# Valentina Listitsa



## violadude

Now, I'm not a pianist, so I don't know much detail about piano technique or anything.....

but DAAAAYYYUUUMMMMMM


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## Lisztian

That's what great natural talent and practicing for 10+ hours a day will do for you! She's amazing technically. I've never really been fond of her playing though, although many are.

Regardless...


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## Ukko

Ms. Lisitsa has great technique. I think maybe her fire burns colder than the average, with a blue-tinted flame.


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## clavichorder

I saw her live a while bach. I think she played Rachmaninoff's 1st piano concerto, an odd choice. She likes the LONG dresses.


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## kv466

I've seen her multiple times, most of which while she was first starting out and luckily she liked to perform in South Florida a lot those days...she is, and I never would have thought it back then, just about as good as it gets nowadays. She has excellent everything when it comes to piano but most importantly, she understands the pieces and how they are to be approached. One of my favorite HK and certainly my favorite Chopin etudes by anyone alive and almost by anyone ever except Mr. Wild. I look forward to seeing her again next time I have the opportunity.


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## Webernite

She's good at the _Hammerklavier_, although her Adagio's nothing special. I don't think she's that good a pianist...


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## Sofronitsky

clavichorder said:


> I saw her live a while bach. I think she played Rachmaninoff's 1st piano concerto, an odd choice. She likes the LONG dresses.


That's quite possibly my favorite piano concerto! It's excellent and in no way an odd choice :tiphat:

Valentina Lisita is a fine technician, but never strikes me as anything remarkable! Probably the direct result of 10 hours of practice a day.


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## PetrB

Lisztian said:


> That's what great natural talent and practicing for 10+ hours a day will do for you! She's amazing technically. I've never really been fond of her playing though, although many are.
> 
> Regardless...


I don't get the wild fan base here, either. Some of the sloppiest Chopin I've heard from a 'professional' - her note accuracy is fine, its the musicianship, or rather great lack thereof. She seems to very rarely have any clear idea or view of a piece, a first and foremost for even a beginning student. Here, the absence of that makes this piece a complete ramble-shambles nonsense.

An internet phenom, in my book. Nothing at all 'special' or commanding about anything I've heard her play.

Of course this blunt pan assessment will infuriate those who seem to be seriously impressed or are in love with her.

If you want to hear this repertoire played with as much or more technique, and more depth of musicality and the ability to make us hear the structure, go for Brendel or Roger Muraro.


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## aphyrodite

I've always loved watching her vids. But that's probably because of the HQ.


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## Turangalîla

Technically, she is a superb athlete. Her virtuosity is equalled by very few pianists. Musically, I do not like most of her interpretations. She usually either rushes or over-indulges in the music, especially in Chopin and Rachmaninoff.


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## PetrB

violadude said:


> Now, I'm not a pianist, so I don't know much detail about piano technique or anything.....
> 
> but DAAAAYYYUUUMMMMMM


Call me back when it ever begins to sound like she has an actual notion and point of view on whatever she plays, please, until then, she 'just plays' (I know, to a degree that is an accomplishment, but 'virtuoso' means, truly, the same depth of musicianship on the 'musician' end of the deal, not just the delivering technician. "She just plays." Nothing distinctive about the sound or any one piece.

I am / was a 'pianist.' Know many others who feel quite the same about this one, and worse about Marc-Andre Hamelin. Mega fan base around each of those players does not sway what I hear (more to the point do Not hear), or my opinion.


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## Webernite

She's not _that_ bad.


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## Ukko

Webernite said:


> She's not _that_ bad.


The significance of _PetrB_'s assessment of Lisitsa is in his assessment of Hamelin. I am assuming that he has heard Hamelin play Alkan. To have had that experience and dismiss Hamelin as a virtuoso indicates that he misses the humor (Alkan's has similarities to that of Ambrose Bierce, and Hamelin reveals it) and has slammed shut a mental door after an unfortunate first hearing; a sort of 'rush to judgement'. Once the door is shut, one hears only confirmations, whether or not they exist.

[Note to _PetrB_: I am not a psychologist, but may be a potential patient; frequent delusions of grandeur.]


