Balakirev: Islamey (Jando, Pogorelich, Kantorow, Gavrilov, Berezovsky)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- Islamey is one of those works (like Schumann’s Toccata, or Liszt’s better paraphrases) whose very substantial musical merits tend to be obscured by the virtuosity of its writing. It’s not uncommon to hear people complaining that it’s loud, messy, repetitive, or some unpleasant mixture of these qualities. And there’s a certain logic to this: Islamey employs a very unusual series of textures for a virtuoso work, textures that, measured by Romantic standards, have a certain crudity to them (rhythmically unvaried thematic material; prolonged passages in bare thirds; bare octaves used for both RH melodies and LH accompaniment; stark toccata-like passages; ugly pedal points (m.77), unusual harmonic movement - is there a single V-I in the whole work?).
But Islamey’s weirdness is also its virtue - it tends to abhor middle-of-the-road interpretations, so that extremity in performance works very well: extremity of volume (very loud or soft), extremity of tempo (very fast or slow), extremity of clarity (or abandon). You can’t try to be too conventionally musical with this material - you sort of just have to go for it, and if you’re lucky it turns out musical, in its earthy, ungainly, ingenious way. There’s a surprising amount of discipline in how the work is put together, in fact - it’s essentially a series of variations on three folk themes, organised into a clear ABA’-Coda structure. The way Balakirev continuously develops material that doesn’t sound promising at first blush is very clever, and some of the thematic transformations are so smoothly pulled off you might not even realise you’re listening to the same material - see for instance the transformation of Theme 2 (0:26) into the smoky haze of 1:29, or the reduction of Theme 1 into a five-note motif (5:05).
Here are five performances that really nail it:
00:00 - Jando. Played in a completely unshowy way, but still totally effective owing to its clarity and sense of control. Proof that anti-virtuoso approaches to virtuoso works can produce great results. Jando never gets enough love.
09:38 - Pogorelich. Slow, like Jando (at least at first), but the sheer mass of sound produced gives the impression of something gnarled, inhuman, volcanic. Melodic intensity, hard, metallic accents. Sometimes all sense of harmony is lost and you’re just left with a torrent of transcendent, terrifying noise (15:41). [Shoutout to @Gazda Mitke II, whose recording of Pogo’s 1990 concert at Carnegie Hall produced this account for the ages.]
18:12 - Kantorow. Conceptually almost the opposite of Pogorelich. Lithe, playful, with superhuman control of colour, voicing, and phrasing even at extremely fast speeds. Of all the performances, this one also best captures the dancelike character of the first two themes.
26:28 - Gavrilov. Occupies a nice middle ground between Pogorelich and Kantorow. What really stands out is his ability to project large-scale structure in a work of such sustained fantasy - the entire last section starting from 30:51 is experienced like a constant acceleration to the finish, with the momentum never letting up.
34:23 - Berezovsky. Of all these performances, Berezovsky makes the most out of the contrasts in the work. It’s surprising how much of the performance is spent in piano-pianissimo-and how delicate and intimate Berezovsky makes these sections sound. In the final pages he also really cuts loose in a really nice way - you can sense he’s riding right on the edge of what’s technically possible for him, and it’s tremendously exciting (41:32). - เพลง
![Medtner: Selected Skazki [Tales] (Bekhterev, Arimori)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HnrWG_i7peY/mqdefault.jpg)
A Section
0:00 - Theme 1, in Db. Stated in bald, jarring monophony. A Circassan (or possibly Georgian) folk song.
0:13 (m.9) - T1, harmonised with an unusual contrapuntal texture. LH syncopation.
0:26 (m.17). Theme 2, in an unclear key (to my ear, it’s actually in F aeolian, which is why the Gb is scrupulously avoided). A pungent rhythmic fragment sandwiched between an upper+lower pedal.
0:40 (n.25) - T1 returns with richer LH accompaniment. Developed by journeying through C# minor.
1:12 (m.45) - T2 back in Db, now as a sedate melody over uneasy bass.
