An extraordinary concerto, gets " better " for me after each hearing. Wonderful solos by the youth orchestra principal chairs at a high-pressure event.Grosvenor spectacular ! An extraordinary event.
YAY!!! So few pianists give us the wonderful Britten concerto . Hope he learns Vaughan-Williams and Ades pieces since he is British . He seems to have a knack for the contemporary ! Heaven knows our century needs more advocates .Joanna McGregor is carrying the guard forward .I think he might do so as well !
9 років тому+12
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN !!! (born 8 July 1992) TWO BIG BENJAMINS - BRITTEN AND CROSVENOR !!! ONE BIG IMPRESSION !!!
I'm jealous of the devotion Britten's countrymen poured into a performance of his music! If this is any example of a composer's music gaining new life the century after the composer died, we all have hope! And by youth!
There is nothing in common here with Prokofiev. He would not have liked this anyway. At all. Prokofiev was all about thematic material, like all great composers. There wasn't a single theme or melody in this piece that I heard.
Great concerto. I've known it for a long time and always hear it with enormous pleasure. Surprising that there are not many other recordings by other pianists. But then it's one of the mosty difficult pieces I've heard.
Okay, so a rather young Britten challenged himself to write pastiche Prokofiev in 1938 but after the fuss had died down and he was hitting his first mature stage with several works including 'Peter Grimes' the composer revisited the work in 1945. The original third movement (variations) was wholly replaced by what he called an "impromptu". A small and vague word but the astonishing depth the revision brought about inspired William Walton to compose a new piece in older years after a period of low production. He was always slow in composing and very fussy about being sure of every detail. Later still Arvo Part used the concerto's impromptu movement as the foundation of two of his own works. Benjamin Grosvenor here with a young orchestra conducted by the exacting Jurowski is a few heads in front of Britten's own recording with Richter. At least I think so.
One of the many things I love about B.G.'s playing is that there's no distracting swooning around of the stool, grimacing. He simply concentrates on what he's doing and does it brilliantly!
Perfect technique. What always amazes me is these pianistic geniuses do it all from memory. A lot of notes to memorize. I know it's all in the fingers but some of the passages are like random sequences. One could so easily get mixed up. Takes a lot of memory storage AND concentration. And then the encore too!
Actually the process of learning a piece like this is so labor intensive that the memorization aspect is trivially easy- learning is memorizing, essentially. Normal humans can do this.
All the great musicians of the world have a strong link between their ear, brain and finger. Therefore, when they play a passage it seems logical that this is the only way the music could have been composed: they have no need to query in their mind whether the next note is this one or some other. It helps tremendously if one of their parents, particularly the mother, is musical and plays/sings every day while the child is being constructed in the womb, as in Benjamin's case. He, and many musicians, were born with the ability to have an innate and concretely-formed mental link with the music they hear. Of course, certain passages have to be practised for many hours to be able to master the technicalities, but the memory comes as a secondary feature. Benjamin Grosvenor is just about the best pianist we have in this country, and can be put into the top 15 of the world at this time!!
when you really undestand and know what is that you want to say, memory is no problem at all. how did you manage to put those words together without forgeting what where you trying to say? its the same thing. music is a language. if you know what you want to say you wont forget the words.
it's marvellous to see and to listen to such a big number of young musicians today: they are surely our hope for a better world...! AS for the music it's wonderful!!! Anli Pang
People that despise Britten's Piano Concerto seem sooooo smart! I wish I was one of them, but I consider Britten a genius even at this work. Poor me! :'(
He wrote some very good stuff, Turn of the Screw and Peter Grimes are probably his best operas and Phaedra his best oratorio. Give them a listen for sure.
Antonio NG Britten has the most unique compositional langauge. One hears the influences yet he has this idiomatic sound which is markedly different from any other composer.
Darren, I'm a littled puzzled by your observation. Does a person's hair affect their abilities? If so, what about Benjamin's? I confess that I don't know this piece, but I am following Mr Grosvenor like a shadow!!! Lol.
Interesting comments and no I don't think that it has the typical Britten signature. I feel that he wrote it as a homage to Sergei Prokofiev as there are moments, especially in the middle movement, which are just signature SP. There are some wonderful melodies including the well-known Impromptu that Walton famously wrote his variations. .... and the comment about the shirt - I owned one similar in the 70s and sang in York Minster wearing it!
