Ravel: La Valse - Yuja Wang (pf)

Yuja Wang plays Maurice Ravel's La Valse in Japan.

[@elisa.alexander]

The way she disguises the mistake 7:00 by playing the same note at 7:02 😆 I can’t believe I even found a mistake-Yuja is so incredible!! Even though she has a recording on Spotify and Apple Music, I keep coming back to this one. Something so raw and genuine that really captures this piece. Such an inspiration 🤩

[@tobiaspeter6555]

I agree this is quite remarkable. I listened to these seconds about 15 times to discern whether this is possible a printing mistake in her score, but I agree: I looks like it really is a little misplaced trill at 7:00 and a deliberate match at 7:02, just like you say.

[@gabrielcampuzano5086]

You snobs

[@karoljosephvazquezhernande3835]

No te entendí ni verga

[@Elijah24553]

Yeah, you can tell that the second time was intentional. That’s so incredible! Lol

[@anthonylebaron866]

Congratulations. I cant imagine a more perfect performance.

[@kristinethomas7042]

I will assume most of the other comments are very astute. But God, I found her interpretation thrilling. Yes, well articulated and that light touch she has in all the right places. I want to find the Verbier performance ASAP! God bless Yuja Wang!

[@markdoremi]

I'm am Speechless! To reach that level of musicianship is granted only to a few human beings.

[@advaithkaruna6199]

Yeah right but I don't think it matters if someone like me is a bad pianist as long as I am a pianist

[@anns.724]

A truly gifted musician. She makes the difficult look so easy. The mark of a great pianist.

[@mariodisarli1022]

THE NEW YORKER by Janet Malcolm " What is one to think of the clothes the twenty-nine-year-old pianist Yuja Wang wears when she performs-extremely short and tight dresses that ride up as she plays, so that she has to tug at them when she has a free hand, or clinging backless gowns that give an impression of near-nakedness (accompanied in all cases by four-inch-high stiletto heels)? In 2011, Mark Swed, the music critic of the L.A. Times, referring to the short and tight orange dress Yuja wore when she played Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl, wrote that “had there been any less of it, the Bowl might have been forced to restrict admission to any music lover under 18 not accompanied by an adult.” Two years later, the New Criterion critic Jay Nordlinger characterized the “shorter-than-short red dress, barely covering her rear,” that Yuja wore for a Carnegie Hall recital as “stripper-wear.” Never has the relationship between what we see at a concert and what we hear come under such perplexing scrutiny. Is the seeing part a distraction (Glenn Gould thought it was) or is it-can it be-a heightening of the musical experience? During the intermission of a recital at Carnegie Hall in May, Yuja changed from the relatively conventional long gold sequinned gown she had worn for the first half, two Brahms Ballades and Schumann’s “Kreisleriana,” into something more characteristically outré. For the second half, Beethoven’s extremely long and difficult Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat, known as the “Hammerklavier,” she wore a dress that was neither short nor long but both: a dark-blue-green number, also sequinned, with a long train on one side-the side not facing the audience-and nothing on the other, so that her right thigh and leg were completely exposed. As she performed, the thigh, splayed by the weight of the torso and the action of the toe working the pedal, looked startlingly large, almost fat, though Yuja is a very slender woman. Her back was bare, thin straps crossing it. She looked like a dominatrix or a lion tamer’s assistant. She had come to tame the beast of a piece, this half-naked woman in sadistic high heels. Take that, and that, Beethoven! ..."

[@gabchaim8232]

@@mariodisarli1022 Y U J A illustrious Work of Art Aesthetic Phenomenon Slave to the Gods Grand Piano Princess Mistress of Cheerfulness Salvatrix Mundi

[@DiscoInTheNunnery]

I practiced just the last two minutes of this piece for months. Eventually realized I didn't have the technical chops and gave it up. Just recently, years later, I've once again picked it up. But watching this makes me want to give up again!

[@jackmaitland8496]

Have you learnt it yet?

[@JOHNDOE-fr2jw]

It looks great to learn though!

