Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie Op.61 in Ab Major (Yoshihiro Kondo, Kate Liu, Leonskaja)

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2024
  • The Op.61 is the closest Chopin ever came to the austerity (and strange, liminal warmth) of late Beethoven. In any case, there’s little doubt that it’s one of the worst-titled works in the repertoire. “Polonaise-Fantasy” suggests a brillante romp - instead you get this thing that opens with a harmonic meditation, but from then on presents as craggy, even unfinished: full of failed, fragmentary melodies, unstable progressions needlessly prolonged, vertiginous modulations, all arranged inside a disemboweled ABA (/very lopsided sonata) form. It’s very easy to listen to this work with the expectation that some big lyrical melody will come clean, and to be disappointed when this never quite happens. (The main theme does come to a climax, but it’s an odd one. Where Chopin typically puts a pattern of ascending/descending chords in the LH - see the Ballades and the Barcarolle - here the LH gets bare contrapuntal octaves: part celebration, part nervous breakdown.)
    The Op.61’s apparent instability actually belies a surprisingly tight-knit structure. The work’s in ABA form, except that B section is punctured - after its appearance, it continuously leaks material into the rest of the work. The transitions between the sections are very substantial, involving two new themes (3 and 5) that at first seem very different - one’s a pleasant nocturne, the other a doleful polonaise - but are in fact closely related (same rhythmic outline).
    This work is also a rare instance of Chopin using large scale motivic unification in his writing. Rather spectacularly, that modest little turn in m.4 (0:39) ends up generating the extended transition passage at m.50 (2:59), the lovely LH counterpoint at m.152 (6:56), the RH melodic contour at mm.216-217 (10:26), and the frantic material at m.225 (10:57).
    Why then this work come across as so subjective and dissociative?
    A couple of things. The most important is Chopin’s insistence in lingering on or broadening interstitial (/unstable) space - a tendency already at work in some of the slow passages in the Barcarolle and the Op.52 Ballade. Transitory aches are leaned into rather than resolved: quite apart from Themes 3 and 5, you have stuff like the agonizing passage in thirds beginning at m.52 or the massive transition beginning from m.128 (5:45). The latter is quite something: you start with a passage which a younger Chopin would almost have certainly written as a sort of cadenza or fioritura, but here is a stark passage in measured semiquavers, flat and aggressively inexpressive. This intensifies into a chromatic two-voice descent in the RH, and finally reduces into a single line that winds listlessly for six bars before arriving at the dominant of B major (though not without landing on one striking augmented 6th dissonance first).
    The other big factor is the nature of the material itself: the themes have an open-ended, subjective quality. The main polonaise theme - to take one example - begins with two standard four-bar phrases, but then overspills into a massive, modulating 12-bar phrase that gradually sheds all hint of polonaise-ness. When Chopin repeats the theme (m.45), it’s even more unstable - not only is there a jarring Eb pedal in the bass, the second phrase isn’t even allowed time to finish. The only theme that really has a stable structure is the B section’s touching trio/nocturne, and it’s pretty significant that it’s this which Chopin uses to end the piece.
    Given all the above, it’s unsurprisingly very hard to find effective performances of the Op.61. The three here find different solutions to the Op.61’s interpretive problems.
    00:00 - Yoshihiro Kondo. A “keep it together” approach. Steady pulse throughout - Kondo allows himself only the slightest rhythmic liberties. Emphasis on contrapuntal clarity (see the entrance of T2 at 6:35, and dense passages like 4:44) and tone production (see the beautifully controlled climax at 11:40).
    13:20 - Kate Liu. Rather the opposite of Kondo - leans into the sprawl, emphasizes the distinct characters of each theme and the enigmatic aspects of the work. Lots of intoxicating detail: at 15:34 (m.24), the interaction between the RH melody and the LH polonaise rhythm is underscored; the suspended Ab at 17:29 (m.73) is given unusual prominence; the return of T5 (24:40) is barely audible, a pale shadow.Very expressive phrasing throughout.
    27:38 - Leonskaja. All about rhythm; my favourite recording most days of the week. Opens deceptively, with a very slow introduction, but the contrast at 30:11 when T1 enters with march-like staccato (and sharp textural contrast between both hands) is lovely. At m.254 (40:27) the RH triplet and LH semiquaver rhythm is kept distinct, imparting huge momentum to the finale. This continues into the final run at 40:52, where the last note of each triplet is effectively overdotted. Also the handling of the finale and the lead-up to it is wonderful - real biting intensity.
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ความคิดเห็น • 179