Simon Moore I agree it does pay tribute to Prokofiev. Close your eyes and you can see him, hear him. Loved the concerto. Benjamin Grosvenor. Wow, what a British name. Style is exciting, but not forced. Just goes like hell!
c'est juste une musique de génie jouée par un génie au piano ..pour le chef il a l'air super aussi mais je n'y connais pas assez. Çà inspire ce genre de performance. On a de la chance de vivre çà, merci
A nice work overall, even if not completely in the lyrical vein. I'm especially interested in the pianists' responses to the concerto repertoire. As a living composer, I think I have written a concerto that is substantive, technically demanding, but also lyrical. Please let me know if you would like to hear a recording, as I'd be happy to share.
As a pianist and composer myself, I am always interested in modern approaches to balancing contemporary techniques with lyricism. I would love to hear your treatment of it :)
Like at least some of the listeners I found this rather enjoyable and feel the concerto should have more outings. For me a good example of the best type of 20th century music - no classic tune, but masses of interest and very demanding of the performer. I too see the similarity with Prokofiev, though this is a somewhat longer work than (e.g.) the marvellous Prokofiev 1st.
It does have a bit of the Prokofiev sound doesn't it although most of Britten's music is pretty unique. Never liked him too much until I saw Peter Grimes, unbelievable. Turn of the Screw is another great piece of his. Give them a listen for sure.
First (before I forget), lets not forget this Orchestra... incredible collection of young musicians...who would know? Brilliantly played, well led. Mr Grosvenor capture the BRITTEN argument that war is a fruitless endeavor, brutal in it's inexorable march. The sardonic conclusion the topper, the "victor" pompously displaying his medals, at what cost? Please, this is not MY thoughts necessarily, more what I PERCEIVE through the music..somewhat different than the usual Britten offerings, save the great opera "Peter Grimes." BTW, to say there are no melodies in this concerto (as stated by a few here) is simply erroneous. This is a concerto of it's TIME, and Mr Grosevenor is not only a pianist of HIS time, he nails the time period of this concerto superbly. He has explained that he studies recordings to a point, then from those impressions devises his own interpretation. At 14:30, for me it's waltzing clowns, impervious to their own stupidity as regards the consequences of their actions. I've heard this particular melody "borrowed" for underscore of a particular Star Trek episode. Yes, Star Trek. BTW, the low strings and woodwinds outshine many so-called professional orchestras in sweet tone and pitch accuracy. The technique Grosvenor displays gives one the same confidence as...dare I say Matsuev that all is in good, great hands. I often wonder how one so young (at the time) as Mr Gosvenor could have display such a versatile temperament for this music, then play a rip roaring Saint Saens No2. Rachmaninoff lovers like me are perhaps probably curious as to what's in store down the road. Will the 30 year Benjamin stick to his guns an contribute a startling look into the great Rachmaninoff's pianist creations, the Piano Concertos, especially Nos 2 and 3? Thanks so very much for posting this most important video.
Oh yes, at 27:50, the upcoming battle, and at 28:08, the accelerated heart beat of a terrified combatant? Again, not my views...in fact FAR from it.....Britten was a master of painting the human condition.
Do you suggest the returning warrior should be ashamed of his medals? Wearing a medal is rarely a vain display. I have the South Atlantic medal from 10 years before this pianist was born, and all it ever says to me is, look at how many of ours and theirs we left behind. War is not glorious, but it isn't vainglorious to fight for the freedom of one's fellows.
Estaba angustiado por el lado oscuro de la humanidad, un pesimismo igual al de Mahler y de Shostakovich.Gran conocedor de la poesía y su amor por ella., le era fácil entar en la profundidad de la poesía con cuatro notas aparentemente corrientes.
I just listened to Barber's piano concerto. Such amazing music. Britten is devoid of any emotion - just bravura. I can't see this piano concerto ever becoming anyone's favorite any time soon...
Exactly! He was 25 when he composed the original version, only 4 years older than Benjamin Grosvenor in this performance. Comparing this concerto with Prokofiev is valid as both composers were precocious talents.
This is absolutely HORRIBLE performance. Ben would’ve hated it. Listen to his recordings and performances of it. Tons more nuance. And every single tempo is 20% TOO FAST. As an ambassador for Britten, I must say this should be excised.