[@robertcentobene4375]

I listened to this performance over three weeks ago and listened to it again today. Afterward I listened to a number of other pianists play this work. I can honestly state that this is the best! It is not because of technical prowess, although it is superb, it is the ceaseless meaning imparted in the whole work. It is truly beautiful.

[@willdon.1279]

Just another powerful stunning performance. This lady's range is incredible! ❤️❤️❤️

[@59mitsuko]

Gifted artist and a beautiful woman!

[@pimjanssens8808]

unbelievable piece and performance

[@MrVincent537]

I am speechless too. Under the hands of Yuja Wang the piano begins to lough, to cry, to shout and to breath, also in agony. Just incredible!!! She is really the greatest musician pianist, no doubt.

[@michaelschefold3299]

Well said, she's uncompearable!

[@carlrichards49]

Fabulous playing. In 60 years of concert-going she is the best I have ever heard, and I have heard every great pianist of my life time.

[@randykern1842]

Must be nice

[@duckisfaction]

Really. 🤮🤮🤮you are full of it

[@MM-it6nt]

ただただ、素晴らしいのひと言に尽きる。 ラヴェルの音楽性を十二分に表現し尽くした珠玉の演奏！

[@Bernarchitecte]

jusqu' à ce jour je n'avais rien compris à cette célèbre valse . Avec YUJA WANG une voile est levée... Sur La Mer peut être ! merci ! vive la Jeunesse

[@harryboggon8718]

Amazing Such beauty and talent a rare combination

[@postwar46]

How much perseverance, determination , discipline , and commitment has this young woman put in? about 3,000% or something, I think. She is fabulous !!!

[@s.c.1494]

Yes all that you said I am certain she has in her devotion to her art. In addition, perhaps more importantly, is the love and joy she feels when she plays. I have watched interviews where both Yuja and her piano teacher back in China say that she really loves playing the piano. Her teacher said when Yuja was a kid she loved playing the piano so much that even after the lesson she would crawl back to the piano and play. The teacher was a little worried because it was late and she was afraid the neighbors would be disturbed. She said "in a split of second when you were not paying attention there she (Yuja) was climbing back up on the piano stool again." How cute!! I think when one is so into something from a young age, coupled with an innate talent, it's hard not to be super successful because all the sweats and practices are less of work but more of joy and play. Of course, this is in no way to dimish the dedication and commitment that Yuja has for her art.

[@BenSadounJeremie]

Her playing is of utmost clarity, thats incredible

[@michaelschefold3299]

That's "clarté française" as Ravel wanted!

[@BenSadounJeremie]

@@michaelschefold3299 we're back here :)

[@homepianistaminako9597]

Miracle. Limitless!!!

[@melaleucarevolutiongold]

Wow!!! Yuja the Piano Superpower! Thank you for uploading this great video!

[@katiateixeiradacosta1503]

A melhor interpretação desta valsa! Tudo faz sentido, o andamento é lindo, o canto é claro, o ritmo perfeito! Já ouvi varias interpretações desta valsa e a da yuja é de longe a mais limpa e linda!

[@elisa.alexander]

Yesssss estou de acordo! Yuja tem a ferocidade pra esta valsa como ninguém 😍

[@zcde345]

Such a musically astute and thrilling performance!

[@michaelschefold3299]

Uncompearable interpretation! She's simply the greatest living pianist!

[@katiateixeiradacosta7763]

Volto sempre pra ouvir! Lindo!

[@Desireyso58]

Hermosa Hermosa Hermosa. La música que sale de tus manos y TÚ. Bravo!!!

[@dondokodokodon]

Gracias por ver mi video y su comentario!

