Liberace introduces Chopsticks and then plays it - special features include his various expressions at his own playing. A must see for all Liberace fans.
Say what you want about Liberace, but you cannot deny that he was one hell of a showman. When you bought a ticket to his show, you got your money's worth.
Not only does he play without any sheet music in front of him but he's also remembering all the camera angles, which one to look into at the right time. Brilliant! The Master.
I will never forget the night he died, Larry King had several celebs on his show to reminisce about Liberace. They all agreed he was (supposedly) not a good piano player, but instead was a good showman. What b.s.! I have NEVER seen a pianist finer than him. He could play the classics but also other types of popular music, which a lot of symphony musicians can't do. He could play anything. Liberace was also a generous man with his friends and people who knew him have told me stories about his graciousness. He had a wonderful sense of humor and that was the cherry on top. He was a true original. I have never seen him use sheet music and yet he played some VERY complicated pieces with an orchestra. I also wonder how he came up with the arrangements? Obviously the other musicians needed sheet music, so he had to have somebody writing out those line scores. Yet you never hear about the unseen person(s) who helped him. He had to be a very busy fellow to be doing so many shows -- flying pianos to venues, etc., and coming up with his own versions of various songs. A truly great man!
I've heard this, too. But how does that explain why so many of us love to listen to his recordings-- that is, if we can't see him, what good does showmanship do? At the end of the day, they saw him as "lowbrow" because he was commercially successful and made sure that his audiences had one hell of a great time! Those things are always going to grate the nerves of critics and performers who take themselves too seriously.
@@RS-yd2bp "but, there are many children that can play them much better than he does," ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- actually Liberace was a child prodigy himself. So it's not unlikely that as a child he did play at least as good as the (prodigy) children you are referring to. And so it seems logical that as an educated and experienced adult player he was better than he himself as a child (or other child prodigies)
fryloc359...Loved your comment and the five replies to date. This reply is my lazy way of thanking all six of you for what you say about one of my favorite entertainers, Liberace. I add nothing of substance, except to say that given the chance, I'd have done Liberace. Thanks again. You guys made my day.
Steve & Les...You guys are so very right about Liberace. I never saw him live, but I came of age watching him on TV...always a fun show. I had the rampant hots for Elvis, of course, but I felt that way watching Liberace, too. He turned me on, made me happy. Making other people happy is what Liberace was all about.
My first duo my music teacher and I played chopsticks and I jazzed it up much her dismay, however afterward she complimented me. She asked me however why I decided to do what I did, and I said I wanted to be like Liberace. Bless her she just grinned.
Has anyone else noticed that we have no pianist / entertainers like this today. But then again, we don't seem to have many of the entertainers like there was in the 50's to 70's. There are a few, but very rarely seen.
There are a couple on UA-cam try to imitate him...but if you will notice they don't have the hand flamboyance nor the leg movement.. The worst is the guy that took his spot in Hilton.. Barf
I agree , part of the problem is lack of music in the schools, another part is kids seam more interested in creating music on computers than learning to play an instrument (look at what has happened to guitar sales for instance), and then there is. Then general dumbing down of modern music( check out some of the videos on the “millennial whoop” and why they use it). That is my two cents.
Momtu was a piano player too.. She was old school like him.. Taught me so much about music and life and love! I miss my Momtu.. She believed in me and was rooting for me when my own parents were not. Even a trip to the store with Momtu was an adventure
Best.. Version.. Of Chopsticks... EEEEEEVER!!! I remember when he played this.. Had to listen to it thirty times. I 've been looking fro this vid for years.. OMG!!! Thank you so very much.. Looooove Our Lib.. such a master... and this old Dragon does not EVER.. call anyone master.. Well.. almost never HAH.. Our Liberace is an exception.. Namaste...
Larry Jordan, I'm not here to fight or argue with you! Yes, Liberace was a great piano player, but my main piano player and showman is another piano player and show man. We just agree to disagree! ☮️
Haha yep... Piano critics would say he didn't follow classical standards.... Hahaha, he was way way way beyond traditional standards...400 years from now pianist will try to play "Liberace"
One more thing.. I was 6 years old.. This event caused me to totally fall head over heels in love with music.. and it was on PBS.. LOOOOVED IT!!! thanks so much
Awesome. What a master can do with the simplest of forms. My favorite part is the smile Liberace gives us at 3:18. A perfectionist showman, that smile seems to break through--very genuine. I like to remember him with that.
