# Just one video to represent the art of playing the piano



## clavichorder

If you had to teach a class to a bunch of inattentive but still musically interested/able people for whom classical music is not their comfort music, and you wanted to show them a video performance on the piano, which piece would you use?

You can speculate about this with different options. For example, if I wanted to show the peak level of piano excellence at risk of some not necessarily even comprehending it musically and being more interested in the fingers of the pianist(because its so amazing to watch as well), I would play this:





Pogorelich's performance is astounding as is Ravel's writing. I think its on another level in many ways, but I've played it for some who were more interested in it visually. I would expect most could hear how wonderful the music is too. Also, you might be cautious about scaring people with this, as they might never want to play piano when they see how utterly unreachable this level of technique and passion seems to be.

So, a person could be easily just as inspired by a passionate and technically convincing amateur performance, possibly more since it may feel more "within their reach" some day. But we want to dazzle those who don't have much pianistic ambition too. So consider various strategies you might have. I still think the Ravel is the ultimate for me as something to seriously wow people.


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## clavichorder

I invite others to share their thoughts and their video(s) of choice.


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## Ravndal

Behzod Abduraimov is a young up'n'comming pianist (I think he is 23). I recommend you to follow his development.


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## Ravndal

Sorry, didn't understand your post at first  i guess my reply don't actually make much sense.


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## clavichorder

Ravndal said:


> Sorry, didn't understand your post at first  i guess my reply don't actually make much sense.


I don't always express myself so clearly, I start not making sense to myself sometimes, its okay.

And anyways, you did post videos of great piano playing and writing, which is what I was asking for essentially.


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## Turangalîla

Thanks for the video, clavichorder...Pogorelich's Ondine has astounded me since the first day I heard it.


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## aleazk

Another piece by Ravel:


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## Guest

Boris Berezovsky playing Balakirev's "Islamey."


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## clavichorder

Excellent choice Kontrapunctus! Berezovsky really does Islamey musical justice, makes it more than a show piece, as it has that kind of rich material in it.


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## Guest

Glad you liked it. By the way, the best "Gaspard" and "Islamey" that I have heard were played live by Pogorelich in the early 80s. My god, they were astounding. His live "Gaspard" was even better than his studio recording. He didn't play "Islamey" quite as fast as Berezovsky, but he brought a lot of music. The last part was plenty fast and hair-raising, though. It was an encore to a recital that ended with the original version of Rachmaninov's Sonata No.2. One wonders how he had the fingers and stamina for another show piece!

I hope whatever devils have possessed him for the past 10 years or so can be exorcized...it's almost unbearable to listen to his recent live recordings.


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## GraemeG

The camera work is terrible in this instance, but get a good video of the cadenza to Grieg's concerto...






GG


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## Ravndal

Josef Hofmann plays Rachmaninoff Prelude






Now this is extraordinary.


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## Vaneyes

WOW! Three of my favorites used--Pogo, Argerich, Berezovsky.

Wishing to stay with Ravel, I've chosen orchestral instead of instrumental, if that's okay.


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## Guest

Of course, it's hard to beat Cziffra for shear virtuosic audacity!











and just to show he wasn't all flash...


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## tdc

Kontrapunctus said:


> Boris Berezovsky playing Balakirev's "Islamey."


Fantastic playing, and I do believe that was the very piece Ravel was trying to outdo (in terms of difficulty) when composing his _Gaspard de la Nuit_. I'm quickly coming to the realization Berezovsky is among my favorite pianists. I've enjoyed everything I've listened to by him. His Medtner is darned impressive too IMO.


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## tdc

Vaneyes said:


> Wishing to stay with Ravel, I've chosen orchestral instead of instrumental, if that's okay.


Hey that Michelangeli has one of the better interpretations of Ravel's PC in G I've heard (maybe even the best). Pity the poor sound quality on the video.


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## ProudSquire

Maybe this one:


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## CypressWillow

The perfect matching of the composition and the pianist:


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## ptr

John Ogdon playing Feruccio Busoni's Fantasia Contrappuntistica (Unfortunatly the youtube poster mangled the piece into three sections  )














/ptr


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## worov

A Scarlatti sonata :


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## pjang23




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## aleazk

Starts at 0:20 :


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## Kazaman




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## PetrB




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## Ravndal




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