[@georgescancan7503]

+Desiderio Reyso "She (Khatia Buniatishvili) is Amsterdam red light district , mediocre classical pianist, she and Yuga Wang, i think they try to compensate for their lack of talent, i think they are both overrated and need a book on etiquette badly. I am not a prude but these chicks look like they carry a supply of penicillin with them, they can't be taken seriously, neither is pretty, so i assume the dressing is used to distract the people from their looks, and Khatia with all the phony hair flipping which is so unauthentic. I am not being mean just real, we all like pretty things and they could be sexy without looking classically hookerish, someone should tell them, but i think they have been told and don't care, they look like rough broads." martha jane

[@mariodisarli1022]

+Georges Cancan "This is about etiquette, the dress is lovely, but that is not the venue to wear such a dress. You are missing the point here, she looks desperate when she wears gowns of this nature, however for those who are desperate like her for attention, i hope she plays naked the next time w/o a towel to sit on, how's that? This industry is full of overpaid whorish freaks anyway." martha jane

[@georgescancan7503]

+Mario DiSarli "Sex sells ...classical music?" Sex sells. Marketing professionals know that, which is why advertisements for everything from cars to beer regularly feature scantily clad women. We live in an age where appearance is more important than ever before; scientific studies suggest that more attractive people get better jobs and are happier. Until recently, classical music was one of the few industries where sex is not usually used to sell the product. Performers often dress within a prescribed fashion, with men wearing dinner suits or tuxedos and women wearing full-length dresses. However, a number of prominent musicians have recently been courting controversy for their appearance. Young Chinese pianist Yuja Wang has received as much coverage about her appearance as her performances recently, with the Los Angeles Times commenting, “Her dress [on] Tuesday was so short and tight that had there been any less of it, the Bowl might have been forced to restrict admission to any music lover under 18 not accompanied by an adult. Had her heels been any higher, walking, to say nothing of her sensitive pedaling, would have been unfeasible.” It’s not just women pushing the envelope, though. American organist Cameron Carpenter, a soloist with this year’s NZSO National Youth Orchestra, has received a great deal of media attention for wearing white stovepipe trousers and bejewelled tops during performances. In an interview with Radio New Zealand’s Kathryn Ryan, Carpenter admitted that he regularly works out at the gym, and opined that a musician’s appearance is “extremely important”. Korean-American violinist Hahn-Bin describes himself as “Viagra to classical music”, and dresses flamboyantly, complete with heavy eyeliner and Mohawk hairstyle.

[@Desireyso58]

+Georges Cancan Georges Can, Mario de Sarli y Fritz Kirchhoff (Obviously those aren't your names, or you are only the same misoginist guy o gay) You, the one who try to be more than one, you know nothing about music. But there is plenty of space for your silly coments, so go one my friends. No one is interested in you or your opinions.

[@republiccooper]

Really nice performance.

[@riskaponia8424]

captivating and I am enchanted

[@jwilliams8210]

4:13 - 4:38 seems impossible to play when I look at the music. Ms. Yuja Wang makes light work out of it and makes it sound easy! I wish I could do that! Ms Yuja Wang is a superb pianist and outstanding musician!

[@homepianistaminako9597]

Fantastic!

[@jeffnongkynrih1889]

like her hairstyle

[@presto4117]

No soy muy amante de la Yuja pero me ha gustado su interpretación de de esta obra.

[@graverol1]

Vous êtes une très grande interprète de RAVEL ...

[@Juanseo70]

Pas d'accord avec vous.

[@carbonc6065]

Fantastic ... As usual!

[@Rx-mn5fv]

Excellent playing of splendid music. What art!!

[@warrencohen8246]

She plays more of the ossia notes than anyone else. Worth hearing for that alone.

[@nickkaufman6470]

are the ossia notes optional ??

[@warrencohen8246]

@@nickkaufman6470 yes

[@rolandoreyes3144]

In these wondrous times Concertgoers write to me Everybody seem to have time to devote to me Everyone I see all swear they know me Once upon a concert Biggest gig, couldn't buy a seat The pianist pianists are dying to meet I've had every accolade bestowed on me And so you see If I never play another concert I would not mind time in a convent I've had my share of fame You know my name If I never play another concert Or play another Schubert Or take another bow I would get by, but I'm not sure how Always posing, but I love it all Though I have to learn to act like I'm above it all Everything I play the world applauds And I feel like shining crystals of puff up clouds Framed citations, hang on my every wall Got a scrapbook full of quotes I can't recall at all There are times I feel the world belongs to me And so you see If I never play another concert I would not mind time in a dessert I've had my share of fame You know my name If I never play another concert Or play another Schubert I would get by, 'cause life is but a game Yuja Wang is my name

[@jonathankrause4908]

Is this poem really by Yuja Wang?