Yea Liberace's smile really makes me melt, too bad he was gay not that anything would ever happen between us, especially since he was half my age or more. I'm not that much older then Scott. He didn't have all his hair and private part and later on he didn't have all his face, especially his eyes when he had the surgey, but at least his smile was real.
@@lianelayman7796 If you are the same age as Scott, and he was 18, and Liberace is half your age, then Liberace would have been 9, and yes, he still had all his hair at that age.
All these years of occasionally watching great pianists on UA-cam, turns out the most impressive one was the one that was famous for it this whole time... don't think I ever watched him play before... wow!
Liberace lo más grande y talentoso panista entretenido que he escuchado en mi vida lástima que nos dejó pero sus interpretaciones nos seguirán acompañando
I grew up watching the great Liberace, through the accusations in London, which are but nothing now. Nothing changes this man was a phenominal entertainer!
He does look good in this video. he's so cute especially when he smiles. If I didn't know he was gay, I could probaby have a crush on him. It was before the plastic surgey messed up his face, especailly his eyes.I don't know why he ever thought he needed the surgey because he looks so good in this video. Nobody and I mean nobody will ever play the piano as good as he does. Man, when his left hand crosses over the right he only palys with the tips of his fingers and they go so fast, amazing! He's such a genius!
+Sandra Fehr : I met him once when he was walking around Downtown Milwaukee, his and my home town, during one of his concert tours. Gracious and wonderfully warm man. He grabbed both my hands and I was bedazzled by his 1000 watt smile. I just stopped to say hi and he made me feel like I made his day. Hah. He made my year! Wonderful, gifted man. He truly loved people.
Reminds you that in music even the “simplest” and most basic of tunes can bring forth such joy. Granted his interpretation is probably nowhere near simple (I’m not a pianist) so I can’t really gage the difficulty of this. But it brings forth so many emotions, the classical genre is such an underrated thing in today’s age. If performers now were to bring forth this kind of energy I believe that we would see it come back into the main light. Thank you Liberace for such amazing performances that you brought to us. You are a prime example that music is life. It’s clear that you live it and love it.
love his humorous wink of acknowledgment to the camera as he starts. Went to see his piano museum in Las Vegas, glad i can say I went. Wish I had the talent he discards. Good man before being a good musician and that is saying plenty.
Did anyone else notice the silhouette of Liberace's conductor Gordon Robinson in the background ? They are totally together at every beat ... I have also noticed that when he plays the Gershwin Medley in another video. Liberace's last note comes exactly with the downbeat of GR. Amazing. He surely picked the best musicians to perform with him. 🤗🎵
And of course, the audience being more knowledgeable at the time, knew which composers he was riffing on in the variations. I don't know them all, but there was Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, I think Rachmaninoff (I could be wrong about that one) and possibly Brahms. Brilliant!
"More knowledgeable at the time", mate at this point in history we have access to more information at our fingertips than they ever did. You've gotta stop that trash "people now are dumber than people years ago" shit. It's not slick, just incredibly incorrect.
Criminalinvestigator Hans Holmér said Before his Death,when the trut about this is in the open,Sweden will Change Dramaticly....about the assassine Walther Kegö made-Police Chief.
I remember my grandmother getting piano rolls out and playing them on Sundays when I was a kid. If you chanced across a liberace roll, it always lit up the piano and as a kid, you'd think "no way could one person play that". I'm (not a pianist) sure that some of those rolls were made of two combined parts, but they were a lot like his single playing above here. To see the keys flying in front of you on a player piano, though, really illustrated just how active he was when playing. You couldn't anticipate where the next keys would be - they'd be down three octaves and then up in just a few beats, or back and forth ten times in five seconds.
That's no big deal. I can play boogie woogie sixteen to the bar in my sleep. Of course I'm not a pro like Lee, so I only play it half as fast as he does.
1:06 "There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago..."