  • @AshishXiangyiKumar
    @AshishXiangyiKumar  2 ปีที่แล้ว +100

    INTRODUCTION
    00:00 - Abm to Cb, Gb to Bbb (= Neapolitan of Abm). Briefly passes through Dbm. Ebm to Gb, Db to Fb (= Neapolitan of Ebm). Introduces the most important key relationships in the work.
    01:23, m.9 - Transition, prefiguring Theme 1. (The turn-like figure in the LH in m.4 turns into the melodic figure at m.26, and is scatted all through this transition - it’s in octaves in the LH at mm.10-11 and gets a bit of a lift in the RH in m.14 and m.18. This motif eventually metamorphoses into the whole long chromatic passage beginning from m.51.)
    A SECTION, m.22 (Sonata form: Theme group 1)
    01:57 - Theme 1 (“Polonaise theme”)
    03:38 - Theme 2, m.66, incorporating polonaise rhythm, moving into C and E.
    04:26 - Theme 1, now over triplet figuration. Initially placid, then moves into Abm (4:57) and turns turbulent.
    TRANSITION, m.116
    05:13 - Theme 3. New material in Bb. Initially presenting as a sweet nocturne, then turns anguished before dying away into a long chromatic line.
    B SECTION, m.148 (Slow section. Sonata form: Theme group 2)
    06:34 - A brief prelude to the main theme, in B.
    06:56 - Theme 4. Starts in B, moves into D#m before cadencing in A# and modulating back into B, where the theme is restated with a more active RH melody. Ends with a gorgeous series of modulations, eventually pausing on the Italian sixth in an implied Em. This is the piece’s point of absolute zero. Harmonically, the C aug 6 might appear senseless (and it certainly sounds exotic), but it's really an accented chromatic passing chord that leads straight back into G#m.
    08:17 - Theme 5, Abm, m.182 (closely related to T3 - they have the same opening melodic rhythm). Ends in a series of gradually thickening supertonic trills that lead into a truncated restatement (9:29) of Theme 4.
    TRANSITION, m.214 (Sonata form: Development)
    09:50 - We return to the introduction. B to D, A to C (= dominant of Fm)
    10:26 - Theme 5, Fm, coalescing out of nothing.
    10:57 - Agitated passage in triplet semiquavers, ingeniously built off the LH accompaniment of T4 (listen to the LH from mm. 211-13, and the corresponding passage at m.222. At the latter instance, note how Chopin prefigures the new rhythmic emphasis at m.226 by introducing held notes in m.224). Starts in Db aug 6th harmony, moving into Fb, then a chromatic sequence leading into a long semiquaver passage that’s essentially a decorated Eb dominant 7th (11:18).
    A SECTION, m.242 (Recapitulation, where the two major themes (1 and 4) are both stated in Ab)
    11:24 - Theme 1, triumphant, with octave counterpoint in LH.
    11:39 - Transition in B (m.250), wildly ecstatic and improvisatory.
    11:53 - Theme 4 (m.254), now angular and triumphant. Counterpoint in LH.
    CODA
    12:18 - The LH counterpoint to theme 4 reaches musical escape velocity, and runs wild across the keyboard.
    12:24 - The same melody now constrains itself to just the RH, repeating obsessively over a dominant pedal.
    12:38 - Closing cadence, prominently featuring the b7 and b6 (notes borrowed from the Abm opening tonality).

    • @barcarolleenjoyer
      @barcarolleenjoyer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Small correction - at the 10:26 timestamp you mark, I'm pretty sure it should be Theme 5 in F minor rather than in A minor.

    • @AshishXiangyiKumar
      @AshishXiangyiKumar  2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@barcarolleenjoyer Thanks! Corrected.

    • @artistasonoro
      @artistasonoro 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks so much for the work.!!!Bravo

    • @gimmick2509
      @gimmick2509 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Db to Fb, not E

  • @joseph-fernando-piano
    @joseph-fernando-piano 2 ปีที่แล้ว +153

    Hearing this piece in particular makes me think of what Chopin's music would have evolved into with another 10 or 20 years on earth...

    • @erezsolomon3838
      @erezsolomon3838 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      It would be something out of the world, which is why Chopin was decomposing; he was too dangerous!

    • @DynastieArtistique
      @DynastieArtistique ปีที่แล้ว

      @@erezsolomon3838 lmao

  • @PieInTheSky9
    @PieInTheSky9 2 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    Nice to see Kate Liu get some love on this channel, her Chopin is outstanding.

  • @Thiago-px9ev
    @Thiago-px9ev 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    Kate Liu has the best Chopin I've ever heard from the new generation

    • @bpat74
      @bpat74 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      She is amazing..!