Couldn't agree less. Been listening to Britten since I "discovered" him about a year before his death. This is not one of my favorites among his works--I found the first movement hard to like at first, and my first impression of the whole stands, 25-30 years after I first heard it, that it smacks a bit of the salon--but I find much in the final two movements that is quite original, especially in mvt. 3 (far better than the original it replaced). Britten does something there I've a hard time describing, unlike anything else I've heard except, to a lesser degree, mvt. 2 or 3 (I forget which) in Prokoviev's First Sonata for Violin and Piano. In mvt. 3 Britten keeps "stretching" his harmonic intervals, going a half-step, maybe sometimes a whole, beyond the next note you expect, in that note rounding off a harmonic sequence--an arpeggio, say, or a sequence of chords of which each is consonant--rhythmically, but with a dissonant note that starts the next harmonic cell. I still find the mvt. continually surprising in this way, odd but satisfying, even after so many listenings. But on a much higher level I find his Violin Concerto from about the same time to be one of the great ones of the last century, almost at the same level as the approximately contemporary Berg and Bartok concerti. Overall, I personally rank Britten as one of the 2 or 3 greatest composers of century 20, along with Bartok and maybe Shostakovich.
I have to admit that there is nothing magical about this piano concerto. No memerable melodies. Nothing stands out in this concerto other than a pianist being able to show off their technical bravura. I even tried to listen to Richters recording and found Grosvenor's interpretation better. However I am trying to like this concerto. And there are parts I love and then there are parts that are blah. But I can't get into it. I will try another listen.
I bought the score recently and I found it technically a monster. Not beyond my capabilities but I decided to learn Dora Pejačević's Concert Fantasy first. It's not walk in the park either. But this is on the bucket list.
I'm glad to see in your response that it's made it's way into you! I'm loving it on my first full listen. It's like Prokofiev on st--well nothing really...it's like another Prokofiev.
There's a reason why nobody plays it. And I mean, nobody. This is the first time I ever heard this. I didn't even know Britten wrote a piano concerto until a few days ago, when I came across this video.
An extraordinary concerto, gets " better " for me after each hearing. Wonderful solos by the youth orchestra principal chairs at a high-pressure event.Grosvenor spectacular ! An extraordinary event.
What incredibly talented young musicians ALL of them are! Phenomenal and wonderful.
➕
YAY!!! So few pianists give us the wonderful Britten concerto . Hope he learns Vaughan-Williams and Ades pieces since he is British . He seems to have a knack for the contemporary ! Heaven knows our century needs more advocates .Joanna McGregor is carrying the guard forward .I think he might do so as well !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN !!!
(born 8 July 1992)
TWO BIG BENJAMINS - BRITTEN AND CROSVENOR !!!
ONE BIG IMPRESSION !!!
I'm jealous of the devotion Britten's countrymen poured into a performance of his music! If this is any example of a composer's music gaining new life the century after the composer died, we all have hope! And by youth!
Possibly because we haven't had another Britten since ...
Heard this piano concerto for the first time last week. Enthralled!
🙂
Prokofiev would have loved this, and so do I. The music and the superb performance, by Grosvenor, is intensely exciting and magical!!!!!!
Indeed, quite like Prokofiev. Last movement is the wildest, wittiest! Ben tricks us with several endings. Held me in suspense,
very perceptive observation
What are you talking about? Several trick endings. I didn't hear any.
There is nothing in common here with Prokofiev. He would not have liked this anyway. At all. Prokofiev was all about thematic material, like all great composers. There wasn't a single theme or melody in this piece that I heard.
Britten would have been v e r y happy with this marvelous performance.
I am lost in admiration for these wonderful young people.
Over decades, they have given me, ( and everyone else), such intense pleasure.
Bravo to all.
Benjamin, I hope your career (2020 now for me, not 2011) is bringing you as much joy as it does to us who watch you and listen to you 'play'!
Fabulous perfomance of a too less played piano concerto
Incredible talent and technique , can’t get enough of him .
More success in the future !!!
What a neat piece of music. Britten was a real rebel.
9:13 wow what a wonderfull soundscape Britten paints. 5! harps working like a choral
Great concerto. I've known it for a long time and always hear it with enormous pleasure. Surprising that there are not many other recordings by other pianists. But then it's one of the mosty difficult pieces I've heard.