Aw, he's just hamming for the camera, acting all serious, then he breaks into his signature smile as if to say "Just kidding!". He was the consummate performer -- he truly LOVED to entertain. Wish I could have seen him live.
His great contribution lies in the convergence of classical music and real life, in those seemingly casual adaptation among those likely to be fit to ignore emotions.
Say what you want about Liberace, but you cannot deny that he was one hell of a showman. When you bought a ticket to his show, you got your money's worth.
He turned "Chopsticks" into a Classical masterpiece!! There's only one Liberace!!! Excellent!!!
Not only does he play without any sheet music in front of him but he's also remembering all the camera angles, which one to look into at the right time. Brilliant! The Master.
😮😅❤
I'm not trying to take away from his ability and showmanship, but that's a recorded performance, with edits and all.
@@Mirach84 God Almighty, lets' not complicate matters eh?
@@Mirach84 I can't wait to come to YOUR concert where we'll all witness perfection!
CAN'T WAIT!
YEssss!
I will never forget the night he died, Larry King had several celebs on his show to reminisce about Liberace. They all agreed he was (supposedly) not a good piano player, but instead was a good showman. What b.s.! I have NEVER seen a pianist finer than him. He could play the classics but also other types of popular music, which a lot of symphony musicians can't do. He could play anything. Liberace was also a generous man with his friends and people who knew him have told me stories about his graciousness. He had a wonderful sense of humor and that was the cherry on top. He was a true original. I have never seen him use sheet music and yet he played some VERY complicated pieces with an orchestra. I also wonder how he came up with the arrangements? Obviously the other musicians needed sheet music, so he had to have somebody writing out those line scores. Yet you never hear about the unseen person(s) who helped him. He had to be a very busy fellow to be doing so many shows -- flying pianos to venues, etc., and coming up with his own versions of various songs. A truly great man!
I've heard this, too. But how does that explain why so many of us love to listen to his recordings-- that is, if we can't see him, what good does showmanship do? At the end of the day, they saw him as "lowbrow" because he was commercially successful and made sure that his audiences had one hell of a great time! Those things are always going to grate the nerves of critics and performers who take themselves too seriously.
You said it all so beautiful! 🙏
Hello from Beverly Hills California
@@RS-yd2bp
"but, there are many children that can play them much better than he does,"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
actually Liberace was a child prodigy himself.
So it's not unlikely that as a child he did play at least as good as the (prodigy) children you are referring to.
And so it seems logical that as an educated and experienced adult player he was better than he himself as a child (or other child prodigies)
6th
Agreed. How can one perform with such flair without missing a single note if one's musicianship wasn't up to it?
The man had more talent in his little finger than I have in my entire body.
Outback Eddie, same here bro! I'm trying to learn piano! ️ ☮️
And more fingers in his body than you have on your body.
@@clownphabetstrongwoman7305 ah haha…
Me too.
I dont think anyone had a better time than he did..always a smile and having fun..greatest performer..showman
I've watched a number of Liberace videos and he always looks like he is having a grand old time when he plays.
Funnily enough, he never touched the pianos at home. Four hours a day on stage was enough for him!
Ciaran Ryan Are a member of his family???
No, Scott Thorson said so in his book.
Playing piano was his real true love...second was audience participation, his third love was men...that's what lee was about
fryloc359...Loved your comment and the five replies to date. This reply is my lazy way of thanking all six of you for what you say about one of my favorite entertainers, Liberace. I add nothing of substance, except to say that given the chance, I'd have done Liberace. Thanks again. You guys made my day.
It's great to see he is having fun. Let's not forget his foundation still assists music students...
MerleOberon I didn’t know that... very cool!!
i can be assisted by a distant relative? That's cool lmao
It's amazing how his hands fly over the keyboard and always land in the right place. I wish I could do that.
Merry Hunt, same here! ️ ☮️
This man's talent knew no bounds. He was one of the greatest musicians our world has known.
Only Liberace could take a song as simple as chopsticks and turn it into an enjoyable masterpiece.
"And now for my next number, I'd like to return to the classics"
De la soul
Look at him having so much fun! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Such a fantastic pianist, and still, there is so much more to his performances than just his mastery of the instrument. His shows were just fun.
