Still here; still finding it gorgeously performed. Not certain that there is one best performance; Zimerman and Richter also give gorgeous readings. IMHO, that is.
That girl plays with her heart. In my opinion, this interpretation is the best ever recorded, and 8 years later, many people, including me, argue that she deserved the 1st prize and Gold medal.
It's so sad that until now she's not yet having any other album aside from the 2015 competition album. I just hope that recording labels would look after her to record other works. I feel like she's so underrated.
Wow. That moment at 3:16 when she lets that single note just hang there like there is not a care in the world is pure magic. She has an amazing ability to interpret Chopin.
I must have listened to over 200+ recordings of this piece, in an attempt to find someone better than her. There's noone. She's absolutely on par with Richter, Kocsis and Moravec. This and her recording of sonata no. 3 are mindbogglingly good.
Never rushed, relaxed, well thought out but imaginative and consistent playing. Never too much or too little. Can't think of any pianist who captures all of these qualities like this girl does. Unlike so many who make you feel like they are rushing to end, she seems like she never wants the music to end!
Indeed his performance is definitive!! This young gorgeous girl is aspiring and fantastic best wishes to her.....maybe the next Argerich??? But yes, there must be room for her, Juga Wang not with standing....and Juga is my favorite!
@@splitt7626 It is very good, but he doesn't vary tempi in subtle ways I would prefer. Of course, so many take too much liberty with Chopin, or play too fast or violently, so I really like C. Z.
There isn't anyone else in the world who expresses Chopin in your rich and soulful way. I can only mention a few pianists in history who have given me the feeling you do. I wish you all the best Kate.
+ADGO i've listened to 30+ interpretations of this ballade and there is a magically soft touch to kate's playing here that no other pianist has been able to achieve. bravo kate. hope to see you live one day
+ADGO Certainly a divinely inspired performance if ever there was one. I've heard EVERYONE play this piece and play it extraordinarily well, but I have to agree that NO ONE has achieved a greater depth of poetic understanding, and projection of subtle lyrical intensity than this young woman. I was not nearly as impressed with her reading of the E-Minor concerto, but that's like trying to compare apples with oranges. Kate has a great lyrical gift, which to me is far more important than flashy bravura. And now I'm going to listen to Kate's C#-Minor Scherzo -- surely the acid test for all Chopinistes. ;-)
There is the music, and there is the playing. The latter is very good and poetic, but one should listen to the music itself: it does express the life experience of someone who is locked-up in some place where there is no escape, but who is dreaming about how it was and how it could have been 'if only'... A very universal experience of the human condition. And in the hands of a gifted composer, it becomes stylized and accessible as a universal experience. This pianist understands all of this, obviously, in an emotional sense.
liceous The only person who matches this softness is Lucas Debargue (in my opinion) I don't know if his recording of the fourth Ballade is available on youtube, but it's in his album with Scarlatti, Chopin and Ravel
That Kate Liu does not have a recording contract with DG or some other major label is a disgrace and indicative of how poorly the major labels judge talent. . How could it possibly be that we not be hearing more from this amazing talent?
Wow... Could not agree more! .. Kate is a living miracle, nothing less.. I am afraid recording labels are looking for pianists-models or pianists-athletes and not for true artists.. Unfortunately..
Kate Liu is one of the foremost talents of the age! She is authentic, an individual voice who lives and breathes Chopin... I don't believe in the search for the very best pianist ever. There are many more pianists than we might wish to acknowledge, each with their own interpretation. However, Kate Liu doesn't something that few other musicians ever have done for me. she is consistently the one who brings Frederic Chopin to my doorstep with every ounce of depth which that implies, in every way that may touch my soul...
Слушаю часто эту Балладу с конкурса 2015 г в исполнение Kate Liu. Для меня это лучшее исполнение в плане эмоционального накала и музыкальной подачи. Она живет этой музыкой. Прекрасная пианистка!
@@eloisanzara237 personal preference, if I'm being honest. Everyone seems to say "this is Chopin's intention" which is fine, except the only person who knows that 100% is Chopin himself. And he's dead, so... Yeah.
Yes she knows-how to make the music a living breathing entity !!!Her timing before starting a new passage is of the divine!!!!!!! Chopin at its very best!!!! THANK YOU Kate!!!!!!
I could no longer contain my tears at 6:32; Kate plays this passage so magically that it feels like arriving back home at last after a lengthy and tiresome expedition in a faraway land. Chopin's music is absolutely incredible and Kate successfully brings it to life in the most extraordinary manner.