  • @aarondrayer548
    @aarondrayer548 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    i've always been in love with Chopin, ever since i was 11 years old, so much that one time i've named my dog Chopin. F. Chopin has impacted my life in so many ways, he has helped me when i was at the lowest in my life, helped me with those sorrowful yet sublime songs like this one, this fantasie is just a masterpiece. Not only F. Chopin has impacted me but my dog as well, both of them have helped me at my lowest and gave me happiness even though i didn't see it possible. Today Chopin (my dog), has passed away, and i just wanna say thank him and F. Chopin, because that name has really changed my life for the better, forever

  • @bdellovibrioo5242
    @bdellovibrioo5242 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    As a casual fan of classical music, I was totally unaware of this sublime and strange piece, thank you!

  • @woyeshinibaba
    @woyeshinibaba 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Great to see Kate Liu's name here. She's a brilliant pianist.

  • @eristaviserbia
    @eristaviserbia 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The "Polonaise-Fantaisie" represents a marvellous edifice of music, which wells up from the ground, quietly, innocuously, and yet, with a sentiment that conveys peace within the heart, nobility and passion. Despite its disjointed structure, it is perfect in its humanity.

  • @LukeZX4
    @LukeZX4 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Ah I've been looking forward to this upload for a long time now. It's my absolute favourite work by Chopin!
    Here's my rather different understanding of the piece's structure, and it's how I like to parse the paradoxically tight/sprawling nature of the work when I listen to or interpret it:
    The piece is a "fantasy in 3 acts" (the polonaise prefix really is a bit of a misnomer):
    ACT I (variations on theme A):
    0:00 - Introduction
    1:58 - Theme A, polonaise metre
    2:44 - Variation 1, brief restatement before complete collapse
    3:38 - Transition, new theme, and the last time we hear polonaise metre in any significant fashion
    4:26 - Variation 2, nocturne
    4:57 - Variation 3, now turbulent with a syncopated inner line
    5:13 - New theme as we transition away from theme A development
    ACT II (a meditative interlude that introduces themes B and C):
    6:34 - prelude to Theme B
    6:56 - Theme B, an alternating ebb-and-flow between LH and RH arcs
    8:17 - Theme C
    9:30 - Theme B reappears briefly
    ACT III (closing -- themes A, B, and C return but out of order):
    9:50 - Introduction recap
    10:26 - Theme C restatement (sublime)
    10:58 - Transition with faint wisps of polonaise rhythm in the LH
    11:24 - Theme A restatement
    11:53 - Theme B restatement
    12:18 - Coda

  • @JakobSpindler
    @JakobSpindler 2 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    This piece just keeps on giving. I have heard it countless times, and I continue to be blown away by the motivic and harmonic ingenuity of the work.

  • @anavocado124
    @anavocado124 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    00:00 Yoshihiro Kondo
    13:20 Kate Liu
    27:38 Elisabeth Leonskaja

  • @happy-star-light
    @happy-star-light 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I'm surprised Yoshihiko Kondo's performance has been uploaded!! His rendition is excellent.
    As a Japanese pianist, by the way,
    The performance of this work , up-and-coming keyboard magician Hayato Sumino fascinated at the 2021 Chopin Competition Semi-finals is also spurb✨✨✨✨

  • @joyfulfishman5445
    @joyfulfishman5445 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    One of my favorite pieces of all time! Thanks for sharing these recordings 🙏, your videos are amazing

  • @tomswiftyphilo2504
    @tomswiftyphilo2504 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I heard this live from a grad student recital in about 2012 or 2013. I haven't ever quite forgotten it. It's gorgeous.

  • @internacjonalista5881
    @internacjonalista5881 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Chopin's friends: Fred, we would like to dance. Why don't you write some catchy dance music, maybe a polonaise?
    Chopin: Proceeds to write Polonaise-Fantaisie Op.61 in Ab Major

    • @jorgegutierreztellez3663
      @jorgegutierreztellez3663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm crazy, and you too! I tried to dance this polonaise, but the only thing I managed to do was make weird steps inspired by the music that would not be described as beautiful. this is more of a fantasy than a polonaise

  • @Ska5709
    @Ska5709 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The program notes and analysis are on another level! Very well written, thoughtful, and intriguing. Thank you Ashish!

  • @angelob.1089
    @angelob.1089 2 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    Damn... Leonskaja’s recording is a real triumph for me. The opening is still and expansive, as if setting the stage harmonically for the more rhythmic section. The more polonaise-like sections are such a great contrast - fantastic sense of rhythm and non-disruptive rubato. I love the Richter recording, but Leonskaja really makes me feel like I’m being led somewhere. It’s the way she distinguishes each section that provides clarity to the whole work, and it’s a sense of balance and coherence that I believe even tops Richter, who already did a great job untangling this monster. Looks like the Richter recording is gonna lose its spot on my shelf.

