Shura Cherkassky live in Amsterdam - Lully, Chopin, Hofmann, Liszt, Morton Gould, Mussorgsky (1992)

Introduction (in Dutch language)
JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY
Suite de Pièces
00:03:07 I. Allemande
00:06:59 II. Air tendre
00:09:21 III. Courante
00:11:06 IV. Gigue
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN
00:14:10 Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 (Andante con moto)
00:26:17 Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1 (Andante)
JOSEF HOFMANN
00:33:14 From Charakterskizzen, Op. 40: Kaleidoscop, No. 4
FRANZ LISZT
00:38:15 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C sharp minor S. 244/12
MORTON GOULD
00:48:15 Boogie-Woogie Etude
Intermission
MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Pictures at an Exhibition
00:51:14 1) Promenade
00:52:36 2) Gnomus
00:54:54 3) Promenade II
00:55:53 4) The Old Castle
01:00:17 5) Promenade III
01:00:47 6) Tuileries
01:01:43 7) Bydlo
01:04:18 8) Promenade IV
01:05:00 9) Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
01:06:15 10) Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuÿle
01:08:33 11) Promenade
01:10:11 12) Limoges, le marché
01:11:44 13) Catacombæ
01:13:19 14) Con mortuis in lingua mortua
01:15:37 15) The Hut on Hen's Legs - Baba Yaga
01:19:20 16) The Great Gate of Kiev
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN
01:26:02 Tarantelle in A flat major, Op. 43 (Presto)
SHURA CHERKASSKY, piano
Filmed in Amsterdam (Prinsengracht Concert 1992), 27 August 1992.

[@fredhoupt4078]

He was 83 years old when he did this live concert. Simply incredible. Such a fabulous technique. A great artist.

[@michael2010now]

He died in London 3 years later at the age of 86, concertizing and recording right to the End. What a man! And personally so polite and totally lovable.

[@shilloshillos]

It amazes me that Cherkassky, who truly belongs to the golden era of pianists of the 20-40s would be alive and performing in 1992. Its a total miracle.

[@davidkelly6224]

And still being listened to on YT over 30 years later. We are unbelievably fortunate!

[@scriabiniste]

The apex of civilised artistic joy, a summer evening in Amsterdam hearing a magnificent pianist ...

[@mweiz09]

As a 17 year-old university student and violinist I was Mr Cherkassky's valet and practice gofer at the home of his New Zealand hosts who I was boarding with. One morning after he had finished his 4 hours of dead-slow practice he asked me to go upstairs to his bedroom to get a newly-purchased DGG recording from his suitcase and to play it on the gramophone for him for his first hearing of it---which I did. The recording was of Bartok's second piano concerto performed by Paul Badura-Skoda, whom he admired very much. Before we listened to it I asked Mr Cherkassky if he regularly listened to recordings by other pianists, to which he replied "Almost never." I then thought to ask him why on his present demanding concert tour he wanted to listen to the Bartok concerto. His reply amazed me: "Well, you see, I will be performing it in Vienna in two weeks' time and I haven't played it before, so I want to hear how it goes before I study it from the score". I heard some months later that his note-perfect Vienna performance of it received rave reviews from the critics. No surprise. He had an absolutely phenomenal memory and matchless confidence and was considered by his "peers" to be the greatest pianist alive.

[@alexanderchater6140]

wow that's incredible.And 4 hours of dead slow practice... did he use a metronome? and did he do all those 4 hours after each other or did he take breaks?thanks for the amazing story!

[@lorenzopone869]

I’m very pleased to learn Cherkassky admired Badura-Skoda, who has been my teacher from 2011 to the very last months of his life.

[@lorenzopone869]

@Mazzel Tov Cherkassky really practised dead-slow. He declares it during an interview. And it's a very good way to practise.

[@lorenzopone869]

@Mazzel Tov Just reporting what Cherkassky himself declares during an interview that it is findable on KZbin. Why you get so upset?

[@luisito948]

@@lorenzopone869 Admiro su forma de tocar modesta y parca a la vez; sin ninguna pretensión en movimientos o gestos innecesarios, sino solo los de tener como objetivo producir colores y un sonido cristalino.

[@GeneGaudette]

Shura Cherkassky was the REAL "Last of the Romantics." I was fortunate to see him several times during the last deacde of his career.

[@pvonberg]

What a pianist Shura Cherkassky was, what a pianist ! One of the giants of the twentieth century. How unforgettable were the times I heard him.

[@ttrons2]

Would have been a wonderful concert to have attended. I love Europe.