[@willdon.1279]

a fascinating take - but her "Life game" is 100% serious - as is everything about her, including the fun and joy. (she looks OK too! 🎵😊😊 ❤️)

[@stevenhaff3332]

Hard to quantify the completely mesmerizing pianism of Ms. Wang. You can point out all of the outstanding skills and sensitivity she plays produces, but the overall impression seems beyond the compilation. The sum is great than the parts. Truly wonderful, Martha A. and her simply amaze me.

[@pedercic99]

Marvellous fingers

[@sanjastankovic313]

Beautiful!

[@MaestroEspressivo]

Yuja's Ravel is so wonderful. Her clear articulation, colorful tone, and rhythmic precision are a great match for 'La Valse'. The sound production here is not too good, and compared to her Verbier Festival video of the same piece, this seems a bit over-driven or slightly rushed through the climactic concluding statements, by comparison. Of course, Yuja is always so precise, that she can push if she so desires, and not miss a beat or a note! I wonder when this performance took place.

[@mariodisarli1022]

Pop music?! Show?! Pop music has, for several decades, found that the "show" is even more important than the music. Think of all the top female pop performers of recent times - their shows are spectacular (as are their outfits), while the actual music is definitely secondary (sometimes even prerecorded)!!!

[@stevenlin6106]

Yes, I agree with you that the Verbier Festival video has better quality which really impressed me and is the reason why I fell in love with this piece.

[@kristinethomas7042]

Such a clear excellent comment you wrote! Thank you! Intelligent, informed comments are somewhat of a rarity in these comment sections.

[@albertpeckham8708]

Manifique! Thank you!

[@opticalmixing23]

Ms Wang Thank you! You saved mylife!

[@user-st1ee5vc2h]

금세기에 최고작이요,최고연주 입니다.

[@VaggosWho]

Just Fantastic!!!The only part i can realise that this is a valse at 3/4 (or at 6/8) is the last 10 seconds! 🤔😉💪👍😍

[@michaelpearson6746]

The Chair......C&H white sugar Air..... " H ". Throne..... Our Piano Notes. BBBBBBBBBBBBB

[@violinhunter2]

I like the aqua gown with the super high slit a lot better. Yuja's playing is amazing though. And Ravel's music is gorgeous. Thanks dondokodokodon

[@rickideemus]

Wow! Did I see a smile at the end as she turned from the audience? She hardly ever does that. She fumbled the very last note (but it was a GREAT fumble OF COURSE). Maybe that's why she smiled. ;}

[@georgescancan7503]

+rickideemus Are you in love at Yuja? Sexy Yuja? No! too much vodka and potatoes!

[@rickideemus]

+Georges Cancan Honestly, I like a woman with a little more meat on her bones. But Yuja is a wonder to behold -- greater than the Grand Canyon or the pyramids. She represents the very highest level of achievement for the human race. She does things every day on the piano I never thought were possible on ANY day, for any artist of any age or sex. It's just unbelievable. Maybe tomorrow she will grow wings and fly off to Jupiter or Mars.

[@georgescancan7503]

+rickideemus Bla - bla - bla -...! < Talk Classcal> Forum < Sexualisation of women in the classical music industry> Time and time again people have certainly opined on the presentation of female performers, wether it be Yuja Wang's dress, Lara St. John's CD covers or Anne Sofie Mutter's pose (recently those violinists were pointed out in the worst cd covers thread). Each of these cases, according to different people, have come down to a general conclusion that sexist inclinations of today have influenced their physical appearance (on varying levels). Even on this site there have been debates as to modesty on stage, the importance of appearance, wether women should conduct an orchestra and so on, which all end up boiling down to the same (if not a similar) debate.