    • @dgollaher
      @dgollaher ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Leonskaja was a Richter acolyte who played four-hands in Moscow with him in the early 1990s. She plays it very well. Still, Richter played the polanaise fantasy in his first public recital (age 19) in Odessa, and over decades afterward recorded it more than any other single piece. Hence, there's no one "Richter recording," but dozens played with a wide range of different tempi and dynamics. Several are on youtube.

    • @MrInterestingthings
      @MrInterestingthings 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I love what you ay about Leonskaya leading us somewhere . Richter loved her playing . She is well known but not as well known like Sokolov as she should be -but those who know what is what in music know her .

  • @turtlellamacow
    @turtlellamacow 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Thanks for the upload and the illuminating analysis as always. Somehow I've never heard this before. Love that Ravelesque dissonance at 6:21 -- modulo transposition, it's the opening chord of Scarbo!

  • @meowmeowcat6013
    @meowmeowcat6013 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks for introducing the Leonskaja recording. So far this is the recording that made the most sense to me.

  • @bpat74
    @bpat74 2 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Finally a recording with Kate Liu..Thank you so much. Kate is just amazing, so unique... She is the most inspired pianist of her generation imho.. I hope you upload some day her renditions of the 4th ballade and the antante spianato from the 2015 Chopin Competition.

    • @jorgegutierreztellez3663
      @jorgegutierreztellez3663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      the interpretation of OP. 22 with Liu is incredible. the best!

    • @bpat74
      @bpat74 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@jorgegutierreztellez3663 Totally agree!

    • @cschlums2235
      @cschlums2235 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@jorgegutierreztellez3663 the best of the solo piano op22 agreed

  • @timward276
    @timward276 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    The opening is my favorite part of this piece, and Leonskaja's opening, with its slow tempo and sense of unfolding space (and marvelous use of the pedal) is the best I've heard, and it makes the contrast with the *a tempo giusto* passage that much more effective, as AXK correctly noted.

  • @Ale-qf1pm
    @Ale-qf1pm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Return of the king

  • @yesshinonein8282
    @yesshinonein8282 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    So nice to see kate liu on your channel!

  • @christianvennemann9008
    @christianvennemann9008 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Thanks for the early birthday present!

  • @Glooobp
    @Glooobp ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks guy ! Your work is a very good step to understand pieces in depth, through your explanations and the different performances. Good job ! ❤️

  • @kusathecomposer
    @kusathecomposer 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This is such an epic Chopin piece. It takes you on an entire journey.

  • @noah829
    @noah829 2 ปีที่แล้ว +94

    Great to see Kate Liu was chosen as she is a fantastic performer. Quite the shame she did not receive the same attention as Cho and Hamelin after the 2015 Chopin Competition.

    • @skylarlim4181
      @skylarlim4181 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      you think so? definitely not as much as cho, but i feel more than hamelin

    • @noah829
      @noah829 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      ​@@skylarlim4181 I believe so. I have no definitive proof, but I found that Hamelin received more attention from the competition because of the debate many had claiming he should have received first prize. However, what is not speculative is what Hamelin has done outside the competition. He has composed his own pieces, has an incredibly vast repertoire, and is wonderous virtuoso. As far as I am aware, he has done many more recordings as well. These are factors that attract audiences, which is why I believe she did not receive the same attention as Hamelin did.
      However, you could still easily be correct as it is incredibly difficult to track actual data on this (especially in the case of Liu and Hamelin). This is only my opinion on the matter and your thoughts are equally valid.

    • @barcarolleenjoyer
      @barcarolleenjoyer ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@noah829 I think you may have mixed him up with the other Hamelin.

    • @BRNRDNCK
      @BRNRDNCK ปีที่แล้ว

      Liu should have won the competition and the fact Cho is so wildly popular (and overrated) in place of her is really sad.

    • @ralsei217
      @ralsei217 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ​@@BRNRDNCKbut Cho was perfect at that competition, Liu was great but even she knew that she wasnt going to win

  • @gregoberski5897
    @gregoberski5897 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Definitely one of Chopin's most "out there" works, it took me a long time to even be able to stand this piece when I first heard it; I could rarely get past the intro, which I found too slow/simple. Finally sitting down to digest this I realized it's quite a journey and although there are passages which are strange to a beginners' ear, lying in wait are passages which are very direct in their evocative qualities. There are tiny 5-10 second areas of this piece which now constitute some of my favorite piano moments of all time.

