco119w7]

19:06 - 19:39 is such an insane build-up to the g-sharp minor theme, I have it on repeat. The impetuoso section before that is a nice homage to Chopin's sonata too. I always imagine Feinberg's music to be the nightmares of Scriabin (in a good way). You can even hear some early to middle period Scriabinisms even in the most dissonant parts of the last movement.

[@ThatOneGuyRAR]

Crazy how much WIM plagues this comment section for how much he claims to dislike this piece

[@pianista-mediocre]

He's a troll. That's his goal. It's fun.

[@elrichardo1337]

what a great piece, now I want to start learning it to play at my senior recital in 3 years 😩

[@elrichardo1337]

so I’ve got the whole sonata more or less under my fingers now 🤠 gotta clean things up further but it’s absolutely exhilarating to play

[@zekeyeager445]

​@@elrichardo1337Great! Do you have a video of it?

[@Jartious]

please do upload it if you want!

[@musikant-d2x]

18:44 : That's insane!

[@MegaPianogenius]

Ernst Kerstner love to see it live

[@musik350]

have you listened to the cadenza of Sorabji's opus archimagicum

[@babygirl4169]

@@musik350 link pls?

[@Latinosmassacre-]

@@babygirl4169 hey baby girl

[@elrichardo1337]

Chopin sonata 2 finale on every drug in existence

[@scriabinismydog2439]

That coda never fails to bring me to tears. It's so tragic and powerful. Most badass piano piece I've ever heard

[@albinopino6789]

Yes

[@patricioapaez]

Man.... it's just too epic.. Can't get enough of it lately!!

[@AsrielKujo]

Badass

[@j.rohmann3199]

@@AsrielKujo uwu

[@GUILLOM]

Epic

[@ianmoore5502]

9:30 this lives in my head rent free

[@OfficialSoupelin]

WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!!!! This deserves a thumbs up from all 20 of my alts.

[@Jartious]

real

[@robertwalker2052]

Sounds like the soundtrack for a particularly dramatic industrial WPA mural. Larger-than-life workmen with sledgehammers, saws, molten metal troughs and machinery are all there building a ghastly techno future. Thanks for uploading.

[@DynastieArtistique]

Super specific description lol but I like it

[@francescobravi598]

Thank you so much for this! I heard Hamelin playing this piece a few months ago in a recital. Simply breathtaking. Feinberg deserves to be much more well known as a composer... And I am so glad to know that the manuscript has been uploaded!

[@vaclavmiller8032]

I may have been at the same recital (Wigmore Hall?). It was utterly stunning and really turned me on to Feinberg.

[@meszian]

I think the problem is there are only about 10 pianists in the world capable of doing it justice.

[@tomdis8637]

Hamelin is the magisterial giant of the piano.

[@mkeating52]

Terrific job - glad someone else noticed Mr. Hamelin did in fact upload the manuscript. (and much thanks to him!) I was thinking of engraving myself - may still do so sometime - but in the meantime I’m so happy it’s out there!

[@mysterium364]

I don't know where to find this upload that you speak of. Is it on Hamelin's website?

[@mkeating52]

@@mysterium364 The manuscript is up on IMSLP

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

I absolutely love the fiery nature of this piece. Leave alone the amazing melodies...

[@ianmoore5502]

It's like he couldn't help himself....(and thank goodness he didnt...)

[@danielzaytsev820]

11:33, that second theme though, it just hits differently.

[@NoahSpencer008]

Funny enough, when I first heard this theme I automatically thought Scriabin.

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

@@NoahSpencer008 I thought of Medtner :)

[@jere3558]

@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji I think both makes sense, a typical medtner and an early to mid Scriabin

[@The_Rach_Man_in_Off]

Skriabin Op. 45 n. 5 from 14:27 to 14:34. Who plays it is not the only one who needs to rest after finishing. Listener's brain too.