This is quite unbelievable... Kate Liu is, on the evidence of this performance and most of what is on youtube - in particular, Chopin (listen to the Sonata no 3), but also Beethoven (op. 110 is stunning), Prokofiev (Sonata no.8) and Ravel (Gaspard, recorded back in 2010 when she was a teenager) - one of the greatest pianists ever recorded. Her playing is uniquely poetic, original and comprehensive in conception and execution, the sheer beauty of her touch expresses blazing intensity and infinitely subtle emotion in a way that reminds me of Maria Callas.... We are so fortunate and privileged to be able to listen to such a profound artist. She is unknown in the UK, and has never played here, as far as I can tell. Like I said, unbelievable!
Dan Usiskin: So well said. Couldn’t agree more. I was lucky enough to attend a January 2019 recital in California which included the Beethoven and Prokofiev, along with Chopin and Brahms. That ‘live’ concert confirmed my impression of her recorded performances on UA-cam: a talent that is off the charts-with a humble, sweet, and unassuming manner. I loved her; the audience in the sold-out hall loved her; and I can’t wait for her to return so I can hear her again.
Ryan Wang: Thanks for the fascinating story. It is indeed hard to imagine that she did not qualify for the Tchaikovsky Competition. Her playing in California was just superb. I envy your 5-hour conversation! She has so many fans on UA-cam; did you happen to ask her if she ever reads the comments?😎🎹
This is possibly the most impressive and magisterial performance of this piece I’ve ever heard. Such a natural flow, simplicity and attention to details. The music becomes a living organism.
She is a master of the lower range of keys in piano. Under her virtuoso decoration, a lot of the boring lower key transition phrases are full of content, miraculous!
@@DrEru Krystian Zimerman en sevdiğim piyanistlerdendir.🌟Onun Chopin baladlarını da onlarca defa dinledim. Farklı ruhlar, farklı renkler. 🎹💯Teşekkürler. 🤓
Kate Liu is unbelievable, her playing seems to come right from heaven. I have heard that Einstein said when he had listened to Rubinstein for the first time: "Now I know that there is a God in heaven..." I had to think on these words when I had listened to Kate Liu some times.
i've had this beautiful, physically demanding Ballade going on a loop performed by everyone on UA-cam. Without knowing who was playing this morning, my system began with this one. I was immediately aware this was different, and drawn in by very pure, expressive, lyrical voices and tonal clarity. I recognized greatness. This is a challenging piece to master technically, as well as lyricize, yet this pianist was gliding. Walking over to the screen, I saw Kate Liu's graceful hands, and arms. As a pianist who plays the other three Ballades, but not yet the fourth, I applaud you Kate for your insight, as well as your technical competence, strength and endurance. You have it in the palms of your hands, and convey it's glorious poetry. Absolutely brilliant work. Bravo, Kate Liu.
You know this girl is playing it the way its supposed to be played because at the same time it looks totally impossible that a human should be able to do this, yet it simultaneously looks like she is hardly even trying, it's just happening automatically, and it sounds perfect. True virtuoso interpreting the work of the greatest master of the piano ever.
In my opinion she should have won the first prize. At first sight she looks like an innocent girl, but when she starts playing the piano, she breaks thousands of walls. Her passion and emotion for the music are so pure and divine. I admire her. And on her face you can see how humble and good person is she, and very simple. Big bravo.
Seong Jin Cho shouldn’t have won. His playing sounded like a robot compared to Kate Liu. One of the jury gave seong jin cho 1 out of 10 on the concerto. In my opinion also, Kate should have won.
Performing like that in the Second round of Chopin Competition is not easy. Never. But she performed this in such a phenomenal and terrific way. Big Big brava for her👍
She plays so delicately! What I really love from her is that she's so calm but passionate. She doesn't ambitiously show off as if she really wanted to be the first champion. She enjoys what she performs. That's rarely amazing.
i just need to say it again as i've just finished learning this ballade and have listened to every interpretation i can possibly get my ears on -- THIS ballade interpretation by kate liu is sublime. so magical, utter perfection. talent at its absolute finest. if the ballade form is all about dramatic, emotional narrative, then kate liu is that one of a kind storyteller who guides you along the way so that you understand the story the best, without pushing the narrative thread too hard, without dragging it down too sentimentally -- she floats you along the story, she brings you to a different dimension, in the way we've so often been read a bedtime story at the perfect pace. bravo.
+liceous woooooowww you learned this ballade?! its one of the hardest pieces of chopin (and the best obviously :P ) Congratulations!!!! it have been always my dream to learn it, however I have to improve a little bit more :) :)
This whole ballade is amazing, but my favorite section might be 9:07-9:55. Something about that section is just so moving and emotion-evoking. I can't describe it.
