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Incredible video. I've played the piano (and taught) for 70 years. After listening to Lisa, I'm going to play the 1st Movt completely differently. All I can say is that you live and learn. At the age of 78, I still love to practice the piano, I still practice 4 or 5 hours a day. I just can't put music away. Music is just something you can't say, well, its over, and I'm done with it. Thank you Lisa for your wonderful insights and teaching.

Too fast

Bars 34-37 are just magical 🥹

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The original version for piano is not well written for piano and is vapid. The fact that the piece was not popular until Ravel's orchestration in the 1920's supports this contention. The piano version by Horowitz (1951) combines Mussorgsky's compositional genius with Horowitz's far superior knowledge of the piano to create the ultimate realization of the work. Please learn and perform the Horowitz version.

I loooove your french pronunciation of Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude.

Wonderful I too am an Anthony Newman fan - his Bradenburgs are the best

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

Where can you find the sheet music for Beach’s arrangement? Thank you!

Ornamentation in Bach seems to be fairly performer friendly; you are given a solid structure and can decorate as you'd like. This is unlike towards the end of the Mozart's #23 Concerto, second movement, where you are given one treble note per measure. At that point you have to compose rather than ornament. It's a task I only wish unto my enemies.

Hats off to Lisa ! She is definitely a virtuoso ! And she is a passionate musician! Hher videos on the Waldstein and "Moonlight" Sonatas are eminently serviceable and helpful. Thank you, Lisa! My students and I love watching them, and get a lot out of them:)

Another thing that harpsichordists do that pianists typically don’t is play with agogic accents and time/rubato as a means of expression, even in fast movements. What pianists can do that harpsichordists cannot is make singing lines with melodically shaped contours, and I find the secret to “clarity” in contrapuntal playing on the piano is making sure every line has it’s proper shape. This is quite different to how many pianists conceive Baroque clarity as meaning everything is detached and staccato, often mercilessly. Contrasts of color and not merely volume are the key to achieving the concerto grosso effect.

Helpful. She is a very accomplished pianist.

Very insightful thank you very much

I learned a ton today! thank you!

WOW!! 11 years old!? Amazing. Especially for us who play and know the difficulties involved. Great piece too. An old movie circa 1979 called "The Competition" with Richard Dreyfus and Amy Irving featured this piece as the winning performance. Fun movie for us piano lovers if you can still find it. Thank You Lisa. You are amazing and inspire me.

Yet another pithy video. These ideas make so much sense to me. This piece and the "presto agitato" in particular was responsible for me falling in love with classical piano when I was 15 many decades ago. I just had to play it and eventually did. Not much artistry but....I found myself nodding my head up and down in agreement with each point. It all made so much sense and you present it in such a clear way. Many, many thanks Lisa. You are very special. I have much to work on! :)

What a beautiful performance. I'm one of the very few who isn't crazy about Bach pieces in general. I get bored very quickly. Yet the Goldberg Variations and this Italian Concerto send me! I've always leaned toward Andras Schiff for Bach but this performance might now be my "go to" for listening. What a great piece of music and wonderfully played! Thanks.

This is truly a magnificent tutorial on the Waldstein - insightful , brilliant, enthusiastic and helpful in every way !!! Thank you !! And by the way, you are also a wonderful pianist !

Great stuff! There is nothing like a little humor to add to our day.

just learning this now i cant wait to be finish

프랑스의 동요를 소개해 줘서 고마워요 알고싶었거든요

oh I love this piece, I can even play it!

dear Lisa, I am a little overwhelmed at the moment! This piece is my goto piece when I need to find some calm place of contemplation. It will probably always remain out of my technical grasp but that is ok. I have listened to probably 40 or 50 performances of this piece over many decades (the first I heard was Garrick Ohlsson and he still remains right up there for me on this work!). But somehow, even in the first page, you brought to it such depth, beauty and meaning (also reflected in your remarks) that I was very moved. For me it's not to do with the religious context as I am an atheist, it's everything else that this piece offers the listener, should they choose to engage with it. Of course, I can also understand/feel how Liszt's spiritual beliefs are imbued in this music - but in my opinion, it transcends that. Because this work is relatively long, I think it is very challenging to retain the connection, depth, and meaning all the way through it, although Liszt does provide the contrasts in the different sections that it needs. I think it requires intense focus (technique and musicianship) to do this, and you did it so magnificently in your performance (I assume a COVID broadcast?). The melodic voicing was impeccably nuanced, the difficult passage work accompaniment (brilliantly executed) never got in the way of the actual musical lines and your finger independence in that tricky accompanying figure at the start is to be very much admired as that allowed it to be just that, and accompaniment. By the way, are you familiar with Liszt's 'Prelude' which contains some precursor music to some of this piece. I love seeing how Liszt evolved his ideas, always improving and invariably the last is always the best (e.g. the Petrarch Sonnets). Bravo - maybe I should have a look at this piece again (as I have a bit more determination now than I did in my youth) but I suspect the result will be that I return again to listening to others 🙂