[@AEPMUSlC]

Thank you so much, this is one of my top favorites of all repertoar! I've been wanting to hear Hamelins version of this particular piece for over 10 years and now I have!

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Epic! 3 and 6 are my favourites.

[@exomin4309]

the recapitulation of mvt 3 is legit the most badass thing i’ve ever heard

[@allegroconfuoco6]

0:00 I. Prelude 4:24 II. Marche funebre 10:08 III. Sonate (Allegro appassionato) 16:30 IV. Fugue (Vivace)

[@PieInTheSky9]

11:33 the lento section sounds like Medtner

[@calebhu6383]

Yes it does

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Ohh yes!

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Of course.

[@Bampaloudu64]

Cette oeuvre m'évoque directement la 2ème Sonate pour piano de Scriabine, notamment dans le 3ème mouvement. Les arabesques et arpèges sans altérations à la tonalité sur des mesures entières font écho au premier mouvement de celle de Scriabine.

[@ladyislavstalinskaya6312]

incredibly beautiful

[@flesh-eatingbug5032]

Wow, very amazing!

[@qalaphyll]

SO GOOD WTF

[@ShutUpZewenThisIsNotBased]

so good...

[@alexnewson6013]

involving from bar 1 - following the score so helpful.Many thanks

[@yagiz885]

I want to repeat the section at 10:34 until end of my life

[@SeigneurReefShark]

I want to repeat all the third movement until the end of my days

[@GUILLOM]

I want to repeat

[@j.rohmann3199]

@@GUILLOM want repeat

[@ValzainLumivix]

Ok

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Indeed

[@distantworlds9104]

That finale... just pure destruction. The ferocity of Prokofiev 7/Barber with the emotional complexity of late Beethoven.

[@Whatismusic123]

"Emotional complexity" 😂😂😂 do you mean amount of your religious delusions?

[@themobiusfunction]

​@@Whatismusic123grow up

[@zerois2801]

let people enjoy what they like man@@Whatismusic123

[@unnamed_boi]

epic banger

[@unnamed_boi]

@ㅤㅤㅤㅤ hi yes this is one of my favorite sonatas like, ever

[@GoldenBiba]

just WOW

[@beethovenberlioz]

Un capolavoro

[@davidxpopescu]

One of the most mysterious Feinberg sonatas ever.....

[@segmentsAndCurves]

Why mysterious? I think dense, but not mysterious.

[@SeigneurReefShark]

8 is much more mysterious I think

[@Latinosmassacre-]

@@segmentsAndCurves Cuz it's sounds confusing? like the inside of a psychiatric patients

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@Latinosmassacre- nope i do not here that

[@Latinosmassacre-]

Agreed, a weird story somehow

[@MegaPianogenius]

Thanks I just played this with iPad on the piano fall

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

sam333 Fook off Bill Bloggs poser.

[@SeigneurReefShark]

@@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851 Lmfaooo

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

You're welcome

[@renan1033zinho]

18:45 - just WOW !

[@pianist_detentive]

18:45 It really let the one who play this in the shit, once you play this you will never stop

[@steveegallo3384]

OMyGod....a Colossus! Some parts make the Cadenzas of Prokofiev 2 and Tschaikowski 2 seem like a ramble in the park......BRAVO, Maestro Marc-André....from Mexico City!

[@steveegallo3384]

......and STILL great.....now from Acapulco.....BRAVO!

[@Bobowobo]

Thanks so much for this valuable upload! I have a lot of respect for you for engraving a file following Feinberg’s manuscript. Have you thought about making your version of the score available through a pdf since it’s much closer to Feinberg‘s manuscript than the Alexandrov Version available on IMSLP.

[@precipotato442]

Thanks for the reminder! I just uploaded it to my google drive. Let me know if you have any suggestions or catch any errors. You can view it here: drive.google.com/file/d/1GwtQa_Dk20KUIv_gLpOCJFZjAeizf-3T/view?usp=sharing

[@hoek2000]

18:47 sounds like a Nancarrow player piano study

[@GBN_01]

Fantastic stuff! May I ask what software you used for engraving the 1st movement?