Steve & Les...You guys are so very right about Liberace. I never saw him live, but I came of age watching him on TV...always a fun show. I had the rampant hots for Elvis, of course, but I felt that way watching Liberace, too. He turned me on, made me happy. Making other people happy is what Liberace was all about.
Steve Howard, same like my Elton! Lee Liberace was one of my Elton John's heroes! ☮️
Liberace was an outstanding and EXCEPTIONAL piano player
he was truly Amazing! He made it look so easy and like anybody could play like him. miss you Liberace! r.i.p.
I thought of this and played it for my birthday. What a great show.
One Hell of a pianist.
My first duo my music teacher and I played chopsticks and I jazzed it up much her dismay, however afterward she complimented me. She asked me however why I decided to do what I did, and I said I wanted to be like Liberace. Bless her she just grinned.
Mr Liberace. The master doing what he does best.
we are so lucky to have these video's.there will never be another like him.
That was a LOT of fun. He was a very good pianist and entertainer.
Remembering Liberace ... May 16th, 2014 ... the 95th anniversary of his BIRTH. Thank you Lee for leading me to my PATH !!
Has anyone else noticed that we have no pianist / entertainers like this today. But then again, we don't seem to have many of the entertainers like there was in the 50's to 70's. There are a few, but very rarely seen.
There are a couple on UA-cam try to imitate him...but if you will notice they don't have the hand flamboyance nor the leg movement.. The worst is the guy that took his spot in Hilton.. Barf
Bo Burnham
Nowadays our entertainment is the Kardashian’s... thank God for UA-cam!!!
I agree , part of the problem is lack of music in the schools, another part is kids seam more interested in creating music on computers than learning to play an instrument (look at what has happened to guitar sales for instance), and then there is. Then general dumbing down of modern music( check out some of the videos on the “millennial whoop” and why they use it). That is my two cents.
At the risk of repetition,
Bo Burnham
The orchestra backing really adds depth to the performance.
He loved his music and you can tell with his happy face and the way he played.
What a beautiful smile he had. Liberace always seemed to be such a sweet and gentle man as well. Bless him an amazing talent
I kinda see him as my grandmother!
Momtu was a piano player too.. She was old school like him.. Taught me so much about music and life and love! I miss my Momtu.. She believed in me and was rooting for me when my own parents were not. Even a trip to the store with Momtu was an adventure
He was a great man
Liberace, we sure miss you!
What a brilliant pianist. Notice how he can look at the audience while playing and never misses a key..
Notice if you will, no sheet music in front of him. I've never seen Liberace use music. It's all in his head. Amazing.
Scott Cason most pianists wouldn't need sheet music after memorizing the song...
Wanna Cook ?
Well, when you play it over and over (practice) you don't need sheet music.
Which head?
Scott Cason Brilliant
2020 and can still just sit and watch his videos like a movie. Never get tired of the joy he seems to have playing or giving.
The original Mr. Showmanship.
Best.. Version.. Of Chopsticks... EEEEEEVER!!! I remember when he played this.. Had to listen to it thirty times. I 've been looking fro this vid for years.. OMG!!! Thank you so very much.. Looooove Our Lib.. such a master... and this old Dragon does not EVER.. call anyone master.. Well.. almost never HAH.. Our Liberace is an exception.. Namaste...
+Dremvel2335 .... And ALWAYS will be
I agree
What about Valentina Lisitsa?
Your ellipses gave me a heart attack
The world's greatest pianist and showman. None better. Ever.
Larry Jordan, I'm not here to fight or argue with you! Yes, Liberace was a great piano player, but my main piano player and showman is another piano player and show man. We just agree to disagree! ☮️
Liberace was an amazing pianist. People would say he didn't play correctly, but c'mon he made a fortune with his pianos and his amazing talent.
Haha yep... Piano critics would say he didn't follow classical standards.... Hahaha, he was way way way beyond traditional standards...400 years from now pianist will try to play "Liberace"
i had the pleasure of seeing him perform in London Ontario He was simply brilliant
This man and Spike Jones fueled my interest in the classics as a kid in the '50s.
One more thing.. I was 6 years old.. This event caused me to totally fall head over heels in love with music.. and it was on PBS.. LOOOOVED IT!!! thanks so much
And....then they come on and asked you for money.