They said that Debussy's interpretation of this piece for his Paris Conservatoire finals sounded as if it were played without hammers. Liu approaches that level of delicacy here.
Wow, what planet did you come from? I have two daughters in the arts, I've personally educated 100's of woman pianists and composers, and many of my favourite living composers are women. Here I compliment this gifted woman, and you have to turn it into an insult. There's a life out there, I've lived it, and I suggest you go and get one of your own.
Léon Ruhe Debussy was originally enrolled at the Conservatoire as a piano student, so it's only natural that he'd take on the great composers in his exams. He kept his skills even after many years solely as a composer.
Claude Debussy had a deep love for the music of a composer who--a half-century before--had blazed a new path with his utterly individual style and keyboard sound. “Chopin is the greatest of all,” Debussy said. “For with the piano alone he discovered everything.” In this hour, Chopin’s influence on Debussy as he developed his own, utterly individual style.
Chopin is such a master, he creates these beautiful, relaxing and peaceful melodies that Kate amazingly brings to life, the song just flows through her like honey, amazing.
It's like Chopin pulled his heart and plugged it right in the piano. Such passion and genius is expressed through music and that's why Chopin's soul is eternal.
This simply is a - the - most spectacular performance of one of Chopin's ripest works. - Yes, as one commentator remarked, the instrument is a tad tingly above middle F or so. But that's the instrument, not Kate Liu. - Kate Liu's phrasing, touch, agogics, and powerful balancing of all the agitated, concerted voices in this Ballada is mesmerizing! - Halina Czerny-Stefańska used to be my „heroine” in this piece (DGG 1956), not for technical prowess, but for the „Polish” feeling. - Kate Liu plays - narrates - this piece as a natural - that is the true word - world unto itself. Liu's balancing of all the voices in this piece is incredible. She truly plays musically, not just pianistically. - Kate Liu's performance of the Ballada in f alone proclaims her a musical genius. - How is playing encompassing so much soul possible in our sordid age?
Absolutely breath-takingly and marvelously mind-numbingly amazing performance. Great legato, touching nostalgia, technical perfection, Chopenistic aura and idomatic brilliance. And her palms dancing and her face laced with admiration... Bless you Kate !!!
I politely disagree. Sadly, we will never unlock the secrets of Chopin. He was alive so long ago that there wasn’t such a thing as recording equipment. Kate Liu is simply interpreting what Chopin sounds like in her own mind. Although her interpretation is glorious in nature, I wouldn’t go so far to say that she has the “Heart of Chopin”.
@@dihydrogenmonoxide5994 that was exactly what I was thinking. I completely disagree with "he/she understands Chopin" or "he/she plays the way Chopin wanted". For me, the best interpreter is the one who plays with clarity, emotion and naturalistic
@@nicolasantony310 Exactly. It's supposed to be about what the artist brings to the table, not about meeting the composer's intentions. Or the artist could let the music speak for itself, like Kempff did so well.
Not only does she posses a beautiful sound, but there is an intelligent grasp of compositional structure and design. This young lady is ready for the international stage.
Certainly a divinely inspired performance if ever there was one. I've heard EVERYONE play this piece and play it extraordinarily well, but I have to agree that NO ONE has achieved a greater depth of poetic understanding, and projection of subtle lyrical intensity than this young woman. I was not nearly as impressed with her reading of the E-Minor concerto, but that's like trying to compare apples with oranges. Kate has a great lyrical gift, which to me is far more important than flashy bravura.
I watched a dozen other performances. I come back to this one, studying the piece myself as an amateur player. Kate enjoys nuances that get lost when rushing this Ballade too much. Her rendering has depth, a nice rubato where appropriate, a long breath and is articulate even in the fast Coda. To me it is the most beautiful I could find on UA-cam.
Beautiful performance in every way. Perfect for my taste. I love her clarity and cleanness of playing plus her judicious use of the pedal. Really good. That coda-finale is a bear. I'd love to play it like that. Maybe someday. :)
It’s 2024 and I’m still listening to this piece from her over and over. The best Chopin Ballade 4 ever.
I completely agree. Still loving this in 2024!
Still here; still finding it gorgeously performed. Not certain that there is one best performance; Zimerman and Richter also give gorgeous readings. IMHO, that is.
Same here, amazing
10:16 you can see her artery pulsating at around 160 bpm. Piano playing is cardio.. At least in a stressful situation like that.
That girl plays with her heart. In my opinion, this interpretation is the best ever recorded, and 8 years later, many people, including me, argue that she deserved the 1st prize and Gold medal.
Like Yunchan Lim she is not weighed down by virtuosity - the music seems to speak clearly and you can imagine that this is what the composer wanted.
