Steven Lubin, Mozart, Variations in C, K.265 (300e), on "Ah, vous dirai-je maman"

Variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for solo fortepiano
Steven Lubin, fortepiano
Benjamin Lubin, recording engineer, editor, producer
Myron Lutzke, videographer
Rodney J. Regier, fortepiano copy after Anton Walter, Vienna, 1785
www.rjregierfortepianos.com
Steven Lubin, composer of inserted variation after Mozart's variation #8
(c) and (p) 2012, Classical Soundings, Inc.
Inserted variation (c) 1998, Steven Lubin
Management: Kevin Wood, C&K Artists

[@orangebetsy]

me and Steve had a lot of great conversations back in school. great musician, great guy.

[@noharakun]

me too he was my composition and music history teacher, great person

[@saidtoshimaru1832]

Outstanding. Forever a fan of his recording of the Beethoven concertos with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music.

[@Aguvika]

It's the hands!!!! They are flying on air!!

[@user-nd8tm6wx3k]

Aguvika the fortepiano is much easier to play fast because of their lighter keys, but the articulation imo is much harder to control.

[@musicshin2]

36000ft in the sky

[@75metteholm]

The fortepiano sound is wonderful, -like an airy mix of harpsicord and piano, - a soft harpsicord with the nuances of a piano. I would like to own one.

[@timboinozify]

It is very beautiful, yes. But, actually Viennese action fortepianos were not designed as a LOUD & SOFT harpsichord, but as a LOUD & Soft clavichord which is a very sweet instrument. the Double Action piano did begin as an attempt as a LOUD and SOFT harpsichord.These only became mature instruments when the cast-iron frame came along, thanks to Babcock.

[@Nicolas-zb9uw]

Yes . This fortepiano sounds particular well even though there is so much carpet around .Sound engeneer has donne a great job too.

[@sundaydiver]

Me, too. I hadn't even heard of such a thing until today. Now I can't get enough of finding KZbin videos.

[@lowlightpiano7110]

Repent and put your trust in Jesus. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, defeating death and sin. Since we broke the law, Jesus paid our fine. Since he paid it, we can be let go. We must repent and trust in Jesus to be saved. Revelation 21:8 Romans 3:23 John 3:16 Romans 6:23 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 Revalation 3:20 Romans 10:13❤😊❤❤

[@jasonliang5227]

I studied with Steven Lubin this year at Alberta 2019 Pianofest, I learned so much from him, a great person at heart

[@michaelrogers5495]

I'm glad you had the chance to learn from him. Hes a great teacher and a wonderful person

[@michaelrogers5495]

Alberta where? Canada?

[@noharakun]

he was my professor at suny purchase he really is the greatest

[@stephenallen1149]

I marvel at the ability to have devised this music to begin with, and the ability to play anything so complicated, and the ability to do so from memory.

[@gerardvila4685]

Doing it from memory is easy. It's doing at all that's difficult - especially at that speed!

[@SummertimeSeries]

😢😮😅😊😂🎉😢😮😅😊😅😢🎉😂❤🎉😢😮😊😊😮😢😂❤😂🎉😮😅😊😊😅😮😢😂😂😂😢😢😅😊😊😅😮😢😂❤🎉🎉😮😅😅😊😊

[@deliatebaldi]

Wow. I love Steve Lubin. I studied with him at Purchase College. Such a fantastic musician and person.

[@noharakun]

Me too! Good to see a fellow Purchase Alumni here!

[@asxd__0336]

Me tooo🙄

[@instantinople3796]

Marry him

[@JDCullum]

This is a terrific version. I love this piece, hearing Mozart take a simple little tune and turning it into something thrilling and transcendent.

[@mariliaandaluz5238]

For me, that's T.T.L.S.

[@RuggeroPilla]

I've played a fortepiano just once in my life and knowing the expressive possibilities of this instrument doubles my compliments. Impressive performance! Bravo!

[@saharatul]

Its sad that none of the digital pianos are trying to emulate a fortepiano

[@Jman0431]

I can't stop myself from watching this video in my spare time. It's so amazing.

[@marcmars2381]

Way awesome (quasi) original variation at 4:24. Instant Steven Lubin fan.

[@geoffthedonkey2295]

He quotes Symphony 40, just brilliant!

