Pianist: Arturo Michelangeli playing Fredric Chopin's Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49. This piece was composed in 1842, 7 years before Chopin's death in Paris.
Michelangeli in his time was considered to be a "pianist's pianist", always impecable musical taste, technique qnd execution; incapable of hitting a wrong note. Always sartorially regal looking. Really in a class by himself.
Does sound amazing. And he looks so good playing this - what is it - maybe elegance is the right word. He does a great interpretation of this Chopin piece, one of my favorites. Beautiful as it is, I’ve heard that it actually is less difficult than some of Chopin’s other works. Maybe I’ll try it.
He never was a pilot, or physician, or any of the made up things that were spread around about him (which he enjoyed)... He was a genius pianist and that's more than most people can ever hope to be!
@meesbroersen But when Royal Festival Hall threatened to sue him, he agreed to play on their piano under one condition. That all the proceeds would be given to a local children's hospital. He also taught legions of students for free(Argerich and Pollini included) let them live on his estate, prepared their meals, and gave them lessons in cooking and wine-tasting. he was also a trained surgeon, fighter pilot in WW2, champion race car driver and expert skier. I have 38 characters remaining so....
beautifully structural, which this piece really does need. I particularly like the way he treats the middle subject like a kind of second movement after the three octave notes which so puzzles many pianists, not knowing how to integrate them into the piece (me included). Here he gives them enormous significance and it works. I also like the way he maintains the pace through the "triumphal march" passage as though he really were travelling to a destination . . . . great performance. The best one on youtube imo.
excellent observation on the middle subject- this is actually a formal technique Chopin uses in the 3rd ballade as well where he creates a special theme that will be used later to terminate the piece. With that in mind, it certainly deserves special treatment so that it will be effective when reiterated at the conclusion.
I read a lot of people don't like his version. I have to say I prefer this version. It might be skewed because I heard this first but all the other versions I hear sound sloppy and not as defined. I like how this version treats each part very differently and each section stands out very unique.
CallMeBronco I don’t know what version is better, or whether Tammy Wynette is as good as Dolly Parton, but I love the contrast in two cultural worlds that Bobby Dupea inhabits in this underrated movie from the 70s.
THE absolute perfect interpretation !!!!! Warm and strong emotions, and with the most beautiful feeling and the final conclusion around 12:27 , has never been played better! LOVE Michelangeli!!!!!!!
@deadheadchemist Usually young people play extremely virtuoso, and as pianists get older, they start to play more music instead being cool technicians. Michelangeli just became adult quicker than other pianists
The most genius piece of Chopin more subtle masterpiece than ballads, scherzos, sonatas, valses and mazurkas. more than the C minor nocturne . It is the best piece of Chopin.
Indeed. He switches to quarter-note triplets for the last 2 measures of the final passage. He seems to have been concerned about the build-up of sound during the diminuendo, so he lightened the bass load. A pretty good idea!
I am reading how a soldier plays this in a bar at the battlefront in WW1 in a place called Popeinghe near Ypres.'The noble and grievous music seemed like an elegy on the company'. (Donald Boyd-'A Salute to Guns')
Haha i know it dosent mean they play any better/ worse, but i like to watch the pianist sometimes and it just gets on my nerves. Arturo has modesty when playing, which i like.
+AlchemyAtLarge I love ridiculous faces. You should see my face cutting onions, or opening beer bottles, or playing the guitar. Dumb and dumber... that was a majestic film
+AlchemyAtLarge Now if only you would have the modesty to look away from pianists when they are playing. I myself make ridiculous faces once in a while when playing the piano, I have seen my own recordings, and some friends have pointed it out. It was quite embarrassing to be honest. You listen with your ears, not with your eyes. I find it disrespectful to judge a person's modesty based on their facial expressions.
You do know that that is not always voluntary. When I play I can't stop myself humming along and making a face when I hear something that makes me feel good. Maybe there is a way to force yourself to contain that, but I feel that it's wrong to do so. Everyone is different.
I just listened to him play the Andante Spianato and grande polonaise and I was not moved. I like this much better. Well, I think the other piece is not up to the standard of other Chopin masterpieces
Pollini is absolutely cold, in the sense that he is unable to transmit any feeling. Michelangeli's interpretation is always rich of nuances... I also like Zimermann, Rubinstein, and Cortot, but I think Michelangeli is the perfection. Search youtube for ABM performing Chopin's Ballades.. I could not stop hearing it.
Seems reasonable to me. If you can criticize then you should be able to "do better." Lot of UA-cam wannabes who think they know it all including yourself apparently...
i clearly prefer the first most heroic michelangeli in chopin: i remember the ballade 1 - sonata 2 disc from prague...a pure delight...even this performance has a great authority and sound-searching quality even if I had worked with more imagination in the egorov style.
It seems (to you) but it's not true. Sometimes time relaxing acts as an excellent introduction to a more calm theme, like a sipario that closes telling you: ok now you are hearing something different.
Watch Benjamin Zander's TED Talks episode. You'll think a bit differently. Michelangeli was a genius but he should have been playing Debussy instead of Chopin.