Liberace...The Elvis of the Piano...even has the sideburns..lol.
Bruhhhh....Elvis ....Liberace of Guitar
Awesome. What a master can do with the simplest of forms. My favorite part is the smile Liberace gives us at 3:18. A perfectionist showman, that smile seems to break through--very genuine. I like to remember him with that.
Yea Liberace's smile really makes me melt, too bad he was gay not that anything would ever happen between us, especially since he was half my age or more. I'm not that much older then Scott. He didn't have all his hair and private part and later on he didn't have all his face, especially his eyes when he had the surgey, but at least his smile was real.
Liane Layman wtf?
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 Ousarlxs Fjsbvbg.....your name.....WTF??????
@@lianelayman7796 If you are the same age as Scott, and he was 18, and Liberace is half your age, then Liberace would have been 9, and yes, he still had all his hair at that age.
Having so much FUN, chopsticks never the same ,after Lee
Practice, Practice, Practice! Vertoso! Everyone on stage must have enjoyed this man's talent. I appreciate his performances. Thank you
Such wonderful talent I truly miss him.
Sherry B, he was a handsome Critter too! ️ ☮️
lol, just got an ad for Chap Stick on this video. Chapsticks on chopsticks, thought I clicked on the wrong thing for a second, lol :-)
Melissa0774 Interviews With Gregp
a really true showman.
Liberace was such a master, he could take a piece like Chopsticks and twist it any way he wants and make it in to a classical masterpiece.
I love watching his hands. So many ways to strike the keys...
Mr Piano man.. the best pianist to ever play.. I love Lee the man is over the top
so many styles in this music..omg
Beyond incredible...such a wonderful talent. The greatest forever and always!
Fulm.haicien
All these years of occasionally watching great pianists on UA-cam, turns out the most impressive one was the one that was famous for it this whole time... don't think I ever watched him play before... wow!
A fantastic pianist, he was simply master genius.
Who the hell could dislike such a legend?
love him..
Liberace lo más grande y talentoso panista entretenido que he escuchado en mi vida lástima que nos dejó pero sus interpretaciones nos seguirán acompañando
My little girl just started learning chopsticks so I had to show her how much fun this song really is.
Oh what fun you must be having
When he started on TV they told him not to look at the camera. He looks, smiles grins and bounces. In short he makes music fun.
Liberace like John Denver lived to play for people they were happiest on stage having a good time
Lol, very enjoyable and the orchestra is just as perfect as he is!
He played to please his aydience and give them great pleasure he was a lovely person
I grew up watching the great Liberace, through the accusations in London, which are but nothing now. Nothing changes this man was a phenominal entertainer!
He does look good in this video. he's so cute especially when he smiles. If I didn't know he was gay, I could probaby have a crush on him. It was before the plastic surgey messed up his face, especailly his eyes.I don't know why he ever thought he needed the surgey because he looks so good in this video. Nobody and I mean nobody will ever play the piano as good as he does. Man, when his left hand crosses over the right he only palys with the tips of his fingers and they go so fast, amazing! He's such a genius!
I agree with every word you have said here!!! He was brilliant and a wonderful human being!!! Wish I could have met him!!!!
+Sandra Fehr : I met him once when he was walking around Downtown Milwaukee, his and my home town, during one of his concert tours. Gracious and wonderfully warm man. He grabbed both my hands and I was bedazzled by his 1000 watt smile. I just stopped to say hi and he made me feel like I made his day. Hah. He made my year! Wonderful, gifted man. He truly loved people.
Reminds you that in music even the “simplest” and most basic of tunes can bring forth such joy. Granted his interpretation is probably nowhere near simple (I’m not a pianist) so I can’t really gage the difficulty of this. But it brings forth so many emotions, the classical genre is such an underrated thing in today’s age. If performers now were to bring forth this kind of energy I believe that we would see it come back into the main light. Thank you Liberace for such amazing performances that you brought to us. You are a prime example that music is life. It’s clear that you live it and love it.
I freeze when I look at his hands. It's beyond... he lives more vivaciously and fully present in one concert that I have lived in last 15 years. shit.
The orchestra in the background plays Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 by Liszt!
