Schumann - Fantasie op.17 - Moiseiwitsch

[@oboist3]

One of the very best, and so satisfying. A true poet of the piano.

[@gerdlindlar1980]

Moiseiwitsch illuminates this fantastic work really as a real fantasy - full of passion, liberty, mystery, magic, strength and poetry - that is totally beautiful and exciting!

[@guyrowland8307]

This is unquestionably one of the greatest recorded performances of the Schumann Fantasie that has ever been made, a classic that should be in every music lovers collection.

[@mankiperukangas7785]

And quite probably one of the most poetic piano recordings ever made. I heard this in the 90s when my friend borrowed it from library. By that time I had no clue about Schumann's piano music, but the incredibly poetry of the playing and the overall conception that holds the whole arch together was something unforgettable even by that time. I realized instantly that I was hearing something unique.

[@ianboard544]

I want to thank KZbin for introducing me to Moiseiwitsch. I had never heard of him before.

[@msotil]

He was one of the, if not the most, favorite pianists of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

[@meredith218461]

Moiseiwitsch was essentially a poet who could reveal convincingly the interior emotion behind such a great romantic work as the Schumann Fantastie. I recall the pianist expressing his great love and empathy for Schumann in a radio interview from the 1950s. This is a truly memorable reading by a supremely gifted artist.

[@rich8037]

Among other astonishing things in this truly outstanding recording, Moiseiwitsch produces some of the most characterful pianissimo playing I've ever heard.

[@lyrianmusic]

A great conception and performance. Incredible control of those pianissimos and of the overall textural balance.

[@damienmartin2761]

This beautiful version of the masterpiece Fantaisie op.17 shows us one more Time that there is not a single way of playing Schumann.

[@tobiolopainto]

I'm very impressed by his "soft touch." He has a non-percussive way of playing the piano. Lots of pianists play percussively on this percussive instrument- - when they get to the last movement, it's spoiled by the percussive quality of the touch. I put Horowitz and Richter at the top of the "hard touch" class. Then, of course, lots of pianists imitated their tone and oftentimes their interpretations. But this is beautiful. I heard Moiseiwitsch's last couple of concerts at Washington Irving High School. But ten years later, than this concert, he was unable to make sense of the music he played: Pictures At an Exhibition, and one or the other of the Chopin Sonatas. Ultimately, the playing was unsatisfactory,. An old lady sat to my left. In the intermission she said, "I'm sorry you have to hear him like this. He was so wonderful during the 20s and 30s. And you know that Rachmaninoff consideredI Moiseiwitsch the true inheritor of Rachmaninoff's style." I did know that. The old recordings are incredible, and there's a TV show with him playing the Bb prelude. And that's beautiful, too. Thanks for the wonderful music.

[@notaire2]

Echt fantastische Leistung dieser fantastischen Fantasie mit der höchsten Technik und der angeborenen Lyrik. Einfach Klasse!

[@gerdlindlar1980]

konkurrenzlos

[@3047L-f6m]

simply the most moving, revealing, transcendental performance of Schumann's great masterpiece. there have been many great interpretations of Schumann by Cortot, Horowitz and others but I've always felt that no other musician could understand Schumann's music more profoundly than Moiseiwitsch.

[@ignaz1882]

+304712 L I could not have put it better.

[@francisschwartz1641]

A beautiful interpretation of Schumann’s opus 17 Fantasy. Moisevitch was truly one of the greats of the piano’s Golden Age. Thank you for this exquisite recording.

[@ADGO]

amazing performance. Thank you very much.

[@lucas__machado]

I absolutely love BM. Actually, I think this is my favourite reading of this piece. The music flows naturally, the melodies are refreshingly played, the inner voices can be identified but it's never overstated. You never feel like this pianist exaggerate some melodies for us to hear them, they just come perfectly naturally, with ease. And on the top of that, what I admire is that BM never play loudly, he doesn't misinterpret power with loudness which make quite a difference !!

[@rozalinapiano]

Truly symphonic performance! So grateful for your upload of this treasure!

[@arcojuin63]

J"écoute sans me lasser l'infinie poésie de la Fantaisie de Schumann rendue si expressive par Moiseiwitsch

[@MrGer2295]

Beautiful! Thanks for posting!

[@dasglasperlenspiel10]

It amazes me that people can calmly and with an air of world-weariness write their dismissive appraisals of a performance such as this of a work of such great power. I think they must be immune to music.

