Regardless of who performs this piece, from around 11:45 to 12:45, will always bring me shivers. Its that rare moment in music where the piano sounds like the bells in a cathedral, shouting out to God Himself. But whether it's in reverence or scorn, I do not know...
Many people are unable to hear past the technical refinement flaws to understand the raw beauty of expression in this pianist. Listen to the color change and dramatic structure he masters with his control and design on dynamic range.
IF you ever have a chance to see Toradze, DO NOT FAIL TO GO. I've seen him play this Concerto twice in the last 15 years - in very different interpretations. And the first performances set a new standard for this Concerto in tempi and expression. The Toradze sound is deep, Soviet, & so beautiful! Of course most of the Hollywood Bowll audience din't understand they were hearing history. But there were a few telling, interrupting cheers. This performer communicates as profoundly as Emil Gilels.
To me, this is by far the best performance of this concerto by anyone. It's quite idiosyncratic and quirky, but in perfect control and understanding. Re-listening to other performances gives the real sense of what one misses. Also, this performance is better than Toradze recordings on CD of this concerto from 1990s. Gergiev and Mariinsky back up wonderfully. One of the best examples of what a TH-cam search can reveal. A true gem.
I like this version a lot. There is the house of flying fingers version etc. where all the notes are played precisely and at maximum tempo, and it sounds very good, but here Toradze goes beyond what is on the page and gives us something quite remarkable, perhaps what Prokofiev had in mind. The back up by Gergiev and his Mariinsky players makes for a fantastic performance. Thanks to all!!
na -kun Horowitz played Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto at 75, and he played it technicially and amazingly. Alexander Toradze is 60 years old in this video... So, if you have good fingers, you’ll play it even when you are dead. But, in this situation, it’s very strange, because Toradze has his own music academy, and he studied at Moscow conservatory... maybe, he wasn’t able to practice exactly for this performance😅
This man understands Prokofiev perfectly, it is incredible, everything he transmits goes further, the musical concept that I can say about this concert sums up everything in music
Beside the virtuosic playing, the ending of the 1st movement (around 13:50) is one of the most beautiful moments in music that is only heard in this rendition. In spite of the rawness of Toradze's playing, his conception, I believe, is closest to Prokofiev's inspiration - there's tragedy, desperation, hopelessness... A story of suicide indeed...
No, Toradze’s playing is diametrically opposed to Prokofiev’s. Listen to the few recordings Prokofiev has left. His performances are very straightforward and almost a-romantic and he liked Richter whose approach is also totally different from Toradze’s.
The first time I saw this video, didn't like it, but Toradze goes beyond the notes! His rendition of this piece is amazing, the decadence of that period of the Russian history is here, suicide, tragic, all is here. Not so conventional but interesting. Very mature conception. Bravo
Having listened to this a couple of times now, and having heard umpteen run-of-the-mill performances of this concerto, Toradze has produced the most remarkable interpretation of this work. He really plays like he has thought about what each note means. Prokofiev's music, particularly in this concerto, is not about making pleasant sounds or sounding nice...it's about raw emotions and feelings. Toradze understands this completely.
უძლიერესი ორკესტრი, უძლიერესი დირიჟორი, უბრწყინვალესი თორაძე..... ეს შესრულება ერთ-ერთი გამორჩეულია. რამხელა ემოცია მოდის თავად კონცერტიდან და ამას დამატებული შესრულების მანერა მით უფრო აძლიერებს ამ მუხტს. მაგარია გერგიევი. როგორ ფლობს მთელ ორკესტრს, ასევე მაგარია თორაძე.
Hmm mixed feelings about this performance. Some passages are played in a very interesting, novel and, dare I say, amazing way, but other parts sound quite disastrous tbh.
He plays the fff of the end of the cadenza just as the orchestra come in rather p. I can't understand his decision here. This is supposed to raise the roof...
But apart from my comment below, i loved this interpretation. Full of fire, passion and originality. I forgive his p at the end of the cadenza...I feel Wang should be giving something extra to her performances that indicate a profound empathy with the emotions being described in the music. But her virtuosity is so great that maybe she takes them for granted?
This is second of the best performance of this concerto. My first is Yuja Wang who can play it with precision and flow. However, this version is more emotional and varied in color and tone.
starting from 13:06 it feels like the orchestra is really struggling with the slow pace, the brass going too slow and strings going to fast. You see the lady thinking "who are we supposed to follow??" at 13:21
Soloist eccentricities and a palpable disdain for the other musicians make this a mess if we are honest. The too slow beginning is the harbinger of an unhappy performance which shows in the body language at the end.