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Magnificent from the first note to the last.

[@jpage99999]

Stunning tone from Cherkassky, I am completely blown away by the singing tone and complete vocal quality of the playing. What an inspiration for depth and imagination. Listen to how he gets that Chopin to sound so warm, emotional but full of hope and charm. God bless you Cherkassky.

[@ninogamcemlidze3735]

Прекрасный, умный Шура!!

[@arlettehellemans2117]

How I liked his LISZT!

[@jonnyaddles]

He made me go all funny with the Chopin Ballade. Nobody plays that ballade like Shura

[@DavidBoycePiano]

Marvellous. I was privileged to hear him in recital in Glasgow in the early 1990s. As with the other great virtuosi of the era, no waving of elbows, heavenward glances, screwed-up faces or swaying of body necessary to convey the power of the music (which the great Earl Wild wryly remarked tend to disappear in the difficult bits anyway!). Just the music.

[@mackiceicukice]

Unfortunately.they don't disappear in the difficult bits either these days.

[@davidkelly6224]

How I would love to have been a member of the audience. What a stunning performance!

[@pghagen]

The most remarkable "Prinsengracht Concert" I attended. Indeed Shura Cherkassky (born in Odessa, Oekraïne) was after Horowitz the so called "Last Romantic" pianist. After Shura had to replace Ashkenazy, every year he was invited by Mr. Riaskoff for his series famous pianists. So I visited many of his recitals in the great hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. A lot of his colleagues visited his recitals too I noticed, probably to find out how The last Romantic pianist played. Shura played works nobody else played, like Hoffman's Kaleidoscope, a very difficult piece. And of course his Prélude Pathetique, which he composed when he was eleven years old. An other reason I will never forget this open air concert, was that in same afternoon a Jumbojet crashed in a flat building in one of Amsterdam's suburbs. The pictures I watched on TV were horrible as there were many casualties and a lot of people were never found again.

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

Was Cherkassky replacing Ashkenazi in this concert?

[@susanabeatrizestevez3300]

Extraordinario pianista!!!

[@ursrieger1053]

Cherkassky was aged 83 at the time of this concert!

[@arksoundtek]

AWESOME !!!! INCREDIBILE....... CHAPEAU!!! 👏👏👏

[@CanAlternateLostTape]

OMG every concert should have people honking horns during applause! hahaha

[@laslasman564]

Fantastic ....a favourite artist of mine... fabulous

[@user-br8it3di7n]

Спасибо за эту запись, гениальный пианист, подумать только, здесь ему 83 года...

[@SpiramusPresents]

A True sound master!!!! He makes the piano sing like a master vocalist!!!!! To be reckoned with !!!! Role model for aspiring pianists!!! Thank you so much for the post!!!!!!!

[@paulasuits6743]

I absolutely "second" that!!!

[@josephlaredo5272]

How many other pianists could entrance you from the first note with Lully? And what a simply amazing performance of the Chopin Ballade. Never will you hear it played with such colour, imagination, poetry and sheer beauty by any of today's young pianists. Truly this is playing of a bygone age. Fabulous ...

[@BurningSky9]

So you are saying (precisely) that none of today's YOUNG pianists could play with the 'imagination, poetry and sheer beauty' that a seasoned, 80 something years old artist is able to bring to the table. Do you hear yourself?

[@MrInterestingthings]

Hofmann and Cherkassky personalities and musicalities like none other.

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

Rarely do artist, venue, composer, and audience come together so flatteringly, lovingly to each other. Each brings out the best in all the others, so it becomes so much more than an enjoyment and celebration of music. It becomes, on this level, a celebration of culture and the human spirit on a broader and deeper level than "just music." By opening with the Lully that way, a hyper-refined, understated baroque suite, and audience rising to the occasion in rapt attention, it is established at the outset that this is going to be about the profoundest respect in all directions -artist, venue, composer, audience- and together they all make it a transcendant event. But at the center, Mr. Cherkassky showing himself to be a giant of a mensch, with the musical talent to match his heart and spirit. And the audience fully realizes it, responding with pure love and appreciation.

[@SpiramusPresents]

YESSS!!!!

[@paulasuits6743]

Oh, my - yes, yes, YES!!!

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

Thank you Spiro and Paula for such enthusiastic agreement! I believe this setting, by the way, is nearly exactly where 50 years (almost to the day) Anne Frank and her family went into hiding; if you see the George Stevens movie version (it's free on KZbin), it was filmed right here, in the actual Anne Frank House. In the film, you hear the same chiming clock that is heard in this video. And here, 50 years later, a Jewish pianist performing in the middle of the city, embraced by the city this way. Magic.