[@precipotato442]

The engraving was done in Lilypond. I'm still not too familiar with it so there were a couple things I ended up just fixing with Microsoft Paint afterwards.

[@richardwagnerian8845]

Gosh the beginning is so charmingly beautiful. The tumultuous post-WW1 era. The so-called modernity, national determination & "age of progress". Foreseeing the sixth sonata where Oswald Spengler's gloomy prophecy.

[@devosiagian9578]

19:04

[@PieInTheSky9]

This sonata is incredible, among the heights of 20th century art. Next to Godowsky's piano sonata this is a new personal favorite of the lesser known piano repitoire of the 1900's.

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Have you tried roslavets sonatas? They are particularly great too

[@PieInTheSky9]

@@SeigneurReefShark oh yeah definitely. Check out my comment on olla-volgala's video of his first sonata :)

[@Ar1osssa]

@@PieInTheSky9 You can check Leo Ornstein 4-th piano sonata

[@yeetthebeet]

@@Ar1osssa amazing stuff ornstein has!

[@yeetthebeet]

i recently discovered the piano quintet and its marvelous

[@ianmoore5502]

20:25 welcome to the party :)

[@brettowen7174]

Gosh!

[@Calagat]

I don't know why Feinberg didn't publish this sonata.

[@forta7353]

maybe because he reused so much material from it in his first concerto, maybe he didnt want to look derivative. He wrote the sonata much earlier and maybe thought it would be better orchestrated than solo, who knows.

[@DynastieArtistique]

@@forta7353I’m pretty sure it was the other way around. He used material from this sonata in his concerto

[@forta7353]

@@DynastieArtistique thats what I wrote bro. Are you the downie or am I?

[@DynastieArtistique]

@@forta7353I think the downies me💀 misread

[@forta7353]

@@DynastieArtistique 😄💀🔥

[@duqueadriano0081]

19:28 how do you play that.

[@duqueadriano0081]

guess hamelin plays the LH octave before the arpeggio in the RH

[@DynastieArtistique]

@@duqueadriano0081yeah you do it like a grace note. There are a lot of moments like this is this sonata

[@DynastieArtistique]

What edition of the first movement does Hamelin play?

[@thenotsookayguy]

Feinberg's manuscript, or at least something that's more accurate to it.

[@efe9446]

neat

[@davidxpopescu]

Hi there, where did you get the score from? I can only find the 'Sirodeau' version. Thanks, David

[@handledav]

fein

[@warrencohen8246]

This is obviously live. Can you give the date and place of performance? He played it a fair amount last season

[@precipotato442]

The audio is from a performance on June 3rd, 2019 at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow: meloman.ru/concert/marc-Andre-hamelin-2019-06-03/

[@warrencohen8246]

@@precipotato442 thank you!

[@carrotvevo]

LETS GOOOOOO

[@MrStrav81]

A couple questions - does Sirodeau play the Alexandrov version of this sonata? Also, you have a score following all movements. For the last movement, is that the Alexandrov version or is it a reproduction of the manuscript? If it's the latter, where did you get it? It doesn't seem to deviate significantly from what Hamelin is playing. Honestly, I don't know the differences between the versions so I wouldn't be able to tell. If the original manuscript has been reproduced in a printed fashion, I want to get it. Some of the pages scanned are a bit faded.

