# Khatia Buniatishvili



## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Have anyone bought her recordings? I recently seen her performance on you tube on Tchaikovsky PC no.1.






Amazing young talent. Have anyone seen her live performance?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

pcnog11 said:


> Have anyone bought her recordings? I recently seen her performance on you tube on Tchaikovsky PC no.1.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes. I have her performance of the Liszt B minor Sonata. She plays the virtuosic passages faster and more accurately than anybody I have ever heard. But it is a recording. She hasn't been that note perfect in live performances.

Also of note (no pun intended), she does very well with the slower, poetic parts too.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Kontrapunctus said:


> For those of you who understand German, here's a video about Buniatishvili--she plays excerpts from the Sonata, Mephisto Waltz, Pictures at an Exhibition, and others.
> 
> http://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-247291.html


Posted by Kontapunctus yesterday .


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I prefer her lyrical playing to her virtuosic attacks in the Liszt B minor.

She has a beautiful touch and hers is one of the most convincing interpretations of the many beautiful poetic passages in this sonata.

I almost wish I can edit out the speed demon "rushes to judgement" which spoil her interpretation for me.


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

I don't own any of her recordings actually; I watched some of her YouTube performances and she has stellar technique, but her interpretations don't really grab me. A bit too heavy for my liking. Her Liszt is hit or miss, and her Chopin underwhelms me (her Scherzo performances disappointed me). Very nice Schumann though.


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## merlinus (Apr 12, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I prefer her lyrical playing to her virtuosic attacks in the Liszt B minor.
> 
> She has a beautiful touch and hers is one of the most convincing interpretations of the many beautiful poetic passages in this sonata.
> 
> I almost wish I can edit out the speed demon "rushes to judgement" which spoil her interpretation for me.


Both are equally important for me. The contrast adds immeasurably to my enjoyment. I greatly appreciate her ability to bring out the feelings and emotions of the music, which those who also have such remarkable technique seem to avoid in their pyrotechnical displays.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2017)

In the heat of the moment, she can be very messy--watch the last movement of Prokofiev's 7th Sonata...a disaster! When tempos don't get out of control, she's a very commanding player with interesting interpretations. I saw her 2 or 3 years ago--the concert was a mix of thrills and spills. I met her and got her autograph--she's very charming!


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Yes. I have her performance of the Liszt B minor Sonata. She plays the virtuosic passages faster and more accurately than anybody I have ever heard. But it is a recording. She hasn't been that note perfect in live performances.
> 
> Also of note (no pun intended), she does very well with the slower, poetic parts too.


Got the CD from her, fantastic performance. Very intense and firm, she demonstrated a lot of confidence in Liszt's music and understood the tone color, emotions and change of dynamics from one passage to another.

I cannot wait to see her performing live!


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Her Motherland album is simply beautiful, most lyrical I guess, her "clair de lune" is a "perfect performance" to my ears, my favorite for this piece.


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## Schumanniac (Dec 11, 2016)

Got no recordings of her as i already have her current ouvre well covered, and only discovered her a weeks time ago. But when i did her rendition of Schubert's Swan Song Serenade, the piano transcribtion by Lizst, has completly haunted me. So soft and gentle without loosing the emotional impact, the perfect tempo and balance, i must've listened to it nearly a hundred times by now. I suggest you check it out, the wickedly seductive woman has cast some black spell on me trough it.

As she creates more recordings i will definitely keep an eye on her, looking for something to buy. At 29 shes already nailing Chopin pieces, an area where im horribly demanding, only accepting one or maybe two particular artists on any given piece. In short, i can only agree. Shes one of the prodigies of our time.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Gordontrek said:


> I don't own any of her recordings actually; I watched some of her YouTube performances and she has stellar technique, but her interpretations don't really grab me.


I too have only listened to her live performances on YT. She obviously loves the romantic repertoire. I think her performance of the Grieg concerto is probably my favorite. And I like her Mussorgsky too. I don't know enough about Liszt, Schumann, or Chopin to comment.


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## GodotsArrived (Jan 12, 2017)

pcnog11 said:


> Have anyone bought her recordings? I recently seen her performance on you tube on Tchaikovsky PC no.1.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Christ on a bike, was I the only person thoroughly distracted by that dress?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

GodotsArrived said:


> Christ on a bike, was I the only person thoroughly distracted by that dress?


That's a gown! It's far from the sexiest dress she's worn on stage. God sure was good to that girl!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

pcnog11 said:


> Got the CD from her, fantastic performance. Very intense and firm, she demonstrated a lot of confidence in Liszt's music and understood the tone color, emotions and change of dynamics from one passage to another.
> 
> I cannot wait to see her performing live!


Just don't expect a note perfect performance, with the dangerous chances she takes.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

hpowders said:


> Just don't expect a note perfect performance, with the dangerous chances she takes.


Hey! Now that sounds like an artist! Guys like Schiff put me to sleep.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Just don't expect a note perfect performance, with the dangerous chances she takes.


Well, point taken. Who has a note perfect performance?


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

pcnog11 said:


> Well, point taken. Who has a note perfect performance?


Michelangeli...


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

pcnog11 said:


> Well, point taken. Who has a note perfect performance?


She comes pretty close in her recording of the Liszt Sonata as far as I can tell.

What I was expressing is don't expect "live" what she accomplished in a studio recording. The latter will be closer to perfection.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

hpowders said:


> She comes pretty close in her recording of the Liszt Sonata as far as I can tell.
> 
> What I was expressing is don't expect "live" what she accomplished in a studio recording. The latter will be closer to perfection.