[@rickideemus]

+Georges Cancan I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't bring sex into the discussion -- you did. There is NOTHING "Bla - bla - bla" about Wang's astounding talent. Nothing. It's unfortunate that some people have to view everything through the prism of sex.

[@rickideemus]

+Georges Cancan You're an idiot.

[@francispoulenc8865]

Unbelievably good, so much precision and french sensuality

[@anthonytay523]

The best version I have ever heard!!!

[@michaeltheophilus5260]

This the performance that turned me into a Yuja Wang fan

[@talkingmetastasis607]

bravo !

[@michaelmartin4842]

This is the best version of the song and the audio is so crappy 😩

[@robertcentobene4375]

Her best recording of this is the one in which she wears a scarlet dress. It is absolutely perfect!

[@pablomiguel9397]

Did you say its a song?

[@michaelmartin4842]

@@pablomiguel9397 yes?

[@pablomiguel9397]

Its a piece

[@duckisfaction]

Idiot it’s not a song

[@spike-yv1wb]

太厉害了……

[@jaymurdoch6161]

🥰

[@lepaintre123]

Dommage pour la prise sonore défectueuse .

[@Bernarchitecte]

...et la solidité de son talon gauche en 3'51!!!

[@riskaponia8424]

whoa going up and down dun dun dun dun dun dun..o-on don't go

[@tobiaspeter6555]

I spotted one CLEAR wrong note: the very last one!! :-D

[@stella89322]

👍👍

[@jukeban646]

8:53 YO this part is so clear

[@stella89322]

너무좋아요

[@PeterFritzWalter]

More captivating than Glenn Gould's admittedly genius take of this piece. Yuja is a bomb, really!

[@georgescancan7503]

+Peter Fritz Walter "She (Khatia Buniatishvili) is Amsterdam red light district , mediocre classical pianist, she and Yuga Wang, i think they try to compensate for their lack of talent, i think they are both overrated and need a book on etiquette badly. I am not a prude but these chicks look like they carry a supply of penicillin with them, they can't be taken seriously, neither is pretty, so i assume the dressing is used to distract the people from their looks, and Khatia with all the phony hair flipping which is so unauthentic. I am not being mean just real, we all like pretty things and they could be sexy without looking classically hookerish, someone should tell them, but i think they have been told and don't care, they look like rough broads." martha jane

[@georgescancan7503]

+Georges Cancan "This is about etiquette, the dress is lovely, but that is not the venue to wear such a dress. You are missing the point here, she looks desperate when she wears gowns of this nature, however for those who are desperate like her for attention, i hope she plays naked the next time w/o a towel to sit on, how's that? This industry is full of overpaid whorish freaks anyway." martha jane

[@Desireyso58]

+Georges Cancan +Georges Cancan Georges Can, Mario de Sarli y Fritz Kirchhoff (Obviously those aren't your names, or you are only the same misoginist guy o gay) You, the one who try to be more than one, you know nothing about music. But there is plenty of space for your silly coments, so go one my friends. No one is interested in you or your opinions.

[@mariodisarli1022]

Hi Desiderio! Women have been fighting for years to be recognized for their abilities rather than their sex appeal. Along comes Khatia Buniatishvili & Yuja Wang and in one fell swoop turns all that effort to ash and debris. You think your prurient fascination in a woman playing a piano qualifies you as a cognoscente of the arts?! Yuja Wang - PR product (made by PR&Sex company, sex sells + kitsch) , mediocre classical pianist, money making machine!!! this woman is tumor of the cancerous mafia in the Classical music, unfortunately majorities knowledge of the Classical music is low so types like her get away! Well this is red light district piano playing for sure, i hope they keep wet wipes handy for the players that must use that stool after these escorts. Play on gals, make that money!!! :-)

[@michaelschefold3299]

Glenn Gould was a great pianist and Yuja is an admirer of his art, but she is the better pianist and artist. When Glenn Gould played Ravel, it always is Glenn Gould, when Yuja plays Ravel, it's Ravel!

[@guidoregis9055]

Mi domando: per che cosa verrà ricordata questa pianista ? Non certo per le note che salta in questo pezzo...