[@precipotato442]

I'm no expert either, but I'll try my best: 1. Yes, I'm pretty sure Sirodeau plays the Alexandrov version. 2. The score for the third movement here is from the Alexandrov version. However, to my knowledge, Alexandrov didn't alter the third movement. The Alexandrov manuscript that Hamelin uploaded to IMSLP doesn't include the third movement, only his revisions of the first two movements. I haven't gone through the manuscript closely enough to compare the two though. Yeah, unfortunately the scan of Feinberg's manuscript isn't super clear, and I don't think it's been printed/engraved anywhere. However, since the third movement is (I believe) untouched, and the second only slightly altered, you should be mostly fine using the Alexandrov version, though you'll have to struggle through deciphering the first and second movements if you really want to be faithful to the manuscript.

[@MrStrav81]

@@precipotato442 I'm very thankful to know the third movement is largely untouched. For me, that is the highlight, and it would be a lot of work trudging through that if I had to look at it off of a manuscript. Looking at IMSLP, it looks like the full version is scanned. It doesn't identify Hamelin as the uploader, unless he is "Garnaievsky", but it is legit. The first two movements are clearer than the last movement. I would look off the original manuscript file because it is much cleaner. I'm guessing the one with just the two movements was all of Alexandrov's markings on the original that he changed as there are a lot of things crossed out.

[@yeetthebeet]

feinburger

[@samaritan29]

is this sonata in any specific key?

[@elrichardo1337]

1st mvt is pretty clearly in Gm for the most part, even despite all the chromatic discursions 2nd/3rd mvts are in G#m, again despite all the (extremely aggressive) chromaticism

[@jannis11]

noiCe

[@eggplant1994]

has some uncanny similarities to the later Barber piano sonata, no? I wonder what the story is there?

[@Shark-Rex]

Composers were influenced, but people don't know where the influence came from because of lack of understanding. I've seen people say that Russian musicians brought Scriabin's music to the United States, which led to the birth of jazz. But I don't know exactly how.

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

16:30 fugue (Shosty, be aware that there was, once, a composer like you.)

[@segmentsAndCurves]

nice :D

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

@@segmentsAndCurves nice: D

[@FoziCoD]

9:30

[@giovannifosco7272]

Sound a bit like early scriabin

[@aakarshitsingh1535]

16:30 fugue

[@DomFileoreum]

The more than 5 ads ruined it

[@thenotsookayguy]

That's why God gave us ad blockers.

[@phoneminlwin5160]

That's why download it first

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

20:25 boogie woogie

[@vine2197]

A

[@segmentsAndCurves]

16:30 Probably a fugue.

[@TheModicaLiszt]

Alas

[@GUILLOM]

Best fugue ever ok

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@GUILLOM Szymanowski bettr

[@GUILLOM]

@@segmentsAndCurves Which

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@GUILLOM His sonatas'

[@scriabinskunk]

18:46 goblin mode

[@85vesti]

Rezpec da DOC 😎

[@alexj1161]

Imo doesn’t as much sound like Scriabin than it does like Medtner on crack. Incredible shame that his style matured only a few years before Soviet censorship (unlike Roslavets) so he doesn’t have as much Scriabinesque music as other early Soviet avant-gardists. His later works are still decent but god he took such an awful turn after the censors. At least Lourié and Wyschnegradsky fled so they could express themselves freely.

[@Shark-Rex]

Feinberg's performance declined significantly in the middle and late stages. Was it because of Soviet censorship? Most likely. But there may be other reasons, such as his excessive focus on piano playing and neglect of composition thinking, which led to technical decline and lack of inspiration. You should know that Scriabin was not focused on piano playing. In the middle and late stages, Scriabin almost only played his own works, and Scriabin also liked to think and put a lot of energy on things other than music.

[@teodorb.p.composer]

I agree, Feinberg sometimes sounds so Medtnersque

[@Dichweed]

This is not a sonata. It makes as much sense as naming a 40 minute piece of music a "prelude."

[@DynastieArtistique]

It fully is a sonata actually. Become more familiar with the work and you’ll see

[@forta7353]

If it was a prelude, would you like it any more or less?