    • @javascriptkiddie2718
      @javascriptkiddie2718 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      All of the polonaises are acquired taste. There's just too much going on for the casual listener to pick up without being overwhelmed.

    • @ack7956
      @ack7956 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I had the same first impression. I'd heard it touted as a "fifth ballade" of sorts, but upon hearing it I was put off of it. Having matured rather rapidly in my understanding of music and the depths it can reach, just a few months later and relistening, it's one of the most stunning pieces I've heard. It's definitely in among the best of the best, and makes me severely question the people who still maintain he's just the "right hand" composer, just looking at the left hand of this piece alone should really shut them up.

    • @stevowilliams8279
      @stevowilliams8279 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ack7956 that's so interesting, since learning his music I've always thought of Chopin as a left hand composer, as the left hand is often the hardest part to play.

    • @Qazwdx111
      @Qazwdx111 19 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@javascriptkiddie2718 "polonaises are acquired taste" xd, quite low bar

  • @viggos.n.5864
    @viggos.n.5864 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    YES, YOU'RE BACK!

  • @ianmoore5502
    @ianmoore5502 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    These long form interpretation cmparison videos are so cool

  • @CatsAndClassicalMusic
    @CatsAndClassicalMusic ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The passage in the beginning sounds so vast, it’s beautiful.

  • @paulseidl4335
    @paulseidl4335 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Bravo...heard piece nearly twice before realizing it was same number...fabulous Chopin polanaise! Credit to pianist learning to play it!

  • @fredericchopin7538
    @fredericchopin7538 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Marvelous!

  • @maxmilianpham2356
    @maxmilianpham2356 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    I don't know how many are lost, but more and more of your uploads seem to be taken down. I think that we as a community need to start archiving more of these recordings and eloquent descriptions before they are forever gone.
    Debussy: Suite Bergamasque (Cho Seong-Jin, Bavouzet),
    Chopin: Variations on "Là ci darem la mano", Op.2 (Trifonov, Nebolsin),
    Debussy: L'isle Joyeuse (Cho Seong-Jin, Blechacz, Bavouzet, Goerner, Crossley, Korstick ++),
    Bach: Keyboard Partita No.1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 (Blechacz, Anderszewski),
    Bach: Keyboard Partita No.3 in A Minor, BWV 827 (Blechacz, Anderszewski),
    Bach: Keyboard Partita No.4 in D Major, BWV 828 (Grosvenor, Goode)

    • @AshishXiangyiKumar
      @AshishXiangyiKumar  2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      It's annoying, but then these videos tend to become unblocked at some point later on (I have some theories as to why). E.g., the Moravec Nocturnes and MacGregor AoF disappeared for a long while, but then came back on.
      Also, it's just an opportunity for to look for more interesting recordings, so I'm unusually not too fussed.

    • @benana_3
      @benana_3 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Other lost videos include Liszt’s Paganini Etudes (Trifonov) and Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 (Fialkowska, Pogorelich)

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@AshishXiangyiKumar incidentally i found that your last polonaise-fantasie video was apparently blocked in some countries, but i haven't found any country in which it was not blocked in?

    • @soap6441
      @soap6441 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Tchaikovsky's seasons seem to be blocked in my country as well :(

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@soap6441 well for that one youtube only says *"This video is not available"* , or at least for me, but for the polonaise fantaisie video i was talking about had *"This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds"*

  • @freeziac
    @freeziac 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Chopin, the one who makes the audience sigh and the pianist cry.

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      why would the audience sigh o_o

    • @freeziac
      @freeziac 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sigh as in a pleasant sigh. I could see why it could be confusing :)

    • @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji
      @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Any composer's music, good or not, will surely make the audience do one thing: cough

    • @freeziac
      @freeziac 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji LOL, favorite comment of the day.

  • @colorsofsound4782
    @colorsofsound4782 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The king is back, and he hath brought another gift.
    May sound braggingly weird, but I heard this piece first with Emmanuel Ax (live) and his take is a lot more reserved and chamber-music-style. There is a version on TH-cam, and I would encourage people to take a listen.

  • @tyler-qr5jn
    @tyler-qr5jn 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    First time hearing this piece of Chopin's, immediately fell in love. His work is beyond me, the diversity

  • @jabarzey
    @jabarzey 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Thank you so much for this, I’m learning this piece at the moment so the timing is perfect.
    Personally my favourite recording I’ve found so far is Horowitz from c. 1950, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Horowitz plays with a sort of reckless abandon which I think suits the unstable character of this piece. But I like these as well. I was aware of Liu but not the other two.
    Thanks again.

  • @Iamcwinge1234
    @Iamcwinge1234 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This piece shows off how Chopin's idiom can sing in sprawling, relaxed structures as well as compressed miniature forms. That he never got to develop this new approach is one of classical music's greatest losses.

