Guys, while Guido Agosti's fiendishly difficult transcription contains only 3 pieces from the ballet, be bound to remember that US pianist Sam Raphling made an equally demanding piano solo transcription of the 1919 ballet suite, whereas Igor Stravinsky himself trancribed the entire Firebird ballet for solo piano.
Yes we’ve been terrified by this for years now. Francesco Piemontesi made it famous on YT with a riveting performance. It was the only one. the past few years everyone has been trying to play it
I love this. There Is something more than virtuosism, if you manage tò follow the idea..... Maybe im Just a Little drunk, Bless you for the trascription.
I am neither a pianist nor can I read notes, but looking at this video I get the distinct impression that you''d need two pianos and ideally five hands to play this. There is a lot going on.
I tend to agree about the "terrifying", but where on earth is it written that the lyrical section at [01:45] should be handled like a schmaltzy, sentimental piece?! It doesn't fit into the character of King Kastchei's Infernal Dance and the concept is hardly orchestral (no orchestra could play with such rhythmic elasticity). The only pianist to my knowledge who doesn't slow down in this terrifyingly difficult section and still treats it elegantly is Sandro Russo ua-cam.com/video/rUENxh9EaIE/v-deo.html
I kind of agree, but Russo also plays the whole thing significantly slower, and the section in question doesn't come across very clearly in that tempo imo
@@gustavertboellecomposer Russo's slightly slower tempo confers the piece a more incisive character in my opinion. Some conductors take the Infernal Dance slower too. He at least maintains his tempo along the way and through the thorniest passages, including the one I pointed in my previous comment. The pianist in this performance starts super fast, but there is the first slowdown 35 seconds after the start.
@@teds4987 he maintains the tempo, but in that tempo the 16th note ornaments don't sound out very clearly because you don't have time to change pedal that often. But ultimately it's just personal preference, there are definitely things I don't agree with in this interpretation as well
@@gustavertboellecomposer We're all entitled to our opinions, thank goodness!! My original consideration was that one should not treat that section (lyrical as it is) in a sentimental way AND slowing down so much. Even if not every 16th note is equally clear in Russo's passagework (is every note even so important?!), he is still taking a more faithful approach to the score than the recording featured here (or many other performances which basically slow down, also!). On another note, I just read in the video description that Russo's live performance is actually from 2002 and it seems a very amateurish recording, probably with something worse than modern smartphones. That does penalize the overall sound clarity in various ways.
The pianist is taking weird liberties with the tempo; there are strange ritardandos no orchestra would ever do. Jeez, am I tired of pianists and their ad libitum rubato.
Not only is this terrifying to listen to, but it is also terrifying to learn and play
Did you play it?
There’d be blood all over the keyboard - ferocious!
“will my wrists survive this measure?”
Guys, while Guido Agosti's fiendishly difficult transcription contains only 3 pieces from the ballet, be bound to remember that US pianist Sam Raphling made an equally demanding piano solo transcription of the 1919 ballet suite, whereas Igor Stravinsky himself trancribed the entire Firebird ballet for solo piano.
Brilliance! :)
Yes we’ve been terrified by this for years now. Francesco Piemontesi made it famous on YT with a riveting performance. It was the only one. the past few years everyone has been trying to play it
When things are already impossible, there comes an accelerando and a più mosso. 3:18. This is not a transcription. It's a punishment.
Thanks for uploading!
Oh wow, speechless
I love this.
There Is something more than virtuosism, if you manage tò follow the idea.....
Maybe im Just a Little drunk, Bless you for the trascription.
One of my teachers plays this! Even he can't beat Piemontesi though 😅
I am neither a pianist nor can I read notes, but looking at this video I get the distinct impression that you''d need two pianos and ideally five hands to play this. There is a lot going on.
Nope, it’s actually for two hands.
3:36 guys i don't know why this reminds me the ending of Islamey
I absolutely love how this sounds on piano!
これは難しい！！😮
02:46リストの森のざわめきの楽譜かと一瞬思った😅
I am sure anyone who has at least one week of Simply Piano could easily tackle this. 😅
Kaikhosru Shapurji Medtner
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アナトリー
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wh what
I tend to agree about the "terrifying", but where on earth is it written that the lyrical section at [01:45] should be handled like a schmaltzy, sentimental piece?! It doesn't fit into the character of King Kastchei's Infernal Dance and the concept is hardly orchestral (no orchestra could play with such rhythmic elasticity). The only pianist to my knowledge who doesn't slow down in this terrifyingly difficult section and still treats it elegantly is Sandro Russo ua-cam.com/video/rUENxh9EaIE/v-deo.html
I kind of agree, but Russo also plays the whole thing significantly slower, and the section in question doesn't come across very clearly in that tempo imo
@@gustavertboellecomposer Russo's slightly slower tempo confers the piece a more incisive character in my opinion. Some conductors take the Infernal Dance slower too. He at least maintains his tempo along the way and through the thorniest passages, including the one I pointed in my previous comment. The pianist in this performance starts super fast, but there is the first slowdown 35 seconds after the start.
@@teds4987 he maintains the tempo, but in that tempo the 16th note ornaments don't sound out very clearly because you don't have time to change pedal that often. But ultimately it's just personal preference, there are definitely things I don't agree with in this interpretation as well
@@gustavertboellecomposer We're all entitled to our opinions, thank goodness!! My original consideration was that one should not treat that section (lyrical as it is) in a sentimental way AND slowing down so much. Even if not every 16th note is equally clear in Russo's passagework (is every note even so important?!), he is still taking a more faithful approach to the score than the recording featured here (or many other performances which basically slow down, also!). On another note, I just read in the video description that Russo's live performance is actually from 2002 and it seems a very amateurish recording, probably with something worse than modern smartphones. That does penalize the overall sound clarity in various ways.
where is the emotion in this performance?!
The point being ?
The pianist is taking weird liberties with the tempo; there are strange ritardandos no orchestra would ever do. Jeez, am I tired of pianists and their ad libitum rubato.
It is quite literally impossible to play if you don't slow down in some parts lol