[@seheyt]

Darn they deserve a better engraver. That's way harder to read than required. Also, I notice to deviations from the score in the first "page" alone. The first is quickly justified by the similar bar (2nd beat of bar 1 vs 2nd beat of bar 8). I was going to keep an eye out for the other discrepancies, but the score is too tiresome to follow at first listen, so I'll probably bail.

[@seheyt]

Yeah. So, this is probably a live recording (or 1 take) since there are many accidents like e.g. bar 16/17. But also, the score is not very accurate. Hamelin plays the a-flat in the LH on 3rd beat of bar 20. This one seems an obvious typo, since the A-flat first inversion is really the staple of this introduction section. Also, things start to read more naturally by now - so maybe the engraver made de right trade-off after all? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@seheyt]

Still expect actually hearing the e-flat in the RH voicing in bar 1 and 31 (as opposed to bar 8) would be better. Exceptional recording regardless of course.

[@seheyt]

Oh. Different editions of the score exist? At 18:21 Hamelin plays an RH ottava that isn't notated in this version (it works much better though, so this version seems to be the old one. Interesting to know what the newer edition might say in the spots noted earlier)

[@seheyt]

Yeah at 21:14 the LH is missing the entire first beat (e-b fifth) which is pretty noticable if left out

[@maxreger91]

Lot of notes, not much inspiration. I'll stick with Scriabin

[@Medtszkowski]

Scriabin is garbage

[@axqwdupesthegen]

Outrageous take

[@Shark-Rex]

Scriabin's music is motive-driven, without any extraneous elements, which is not what Feinberg and Roslawitz are good at.

[@jean-francois.chemila]

Beaucoup de chromatisme, en lieu et place d'une véritable idée thématique. Un grand pianiste, mais pas un grand compositeur.

[@ShutUpZewenThisIsNotBased]

No

[@Whatismusic123]

This is just scriabin if he was a bad composer and deep into the contemporary pithole

[@Whatismusic123]

@YeenBean125 yeah this fucking sucks major dick

[@cgcomposer_]

I'd love to see you do better

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

I can't disagree. This shit sucks. Been trying so many times to listen to this but it's just keybanging.

[@Whatismusic123]

@@hottopicscriabin7752 why would that be trolling?

[@Whatismusic123]

@@cgcomposer_ you don't need to see me do better, there are thousands of excersises completed in Ebenezer Prout's "analytical key for Harmony" which serve as for more coherent pieces than this crap. This is complete garbage, and to insist that it is good is just pure delusion. Listen to mozart, chopin, bach, woelfl, scriabin, etc. Literally anything remotely competent is better than this.

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

Sounds very chaotic, disorganized, loud, and quite heavy. Didn't really like it.

[@GUILLOM]

Give it another try, this is one of the most beautiful sonatas I've ever heard, it just gets really complex, so it's hard to listen to.

[@SeigneurReefShark]

@@GUILLOM I'm listening to it for the first time, I'm completely blown up lmao, it's so intense

[@GUILLOM]

@@SeigneurReefShark epic

[@j.rohmann3199]

I dont want to dissappoint you but I think this piece is better than any of your pieces, mr. Alkan!

[@SeigneurReefShark]

@@j.rohmann3199 it is, but some alkan pieces are still incredible masterpieces.

[@ciararespect4296]

Load of old rubbish just difficulty for difficulties sake

[@segmentsAndCurves]

lmao

[@dzordzszs]

I do not agree. It may be so in your opinion, but I just see it as dense and not very tonal, but still highly musical.

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@dzordzszs ok

[@ciararespect4296]

@@dzordzszs no problem. I like dense tonal or atonal stuff but still think this is rubbish. I can manage to play it though I can appreciate others like it. Same as anything in the world

[@dzordzszs]

@@segmentsAndCurves ok

[@babygirl4169]

20:25

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

A somewhat "subtle" repetition of the second theme at 11:32.

[@This_is_nothing_special]

16:29

[@calebhu6383]

17:32

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

18:45

[@Jartious]

real