  • @FirstGentleman1
    @FirstGentleman1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Pianist James Rhodes said about this piece "It is like a dream you don't want to wake up from"

  • @chickendogger
    @chickendogger 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    beautiful!

  • @giovelascomusic
    @giovelascomusic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    OMG HES FINALLY BACK

  • @elrichardo1337
    @elrichardo1337 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    my favorite Chopin

  • @carlose.johansson739
    @carlose.johansson739 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fantastic piece 🎶🎹🎶

  • @Miguel-lg2jb
    @Miguel-lg2jb 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Great piece

  • @cschlums2235
    @cschlums2235 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I'm so stoked for this video, my favourites for this piece are Richter, CR Hamelin, and Blechacz.

    • @jorgegutierreztellez3663
      @jorgegutierreztellez3663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Blechacz sounds Polish, Hamelin sounds noble, and Richter certainly sounds novel.

    • @Thiago-px9ev
      @Thiago-px9ev 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I like Blechacz, Liu, Avdeeva, Virsaladze

    • @cschlums2235
      @cschlums2235 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Thiago-px9ev excellent choices

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Wunder, Blechacz, Richter are my favourites

    • @Thiago-px9ev
      @Thiago-px9ev 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@FrostDirt I can't stand Wunder as a person 🤢 but he's indeed a great pianist

  • @FrostDirt
    @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Ingolf Wunder deserves some mention here! He's by far the only pianist to receive "Best Performance of Polonaise-Fantaisie" in the Chopin Competition.

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      he already featured Wunder in this video
      th-cam.com/video/MQqJExexs18/w-d-xo.html
      im not sure if you can view it or not apparently its blocked in my country

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@mcig98 I've never seen that video before. And yes, it's unavailable, maybe that's why.

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@mcig98 also, it's unlisted. How did you get the link?

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@FrostDirt it was only unlisted after this video was uploaded. i was aware of the video before that (there's a playlist of all of AXK's public videos, which include the ones that were blocked, th-cam.com/play/UU2q7OXP-mPxHzJerA9tXe7Q.html, that was one way you could find out, you can also find the description using some website, and if you want you can recover the video with somewhat lower quality from a website called BiliBili which has a lot of reuploads of AXK's videos to be showcased to Chinese viewers)

  • @herrbrahms
    @herrbrahms 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    3:27 It appears that Chopin had a bag full of flats that were starting to turn, so he used them all in this piece. It's not every day that one encounters a Dbb.

  • @LM-oz2sc
    @LM-oz2sc 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Welcome back :D

  • @zegaoyi
    @zegaoyi 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    thank you for the detailed analyses and the descriptions in your video.. and also thanks for using Kate Liu's interpretation!! it's my personal favourtie
    edit: i think your chopin sonata no 2 video got deleted by youtube.. do you mind doing an upload? thank you =)

    • @alanleoneldavid1787
      @alanleoneldavid1787 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      His video with Alice Sara Ott Chopin waltzes was deleted like for 2 years and last week was again uploaded. Maybe we need patience

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@alanleoneldavid1787 it was not reuploaded, whoever blocked the video just unblocked it
      also i believe it was unblocked about a month ago?

  • @tlarewpiano
    @tlarewpiano ปีที่แล้ว

    Beautiful!

  • @chopin_live
    @chopin_live 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Bravo 👏👏👏

  • @MrInterestingthings
    @MrInterestingthings 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What did Chopin think of Schumann's eternally great Fantasie . I can't believe he liked noone's music but his own and Moschels' ! This really is Chopin's 2nd Fantasie ! I think the title is apt and prepares the listener better than simply Fantasie . It is always published with the polonaises and each of them harbors more and more the tendency to speak outside the bar and in "unstable harmonic zones that never resolve " There is something about the opening chordal motif (minorto Major -a message initself about the entire text) it's simple emotional ,communicative resonance never gets old no matter how many times you hear this piece. UNLike his prefaced Ballades these opening prelude is really part of the piece . Reading the harmonic and compositional process here Kumar provides really helps ! And it really gave me a lot in recognizing why this late composition really shows the language of the 20th century coming to Chopin and Liszt then Scriabin - Unresolved /interstitial spaces and unstable progressions etc. I now know I need to read more harmonic analysis one can't interpret what the composer means without this . What does it mean that the 2nd chord is actually a Neapolitan of the nextkey.oes the music continue in that key . The turn in ms.4 becomes more and more conscious .How would Kumar describe this repeated minor figure's growth ,repetition and occurence .