She only 29, give her 5 more years and see. She may not be note perfect during live performance, but her energy, enthusiasm, passion and confidence engage the audience to more than just play the perfect note.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

pcnog11 said:


> She only 29, give her 5 more years and see. She may not be note perfect during live performance, but her energy, enthusiasm, passion and confidence engage the audience to more than just play the perfect note.


I can't argue with that!!!


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## LesCyclopes (Sep 16, 2016)

She has been on French TV quite often this past year. See here, here, and here. She speaks very good French.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

LesCyclopes said:


> She has been on French TV quite often this past year. See here, here, and here. She speaks very good French.


I don't think that's relevant to do with her quality of piano playing .


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## LesCyclopes (Sep 16, 2016)

I didn't think (or say) that it was. Just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing her talk & interact with people, and not just play the piano.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

She has an exquisite smile of confidence! Will she become the next super star?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

LesCyclopes said:


> I didn't think (or say) that it was. Just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing her talk & interact with people, and not just play the piano.


I agree with you. I like knowing as much about an artist as I can.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

pcnog11 said:


> She has an exquisite smile of confidence! Will she become the next super star?


She's got the chops, that's for sure.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

pcnog11 said:


> She has an exquisite smile of confidence! Will she become the next super star?


Only time can tell.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

LesCyclopes said:


> I didn't think (or say) that it was. Just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing her talk & interact with people, and not just play the piano.


I watch a couple of interviews with her in English. She has a lot of depths in her thoughts, not just raw technical skills of playing.

Being a pianist or musicians is like play team sports, many players or soloist have great technical skills. However, if there is no depths (I call it strategic thinking) in their thoughts, it would be just like playing notes with no personality or human touch at all. Many professional sports players are in the same pool. This is what separate super stars from the rest!


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## John King (Feb 4, 2017)

Some of the links listed on this thread are defunct, so I thought I'd post a few. Also, let me just add my annoyance with all the negative comments on her choice of wardrobe. I hear the constant complaint that a lady should be modest. Was Mussorgsky modest?


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Among other things, I have her recording of Rachmaninoff's Corelli Variations. She absolutely nails it, and not only the showy virtuosic passages. Very impressed with her.
And, for the record, I don't give a damn what she looks like or chooses to wear.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

John King said:


> Was Mussorgsky modest?


Hehe, he sure was!


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

Really like most of her recordings - expect Rachmaninoff piano concerto no. 2 - I find that deeply unsatisfying, and sometimes not powerful enough.


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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Sorry to be a hater, but I really don't think there's another pianist who gets on my nerves as much as Ms Buniatishvili. For evidence of why, here is one of many performances I could link:


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## trazom (Apr 13, 2009)

Has anyone read the hagiographic biography written on one of her websites? It's fairly infamous in its cringey, saccharine, and over-the-top effusiveness. So much so that someone did a comedic dramatic reading of it:


__
https://soundcloud.com/matt-marks%2Fa-dramatic-reading-of-khatia-buniatishvilis-website-bio



> As Pablo Casals once did before, Khatia Buniatishvili places the human being at the centre of her art. The fundamental values handed down from the Enlightenment are not up for discussion. Were there a fire and a choice to be made between child and painting, she would not hesitate for a second. Yet, once she had pulled the child from the blaze, she would take it to the Museum of Fine Arts so that it might become a painter. No need to save "the fire" (as Cocteau replied) because it already burns her eyes, rages in her fingers and warms her heart.
> 
> Khatia, born in Batumi, Georgia, by the Black Sea, on the longest day of 1987, knows the price of freedom and independence, and understands the energy needed to stand tall in life. The example set by her parents did not go unheeded. During the chaotic period her country went through, Khatia's parents had to display great resourcefulness to keep poverty at bay. Her mother, who introduced her to music, sewed together magnificent dresses for both her daughters from bits of cloth that she scavenged here and there. The sisters saw before their very eyes a model of creativity for smiling in the face of adversity.
> 
> ...


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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

“She too is a Gemini”

^^^ Yes, that biography on her website may be my favourite thing ever written. Every few months I come back to it for a good laugh, and I really can never get over the fact that it’s written completely unironically.


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## John King (Feb 4, 2017)

Turangalîla said:


> "She too is a Gemini"


Odd, I thought she was like me, born under the sign Vertigo. My daily horoscope always reads "Don't lose your sense of _Balance_."


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## Plague (Apr 4, 2020)

The branding of this girl has always been cringy. Who gives her the idea that she needs to do a photoshoot dressing like a Pre-Raphaelite goddess, lying in a pool to promote a piano album?


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Plague said:


> ... this girl ...


Good grief.

"This girl", certainly seems adept at triggering some of you.


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## Plague (Apr 4, 2020)

Chilham said:


> Good grief.
> 
> "This girl", certainly seems adept at triggering some of you.


What's the problem?


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Plague said:


> The branding of this girl has always been cringy. Who gives her the idea that she needs to do a photoshoot dressing like a Pre-Raphaelite goddess, lying in a pool to promote a piano album?


Book- Cover judging comes to mind


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## John King (Feb 4, 2017)

Plague said:


> The branding of this girl has always been cringy. Who gives her the idea that she needs to do a photoshoot dressing like a Pre-Raphaelite goddess, lying in a pool to promote a piano album?


It was an homage to the Millais painting _Ophelia_. Also, a reassurance to her fans that she won't drown!


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