Michelangeli added rubato in places where it's not needed, and added those really long delays, so it broke up some of the melodies. He clearly mastered the technical parts, but seems to have misinterpreted some of the musical ideas.
@KufrAkbar Oh really? And you can decide who is a real musician and who is not? I'd say that he puts too little emotion in when playing, when saying this i'm comparing with whatever other musicians i have listened to and he didn't captivate me like some others have. ...and i don't like his mustache...
Love him or hate him, one thing you can never deny about Michelangeli: the man did have a unique style. And that's saying a great deal.
Michelangeli in his time was considered to be a "pianist's pianist", always impecable musical taste, technique qnd execution; incapable of hitting a wrong note. Always sartorially regal looking. Really in a class by himself.
physician, concert pianist, pilot in the Italian Air Force ~ Really amazing man!
Does sound amazing. And he looks so good playing this - what is it - maybe elegance is the right word. He does a great interpretation of this Chopin piece, one of my favorites. Beautiful as it is, I’ve heard that it actually is less difficult than some of Chopin’s other works. Maybe I’ll try it.
He never was a pilot, or physician, or any of the made up things that were spread around about him (which he enjoyed)... He was a genius pianist and that's more than most people can ever hope to be!
This might be in my top three favorite Chopin pieces of all time. I think it’s quite underrated.
@meesbroersen But when Royal Festival Hall threatened to sue him, he agreed to play on their piano under one condition. That all the proceeds would be given to a local children's hospital. He also taught legions of students for free(Argerich and Pollini included) let them live on his estate, prepared their meals, and gave them lessons in cooking and wine-tasting. he was also a trained surgeon, fighter pilot in WW2, champion race car driver and expert skier. I have 38 characters remaining so....
I can never get enough of these recordings. For me his versions of this and the Ballade #1 have never been surpassed.
beautifully structural, which this piece really does need. I particularly like the way he treats the middle subject like a kind of second movement after the three octave notes which so puzzles many pianists, not knowing how to integrate them into the piece (me included). Here he gives them enormous significance and it works. I also like the way he maintains the pace through the "triumphal march" passage as though he really were travelling to a destination . . . . great performance. The best one on youtube imo.
excellent observation on the middle subject- this is actually a formal technique Chopin uses in the 3rd ballade as well where he creates a special theme that will be used later to terminate the piece. With that in mind, it certainly deserves special treatment so that it will be effective when reiterated at the conclusion.
I read a lot of people don't like his version. I have to say I prefer this version. It might be skewed because I heard this first but all the other versions I hear sound sloppy and not as defined. I like how this version treats each part very differently and each section stands out very unique.
CallMeBronco I don’t know what version is better, or whether Tammy Wynette is as good as Dolly Parton, but I love the contrast in two cultural worlds that Bobby Dupea inhabits in this underrated movie from the 70s.
To me this is the role model of versions. This is how this piece should sound like.
I love it how he makes it look so easy...
There is so much beauty in this piece
This is the most sophisticated interpretation, most down to earth, and with direction
Love the beginning- excellent tempo, subtle rubatos and distinction of tone between each idea.
THE absolute perfect interpretation !!!!! Warm and strong emotions, and with the most beautiful feeling and the final conclusion around 12:27 , has never been played better! LOVE Michelangeli!!!!!!!
He's just amazing!
@deadheadchemist Usually young people play extremely virtuoso, and as pianists get older, they start to play more music instead being cool technicians. Michelangeli just became adult quicker than other pianists
The most genius piece of Chopin more subtle masterpiece than ballads, scherzos, sonatas, valses and mazurkas. more than the C minor nocturne . It is the best piece of Chopin.
Indeed. He switches to quarter-note triplets for the last 2 measures of the final passage. He seems to have been concerned about the build-up of sound during the diminuendo, so he lightened the bass load. A pretty good idea!
I love this piece!!!❤️
WOW. That was amazing. Poor guy must be exhausted after playing so long, he's incredible.
Génialissime comme toujours avec Michelangeli. La partie central est à vous tirer des larmes de avant tant de nostalgie et de beauté.
내 동생이 음대다니던시절 졸업연주회곡으로쳤던곡....
다시 즐감하니까 감회가 새롭다...
벌써 삼십년이라는 세월이 지났네 ...ㅠㅠ
Everybody good this wonderful music really pleasant to hear performance's attagirl
As good as any ever recorded. Bravo maestro!
superb! Bravo! TY.
His alteration to the left over the last few arpeggios is very interesting.
Bravo bravo bravo bravo brilliance fantastic super music fantasy
I am reading how a soldier plays this in a bar at the battlefront in WW1 in a place called Popeinghe near Ypres.'The noble and grievous music seemed like an elegy on the company'.
(Donald Boyd-'A Salute to Guns')
Mi è capitato di osservare una pianista ondeggiare come un tergicristallo impazzito. Dopo 6 minuti sono uscito dal Teatro.
One of a few pianists who can actually play well without pulling ridicolous faces.
Haha i know it dosent mean they play any better/ worse, but i like to watch the pianist sometimes and it just gets on my nerves. Arturo has modesty when playing, which i like.