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## PetrB

Hilltroll72 said:


> The significance of _PetrB_'s assessment of Lisitsa is in his assessment of Hamelin. I am assuming that he has heard Hamelin play Alkan. To have had that experience and dismiss Hamelin as a virtuoso indicates that he misses the humor (Alkan's has similarities to that of Ambrose Bierce, and Hamelin reveals it) and has slammed shut a mental door after an unfortunate first hearing; a sort of 'rush to judgement'. Once the door is shut, one hears only confirmations, whether or not they exist.
> 
> [Note to _PetrB_: I am not a psychologist, but may be a potential patient; frequent delusions of grandeur.]


They both have a technique which any might more than envy. Envy has nothing to do with it, nor that for a moment I delusionally think I ever had that ready,constant and 'disposable a level of technique. Hamelin, for me, has absolutely no individual 'sound' and that makes him less of a musician to me, simple. The slightly slavish sycophant hop on the wagon fan-clubs of both pianists has me, uh, puzzled.


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## Ukko

PetrB said:


> They both have a technique which any might more than envy. Envy has nothing to do with it, nor that for a moment I delusionally think I ever had that ready,constant and 'disposable a level of technique. Hamelin, for me, has absolutely no individual 'sound' and that makes him less of a musician to me, simple. The slightly slavish sycophant hop on the wagon fan-clubs of both pianists has me, uh, puzzled.


I am willing to concede that Hamelin's playing does not incorporate mannerisms, a la Perahia. His Schumann has something missing, maybe emotional involvement. I'd prefer not to hear him play Mussorgsky. But for his Alkan, I will ride on his wagon.

My handicap with Lisitsa is that I sort of associate her with Leonskaja - and then when I hear her play, she is _not_ Leonskaja.


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## Viz

Sorry to repeat myself but nobody was interested when i posted this a few days ago :-( lol

I took these vids of her in st pancras, I think she played wonderfully, and that old piano didn't sound half bad under her fingers!


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## Ravndal

I agree with Petrb about Lisitsa and Hamelin. Great technique, but not much else.. As dull as it gets.


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## Ukko

Ravndal said:


> I agree with Petrb about Lisitsa and Hamelin. Great technique, but not much else.. As dull as it gets.


Hamelin's Alkan has it all. Lisitsa may have a composer she resonates with too?


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## Ravndal

That may be! Havent heard his Alkan - wouldn't know. And Lisitsa, dont know, she pops up everytime i search for a piece on youtube. Doesn't seem like she goes very much in depth with the pieces she play. I saw her liszt consolation no 3 there, and she bragged about learning it in one hour - the fanboys went nuts.


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## Ukko

Ravndal said:


> That may be! Havent heard his Alkan - wouldn't know. And Lisitsa, dont know, she pops up everytime i search for a piece on youtube. Doesn't seem like she goes very much in depth with the pieces she play. I saw her liszt consolation no 3 there, and she bragged about learning it in one hour - the fanboys went nuts.


"... in one hour". Jeez, it ought to take at least a couple dozen hours just _thinking_ about it. Ah, those fanboys; hormones maybe.


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## DeepR

I agree about Lisitsa, her playing is nice, but interpretations are superficial. She is just playing everything she can without any real character.

I disagree about Hamelin, he is much more well rounded and usually has solid interpretations IMO. They're not highly individual, but that's not required to channel great music. Hamelin is great for more obscure composers.


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## Guest

She strikes me as virtuosic but superficial.

DeepR: Great minds think alike!  (I posted my response before I read the second page.)


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## EricABQ

Viz said:


> Sorry to repeat myself but nobody was interested when i posted this a few days ago :-( lol
> 
> I took these vids of her in st pancras, I think she played wonderfully, and that old piano didn't sound half bad under her fingers!


Very cool. What was the story with that?


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## Couchie

PetrB said:


> Call me back when it ever begins to sound like she has an actual notion and point of view on whatever she plays, please, until then, she 'just plays' (I know, to a degree that is an accomplishment, but 'virtuoso' means, truly, the same depth of musicianship on the 'musician' end of the deal, not just the delivering technician. "She just plays." Nothing distinctive about the sound or any one piece.


This movement of Hammerklavier _should _be played with cold, technical precision, not with a heavy infusion of "musicianship". It's not a bloody Chopin Ballad.


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## Janspe

Ravndal said:


> I saw her liszt consolation no 3 there, and she bragged about learning it in one hour - the fanboys went nuts.


She didin't brag - she said it because she wished that people wouldn't be too judgemental, for it was her first ever performance of that piece. She gets all kinds of crap thrown at her all the time.