[@paulasuits6743]

Dear Anon Ymous, thank you SO for further remarks! Very much appreciated.

[@jeanjoubert3074]

Your comment rises above the hundreds I read this year.

[@GarySchmidtPianist]

what a concert! And wouldn't it be great to give a concert and being applauded by a symphony of boat horns!! Incredible performances and so wonderful to see the general public just living life and listening....

[@marcruel5096]

Incroyable... quelle implication et quel art. Meme sous la pluie!

[@Piratebreadstick]

Gorgeous playing from a master of course, but I must say, the recording quality is astounding, especially given it's an outdoor concert. The recording engineer is a genius.

[@davidkelly6224]

Just what I was thinking. I live in Amsterdam and know just how much background noise the audience would have created. And this done in 1992, long before the era of artificial computer-driven sound removal. Amazing!

[@user-sk4kd7ob2b]

Было очень интересно: и музыку слушать,и смотреть на реакцию слушателей. Благодарю, Вас!

[@carlfigueiredo2095]

What a wonderful treasure this is! Oh to have been there live, on that evening! Watching it here and feeling the atmosphere this great man created, makes up brilliantly for not being there. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@mattb-iq3iv]

wow. fantastic video quality for this old video

[@MegaParkhurst]

Magical music, magical audience and setting. Peformed with humility and great human understanding. So interesting to see the effect on such a large audience in such a public space. Hypnotism.

[@paulasuits6743]

Absolutely. You said it so beautifully, Matthew Anderson. Thank you.

[@endrekerekes965]

Fantastic musician and a great musical experience! Thanks !

[@meredith218461]

One of the truly great pianists of the 20th Century.

[@feraudyh]

And he was past 80 at this concert. He can put a lot younger pianists to shame.

[@meredith218461]

@@feraudyh Indeed his playing remained fresh and exuberant right to the end. A greatly missed figure. .

[@ADGO]

The Chopin is marvellous - really special. The guy attached to the lamppost at 19:11 must have felt like he was floating at that moment. Peerless Cherkassky. Thanks for sharing this.

[@dorothytu9212]

ADGO Haha，what a happy surprise to see you “everywhere”😊 Cheers and all best wishes～

[@ThePianoFiles]

Thank you so much for this - SUPERB! Great playing - and what a delight to see such a huge audience taking in the performance with such rapt attention!

[@ThePianoFiles]

I find the silence of the audience - and the spontaneous providing of umbrella cover for Cherkassky by audience members when it starts to rain - to be very moving!

[@nicoleroger119]

Un si beau son pour honorer Chopin. Merci 🙏

[@monumentofwonders]

Cherkassky shows in the first selection that you don't have to make a big noise to make a profound sound. Delicate, beautiful, and penetrating.

[@rsjmd]

Has long been a favorite of ours since seeing him in Pasadena so many years ago.The pieces by Lully are exquisite-he was pure angel to include such lovely music here.Thanks for the fantastic video.

[@piano345]

The complete recital - excellent picture quality and sound. Thank you for this upload. I have been a great admirer of Cherkassky since my teens.

[@Vladivostok1969]

Thanks to you me and everybody here could watch and appreciate several extremely rare Cherkassky's recitals. So, thank you.

[@user-uv7pe9lt6c]

интереснейшие трактовки!👌👋

[@metteholm4833]

Ooh! A summer evening by the canals - and Shura Cherkassky at his best!

[@MegaParkhurst]

A very special recording of what must have been a delight to attend. Can't have been many/any other examples of open air piano recitals of this calibre and magic. I agree about the Chopin - such warmth and sensitivity. And all woven with Cherkassky's humility and unflowery brilliance.

[@blackandwhiterag1117]

Thank you so much for posting the whole performance AND grateful thanks for not stretching horizontally to fit wide screen format !!

[@GUSTAVOMARZANO]

Muchas gracias

[@esterbalbi4558]

marvellous

[@itchy2345]

I like his ironic face at 32:45 - "maybe some people say I'm too individual" :D Really an incredible pianist! Thanks for uploading the whole programme.

[@user-ro6jr2mu8o]

チェルカスキーは、ポカリスエット(PocariSweat)が大好物でした。 私は大阪で、２度　演奏を聴きました😊

[@elimanzo2672]

it's a miracle as a recital, thank you for sharing !!!

[@sergiorizza]

grazie Olanda!