It's so sad that until now she's not yet having any other album aside from the 2015 competition album. I just hope that recording labels would look after her to record other works. I feel like she's so underrated.
Yes she is so underrated. Don't know why she was the favorite of the public
I heard she had an injury.. I hope she comes back with an album too!
@@kyoungpyohong4387 Agree with you👍👍
I love her music very much:)
She's still young.
Yeah she's just 28. She also just attended a piano competition.
Best ever. My favorite artist.
英語でうまく書けないので日本語で失礼します。
Kateさんのピアノはものすごく聞き入ってしまいます。音の一粒一粒が綺麗で、しかも繊細。全ての響きが気持ちよく心地いい。
特にこのバラード４番は、私が聞きたいKateさんの良さが凄く出ていて、もう本当に、弾いてくれてありがとうございますという気持ちで満たされます。
Kateさんのピアノ、大好きです！
yay hewo japanese guy!
Wow. That moment at 3:16 when she lets that single note just hang there like there is not a care in the world is pure magic. She has an amazing ability to interpret Chopin.
I must have listened to over 200+ recordings of this piece, in an attempt to find someone better than her. There's noone. She's absolutely on par with Richter, Kocsis and Moravec. This and her recording of sonata no. 3 are mindbogglingly good.
Toute l'âme de Chopin... c'est sublime !!
何度聴いても最高です。ピアノってこんなにキラキラと輝く音が出るんだなぁと改めて感じる演奏です。至福の時間をありがとうございます。
4번은 케이트 리우 버젼 뛰어넘는 사람을 본 적이 없음. 조성진, 짐머만 등 많은 사람들을 들어봤지만 공연장의 공기까지 소리를 통해 전해지는 기분은 처음인듯..
Never rushed, relaxed, well thought out but imaginative and consistent playing. Never too much or too little. Can't think of any pianist who captures all of these qualities like this girl does. Unlike so many who make you feel like they are rushing to end, she seems like she never wants the music to end!
Transparency Audio & Music then you never heard Mr. Zimmerman and his version of Ballade no. 4 .
Zimmerman is even better
Indeed his performance is definitive!! This young gorgeous girl is aspiring and fantastic best wishes to her.....maybe the next Argerich??? But yes, there must be room for her, Juga Wang not with standing....and Juga is my favorite!
@@splitt7626 It is very good, but he doesn't vary tempi in subtle ways I would prefer. Of course, so many take too much liberty with Chopin, or play too fast or violently, so I really like C. Z.
@@splitt7626 ihave and i think she is still better
the best pianist walking on the face of the earth
진짜 이 곡 해석중 최고다.. 맨날 보러옴 너무 멋있어요
9:09-10:15 - on fire. Following 5 chords: left the planet. She went somewhere else. Amazing.
There isn't anyone else in the world who expresses Chopin in your rich and soulful way. I can only mention a few pianists in history who have given me the feeling you do. I wish you all the best Kate.
+ADGO i've listened to 30+ interpretations of this ballade and there is a magically soft touch to kate's playing here that no other pianist has been able to achieve. bravo kate. hope to see you live one day
+ADGO Certainly a divinely inspired performance if ever there was one. I've heard EVERYONE play this piece and play it extraordinarily well, but I have to agree that NO ONE has achieved a greater depth of poetic understanding, and projection of subtle lyrical intensity than this young woman. I was not nearly as impressed with her reading of the E-Minor concerto, but that's like trying to compare apples with oranges. Kate has a great lyrical gift, which to me is far more important than flashy bravura. And now I'm going to listen to Kate's C#-Minor Scherzo -- surely the acid test for all Chopinistes. ;-)
haha has she got a harelip? she can't express it like russians or poles she is an asian robot
There is the music, and there is the playing. The latter is very good and poetic, but one should listen to the music itself: it does express the life experience of someone who is locked-up in some place where there is no escape, but who is dreaming about how it was and how it could have been 'if only'... A very universal experience of the human condition. And in the hands of a gifted composer, it becomes stylized and accessible as a universal experience. This pianist understands all of this, obviously, in an emotional sense.
liceous The only person who matches this softness is Lucas Debargue (in my opinion) I don't know if his recording of the fourth Ballade is available on youtube, but it's in his album with Scarlatti, Chopin and Ravel
That Kate Liu does not have a recording contract with DG or some other major label is a disgrace and indicative of how poorly the major labels judge talent. . How could it possibly be that we not be hearing more from this amazing talent?
Wow... Could not agree more! .. Kate is a living miracle, nothing less.. I am afraid recording labels are looking for pianists-models or pianists-athletes and not for true artists.. Unfortunately..