  • @GICM
    @GICM 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHOPIN
    aw man i cant comment this on every chopin video

  • @fisherroastedpeanut
    @fisherroastedpeanut 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Chopin's most experimental piece

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      depends what you percieve as experimental i guess

    • @cadenzalien4554
      @cadenzalien4554 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ​@@mcig98 Mainly structurally experimental, I'd say

  • @MrPGOLIVEIRA
    @MrPGOLIVEIRA 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Chopin é está obra

  • @jorgegutierreztellez3663
    @jorgegutierreztellez3663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Kondo expresses the sublime of this pieze with an exceptional technique. Liu's interpretation is the best of all because he has a lot of innovation and opens up new horizons, discovering subliminal voices that you didn't know existed. I liked hearing it in this video. Leonskaja has a good interpretation, but I don't like the way of accentuating the ending.

  • @illsoyung111
    @illsoyung111 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    There's no way that somebody depicted this so perfectly. No fucking way....

  • @barcarolleenjoyer
    @barcarolleenjoyer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    25:46 is the most ecstatic moment in all of piano music. There is no other moment that matches it in its climactic intensity.

    • @stacia6678
      @stacia6678 ปีที่แล้ว

      The ending of the finale of Stravinsky Firebird for piano is also quite impressive. This is still really powerful, though

    • @chester6343
      @chester6343 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Liszts sonata does a pretty good job

    • @RaptorT1V
      @RaptorT1V ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stacia6678 I Agree!

    • @BRNRDNCK
      @BRNRDNCK ปีที่แล้ว

      Beethoven Opus 109, Variation VI is more ecstatic than this climax

  • @eneidasampaio4665
    @eneidasampaio4665 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Delícias de músicas! Execução primorosa!

  • @andantespianato8803
    @andantespianato8803 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Whaouh the Leonskaja's recording !!!

  • @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji
    @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    4:47-5:12 (for my convenience, 4:46) this sharp contrast (I sense some Beethovenian polyphony and intensity here) from the first theme to the Bb passage is my favourite part in the entire polonaise!
    4:58 is a passage with the same polyrhythmic patterns in the middle section Chopin's op.9/3, also marked agitato, except that the former is in compound meter.

  • @hunterac45
    @hunterac45 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Where did you get the Kondo recording? I can’t seem to find it

  • @levonkeijner1092
    @levonkeijner1092 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Such an intriguing piece really, somewhat contemplative, but barely able to hold itself together! Could you maybe do a video on Sciabin's 4th Waltz sometime?

  • @monuum
    @monuum 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    3:39 & 4:57 sounds related to section B of Nokturn Op 62 N 2

  • @baconkid640
    @baconkid640 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    1:59 -POLONAISE!

  • @mji71
    @mji71 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The more I listen to Op. 61, the more I appreciate the intricacies of a master storyteller at work. Op. 61 is a masterpiece of masterpieces which takes you on a musical journey unlike any other. A fantasia of Chopin himself (his life) with as much joy as anguish. Bravo!

    • @Ivan_1791
      @Ivan_1791 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      How would you explain it in a nutshell?

  • @musicalmaffeffe646
    @musicalmaffeffe646 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    is the description a compliment to the piece?

  • @juwonnnnn
    @juwonnnnn 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    👌

  • @angelob.1089
    @angelob.1089 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Kondo’s phrasings are wonderful. Nice to hear the piece without the rubatos and strettos that have become common performance practice today.

  • @gabrielbustos2706
    @gabrielbustos2706 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I know you’ve uploaded them thrice already, but have you considered posting the Chopin Scherzi played by Seong Jin Cho?

  • @lisztomani4c
    @lisztomani4c 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This'll be really short: I really like Kondo's "Polonaise", and Liu's "Fantasy"- alas, the only Polonaise-Fantasy I heard here was Leonskaja's.

  • @mcig98
    @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    which title is worse, Polonaise-Fantaisie or Fantaisie-Impromptu?

  • @RhodesyYT
    @RhodesyYT 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Who else thinks the ending of this would go well with the a flat major ballade coda?

  • @markito3311
    @markito3311 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ashish, have you heard last Pogorelich's single? Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1. I think it deserves a listen.

  • @wilh3lmmusic
    @wilh3lmmusic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    4th?