Agree with harriter88 and the technical mistakes. day off? His rendition during the 2016 Rotterdam Gergiev Festival shows that his age (born in 1952) plays no role!
Мне кажется что партитуру никто в руки не брал а на динамику всем всё равно было. Д а ещё и пианист ноты неправильные брал и в каденции мне на это было очень сложно смотреть. От ppp к fff за 10 секунд. Это странно.
@@na-kun2136 Вот удивляют меня люди вроде вас. Это же искусство все-таки, если все будут играть одинаково какой в этом смысл, я уверен сами композиторы нюансы ставят весьма условно. Смысл любого исполнения передать музыку так, чтобы было интересно, это ведь не конкурс, чтобы механически отбивать каждую ноту...Другое дело, что технически исполнение не полноценное ...
Pure mannerism. Toradze changes tempos on a whim, looses music flow. I was aware of this tendency, knowing the trend form 1995 recording. It only got worse. This is the concerto caricature.
Ой, как же плохо сыграно! Уничтожил всю красоту лучшего концерта в истории музыка. Медленно, не в такт, долгое мучение фортепьяно, не нашёл отклика и у вменяемого слушателя и у инструмента, что ещё печальней.
Это Прокофьев уничтожил твое представление о красоте ( и не только твое, Глазунова, например тоже) :)) Просто большинство пианистов играет так, чтоб тебя не обидеть, потому что кушать все хотят, а ты платишь бабки за билет. Наконец нашелся тот, кто сыграл Прокофьева ( еще Постникова может быть с Рождественским ).
Climax totally ruined at the end of the cadenza. Really can't enjoy this interpretation at all. His dynamics are all over the place. He was truly struggling throughout the first movement. Tough gig for the conductor.
No, Jose, with respect, the climax aat the end of the cadenza was the most orgasmic passage of music I've ever heard. Unbelievable power, that man. I got to know his playing a few years ago and I've come back to it and he is a Man of God and a Man of Power and a Man of Music. A MAN. Yes.
@@richardlitwin4046 No. He is right. Toradze plays pretty bad if not terrible. And the dynamics are strange. If you want to play this concerto you need power. He is very old man (1952) and for him playing this concerto is not easy, it seems.(source: sounds that he made during the cadenza)
Didn't know there were so many masochists around, pianist & orchestra included. WTF do people pay hard earned money for THIS apocalyptic crap when they could listen to real music and go home happy and elated?
Regardless of who performs this piece, from around 11:45 to 12:45, will always bring me shivers. Its that rare moment in music where the piano sounds like the bells in a cathedral, shouting out to God Himself. But whether it's in reverence or scorn, I do not know...
Perhaps both...
Many people are unable to hear past the technical refinement flaws to understand the raw beauty of expression in this pianist. Listen to the color change and dramatic structure he masters with his control and design on dynamic range.
IF you ever have a chance to see Toradze, DO NOT FAIL TO GO. I've seen him play this Concerto twice in the last 15 years - in very different interpretations.
And the first performances set a new standard for this Concerto in tempi and expression. The Toradze sound is deep, Soviet, & so beautiful!
Of course most of the Hollywood Bowll audience din't understand they were hearing history. But there were a few telling, interrupting cheers.
This performer communicates as profoundly as Emil Gilels.
To me, this is by far the best performance of this concerto by anyone. It's quite idiosyncratic and quirky, but in perfect control and understanding. Re-listening to other performances gives the real sense of what one misses. Also, this performance is better than Toradze recordings on CD of this concerto from 1990s. Gergiev and Mariinsky back up wonderfully. One of the best examples of what a TH-cam search can reveal. A true gem.
Wow! That was fuckin' great! Best, most emotionally driven performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto number 2 ever. Felt it.
I like this version a lot. There is the house of flying fingers version etc. where all the notes are played precisely and at maximum tempo, and it sounds very good, but here Toradze goes beyond what is on the page and gives us something quite remarkable, perhaps what Prokofiev had in mind. The back up by Gergiev and his Mariinsky players makes for a fantastic performance. Thanks to all!!
This ia baddest version of this concerto
na -kun ?