Agreed!! I want to purchase all her recordings on a proper album. Where’s her contract?!? She’s brilliant
Kate Liu is one of the foremost talents of the age! She is authentic, an individual voice who lives and breathes Chopin... I don't believe in the search for the very best pianist ever. There are many more pianists than we might wish to acknowledge, each with their own interpretation. However, Kate Liu doesn't something that few other musicians ever have done for me. she is consistently the one who brings Frederic Chopin to my doorstep with every ounce of depth which that implies, in every way that may touch my soul...
Слушаю часто эту Балладу с конкурса 2015 г в исполнение Kate Liu.
Для меня это лучшее исполнение в плане эмоционального накала и музыкальной подачи. Она живет этой музыкой. Прекрасная пианистка!
9:07 this section makes me want to learn and master this ballade. Simply beautiful
This is simply the best interpretation I have ever heard of this Ballade. She let's Chopin "breathe". Sometimes silence is the best musicianship.
@@ilovemycatrussell9298 but very similar
@@ilovemycatrussell9298 Why does everyone keep saying Zimmerman's the best. I'm curious as to their reasonings.
@@eloisanzara237 personal preference, if I'm being honest. Everyone seems to say "this is Chopin's intention" which is fine, except the only person who knows that 100% is Chopin himself. And he's dead, so... Yeah.
As Debussy once said "Music is the space between the notes"
Let the music breathe!
Yes she knows-how to make the music a living breathing entity !!!Her timing before starting a new passage is of the divine!!!!!!! Chopin at its very best!!!! THANK YOU Kate!!!!!!
This performance cannot be summed up in the trivial words of just winning the competition. Pure perfection.
She's so amazing👏
I could listen to her play forever🥺
짐머만은 음향과 기교가 너무 완전해서 압도된다면 이건 들으면 왠지 벅차고 눈물이 나옴.. 짐머만은 숨을 멈추고 듣게 되는데 리우는 숨을 깊게 내쉬면서 듣게 됨
This is the best version of Ballade n4 that I have ever listen to, so clean and magical, I just think that she is so underrated. Magnificent!
Anna Vinnitskaya's version is better imo
❤
breh zimerman and yundi’s old performance>>>
Listen to Alexei Sultanov!
I could no longer contain my tears at 6:32; Kate plays this passage so magically that it feels like arriving back home at last after a lengthy and tiresome expedition in a faraway land. Chopin's music is absolutely incredible and Kate successfully brings it to life in the most extraordinary manner.
Wow
You must be my soulmate
This is quite unbelievable... Kate Liu is, on the evidence of this performance and most of what is on youtube - in particular, Chopin (listen to the Sonata no 3), but also Beethoven (op. 110 is stunning), Prokofiev (Sonata no.8) and Ravel (Gaspard, recorded back in 2010 when she was a teenager) - one of the greatest pianists ever recorded. Her playing is uniquely poetic, original and comprehensive in conception and execution, the sheer beauty of her touch expresses blazing intensity and infinitely subtle emotion in a way that reminds me of Maria Callas....
We are so fortunate and privileged to be able to listen to such a profound artist.
She is unknown in the UK, and has never played here, as far as I can tell. Like I said, unbelievable!
Dan Usiskin:
So well said. Couldn’t agree more.
I was lucky enough to attend a January 2019 recital in California which included the Beethoven and Prokofiev, along with Chopin and Brahms.
That ‘live’ concert confirmed my impression of her recorded performances on UA-cam: a talent that is off the charts-with a humble, sweet, and unassuming manner. I loved her; the audience in the sold-out hall loved her; and I can’t wait for her to return so I can hear her again.
Ryan Wang: Thanks for the fascinating story. It is indeed hard to imagine that she did not qualify for the Tchaikovsky Competition. Her playing in California was just superb.
I envy your 5-hour conversation! She has so many fans on UA-cam; did you happen to ask her if she ever reads the comments?😎🎹
And don’t forget her exquisite Brahms!
The Russian and Asian pianists completely devote their life to music...their talent blooms !!
🔶🔸 Kate Liu Plays Chopin 🔸🔶
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52 *(1842)*
00:00 Andante con moto
00:35 _m 7 a tempo_
03:30 _m 58_
04:35 _m 85 dolce_
05:27 _m 99 a tempo_
06:33 _m 129_
07:16 _m 134 a tempo_
09:08 _m 169 a tempo_
10:23 _m 203_
10:47 _m 211 [Coda]_
Kate Liu, piano✨
*17th International Chopin Competition*
*Stage 2: 5 pm-8:30 pm Session*
*October 10, 2015*
This is possibly the most impressive and magisterial performance of this piece I’ve ever heard. Such a natural flow, simplicity and attention to details. The music becomes a living organism.