Astounding performance by Benjamin Grosvenor, Wow!
Mensch! Ist das schön !!
Der Flügel klingt wie eine Harfe teilweise.
Unglaublich
fabolous music 🙏Britten a true composer!
Young British talent at its finest. A very lively refreshing concerto atmospheric and humorous. Lovely singing tone from Grosvenor.
piano345 more like percussive...it's not Chopin...!😊😂
Stunning performer...¡¡¡😎😎😎
Okay, so a rather young Britten challenged himself to write pastiche Prokofiev in 1938 but after the fuss had died down and he was hitting his first mature stage with several works including 'Peter Grimes' the composer revisited the work in 1945.
The original third movement (variations) was wholly replaced by what he called an "impromptu". A small and vague word but the astonishing depth the revision brought about inspired William Walton to compose a new piece in older years after a period of low production. He was always slow in composing and very fussy about being sure of every detail.
Later still Arvo Part used the concerto's impromptu movement as the foundation of two of his own works.
Benjamin Grosvenor here with a young orchestra conducted by the exacting Jurowski is a few heads in front of Britten's own recording with Richter. At least I think so.
It’s literally a practical note by by note parody of Ravels concerto. Embarrassing really…I had no idea. This is actual Musical theft
Benjami Britten è un grande compositore e trovo questo concerto incantevole
One of the many things I love about B.G.'s playing is that there's no distracting swooning around of the stool, grimacing. He simply concentrates on what he's doing and does it brilliantly!
It almost feels like the outcome of Britten and Herrmann collaboration.
Perfect technique. What always amazes me is these pianistic geniuses do it all from memory. A lot of notes to memorize. I know it's all in the fingers but some of the passages are like random sequences. One could so easily get mixed up. Takes a lot of memory storage AND concentration. And then the encore too!
Actually the process of learning a piece like this is so labor intensive that the memorization aspect is trivially easy- learning is memorizing, essentially. Normal humans can do this.
All the great musicians of the world have a strong link between their ear, brain and finger. Therefore, when they play a passage it seems logical that this is the only way the music could have been composed: they have no need to query in their mind whether the next note is this one or some other. It helps tremendously if one of their parents, particularly the mother, is musical and plays/sings every day while the child is being constructed in the womb, as in Benjamin's case. He, and many musicians, were born with the ability to have an innate and concretely-formed mental link with the music they hear. Of course, certain passages have to be practised for many hours to be able to master the technicalities, but the memory comes as a secondary feature. Benjamin Grosvenor is just about the best pianist we have in this country, and can be put into the top 15 of the world at this time!!
when you really undestand and know what is that you want to say, memory is no problem at all. how did you manage to put those words together without forgeting what where you trying to say? its the same thing. music is a language. if you know what you want to say you wont forget the words.
I guess Benjamin will be to able to take over when Stephen Hough eventually retires.
it's marvellous to see and to listen to such a big number of young musicians today: they are surely our hope for a better world...! AS for the music it's wonderful!!! Anli Pang
People that despise Britten's Piano Concerto seem sooooo smart! I wish I was one of them, but I consider Britten a genius even at this work. Poor me! :'(
He wrote some very good stuff, Turn of the Screw and Peter Grimes are probably his best operas and Phaedra his best oratorio. Give them a listen for sure.
Antonio NG Britten has the most unique compositional langauge. One hears the influences yet he has this idiomatic sound which is markedly different from any other composer.
The operas "Turn of the Screw" and Peter Grimes" are, for me at least, his two greatest works.
This young guy can really play!
I'm pretty sure 40,000 of these views are from me tbh
Darren, I'm a littled puzzled by your observation. Does a person's hair affect their abilities?
If so, what about Benjamin's?
I confess that I don't know this piece, but I am following Mr Grosvenor like a shadow!!! Lol.
The greatest!
Interesting comments and no I don't think that it has the typical Britten signature. I feel that he wrote it as a homage to Sergei Prokofiev as there are moments, especially in the middle movement, which are just signature SP. There are some wonderful melodies including the well-known Impromptu that Walton famously wrote his variations. .... and the comment about the shirt - I owned one similar in the 70s and sang in York Minster wearing it!