hi there - this is such a beautiful piece and I enjoyed your remarks and performance very much. I've been working on it for a few months now (just an amateur). Interestingly, when I first heard it, it did not really grab me (much that I love Liszt's music, including his late works to a large degree). Then I went back a little while later for an extra listen and that's when it took hold! I think it is actually challenging to present it to an audience in a way that allows them to connect with it on first hearing. It is of course those ambiguous harmonies and sparse writing (which you talk about) that contribute to this. I think one might need to prepare the audience ears with other lead up pieces that help the listener get into that harmonic world. It is also interesting how all performances of this piece generally utilise tempo changes (that are not marked) to help shape it. In particular, in the first two pages - your choices are different to mine which are no doubt different to somebody else's. There is lots of room to manoeuvre! Some people play this piece with, I think, excessive virtuosity (as it accelerates through the climax) - this is not an issue for me ha ha as I don't have the chops for that. However, I like that your rendering, whilst exciting and urgent and brilliant, still has some understatement about it, which allows it to successfully transition again back to the quieter coda. If you happen to read these comments and have a moment, I would be interested in your thoughts on a particular technical issue. Once we move into the climax (starting with no key signature) and the tre corde, where we have all those fast broken chords in the left hand, I find it difficult to negotiate this and keep my left forearm relaxed - I often end up with a lot of tension which is not good. To remediate this, I am trying the following: 1) keep my left hand shape essentially open (but relaxed), 2) on the last of the first four quavers (1/8th notes for you !), such as the descending B G E B put a little staccato on the last B to get off it quickly (the pedal covers this) and then 3) just move hand position down for the second group of quavers (G E B G) before the last two (E E) and then get off the last E quickly to manage the jump for which we have not much time to the next group. What I was originally doing was contracting my hand after the first 4 quavers before beginning the next 4, but I found all that open/close was what seems to be creating the tension for me. I can't say I have completely solved this ergo my interest in your thoughts here. Anyway, if you have any observations on keeping relaxed in this section, I'd be very grateful to hear it (you look marvellously relaxed here but because of the camera angle I don't know precisely how you are negotiating it - probably second nature for you!). Finally, I think you are probably being rather generous to Wagner. There is a lot of evidence that he knocked off many of his musical ideas from Liszt, who, most wonderful human being that he was, never complained. Liszt really did transcend human pettiness on so many occasions, despite many people ill-treating his generosity and talent. I am re-reading Walker's Liszt biography for the first time in decades and am reminded of this a lot !

Stunned at your level of artistry at that age. It's hard for me to fathom. You play them better than I and I'm in my 60's! Wonderful choice of pieces. Horowitz played that Mozart Sonata on his "Last Recording" CD. The whole cd is for my taste the best playing of his life. BTW, I love that slow movement of Beethoven Concerto 1 it's so beautiful. And so is your playing. I'm still shaking my head in amazement at your playing. Do you have perfect pitch? You are very special. Thank You Lisa. Best.

Masterfully played! Gottschalk is so under-rated today. His "Union" paraphrase and "Hail Columbia" are exceptional concert pieces. I wasn't familiar with "Marche des Gibaros" so thanks for introducing it to me. Really good piece. LM Gottschalk played in Paris in 1848 or so just before Chopin died. Chopin saw him and was very impressed by him. When Chopin met him back stage he told Gottschalk that one day he'll be "King of Pianists"! At least that's how the story goes. Gottschalk was yet another great musician that died at an early age. Ms. Yui, I just saw your YT debut recital at age 11. I just smile and am stunned and amazed how well you played those pieces. It helps me imagine how good Hofmann and Arrau were at such a young age. Very best Regards!