She is a master of the lower range of keys in piano. Under her virtuoso decoration, a lot of the boring lower key transition phrases are full of content, miraculous!
+Binglin Li you're absolutely right about that, spot on comment, i couldn't agree more
this is so rare, so unpretentious, so pure interpretation of the soul within Ballade 4 ... no make ups, just how Chopin would wish for, in my opinion.
Tout à fait différent de l’interprétation de Horowitz (celle de 1953).
@@GDT908 oui, elle a son style
I can't stop hear you playing.
Kate, you are unbeatable!
She won my heart. A perfect moment. ✨
bu parçaları zimmerman ayrı bir güzel çalıyor ondan da dinle. Bu arada danca macabre yorumu ile sen de benim kalbimi kazandın dostum :D
@@DrEru Krystian Zimerman en sevdiğim piyanistlerdendir.🌟Onun Chopin baladlarını da onlarca defa dinledim. Farklı ruhlar, farklı renkler. 🎹💯Teşekkürler. 🤓
Denemediyseniz Kissin’i dinleyin
mine too
This is the greatest version i've heard. Bravo, Kate!
I am crying
You're doing the right thing
Jerry Y: You and everybody else.
me too man, me too...
3:44 got me
Jerry Y: To those who understand and love this Ballade, no other reaction is possible. This is a touchstone performance. 🥲🎹
Just amazing how she plays without looking at the keys, sometimes with her eyes closed.
Those final chords... 😍😍😍
Kate Liu is unbelievable, her playing seems to come right from heaven.
I have heard that Einstein said when he had listened to Rubinstein for the first time: "Now I know that there is a God in heaven..."
I had to think on these words when I had listened to Kate Liu some times.
i've had this beautiful, physically demanding Ballade going on a loop performed by everyone on UA-cam. Without knowing who was playing this morning, my system began with this one. I was immediately aware this was different, and drawn in by very pure, expressive, lyrical voices and tonal clarity. I recognized greatness. This is a challenging piece to master technically, as well as lyricize, yet this pianist was gliding. Walking over to the screen, I saw Kate Liu's graceful hands, and arms. As a pianist who plays the other three Ballades, but not yet the fourth, I applaud you Kate for your insight, as well as your technical competence, strength and endurance. You have it in the palms of your hands, and convey it's glorious poetry. Absolutely brilliant work. Bravo, Kate Liu.
Chopin called this a ballade for a reason. It should be played the way she plays it.
I swear I’ve listened to this performance close to 100 times in less than a year already.
You know this girl is playing it the way its supposed to be played because at the same time it looks totally impossible that a human should be able to do this, yet it simultaneously looks like she is hardly even trying, it's just happening automatically, and it sounds perfect. True virtuoso interpreting the work of the greatest master of the piano ever.
You know this is a gem when every time you listen to it, it feels just the same as it did the first time you listened to it. Wow.
I can’t believe this was four years ago; it feels like yesterday!
In my opinion she should have won the first prize. At first sight she looks like an innocent girl, but when she starts playing the piano, she breaks thousands of walls. Her passion and emotion for the music are so pure and divine. I admire her. And on her face you can see how humble and good person is she, and very simple. Big bravo.
kate liu, seong jin cho and charles richard hamelin are just all so good though
Seong Jin Cho shouldn’t have won. His playing sounded like a robot compared to Kate Liu. One of the jury gave seong jin cho 1 out of 10 on the concerto. In my opinion also, Kate should have won.
She just topped Zimerman for me. Never thought that would happen.
By any means, Zimmerman is unique when talking about Ballades (or Concertos, or Sonatas...)
It's good performance but it isn't that good.
yes Jonathan zimmerman is the ultimate one
Don't know this Zimmerman person. But there is no one above Krystian Zimerman
Do give the Rubinstein a listen, especially for the G minor one. I've never heard anyone play anything better.
내가 가장 좋아하는 피아니스트
7:22부터 은은하게 나오는 이 메이저한 음색과 케이트리우의 표정이 이 곡의 하이라이트이다. 정말 대단하다.
Performing like that in the Second round of Chopin Competition is not easy. Never. But she performed this in such a phenomenal and terrific way. Big Big brava for her👍
Kate is really something special. She makes the piano sing.