Also a small section is a parody of Holiday for Strings.
+NGXB Music I thought I was the only one who noticed that
love his humorous wink of acknowledgment to the camera as he starts. Went to see his piano museum in Las Vegas, glad i can say I went. Wish I had the talent he discards. Good man before being a good musician and that is saying plenty.
So much respect for that man.
Did anyone else notice the silhouette of Liberace's conductor Gordon Robinson in the background ? They are totally together at every beat ... I have also noticed that when he plays the Gershwin Medley in another video. Liberace's last note comes exactly with the downbeat of GR. Amazing. He surely picked the best musicians to perform with him. 🤗🎵
Just hope he didn't suffer.Fantastic talent.Great man.
And of course, the audience being more knowledgeable at the time, knew which composers he was riffing on in the variations. I don't know them all, but there was Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, I think Rachmaninoff (I could be wrong about that one) and possibly Brahms. Brilliant!
"More knowledgeable at the time", mate at this point in history we have access to more information at our fingertips than they ever did. You've gotta stop that trash "people now are dumber than people years ago" shit. It's not slick, just incredibly incorrect.
Sorry, but I'm going to point out the obvious - access to information is not equivalent to a quality education.
@@madelinebitts2766 And we also have the Beatles, which reduced the popularity of classical music by 50% or more.
Best piano player ever
He remains over the top by far and from a long time ago. What a player, what an artist
This is why I love the internet. I never in a million years would have guessed I'd stumble upon this.
He knew people would see this forever, breaks the 4th wall with class!
He cant hide his fabulous
His fabulous..."what?"
@@TheLarryBrown OH shut up.
great talent
He plays beautiful music always love listen 🎶🎹
Amazing! What’s not to love?!? !!!
This guy is at a completely different level..
Criminalinvestigator Hans Holmér said Before his Death,when the trut about this is in the open,Sweden will Change Dramaticly....about the assassine Walther Kegö made-Police Chief.
He was a very talented person,
I love you Liberace
I remember my grandmother getting piano rolls out and playing them on Sundays when I was a kid. If you chanced across a liberace roll, it always lit up the piano and as a kid, you'd think "no way could one person play that". I'm (not a pianist) sure that some of those rolls were made of two combined parts, but they were a lot like his single playing above here. To see the keys flying in front of you on a player piano, though, really illustrated just how active he was when playing. You couldn't anticipate where the next keys would be - they'd be down three octaves and then up in just a few beats, or back and forth ten times in five seconds.
To see a really great version, watch the movie, The Eddie Dunchin Story. It is sans orchestra, just piano.
Regardless of what people say about him, fantastic pianist, great talent. fantastic entertainer, this and also "boogie woogie 16 to the bar"
That's no big deal. I can play boogie woogie sixteen to the bar in my sleep. Of course I'm not a pro like Lee, so I only play it half as fast as he does.
Just looking at the thumbs down votes. Surprised there were any at all. How could anyone ANYone not be awed listening to this man?
They just don't like Chopsticks dude, give them a break.
Absolutely shreds the keys....
Absolutely amazing...always. There has been no one like him before or after...
GENIUS that will never be duplicated.....A PERFORMER FOR THE ages
Genius. Liberace. So talented.
.
GENUIS !
PURE GENIUS !
There will never be another Elvis just as there will NEVER be another Liberace!
1:06 "There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago..."
LOL! That was driving me crazy cos I couldn't think what it reminded me of! Thanks Ez.
He also snuck Hungarian rhapsody in there too.
Such a performer he dressed like Mozart played well and had a sense of humour I remember him from when I was a child.
2:03 Probably the only time he looked grumpy ... even if it was for 2 seconds!
Aw, he's just hamming for the camera, acting all serious, then he breaks into his signature smile as if to say "Just kidding!". He was the consummate performer -- he truly LOVED to entertain. Wish I could have seen him live.
One of a kind!
Such a beautiful soul
This guy is fabulous, what fun to watches.
The real miracle here is that the piano didn't spontaneously burst into flames!!
What talent. He is The Show love is flair
His great contribution lies in the convergence of classical music and real life, in those seemingly casual adaptation among those likely to be fit to ignore emotions.