[@68Voland]

Dieses Werk ist so sehr Robert Schumann, einfach phantastisch. Schon mit den ersten Tastenanschlägen reißt uns Zuhörer der großartige Pianist in eine Welt temperamentvoller Leidenschaft. Nicht ganz ohne Grund hatte auch Tschaikowskij schon sehr viel mehr für Schumann übrig als für vergleichbar andere deutsche Komponisten. Dieser von grenzenloser Leidenschaft erfüllter Geist hallt auch im Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 von Rachmaninow wider.

[@JesseDavis7373]

And I absolutely love the Beethoven song ending of movement 1. Thanks for sharing this splendid interpretation!

[@paulheffron4836]

This recording is surprisingly sharp and well recorded considering it was 1953. The interpretation is up there with the very best.

[@arcojuin63]

Merci

[@MrInterestingthings]

Moiseiwitsch ! What a musicaian and sometimes magician . Curzon astounds me een more in this and his Liszt sonata is legion ! Why so little f Serkin do we have . Never famous for his sound but more insight and strength of judgement than most !

[@arabella1827]

Easily one of my fave performances of this piece. Was this from testament? The last mvmt I'd beautifully tragic

[@osmhrk3543]

作曲家の特質である刹那的な、ある意味発作的な、瞬間に発露する美の表現に力点が置かれているように思う。そのために曲に内在している散漫さが顔を覗かせるが冗長とは感じさせないのは、テンポとダイナミクスの扱いに長けているからだろう。技術的には全てのタッチが素晴らしいわけではないし、少々雑に弾き飛ばしているフレーズもあるのに最終的にはなるほどな、と納得させられる理知的な演奏だった。

[@FatSwede]

Coda to the end of the second movement not without mishap. It traps a lot, including the greats!

[@dacovaz]

That's not what music is about, though. Just saying...

[@nickconbrio5310]

For all his minor aberrations from the definitive score, at many points he does seems to grasp the broader picture better than most performers and, thankfully, he crowns this interpretation with one of the most satisfying final climaxes amongst the numerous recordings on KZbin. Unfortunately, I disagree with so many of his judgments elsewhere that I cannot rate this in the top ten versions. But it's fantastic that so many vintage through to contemporary performances are being made available to the wide public to hear and discuss. Thank you. As for the quality of the work itself, I really can't decide. It was written earlier than its Opus number might suggest, and I would put it on a par with the very earliest piano works, where many of his harmonic progressions and rhythmic complexities are already established, but before he managed to compose endearing melodies. This is undoubtedly very influential, and I'm convinced Liszt pinched the opening of the last movement as the basis of his famous Liebestraum.

[@lotoffortune]

Very interesting comment. I would be interested in knowing which interpretations of this piece you prefer. I am in agreement with the other posters regarding the interpretive "rightness" of this performance. I also love Cortot, Backhaus and Firkusny.

[@nickconbrio5310]

Cortot is someone I wanted to hear from the outset, but I can't find it on KZbin. Firkusny isn't here either; nor is Haskil. Perhaps you could upload them and I'll comment ! The first two I chose to hear were Horowitz and Argerich, and after over seventy further pianists, they are still my outright favourites, largely because of the way they move me with the final Coda. Others I rate almost as highly are Bolet, Andsnes, Vedernikov (and several other Russians are close behind), and a young player I'd never heard of called Tomer Gewirtzman, who is technically amazing. Yes, Backhaus would probably make my top ten.

[@JanWeinhold001]

What a hybris and an odd idea to 'rate' Moiseiwitsch and performances in general.

[@larrykatz3333]

Hubris indeed, Miss Thing.

[@astrasfo]

@@nickconbrio5310 Backhaus and Marc-Andre Hamelin are at the top of my list for performers of this immortal piece. I heard Hamelin perform this live at Strathmore Hall when Krystian Zimerman cancelled and Hamelin was a last minute stand-in. The audience was given the chance for a refund. I stayed and was rewarded with a truly amazing recital by one of the greatest living pianists.

[@calebhu6383]

18:34

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

This is not Horowitz . So what ? .... Even if I stay firmly as a pathological addict and junkee to Vladimir in this piece , why not , sometimes , some fresh air ..... ?

[@jackatherton0111]

Fresh air is a nice way of contrasting Moiseiwitsch’s natural approach (which was probably close to Clara’s) with the neurosis that characterizes so many modern musicians. They don’t so much play Schumann as play at being Schumann.

[@jackatherton0111]

Myra Hess, no pushover for virtuosos, adored Benno, and not just romantically. His urbane, plush playing misled many into overlooking his depth. Try also the early ‘50s Carnaval. Thanks for sharing.

[@АркадийХаритонов-ъ5ц]

фантастический пианист.