Chopin was all about making the piano sing. I agree she certainly accomplished that here. :)
9:34 too often is this voicing lost in most recordings, loves that she brings it out
Agreed
Words cannot describe how much I love Kates performance of this Ballade… I’m so glad that we have her in this Era besides Yunchan Lim
It is kate's version that I'm willing to spare no effort to play this masterpiece despite how hard it is
She plays so delicately! What I really love from her is that she's so calm but passionate. She doesn't ambitiously show off as if she really wanted to be the first champion. She enjoys what she performs. That's rarely amazing.
i just need to say it again as i've just finished learning this ballade and have listened to every interpretation i can possibly get my ears on -- THIS ballade interpretation by kate liu is sublime. so magical, utter perfection. talent at its absolute finest.
if the ballade form is all about dramatic, emotional narrative, then kate liu is that one of a kind storyteller who guides you along the way so that you understand the story the best, without pushing the narrative thread too hard, without dragging it down too sentimentally -- she floats you along the story, she brings you to a different dimension, in the way we've so often been read a bedtime story at the perfect pace.
bravo.
+liceous woooooowww you learned this ballade?! its one of the hardest pieces of chopin (and the best obviously :P ) Congratulations!!!! it have been always my dream to learn it, however I have to improve a little bit more :) :)
Right, I also love her interpretation. Those who gave thumbs down were jealous with her.
+liceous loved your comment, you are totally right
a bedtime story at the perfect pace. My thoughts exactly.
+PianoMan “antpa1418” 13 learn the first ballade first , then youll be able to get what is the 4th
This girl is immensely talented. Exquisite playing.
Whenever i see Kate Liu perform i feel the urge to run to my piano and practice to play in a relaxed manner.
ouah!!!..Quel souffle!! Quelle Artiste!! Magnifique!! Très émouvant!!
I really don't know who else can play this better, Kate has everything for this Ballade IMHO
Happy birthday Kate !!! may 23 (2023).
We love you so much.
We will want Kate to play a lot of Chopin music from now on .
🍾❤️❤️❤️🎂❤️❤️❤️🍾
i love how she is singing in 5:10
just beautiful! that concert hall is FILLED with her emotions. its so facinating to see what music can actually do to people
彼女が、50才60才70才になったときの、バラードを聴いてみたいな✨たぶん、いま64才の私は生きてはいないけど…芸術ってそうですよね☘️
長生きしてください😊
This whole ballade is amazing, but my favorite section might be 9:07-9:55. Something about that section is just so moving and emotion-evoking. I can't describe it.
Probably the best Chopin Ballade 4 at this competition. Definitely one of the best Chopin Ballade 4 on UA-cam. Bravo!!
This performance is the best.
Kate Liu is the world no1 !!!
They said that Debussy's interpretation of this piece for his Paris Conservatoire finals sounded as if it were played without hammers. Liu approaches that level of delicacy here.
Wow, what planet did you come from? I have two daughters in the arts, I've personally educated 100's of woman pianists and composers, and many of my favourite living composers are women. Here I compliment this gifted woman, and you have to turn it into an insult. There's a life out there, I've lived it, and I suggest you go and get one of your own.
Debussy played Chopin? What a twist.
Léon Ruhe Debussy was originally enrolled at the Conservatoire as a piano student, so it's only natural that he'd take on the great composers in his exams. He kept his skills even after many years solely as a composer.
Claude Debussy had a deep love for the music of a composer who--a half-century before--had blazed a new path with his utterly individual style and keyboard sound. “Chopin is the greatest of all,” Debussy said. “For with the piano alone he discovered everything.” In this hour, Chopin’s influence on Debussy as he developed his own, utterly individual style.
This is particularly interesting when you consider Debussy's main 'compatriot' Maurice Ravel wasn't particularly skilled in the Piano!
She is the absolute opposite of a superstar. She just make music at the highest level. I really like her playing.
Chopin is such a master, he creates these beautiful, relaxing and peaceful melodies that Kate amazingly brings to life, the song just flows through her like honey, amazing.
It's like Chopin pulled his heart and plugged it right in the piano. Such passion and genius is expressed through music and that's why Chopin's soul is eternal.
Clearly, and I mean *clearly* one of the best renditions of the Fourth Ballade I've ever heard - live or studio. Bravissima Mrs. Liu!
Kate, you deserve greater fame. Your music touches me in the deepest sense and soothes my soul...you are a true artist
How I wish Chopin himself could have heard that ....
I love the way how Kate plays the beginning of this piece. It feels like sunshine is falling over me on a clear spring day. Thank you Kate.