Simon Moore I agree it does pay tribute to Prokofiev. Close your eyes and you can see him, hear him. Loved the concerto. Benjamin Grosvenor. Wow, what a British name. Style is exciting, but not forced. Just goes like hell!
Hell of a lot of notes!
And all good!
c'est juste une musique de génie jouée par un génie au piano ..pour le chef il a l'air super aussi mais je n'y connais pas assez. Çà inspire ce genre de performance. On a de la chance de vivre çà, merci
Damn he's good.
Ben playing Ben... what more could one ask...?😊😂
A nice work overall, even if not completely in the lyrical vein. I'm especially interested in the pianists' responses to the concerto repertoire. As a living composer, I think I have written a concerto that is substantive, technically demanding, but also lyrical. Please let me know if you would like to hear a recording, as I'd be happy to share.
I would :)
Allen McCullough I am interested! Always love living composers.
As a pianist and composer myself, I am always interested in modern approaches to balancing contemporary techniques with lyricism. I would love to hear your treatment of it :)
Haven't completed a concerto yet, though I've started many. Haha good on ya! Did you ever end up posting it?
I would too.
Like at least some of the listeners I found this rather enjoyable and feel the concerto should have more outings. For me a good example of the best type of 20th century music - no classic tune, but masses of interest and very demanding of the performer. I too see the similarity with Prokofiev, though this is a somewhat longer work than (e.g.) the marvellous Prokofiev 1st.
It does have a bit of the Prokofiev sound doesn't it although most of Britten's music is pretty unique. Never liked him too much until I saw Peter Grimes, unbelievable. Turn of the Screw is another great piece of his. Give them a listen for sure.
First (before I forget), lets not forget this Orchestra... incredible collection of young musicians...who would know? Brilliantly played, well led. Mr Grosvenor capture the BRITTEN argument that war is a fruitless endeavor, brutal in it's inexorable march. The sardonic conclusion the topper, the "victor" pompously displaying his medals, at what cost? Please, this is not MY thoughts necessarily, more what I PERCEIVE through the music..somewhat different than the usual Britten offerings, save the great opera "Peter Grimes."
BTW, to say there are no melodies in this concerto (as stated by a few here) is simply erroneous. This is a concerto of it's TIME, and Mr Grosevenor is not only a pianist of HIS time, he nails the time period of this concerto superbly. He has explained that he studies recordings to a point, then from those impressions devises his own interpretation.
At 14:30, for me it's waltzing clowns, impervious to their own stupidity as regards the consequences of their actions. I've heard this particular melody "borrowed" for underscore of a particular Star Trek episode. Yes, Star Trek. BTW, the low strings and woodwinds outshine many so-called professional orchestras in sweet tone and pitch accuracy.
The technique Grosvenor displays gives one the same confidence as...dare I say Matsuev that all is in good, great hands. I often wonder how one so young (at the time) as Mr Gosvenor could have display such a versatile temperament for this music, then play a rip roaring Saint Saens No2.
Rachmaninoff lovers like me are perhaps probably curious as to what's in store down the road. Will the 30 year Benjamin stick to his guns an contribute a startling look into the great Rachmaninoff's pianist creations, the Piano Concertos, especially Nos 2 and 3?
Thanks so very much for posting this most important video.
Oh yes, at 27:50, the upcoming battle, and at 28:08, the accelerated heart beat of a terrified combatant?
Again, not my views...in fact FAR from it.....Britten was a master of painting the human condition.
Powerful and clean recorded sound. Thanks!
Do you suggest the returning warrior should be ashamed of his medals? Wearing a medal is rarely a vain display. I have the South Atlantic medal from 10 years before this pianist was born, and all it ever says to me is, look at how many of ours and theirs we left behind. War is not glorious, but it isn't vainglorious to fight for the freedom of one's fellows.
Am I seeing things or are there five harpists? How many were in the scoring?
That finale was pretty intense.
Anyone knows what is the title of the encore piece? Nice boogey!
+Ayeye Brazof It's Boogie Woogie Etude by Morton Gould.
Estaba angustiado por el lado oscuro de la humanidad, un pesimismo igual al de Mahler y de Shostakovich.Gran conocedor de la poesía y su amor por ella., le era fácil entar en la profundidad de la poesía con cuatro notas aparentemente corrientes.