[@alkerbix]

I noticed that too. How awesome he is ☺

[@maxiboycopillolink]

me encanta como interpreta en acompañamiento el tema del primer y segundo movimiento de su sinfonía 40, maravilloso

[@kenbusch2139]

+Traci Lee Mozart couldn't be quoting his 40th Symphony. He wrote these variations in 1781 and the symphony came seven years later in 1788.

[@kshoren05]

+Ken Busch not really. Mozart was known for starting pieces and finishing them as much as 12 years later. Nobody will ever know.

[@75metteholm]

Honey for the ears! Lovely airy, effortless! Thank you!

[@Aaron-yh1vf]

Incredible playing, Especially in the left hand, complete control.

[@mjuniorsc]

I have studied this piece. Nice intepretation!!! Perfect. Thank you for posting this video

[@scruffydoggy]

The wow factor! Instrument & player..👏

[@kamakap3947]

Insane chops. Instant fan. Can't stop watching :)

[@carfreelori]

The fortepiano is just beautiful! And he's given such a fabulous performance! I'm playing this and it does help my understanding of the dynamics and expression to hear it on a fortepiano.

[@mimiche335]

I'm practicing this song and that makes me think about the époque... I love the part of Variation XVIII. It sounds great with this pianoforte and his arrangement. Sublime 💫

[@Jman0431]

Beautiful. What a piece of art, and what a highly skilled pianist.

[@tundra__1881]

That first variation always gets to me

[@iameunhye]

Purely wonderful. My heart still pounds.

[@geoycs]

I was so surprised by this sound. It’s great, way warmer and more full than those vintage pianos usually have. The recording is superb.

[@musicshin2]

wonderful sound, I like the bass part which has massive tone

[@wolfgangamadeusmozart4569]

its a pianoforte that's one of the types of pianos we had but later on in history they changed and so did the sound

[@JomariMangaring]

H .

[@Raldoux]

hey i like the overture of "The Marriage of Figaro" you did good lol

[@on-the-spot9467]

Hi Mozart. How is it under the earth?

[@syxalite]

@Sup AsiaCoolie Can you provide proofs please?

[@syxalite]

@Sup AsiaCoolie That is what you shouldn't do. Believe without asking everything you hear. Mozart played the pianoforte, the clavichord, the violin and some more instruments I don't know. But he definitely did not only play clavichord

[@daneshsivakumar136]

this really sounds like a happy piano!

[@MichaelAlexander1967]

Bravo!!! That was magnificent! So brilliant with exquisite technique & incredible speed. Your embellishments were very colorful & unique. Mozart would be jumping up & down with exuberant joy. This is my 1st good look at a fortepiano, wow! I like the sound.

[@kwas101]

Such a wonderful sound from such a beautiful instrument. Thanks for sharing.

[@v.dargain1678]

Yes . Thanks a bunch ! Counting stars has never been so much fun as listening to Ah , vous dirai je maman .

[@matthewfisher44]

A masterful performance with a couple of variations not in the original but very much in the spirit of it. And the Fortepiano definitely adds “flavour”!

[@sundaydiver]

I can't believe this guy is playing almost 10 minutes worth of complex music from memory. And here am I, struggling to remember the 16 bars of a fiddle tune on my guitar. Geeez... ;-) Love the ending, too. 9:04: "BAM! Done. Questions?"

[@janking2762]

The repeats help…

[@rafexrafexowski4754]

@@janking2762 Imagine performing the Hammerklavier sonata...

[@EnricoDalbosco]

A very unusual, original and interesting interpretation - and congratulation for the 'postuma' variation!

[@CelesteBarcella]

4:24, influence of Mozart Symphony #40 in G minor KV550 on left hand....

[@instantinople3796]

4:24

[@louiscouperin3731]

4:24

[@judeziliak5856]

Yes this is genius

[@marte6534]

Una studiata ed approfondita interpretazione al fortepiano... Proprio come ai tempi di Mozart! Bravissimo

[@zevyzions]

Excellent Excellent Excellent. The “Mozartean” variations were a bonus treat!

[@leonardoantoniodichiara]

Fantastico, complimenti per la bella esecuzione!

[@backyardjuggler]

So fast, so clean! Brilliantly played.

[@protte225]

I may not have read all the comments but did anyone notice how he incorporated the themes from Symphony No. 40 (mvts i & 4) into his own variation he inserted in the left hand after the the one in minor?