[@walkercatenaccio]

Ma, sul serio?

[@guidoregis9055]

@@walkercatenaccio Beh, non le suona certo tutte. Legga la partitura mentre ascolta. (io questo pezzo l'ho studiato con Ciccolini). Pochi pianisti la eseguono senza semplificazioni. Cosa si aspetta da una cinese, un'esecuzione di riferimento ?

[@michaelmartin4842]

Slaay

[@andresgunther]

Yuya gets the perfect Ravel thanks to her unsurpassed cool, elegant playing. Too bad the room is so reverberant, and some nuances got lost. The tempo is seemingly fast, almost a scherzo rather than a waltz, but it matches the "Valses Nobles et Sentimentales", so be it!

[@lczq6737]

What does" valse nobles et sentimentales" mean?

[@andresgunther]

@@lczq6737 This is another piano work by Maurice Ravel, a collection of short waltzes. The style is similar to "La Valse".

[@user-it2bq9lh8l]

10:01

[@lawrencechalmers5432]

Whose transcription is this?

[@taketootsubo9491]

日本のスタインウェイ、やっぱ音硬いな

[@nannerbenahs]

Love Yuja's interpretation. Try this too.. a very musical Boris Giltburg kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHjJhWuMptGeqs0

[@poopsiedoo5049]

People are mesmerized by her articulation and clarity but, in my opinion, there's no true heart in her playing. It is like looking at a modern painting, cold and dubious. She just doesn't feel it.

[@LightSearch]

I don't agree. The advantage she has over most other pianists is that her technical abilities allow her to focus more on the interpretation in extremely difficult pieces. Furthermore, In orchestral pieces such as this one or Petrushka, no one else can make you hear all the different instruments for the very same reason.

[@cliffdariff74]

Jesus...

[@gabrielcampuzano5086]

I prefer La Valse played by orchestra

[@inorikwanon8629]

Even better than Glenn Gould's version! Even Ravel would be impressed.

[@laurenth7187]

Usually i like her very much, but here she doesn't make any rubato to the climax(s)s, so the music has no more gravity and no incarnation, no reality. It's a waltz, on should imagine something.

[@karenmixer8782]

Are Caucasians still playing the piano?

[@ジョセフ0811]

一人で弾こうと思うこと自体おかしいし 弾くことが可能なのはもっとおかしい

[@Juanseo70]

Playing La valse not good, but black pantyhose... C'est la première fois qu'on voit une pianiste qui porte le collants noir.

[@user-zr8ng5pg5b]

Прекрасная пианистка,но хотелось бы пожелать, чтобы дама ощущала разницу между шестом и роялем.

[@isaacbanuelos4305]

PORQUE NO ES BUENO?

[@walkercatenaccio]

Les collants vont bien avec l'esprit decadent de l'oevre.

[@Juanseo70]

@@walkercatenaccioC'est bien compris. Merci pour la bonne réponse.

[@georgescancan7503]

Shame !!! Yuja Wang ===> "McDonald`s - Kultur" !!! "McDonald`s - culture" !!!

[@Desireyso58]

+Georges Cancan Hello Georgi! Are you still green of envy cause you don't, you will NEVER play as well as HER! Poor Little Boy Georgi! What a Pitty!

[@georgescancan7503]

+Desiderio Reyso Sexy, sexy, Sir! THE GUARDIAN James Rhodes Tuesday 4 February 2014 ... "Good looks have long helped to compensate for a lack of talent across the entire music industry. But the sexualised marketing of young women, particularly, in classical music has also now become normalised. Witness (the undoubtedly hugely talented) Yuja Wang's barefoot performances complete with interval dress changes, see the hundreds of PR shots of the kind that keep teenage boys locked in their bedrooms for everyone from Hélène Grimaud to Alison Balsom. Some album cover portraits for female artists could double as escort agency profile pics. Publicity for young male artists is increasingly sexualised too, but not to anything like the same degree."...

[@Desireyso58]

I'm getting tired of you! Always the same! Please say something new! (maybe accept that you LOVE HER!!!)