  • @fisherroastedpeanut
    @fisherroastedpeanut 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    6:21 Ravel

  • @erikbreathes
    @erikbreathes 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    At long last, he is back

  • @schnabelite
    @schnabelite ปีที่แล้ว

    18:17, 18:34, 20:30, 29:47, 32:25, 32:59, 39:32

  • @jojochen2515
    @jojochen2515 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ashish is your Chopin Sonata 2 video still up? Can’t seem to find it

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      it was taken down due to copyright

  • @Xyriak
    @Xyriak 29 วันที่ผ่านมา

    3:39

  • @mmbbaa292
    @mmbbaa292 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    first part looks like scherzo 2

  • @alexanderbayramov2626
    @alexanderbayramov2626 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    32:42 is that Scriabin :D

  • @worstpianist3985
    @worstpianist3985 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Sounds like the whole piano has vibrato

  • @user-tl1wt7mp8e
    @user-tl1wt7mp8e 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    11:53

  • @jupol143
    @jupol143 ปีที่แล้ว

    it would be good to put Leonskaja Brahms sonatas 1 and 3, my favorite performances

  • @supasayajinsongoku4464
    @supasayajinsongoku4464 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    HEYA

  • @cuball2459
    @cuball2459 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    31:13 Cool launch into ff

    • @cuball2459
      @cuball2459 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      32:42 Clear L.H. in m.97

  • @Mazurking
    @Mazurking 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a masterpiece.

  • @ulastrumgaming7421
    @ulastrumgaming7421 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hey, I just wanted to ask where did Schumann Symphonic Etudes op 16 go, it was the best perfomance I've ever heard

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      its been taken down, if you want to look for the recording just type "schumann symphonic etudes pogorelich"

    • @ulastrumgaming7421
      @ulastrumgaming7421 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@mcig98 oh man thank you so much! I've been looking for this record for months

  • @user-ov5qk7rc8r
    @user-ov5qk7rc8r 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    えーっと
    ポルナレフ

  • @leonardbernstein2285
    @leonardbernstein2285 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Something unrelated. What are your views on Busoni? Is there any chance (original) works of his to be included in the channel?

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      He did upload the Busoni transcription of the D Minor Chaconne

    • @stacia6678
      @stacia6678 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@FrostDirt He said original works

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stacia6678 It was edited

    • @leonardbernstein2285
      @leonardbernstein2285 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@FrostDirt yes

  • @ralsei217
    @ralsei217 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    wtf is that description can you use normal words

  • @DritteKlavier
    @DritteKlavier 20 วันที่ผ่านมา

    If only Chopin lived healthy 5 years longer…

  • @aldoringo439
    @aldoringo439 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Ah yes, Russian chopin.

  • @MrPablo1234567891011
    @MrPablo1234567891011 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    to jest takie trudne, że ja po szkole muzycznej nie zagram płynnie z nut

  • @jakubedwardschiffauermedraj
    @jakubedwardschiffauermedraj 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I have listened to this piece, and as much as I adore Chopin’s music to an unbelievable extent, I do not appreciate this work. Whereas there are recurring themes, I didn’t really feel any sense of coherence until maybe my fifth listen. In my opinion, in a good piece, the theme is repeated just the number of times to allow it to be easily hummed by the listener afterwards; however, it cannot be presented in too much of a nagging manner, over and over, for then it becomes annoying. In this piece, there’s nothing to follow, it just keeps on going and going…. It lacks continuity. It is one of my least favourite Chopin works. Thanks for the upload anyway!

    • @ulysse__
      @ulysse__ 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Gotta agree, I find it incomprehensible. I guess it's the kind of piece you have to study/learn to understand and love.

    • @jorgegutierreztellez3663
      @jorgegutierreztellez3663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      this incoherent piece? many themes are repeated! they have repetitions with totally different variations, which makes the piece very rich. yes, not everyone can appreciate this at first hearing but for me it is one of the richest pieces we find in Chopin. it is a personal taste

    • @FrostDirt
      @FrostDirt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@ulysse__ yep, I only liked it after going through the torture of forcing myself to listen to it a couple of times to get the structure (very ear-grinding, I should say) and I don't even know if it's worth it lol.

    • @paolobaroni8986
      @paolobaroni8986 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This is the reason why I essentially can listen to this piece only played by Pollini - whom, I admit, I do not like too much on large part of Chopinian repertoire

    • @user-zh5oy8wd5n
      @user-zh5oy8wd5n หลายเดือนก่อน

      It's awful

  • @meetrieum
    @meetrieum 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    맨 마지막주자는 너무 연주가 이상함

  • @mcig98
    @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    apparently Liszt did not like this. sad :(

    • @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji
      @CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I like the piece despite it being showy but I don't like the title whatsoever, it should just be a fantaisie rather than polonaise fantaisie...

    • @FreddyChoppins
      @FreddyChoppins 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Well Chopin didn't particularly care for much of Liszt's music so they're even 😎

    • @mcig98
      @mcig98 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@FreddyChoppins at least Liszt liked most other Chopin pieces