I think people talk about Valentina a bit too cruelly. I do understand that her style of playing isn't for everyone - and I think it's perfectly fine - but she has had a positive impact on classical music, at least on YouTube. She performs a very diverse repertoire, communicates with her viewers and fans by answering comments, lets people watch her practice sessions via Livestream and uploads _every single recording she makes_ to her channel, even at the risk of losing possible CD purchases in the future - with the exception of recordings that include orchestras and other musicians, because of legal reasons. She has inspired many people to practice more and has certainly increased interest in classical music. So I think putting her down completely is unfair.

I admit that I love her playing tremendously. She's the reason I started listening to classical music years ago, and even now that I've expanded my listening to many many other instruments and artists, I'm still very grateful to her for all she has done.


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## Dongiovanni

I attended her recital this week where she played in Eindhoven. As you may expect with a pianist who is famous like Lisitsa, appearing on dutch TV in a major talkshow on prime time, she would draw a large crowd. But, that was not the case, she failed to fill the big hall, the concert was relocated to the small hall. 

Of course I saw her on Youtube and i was curious to hear her live. Well, it was very dissapointing. She choose a Bosendorfer Imperial, which is too big for a small concert hall, especially under her hands. Beethoven's Pathetique sounded like one thick cloud of smog. Finally at the end, with some Chopin etudes, there were some moments of beauty in etude 10/3, but they were short... the middle section got completely butchered. The etudes were just sloppy. 25/12 was probably the best of the 6 she played.


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## Sofronitsky

To update my opinion on this muiscian ---

Though there is a lot lacking in terms of musicianship and personal statements, I think she might be the greatest technical pianist in the world today. It is AMAZING how well her fingers swallow any piece and she has clarity in difficult pieces (Prokofiev 7, any Liszt she plays, etc.) that I don't think more than a handful of other living pianists could rival.

I still don't like her recordings, but she is an awesome technician and a very fine person.


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## Matsps

Her Rachmaninoff interpretations are brilliant! I've seen people say she plays them too fast, but she only seems to play them about as fast as Rachmaninoff himself plays. A piece I was particularly impressed by was the Prelude Op.23 No.5. She plays the middle section, which I think is pretty much too musically rich to ever play properly for anyone, well, properly.


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## treeza

Valentina's got amazing technique but so does Kissin and he connects better to what he's playing as do the audience.
Personally, I feel Valentina likes to rush but it doesn't have the same magical effect as Argerich does. She's a brilliant pianist but I'm not a fan of her style because it doesn't really speak to me as much as some other pianists. I can't really fault her playing but I feel like something is missing.

She is a lovely woman and I am really happy that people are discovering a love and appreciation for classical music and the piano through her. She is a very inspiring person- just reading through the comments on her videos you are able to see what an impact she has on people learning the piano.

10 hours practice a day? Are you sure? Because that can't be good in the long run.... Any more than 4-6 and you're just asking for an injury. I saw a documentary about Julliard once and the students were banned from doing any more than 4 because of this.


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## Robert Eckert

I really enjoy Valentina's recording of the four Ives violin sonatas with Hilary Hahn. They are not easy pieces.
YouTubes are great if they are done well but... Don't expect to be blown away by any artist filmed with an iPhone in a subway. Sure you can stand there and film the artist, who might be open to playing at that moment in time, but it sure does not qualify it as an actual Recording. Often, they are oblivious to the fact that a camera is on them. I play jazz guitar and when someone sticks a phone or IPad in the air, I hate it. It happened two nights ago. 
After reading so many negative opinions of her playing I'm in shock. I think, she is a wonderful pianist.


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## DVMasdar

She is my inspirations.


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## Ilarion

DVMasdar said:


> She is my inspirations.


Lisitsa draws music out of the piano...


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## Animal the Drummer

She's a very fine pianist but not my favourite interpreter, and one of those videos illustrates why. In the last movement of the "Moonlight" when the first angry flourishes finish with a dive down to those low unison G sharps, the player should follow the music straight down there with no hesitation, but Lisitsa hesitates each time before playing those G sharps and I find that very, VERY irritating. It's such a pity as the performance is a fine one apart from that, and I've heard similar things in some of her other performances.


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## DVMasdar

Ilarion said:


> Lisitsa draws music out of the piano...


Ilarion, yup. I Think that really possible for she is. :tiphat:


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