+AlchemyAtLarge I love ridiculous faces. You should see my face cutting onions, or opening beer bottles, or playing the guitar. Dumb and dumber... that was a majestic film
+AlchemyAtLarge Now if only you would have the modesty to look away from pianists when they are playing. I myself make ridiculous faces once in a while when playing the piano, I have seen my own recordings, and some friends have pointed it out. It was quite embarrassing to be honest. You listen with your ears, not with your eyes. I find it disrespectful to judge a person's modesty based on their facial expressions.
+AlchemyAtLarge If you look at his mouth close enough...
His moustache dances around a lot!
touched
the greatest of all.
I think so
I agree, relaxed. Difficult to hear on my mac pro laptop at full volume.
3:53 6:11 10:13
The absolute perfection!!!
The perfection is inappropriate here. It´s Copin with all of him)
I disagree, Pollini is absolutely NOT cold. He respects perfectly the composer and sure that you are not susceptible to his art.
3:25 I am officially getting the music just to play that little part of the piece
12:28 !!!! ;) So Beautiful!
You do know that that is not always voluntary. When I play I can't stop myself humming along and making a face when I hear something that makes me feel good. Maybe there is a way to force yourself to contain that, but I feel that it's wrong to do so. Everyone is different.
This is a paragon of an interpretation for me!
I just listened to him play the Andante Spianato and grande polonaise and I was not moved. I like this much better. Well, I think the other piece is not up to the standard of other Chopin masterpieces
Pollini is absolutely cold, in the sense that he is unable to transmit any feeling. Michelangeli's interpretation is always rich of nuances... I also like Zimermann, Rubinstein, and Cortot, but I think Michelangeli is the perfection. Search youtube for ABM performing Chopin's Ballades.. I could not stop hearing it.
00:10
In particolare trovo eccellente il Bach di Richter.Possiedo 2 CD che non smetterei mai di ascoltare!
You really do know the lives of others
@BlazeKenny yeah, I get the impression that Michelangeli was born an adult, haha. I mean that in a good way. He's one of a kind. In a good way. :D
An aristocrat of the piano if ever there was one.
Quite underrated :(
AMB BEST OF HIS TIME!
Please post a video of your own and show us how Michelangeli should have played it. We really need your input, ekphoolomali. Show us the way.
Michelangeli n'est pas pour tout le monde, désolé.
meraviglioso. è l'unico ad essere riuscito a portare davvero bach sul pianoforte.
version with animated score: ua-cam.com/video/v-2wuHjVew4/v-deo.html
exhausted after 13 minutes? this dude used to practice 10 hours+ every day.. impeccable!
Chopin thought it pretty interesting....interesting enough to finish it when he was in the prime of his poetic genius...
How I can upload a video larger than 10 minutes???
It looked like he was playing effortlessly lol
I'm the 87th comment. Who's going to be next and be the perfect number 88?
ABM - la perfezione della percezione...
Seems reasonable to me. If you can criticize then you should be able to "do better." Lot of UA-cam wannabes who think they know it all including yourself apparently...
in the first half, both should be played as staccato where marked
Sure bet that Liszt loved his friend's Fantasia!
i clearly prefer the first most heroic michelangeli in chopin: i remember the ballade 1 - sonata 2 disc from prague...a pure delight...even this performance has a great authority and sound-searching quality even if I had worked with more imagination in the egorov style.
I’m finding this too fast.
@deadheadchemist Real musicianship comes through in the sound, I say. :) I rarely watch the musicians anyways, it's not ballet! ;)
magnificent! Lol
Yeah, indeed. It's almost impossible to get it to sound convincing as written.
hello, I am looking for a F minor adagio of bach can you help me
3:28
It seems (to you) but it's not true. Sometimes time relaxing acts as an excellent introduction to a more calm theme, like a sipario that closes telling you: ok now you are hearing something different.
👍🏻🎹
well, he plays the fantasia his own way... very interesting..
If you don't think Michelangeli is the best, you got a long way to go.
人間って、不摂生をしていたら、後でツケが回ってきます。一時は名声を得ても、病気になったりする人は非常に多いです。
雪が降る町を、に似ています。本当にショパンですか？この曲だけは弾きたくありません。
Real bathos.
I call this "Aristocrazìa vera"
3 people only hear reggaeton
....What...
It is much more difficult, at least a level up!
Watch Benjamin Zander's TED Talks episode. You'll think a bit differently. Michelangeli was a genius but he should have been playing Debussy instead of Chopin.
随分と古い画像です。日本人がショパンの真似をして、雪が降る町を、を作曲したのかも分かりません。
Michelangeli added rubato in places where it's not needed, and added those really long delays, so it broke up some of the melodies. He clearly mastered the technical parts, but seems to have misinterpreted some of the musical ideas.
@KufrAkbar Oh really? And you can decide who is a real musician and who is not?
I'd say that he puts too little emotion in when playing, when saying this i'm comparing with whatever other musicians i have listened to and he didn't captivate me like some others have.
...and i don't like his mustache...
Meh. Too restrained and thought out.
Valentina Lisitsa's ending is better.