Yeah, that Szopen ballade is surely one of the greatest masterpiece of classical music❤
Kate Liuの弾き方まじですき！
this is my favourite interpretation hands down, could and have listened to this for hours
This simply is a - the - most spectacular performance of one of Chopin's ripest works. - Yes, as one commentator remarked, the instrument is a tad tingly above middle F or so. But that's the instrument, not Kate Liu. - Kate Liu's phrasing, touch, agogics, and powerful balancing of all the agitated, concerted voices in this Ballada is mesmerizing! - Halina Czerny-Stefańska used to be my „heroine” in this piece (DGG 1956), not for technical prowess, but for the „Polish” feeling. - Kate Liu plays - narrates - this piece as a natural - that is the true word - world unto itself. Liu's balancing of all the voices in this piece is incredible. She truly plays musically, not just pianistically. - Kate Liu's performance of the Ballada in f alone proclaims her a musical genius. - How is playing encompassing so much soul possible in our sordid age?
Absolutely breath-takingly and marvelously mind-numbingly amazing performance.
Great legato, touching nostalgia, technical perfection, Chopenistic aura and idomatic brilliance.
And her palms dancing and her face laced with admiration...
Bless you Kate !!!
best interpretation so far in my opinion
They say Chopin’s heart is buried somewhere in a Warsaw church. They are wrong. It’s alive and beating. The girl’s got it.
Chopin chose her to express his pieces in the was Chopin was thinking. And she is just doing that.
Your comment was the best expression of her.
You are being way over the top...
I politely disagree. Sadly, we will never unlock the secrets of Chopin. He was alive so long ago that there wasn’t such a thing as recording equipment. Kate Liu is simply interpreting what Chopin sounds like in her own mind. Although her interpretation is glorious in nature, I wouldn’t go so far to say that she has the “Heart of Chopin”.
@@dihydrogenmonoxide5994 that was exactly what I was thinking. I completely disagree with "he/she understands Chopin" or "he/she plays the way Chopin wanted". For me, the best interpreter is the one who plays with clarity, emotion and naturalistic
@@nicolasantony310 Exactly. It's supposed to be about what the artist brings to the table, not about meeting the composer's intentions. Or the artist could let the music speak for itself, like Kempff did so well.
I love her. This ballade is just amazing
Still the most beautiful performance of this masterpiece I’ve ever heard.
😎🎹
Best rendition ever..!
New video... Mozart's d minor concerto with the Warsaw Philarmonic..
ua-cam.com/users/live13Xd0h-2BcE?si=Tt87Bbj7fZF3bldl
agree 100%
Just INCREDIBLY good. We'll never hear it played any better of that I'm sure. This girl has EVERYTHING.
Not only does she posses a beautiful sound, but there is an intelligent grasp of compositional structure and design. This young lady is ready for the international stage.
I can not find a word to express an admiration to her fantastic performance, but just want to give a standing ovation.
The highest masterpiece ever composed for piano
What a joy that we can hear Kate's great art -- her unconditional dedication to music and the rich life of her soul. She is a gift to humankind.
Happy birthday Kate !! may 23 (2024).
We love you so much!!.
we want Kate to play a lot of Chopin music from now on.
I'm looking forward to it .
Kate is the person whom my life cannot lack in .
Certainly a divinely inspired performance if ever there was one. I've heard EVERYONE play this piece and play it extraordinarily well, but I have to agree that NO ONE has achieved a greater depth of poetic understanding, and projection of subtle lyrical intensity than this young woman. I was not nearly as impressed with her reading of the E-Minor concerto, but that's like trying to compare apples with oranges. Kate has a great lyrical gift, which to me is far more important than flashy bravura.
I became interested in the world of piano and Chopin because of Kate's beautiful interpretations!
The best interpretation of the coda I have heard... she plays it so smoothly.
I watched a dozen other performances. I come back to this one, studying the piece myself as an amateur player. Kate enjoys nuances that get lost when rushing this Ballade too much. Her rendering has depth, a nice rubato where appropriate, a long breath and is articulate even in the fast Coda. To me it is the most beautiful I could find on UA-cam.
how long have you been playing piano before tackling this piece as an amateur ?
@@più_lento_28_13 About 4 years now, but with some basics as a child. I have very good teachers at the music university.
I'm learning this piece and I swear I just keep coming back to Kate's version. So good
Normally I'm not even a huge fan of this piece, however, your interpretation of it makes it one of my favorite piano pieces.
6:33 ~ 7:02
Sounds like heaven
This ballad was extremely well played by Kate. I plan to model this performance quality when playing.
Przepiękna ta Ballada, dla mnie najlepsza w całym Konkursie:)
The most beautiful Ballade in this Competition, for me the best.
Beautiful performance in every way. Perfect for my taste. I love her clarity and cleanness of playing plus her judicious use of the pedal. Really good. That coda-finale is a bear. I'd love to play it like that. Maybe someday. :)