[@louiscouperin3731]

4:24

[@eddieetsuoejiri2519]

Wonderful music…… Amazing!

[@LoFiSymphony]

I want more of this guy's energy right into my veins.

[@sophiegood8270]

I feel my heart start to pound whenever I hear this piece. This is one of my favorite pieces along with one played by Fazil Say and Jeong Myung-hun

[@dannysalguero9554]

Excellent, sublime, exquisite, marvelous

[@geoffthedonkey2295]

Excellent save at 6:42. True musician!

[@roycezaro1998]

Do you think he really missed a note? I know that F is not written, but maybe he knew all along. If not he hides it on his face well, and does a great job of keeping it in tempo. I almost want to see him mess up worse so he is forced to improvise something insane!

[@damiangonzalez_esp]

I think it's an intentional apoggiatura, a little arrangement he made

[@michan6705]

See? It's a happy PianoForte!

[@bca3583]

Lololololololol Here comes an anime plot xD

[@louiscouperin3731]

BC A ?

[@HommbreGiaca]

7:35 "Im the boss and you know it"

[@alejandronieto576]

Great video. Learned about the fortepiano.

[@docdoc]

Love it !!

[@baskerville2011]

Brilliant!!!

[@carfreelori]

This is absolutely music for my soul!

[@cyrillusgdu8623]

superbe bien trop cool a écouter

[@EmdrGreg]

Exquisite. Beautiful playing, and a beautiful fortepiano. The sustain must be controlled by a knee lever, I assume.

[@mikezinn7212]

YEP

[@v.dargain1678]

Ditto .

[@paypalno-reply6450]

It is a Pianoforte, not a fortepiano fortepiano means strong soft or loud soft depending on how you translate it. If you meant that it was loud, that is fine but Pianoforte is a reference to the range of dynamics of the instrument (the Pianoforte) and it is just called a Piano for short because bloody English speakers cannot pronounce Pianoforte or even Piano for that matter. Don’t bother correcting me because I am half Italian and I am only 12 years old. Edit: Oops, my bad. This instrument is a fortepiano (I think). I just thought it was a Cristofori Piano on the thumbnail and I thought you were just calling it a Piano cos ur dumb. It doesn’t sound like a Cristofori Piano

[@gerardvila4685]

@@paypalno-reply6450 Nobody called it a fortepiano in Mozart's time AFAIK. I guess they started calling them fortepiano because pianoforte (what they called them at the time) is nowadays taken to mean just piano. It's a Viennese style instrument similar to the ones Mozart played - like a harpsichord in construction, with no metal frame. They are much more fragile than modern pianos, strings break when you play too loud - and sometimes the actual keys :-(

[@MathisenFineTuningSammamish]

I really like tone of this instrument! Nice performance.

[@tommasobego6286]

Magnifico.

[@feizhao8491]

Wow! Played beautifully

[@fortepianowalter]

Bravo!!!

[@concentusxl]

Magnifica interpretazione su un magnifico strumento... Grande Steven Lubin !!

[@mayorov1]

Magnifico

[@lluisrafalessole-classical5068]

Spectacular 🎹🎶

[@FelicitasBerlin]

how wonderful played...

[@timebeautiful4447]

What a beautiful 🌸

[@mrsnrub5383]

I like the sound of this guitar very much.

[@LawrenceJacinto]

ijnbhu I really hope you're joking, because it's not a guitar. :P

[@Meelosweasel]

+ijnbh Sitar*

[@vesteel]

+ijnbhu Harpsichord***

[@Shipenta]

+vesteel it`s not harpsichord it`s pianoforte.

[@vesteel]

Harano Ateruna wrong it's the mezzopiano

[@EpIcGuN1]

Beautiful

[@jeffreyfleming4016]

Magnificent!!

[@giovanazanuto7326]

Que lindo!!

[@swe_swe_swe_tv]

3:25 this is so beautiful!

[@bloodgrss]

Always fascinating to hear Mozart as close to the original instrument as possible--which gives us such pause in thinking on todays pianos how best to play him with 'fidelity' to the original intention...certainly when played as well as this,...

[@biancachan007]

that piano is stunning

[@sousafan100]

amazing...

[@charliebadger]

i love the lyrics x

[@hongcesoo4358]

Amazing

[@namremix9x]

những bản nhạc bạn sáng tác mình nghe rất hay tuyệt vời

[@annaannaof716]

Exciting ♫♪

[@PianoHead26]

bravo!