[@lisavergani8631]

Pura magia

[@dancersanddreamers2049]

❤️

[@dejanstevanic5408]

Thank you.

[@jamesfrank5271]

Incredibly transparent playing combined with clever production work make the entire recital as memorable as any I have enjoyed.Thank you, Shura - we miss you.

[@TJFNYC212]

the f minor ballade is superb... so lucky to have heard him several times in concerto and recital...

[@jennyjang5894]

What a beautiful performance and sight ~ Thanks for great upload :)

[@josephlaredo5272]

... If you listen to nothing else in this recital, listen to the Nocturne: Cherkassky makes it "speak" to you like a lover who has to leave (what magic at 30.17!).

[@sergiorizza]

meraviglioso

[@innocenzobarrera1505]

Bellissimo Concerto. Un mostro di bravura nei Quadri di Esposizione di Mussorgsky, ma anche negli altri autori!

[@globalc3849]

Wonderful recital at any age but keep in mind he’s 83 here. His tone is magical and lyrical. I wonder how he played at age 30.

[@andreybekh8445]

Ай да Шура! Как звучит Steinway!

[@adyrsebastiaoferreira5572]

Saurá Cherkassky tinha uma “ energia lisztiana” maravilhosa, e uma técnica extremamente límpida!

[@adrianwright8685]

Is this unique in piano recital history for needing an umbrella held over the pianist?!

[@dlozada1]

I must eco Piratebreadstick here and give a shout to the recording engineer. No hiss, no background noise. He must have placed mics under the piano and very close to the strings. Recording engineer, können Sie sich melden hier?

[@davidkelly6224]

Stunning recording. I would not even have thought it possible under those conditions.

[@ric55]

Well, I was going to start my own second session of daily piano practice. Until I found this! Guess I will be starting late. With an extra dose of very slow work. Many thanks for this utter master-class.

[@MichaelAlexander1967]

I would love to read the comments of some of the people who were at this concert. The venue appears to be very quaint and trendy. It appears to be on a harbor in front of the Pulitzer Hotel. Do they still have concerts there? Dinner, wine, boats, and honking horns - what more could you ask for at the concert of one of the great 20th-century pianists? The interview was also very spectacular.

[@pvonberg]

How strange to do his encores, and then follow that with the Pictures.

[@andrewvincenti2664]

Generous of him

[@yourgirlme9163]

Just like John Ogden

[@BANHMIZON]

5:25 I didn't know John Mayer was such a fan of classical music!

[@nodepe]

Remarkably, this concert started and ended with church bells, the first one from the nearby church and the second one from the magnificent interpretation of The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition. Shura Cherkassky's rendition of the bell sound was as close as it gets to real bells sound of a Christian Orthodox church, which was probably the intended effect meant by Mussorgsky. He caught the accelerando and crescendo of the bells melody and achieved the excitement second to none. For comparison, you can listen to two Christian Orthodox churches, one in Russia and one in Bulgaria, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6vTgaudl658q8k kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6S1iparnpJlqdk

[@MrInterestingthings]

The 4th Balladed i think he was trying to make sure he could communicate to audiences not use to serious music. Strange ballade playing strange as the cowfart and horns like a renaissance burning. The piano tonal variation is miraculous I places, his is personal ! His type are rare even I this rarefied world of piano Megastar superheroes!

[@michaeljazzman4040]

Its my dad really

[@gggunnni]

00:14:10 omg crazy..

[@ivanmamede]

What a strange repertoire.

[@mackiceicukice]

I would say UNUSUAL rather than strange.He was also an unusual pianist by all means.

[@TheBartok44]

How on Earth did he get through it under these rotten conditions?

[@49jbrash]

Más de medio siglo de dar conciertos en público. ¡Pura concentración!

[@davidkelly6224]

Rotten conditions?

[@TheBartok44]

Geez, playing Chopin IN THE RAIN and with all kinds of disturbances around you??? I guess you never pleyed the piano....;) @@davidkelly6224

[@MrJameschance]

have you noticed - noone is checking their phone

[@pghagen]

In 1992 there were no mobile phones at all!

[@MrJameschance]

@@pghagen sense of humour failure

[@silversmith1285]

PESSIMA ESECUZIONE DEL MUSORGSKIJ...!!!!!!!

[@user-gu5jw1bm5e]

Это даже не театр это сама жизнь сама правда без иллюзий

[@user-gu5jw1bm5e]

Маски сорваны.... .!!!!

[@GreeneAlejandro]

Eso y mucho más👎🏿