@@jacopastorius319 He is not able play that concerto good in that age. I just see how hard for him cadenza when he play.
na -kun Horowitz played Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto at 75, and he played it technicially and amazingly. Alexander Toradze is 60 years old in this video... So, if you have good fingers, you’ll play it even when you are dead. But, in this situation, it’s very strange, because Toradze has his own music academy, and he studied at Moscow conservatory... maybe, he wasn’t able to practice exactly for this performance😅
Wang you mean? She is a bad interpreter and can't play for toffee just a typist
This man understands Prokofiev perfectly, it is incredible, everything he transmits goes further, the musical concept that I can say about this concert sums up everything in music
Beside the virtuosic playing, the ending of the 1st movement (around 13:50) is one of the most beautiful moments in music that is only heard in this rendition. In spite of the rawness of Toradze's playing, his conception, I believe, is closest to Prokofiev's inspiration - there's tragedy, desperation, hopelessness... A story of suicide indeed...
No, Toradze’s playing is diametrically opposed to Prokofiev’s. Listen to the few recordings Prokofiev has left. His performances are very straightforward and almost a-romantic and he liked Richter whose approach is also totally different from Toradze’s.
@@MorbidMayem can I have a link to prokofievs recordings please
The first time I saw this video, didn't like it, but Toradze goes beyond the notes! His rendition of this piece is amazing, the decadence of that period of the Russian history is here, suicide, tragic, all is here. Not so conventional but interesting. Very mature conception. Bravo
I've heard Toradze described as "belonging to the Soviet truck driver school of piano playing"
God gave Man five fingers on one hand just to let him play this concert of Prokofiev. Phenomenal performance!
Bravo, Aleksander❤
Having listened to this a couple of times now, and having heard umpteen run-of-the-mill performances of this concerto, Toradze has produced the most remarkable interpretation of this work. He really plays like he has thought about what each note means. Prokofiev's music, particularly in this concerto, is not about making pleasant sounds or sounding nice...it's about raw emotions and feelings. Toradze understands this completely.
That performance was the best I've heard so far. Very loyal to the way prokofiev would actually play his own music.
Goodbye, Maestro 😔
What a captivating performance, especially the second movement!
BRAVO!!!!
Incomprehensible, strange and whimsical.
Long time since a performance of Prok. 2nd gave me so much pleasure. Phenomenal.
Fantastic. No time, primordial pianism Ciakovski echoes....
Замечательное исполнение!!
R.I.P
Лучшее исполнение!!!!!!!!! СУПЕР!!!! Какое извлечение каждого звука! Какая выдержка и экспрессия!
Great!!
Wow superb 2nd mov
.. and people still complaining about his stamina in the comment section
უძლიერესი ორკესტრი, უძლიერესი დირიჟორი, უბრწყინვალესი თორაძე..... ეს შესრულება ერთ-ერთი გამორჩეულია. რამხელა ემოცია მოდის თავად კონცერტიდან და ამას დამატებული შესრულების მანერა მით უფრო აძლიერებს ამ მუხტს.
მაგარია გერგიევი. როგორ ფლობს მთელ ორკესტრს, ასევე მაგარია თორაძე.
Грандиозно! И оркестр, и Т 38:20 орадзе!!
best orchetra in the world hands down
different style with Anna vinnitskaya. Both are amazing! Philosophy vs fairytale
Bravo Bravo Bravo 👌💎 best intonation of Prokofiev 💚
Превосходное исполнение, вызывающее восторг.
Toradze-Gergiev- Maariinsky Best in Prokofiev Piano 2 in my opinion
I totally agree
@@zelda2664 Thanks, it was not my discovery, a dear Russian friend who knows Valery told me about this wonderful execution
Hmm mixed feelings about this performance. Some passages are played in a very interesting, novel and, dare I say, amazing way, but other parts sound quite disastrous tbh.
Yep agree
He plays the fff of the end of the cadenza just as the orchestra come in rather p. I can't understand his decision here. This is supposed to raise the roof...
But apart from my comment below, i loved this interpretation. Full of fire, passion and originality. I forgive his p at the end of the cadenza...I feel Wang should be giving something extra to her performances that indicate a profound empathy with the emotions being described in the music. But her virtuosity is so great that maybe she takes them for granted?
ゲルギエフってどうやって勉強してるんだろう 凄いなー
Stranger cadencia! NIce!
His cadenza really makes me painful.
He was attacking the piano most the time, but still a great pianist otherwise.
wowowowwww......
Just amazing!!!
Absolutely,WONDERFUL!
Magnificent!
This is second of the best performance of this concerto. My first is Yuja Wang who can play it with precision and flow. However, this version is more emotional and varied in color and tone.
Yuja Wang ...you cannot be serious. Not even comparable to this performance
@@mazactal6063 Hold it. She's technically perfect at this Concerto! ? I really don't get people who don't think she's No 1 pianist in the world ever.