This is one of the most profoundly beautiful pieces I've ever heard. Much like in mood the 3rd movement of the Schumann Fantasie. Love the commentary. This piece has been more difficult than I thought. Your idea of dividing the hands by taking notes with the left hand is really helpful. Beautiful performance! I was wondering how much time you spent getting this into your fingers? Regardless, beautifully played. People need to be exposed to this musical gem and this video helps. Best Regards.

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Did you have a chance to read important for all pianists book by Eva Badura Skoda with translation of many important records related on Piano et forte that Bach [!] promoted enthusiastically, helped improve and definitely sold to count Branitsky, and thus had at his hiss to demonstrate it..? I’m very interested how your opinion would change after this finally revealed info.

a beautiful asian girl discussing a beautiful piece of music

Great Video👀💙🙏

Amazing. Bravo.

05:52

I wish I can give 10 likes instead of just one. Thank you for making this video! Makes me like the piece even more!

Thank you Dr. Yui for providing to us this excellent presentation on Beethoven’s sonata Opus 27, No. 2. You have opened me to several insights to this work, especially the first movement, that only a knowledgeable professional could provide. I will definitely incorporate several of your suggestions, especially your approach for the first movement to letting the melody establish the feel for the harmony and tempo, and from there fill in the triplets. Also, to complement to your discussion for pedaling for the first movement, while you played I took notice of your right leg to see when it depressed the pedal at various parts of the movement. I now have a much better understanding of your pedaling technique. How is wish I was 50 years younger and to be one of your students. Thank you again and best wishes.

A Seraphim descended from the spiritual universe and decided to play Liszt Transcendental Etude #8 !!

I love this so much 😁♥️♥️

"Moonlight Sonata": 1st Movement: The Death of Love 2nd Movement: (Flashback) The Innocence and Joy of Love 3rd Movement Part A: The Passion and Sensuality of Love 3rd Movement Part B: The Loss and Theft of Love. The poem, ALMOST A FANTASY, written by literary artist David Sanz, is the all too familiar story of star-crossed lovers destined to find love only to have it torn away by the midnight-somber moon. th-cam.com/video/gQZt2GdXwfU/w-d-xo.html

Great analysis and performance of a sadly neglected work. Thank you for this.

The cat is so cute. currently learning this sonata

RIP James Irsay..

🤯 WOW!

Interesting video, Lisa. Glad to see you uploading videos again 😁

Thank you both so much, this was an invaluable lesson for the 3rd movement that I’m beginning or work on.

Very lovely playing! I love the emotion and the contrast that you are able to express. I also agree with the talking points in the video. I keep hearing the same issues with Bach, what's right and what's wrong about playing Bach on modern piano in people's opinion, etc. I keep using Andras Schiff as an example because he is one of the bigger Bach players around and he gets a lot of criticism because of his views on using pedal - A: I know if he thought that using pedal would bring a better expression and style to his interpretation of the music he'd use it and B: his interest is the same as all Bach players' interest should be - to make the music sing and speak. Like Bach himself wrote on the introduction to his two and three-part inentions, it's about establishing a cantabile sound with your legato. And the detached/staccato parts are there to bring contrast, same with ornaments. Yes, there are stylistic differences compared to say an almost ridiculous amount of pedaling in the romantic period music but surely the compositions themselves innately contain a certain style, a certain sound as well? Would Bach have wanted his music to sound dry and mechanical? Would he have wanted his music to not sing even though he explicitly tells you that it needs to? I don't know. Clearly, these things are a matter of taste but sometimes I wonder what people are on about.

I've never really taken to the music of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Couperin and Rameau being played on the modern piano. It's never a good fit, to my ears. Even the music of C. P. E. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert sound better on fortepianos these days. I guess there is a feeling amongst many modern pianists and music lovers that the modern piano is the last word on playing any music from the past - especially keyboard music from the past. The modern piano is no more suited to Baroque harpsichord music than the modern classical guitar is for playing Japanese koto music. I recently heard some of the Goldberg Variations of Bach played on the piano. It sort of sounded like classy piano-bar music to me. I love keyboard music and I have a lot of CDs of piano music of Scriabin, Schoenberg, Webern, Messiaen, Bartok, Shostakovich, etc. I even like some Jazz - Hiromi is a goddess!

Very interesting ideas for performing this work. I am currently studying it and helped so much, thank you! I loved the right h ornamentation! Do you have a video for this? I would love to watch and learn more.

One of the best versions I’ve heard! Beautiful cantabile, not too fast, but full of inner drama.

Thank you kindly🤍