[@elemusic19]

that's what pianos looked like back then.

[@Raldoux]

friend: play twink twinkle little star me super extra: twinkle twinkle little star you say?

[@cyrillusgdu8623]

trop cool

[@Wolfganger]

Cool

[@Eismann1]

In my opinion, Steven Lubin plays these variations in a way Mozart himself might have done when he composed them. Does anyone know whether this opus belongs to the variations he improvised, as he, if I recall it right, did with another theme once in a concert he gave?

[@laraepoe]

johnny ringo, he's playing it on a fortepiano- that's the kind of piano that was available in Mozart's time. The timbre is very different from today. It's also tuned to 432 Hz instead of the modern 440 Hz.

[@lluisbofarullros3223]

+Lara Poe Thanks for the info! A=432 Hz means that the instrument provide all the available harmonics

[@metteholm4833]

Terriffic! I couldn´t love it more!! I am practising this piece and it is on my mind 24/7 - but reaching this level? I doubt it. This is the best I ever heard! Listen to Lubins own variation between var. VIII and IX: A variation on themes from G-minor Symphony. Highly original idea!

[@Ekvitarius]

7:47 aaaahhhh ☺️

[@KOOLAIDMAN7711]

This is a great sounding Fortepiano! Where can i get one? Thanks!

[@Ekvitarius]

Paul McNulty makes some of the best replica fortepianos. You can contact him over his website.

[@louiscouperin3731]

Maybe try Neupert

[@aaronjaben7913]

wow!

[@karrar5190]

Heeeeel mooi

[@user-ps7dr6xp6s]

varevare good!!!!!!

[@carfreelori]

Some believe in representing, on the modern piano, how this would sound on the fortepiano; some go the opposite direction and say, modify this to show all the modern piano can do...I like the happy medium position. I'd probably play this with a bit more dynamic range than the fortepiano was capable of...but just a bit more..not too much. I want to capture Mozart's spirit if at all possible! :.)

[@mr.z9609]

Is there sheet music for the extra variations composed by Lubin?

[@fabo--]

Isn't it an improvisation ???

[@gerardvila4685]

@@fabo-- Doesn't mean there can't be sheet music. First you improvise, then you or someone else writes it down. Improvising is composing.

[@timothydewa9096]

Amazing, fortepiano was much smaller than modern grands, the keyboard was much narrower, smaller and shorter than pianists' hand, I wonder how light the pressing since the sounds is very crisp!

[@rajbh75]

Its like the best music

[@giuxc3116]

Bravo! Bellissimo! Chi mi sa spiegare come si controlla il "pedale" in un fortepiano?

[@leonardoandreotti6879]

Si controlla alzando leggermente il ginocchio dato che non ci sono pedali ma c'è questa specie di tasto sotto che si aziona dal ginocchio appunto.

[@EliseSeo1982]

❤️

[@joeywomer]

I didn't think they still made these kind of pianos anymore.

[@gerardvila4685]

Starting about 1950, people began to understand the point of historically authentic instruments and playing practice. Up till then we had been like 15th-century artists who painted ancient Greeks and Romans in 15th-century armour.

[@user-ps7dr6xp6s]

good!!!!!!

[@knobbelboy0]

My favourite part is 3:54

[@davidsalazar2466]

Ah Mozart my favorite composer

[@thais1483]

Bravo

[@hellohello-qe2fg]

Wish I knew how to do the song because I want to be professional how can they remember for 5 minutes?

[@rajbh75]

WOW

[@damiangonzalez_esp]

I don't understand it: This pianoforte has no pedals (if you see at 0:55, you won't see any pedals), and yet I see the dampfers(*) rising and lowering. And at the last chord (9:04) you see he plays staccato and the chord sounds longer, but *where is the pedal?* (*) dampfers: I don't know if that's the precise word in english, I mean the horizontal bar that rise when you press the sustain pedal

[@simonemao3794]

Knee sustain sistem ;)

[@saharatul]

There are knee levers instead of pedals

[@abbymcjalibby3068]

and all i can say is.. I wish I could also play like that.. ^_^

[@gerardvila4685]

You and me both.

[@BlendedMozart]

Is that extra variation a recently discovered variation at the time this was recorded?

[@KV4671]

it is an opera in its self