@@mazactal6063 clean the manure out of your ears
@@burrenmagic you have thousands of pianists , who play this concert technically perfect. She's only one of them
@@ediccartman7252 i've head two of her efforts. pass on both occasions.
I think some of the negative commenters here need to learn patience. This is a great performance if you aren't trying to get to the end.
How was the Scherzo?
True...he has great depth as a pianist and great understanding...
Superb
Медленновато первую часть
really hard for him
starting from 13:06 it feels like the orchestra is really struggling with the slow pace, the brass going too slow and strings going to fast. You see the lady thinking "who are we supposed to follow??" at 13:21
"who are we supposed to follow??"
Not the stick, that's for sure!
О чем для вас этот концерт?
The opening is so damn slow that it feels like I can´t breathe, so I will move on to something else. Life is to short to wait around.
Considering the subject matter, isn't feeling like you can't breathe a good thing?
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
Soloist eccentricities and a palpable disdain for the other musicians make this a mess if we are honest. The too slow beginning is the harbinger of an unhappy performance which shows in the body language at the end.
Not to my taste! But, that's OK...
Gach plays piano? The Klingon Empire condems this assault on it´s culture!
Toradze is a wonderful pianist,but the opening tempo is just 2 dragging and slow
harriter88 It sound to me the soloist might be too aged to command such a monster concerto.
Agree with harriter88 and the technical mistakes. day off? His rendition during the 2016 Rotterdam Gergiev Festival shows that his age (born in 1952) plays no role!
harriter88
Не могу его слушать после Юджи Ванг
Очень не уверенно и скованно по сравнению с ней
Буря в стакане воды
Ну да, у него бикини не такое красивое
Странное исполнение
Мне кажется что партитуру никто в руки не брал а на динамику всем всё равно было. Д а ещё и пианист ноты неправильные брал и в каденции мне на это было очень сложно смотреть. От ppp к fff за 10 секунд. Это странно.
@@na-kun2136 Вот удивляют меня люди вроде вас. Это же искусство все-таки, если все будут играть одинаково какой в этом смысл, я уверен сами композиторы нюансы ставят весьма условно. Смысл любого исполнения передать музыку так, чтобы было интересно, это ведь не конкурс, чтобы механически отбивать каждую ноту...Другое дело, что технически исполнение не полноценное ...
Pure mannerism. Toradze changes tempos on a whim, looses music flow. I was aware of this tendency, knowing the trend form 1995 recording. It only got worse. This is the concerto caricature.
Ой, как же плохо сыграно! Уничтожил всю красоту лучшего концерта в истории музыка. Медленно, не в такт, долгое мучение фортепьяно, не нашёл отклика и у вменяемого слушателя и у инструмента, что ещё печальней.
Это Прокофьев уничтожил твое представление о красоте ( и не только твое, Глазунова, например тоже) :))
Просто большинство пианистов играет так, чтоб тебя не обидеть, потому что кушать все хотят, а ты платишь бабки за билет. Наконец нашелся тот, кто сыграл Прокофьева ( еще Постникова может быть с Рождественским ).
Interesting but quite incoherent. I much prefer Gutierrez's version.
That is a studio recording. On this repertoire this makes a huuuuge difference.
God. He's just destroy this concerto. Terrible
By far the worst performance. It is absurdly too slow, lacks sequential structure, lacks the right pathos.
No sé, no me gustó mucho. :/
Worst cadenza and concerto ever have been played
That's harsh!
Climax totally ruined at the end of the cadenza. Really can't enjoy this interpretation at all. His dynamics are all over the place. He was truly struggling throughout the first movement. Tough gig for the conductor.
No, Jose, with respect, the climax aat the end of the cadenza was the most orgasmic passage of music I've ever heard. Unbelievable power, that man. I got to know his playing a few years ago and I've come back to it and he is a Man of God and a Man of Power and a Man of Music. A MAN. Yes.
@@richardlitwin4046 No. He is right. Toradze plays pretty bad if not terrible. And the dynamics are strange. If you want to play this concerto you need power. He is very old man (1952) and for him playing this concerto is not easy, it seems.(source: sounds that he made during the cadenza)
@@na-kun2136 try to learn proper english before criticizing a wonderful pianist!
@@hanssteiner9652 done!
@@richardlitwin4046 except for that fff which he played rather p? That was the only disappointment for me...but he was clearly whacked at that point.
Didn't know there were so many masochists around, pianist & orchestra included.
WTF do people pay hard earned money for THIS apocalyptic crap when they could listen to real music and go home happy and elated?
Terrible !!! This not P. as it should be !!! Pianist ? Adanshito !!!
such a boring performance is that !