It seems to have some points in common, in the inspiration, with Ravel' Concerto en sol....not only Prokofiev...
looks like he's going to juggle balls or pull a rabbit out of a hat with that outfit. Anyhow, great music and great performance.
0:25 Anyone else hearing some parody on Beethoven's Rage over a Lost Penny here?
Not too bad!! 🙂👍
Loved your video! You might like my videos too!
I just listened to Barber's piano concerto. Such amazing music. Britten is devoid of any emotion - just bravura. I can't see this piano concerto ever becoming anyone's favorite any time soon...
Rubbish. Britten is a giant, Barber a minnow.
Hope that Grosvenor will play and record the Barber concerto!
interrupted by an ad in the middle of the 1st movement.
Get ad blocker, worth every penny!
cadenza sounds like Ravel's Ondine on steroids
Wonderful. Now compare that talent with Lang Lang!
MOLTO BELLO
CARLO LAMBERTI
Mr Melomano your views of Britten are terribly stupid. This is the work of a young composer showing off and telling the world how good he is.
Exactly! He was 25 when he composed the original version, only 4 years older than Benjamin Grosvenor in this performance. Comparing this concerto with Prokofiev is valid as both composers were precocious talents.
God will forgive him for the terrific shirt. Beside that: impressive technique!
Didn't know Ben Britten wrote this until recently. Playful dissonance.
This is absolutely HORRIBLE performance. Ben would’ve hated it. Listen to his recordings and performances of it. Tons more nuance. And every single tempo is 20% TOO FAST. As an ambassador for Britten, I must say this should be excised.
very well composed concerto, technically, but absolute total shit in terms of originality.
Couldn't agree less. Been listening to Britten since I "discovered" him about a year before his death. This is not one of my favorites among his works--I found the first movement hard to like at first, and my first impression of the whole stands, 25-30 years after I first heard it, that it smacks a bit of the salon--but I find much in the final two movements that is quite original, especially in mvt. 3 (far better than the original it replaced). Britten does something there I've a hard time describing, unlike anything else I've heard except, to a lesser degree, mvt. 2 or 3 (I forget which) in Prokoviev's First Sonata for Violin and Piano. In mvt. 3 Britten keeps "stretching" his harmonic intervals, going a half-step, maybe sometimes a whole, beyond the next note you expect, in that note rounding off a harmonic sequence--an arpeggio, say, or a sequence of chords of which each is consonant--rhythmically, but with a dissonant note that starts the next harmonic cell. I still find the mvt. continually surprising in this way, odd but satisfying, even after so many listenings. But on a much higher level I find his Violin Concerto from about the same time to be one of the great ones of the last century, almost at the same level as the approximately contemporary Berg and Bartok concerti. Overall, I personally rank Britten as one of the 2 or 3 greatest composers of century 20, along with Bartok and maybe Shostakovich.
I have to admit that there is nothing magical about this piano concerto. No memerable melodies. Nothing stands out in this concerto other than a pianist being able to show off their technical bravura.
I even tried to listen to Richters recording and found Grosvenor's interpretation better. However I am trying to like this concerto. And there are parts I love and then there are parts that are blah. But I can't get into it. I will try another listen.
Third time's a charm! lol This concerto is beautiful. It had to grow on me but damn it there are some technical bits in here that are crazy.
Certainly got nothing on his violin concerto
I bought the score recently and I found it technically a monster. Not beyond my capabilities but I decided to learn Dora Pejačević's Concert Fantasy first. It's not walk in the park either. But this is on the bucket list.
I'm glad to see in your response that it's made it's way into you! I'm loving it on my first full listen. It's like Prokofiev on st--well nothing really...it's like another Prokofiev.
There's a reason why nobody plays it. And I mean, nobody. This is the first time I ever heard this. I didn't even know Britten wrote a piano concerto until a few days ago, when I came across this video.
This doesn't seem very Brittenesque.
+comprehensiveboy Why not? It's a highly characteristic piece which you MIGHT just confuse with Prokofiev.
Yeah! Very surprising finding out it was Ben.
Or John Williams!
Nice music for the deaf....
moron
It is an excellent interpretation. But I think Britten is something trashy.
trashy??? Do explain….
I want to say trivial, superficial, noisy.