1:29 (m.53) - T2 gets impressionistic development, its rhythmic contour all but evaporating under misty RH chords.
1:43 (m.61) - T1 returns. Its consequent phrase is dramatically heightened with the use of octaves and chromatic passing notes. The consequent phrase then becomes employed in a lengthy development that culminates in
2:08 (m.77) - A wild restatement of T1 in A - shrieking filled octaves for the antecedent phrase, and dense chromatic counterpoint for the consequent. A disturbing C# pedal dominates the LH. Comes to a sudden crashing stop and leads straight into a
2:30 (m.88) - Transition, moving to the dominant of D.
B Section
2:45 (m.92) - Theme 3, in D. A languorous melody or Crimean Tatar origin. Stated simply.
3:29 (m.108) - T3 developed: singing octaves in RH (with grace notes imitating vocal embellishment), rippling LH beneath establishing a mediant (F#) mid-voice pedal point. Modulates into F# and lands on a D# minor chord, before the German Aug 6 (B dominant 7th) is used to pivot into E minor.
4:11 (m.124) - T3 in E minor. Chords are placed so that the emphasis falls on the last eighth of each 3/8 grouping; this creates a sort of plaintive (even desolate?) feeling. Canon in the inner voice. Gradually moves back into D, with glittering RH runs (m.133 and similar).
4:50 (m.140) - T3 reaches a joyous climax, with melody doubled in both hands and running semiquaver decoration in the right. At m.147 (5:05) the closing phrase of T3 is radically compressed into a single 5-note rising/falling figure, stated alternatively in the LH and RH (while the other hand plays upward runs).
A’ Section
5:21 (m.157) - The return of T1 in Bb, now playful (the crunchy acciaccaturas in the LH). Magically modulates back to D.
5:36 (m.165) - T1 in thirds acrobatically spread across both hands. The consequent phrase is diverted to form a long modulating tail, eventually settling on the dominant of Db.
6:06 (m.183) - T1, fragmented (only the antecedent phrase), over a dramatic pedal. Jazzy chromatic alteration in the inner voices. Builds in intensity, reaching implied Gb minor (m.190), which is eventually treated as a borrowed chord in the context of Db.
6:36 (m.198) - T2, in its impressionistic formulation. But this too starts to build relentlessly. Moves into E minor, before suddenly shifting gear into
07:11 (m.218) - T1, back in Db. A combination of multiple virtuoso techniques employed earlier. A precipitous climb swells into the
Coda
7:51 (m.242) - T3, stated in triumphant octaves and stripped of all earlier lushness. At m.266 (8:18), turns into a dramatic sequential passage, leading into
8:34 (m.282) - T2 in the form of a blistering presto furioso, motoric and toccata-like. Repeated in octaves.
9:05 (m.314) - T3 returns, now with brutal LH octaves in the mix.
9:13 (m.323) - An originally tender fragment of T2 is turned into a nervous RH pattern, while the LH crawls with scales underneath. The texture ascends the keyboard, leading into the
9:21 (m.331) - Final virtuoso cadence. In a nice touch, the closing chords recall the important tonal areas (and harmonic colours) of the work.
The ornamentation used by Scriabin in the second theme of the exposition of his B minor Fantasy is similar to how it is used at 3:29.
And a later part of the same section sounded canonic (4:12).
Not quite surprising since Scriabin was familiar with this piece; this was one of the two pieces Scriabin injured his right hand overpractising (the other being Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy).
I too injured my right hand practicing this piece, but that was after 20y playing it. Scarbo is another favorite but not the possibility of injury to this extent. And of course the Brahms Paganini Variations, Schumann’s Kreisleriana. I had to have my trapezium removed and replaced with FCR tendon. This is a piece for a young person. Need lots of cartilage!❤🎉🎉
P.s. brings to mind the young Alicia De Larrocha performances of Iberia Suite! I live for this!!🎉
I remember when I first watched Pogorelich’s recording. It got absolutely insane by the end!
RIP Jenő Jandó (1952-2023). He was a great pianist/teacher.
RIP Jeno Jando😢
i liked his playing a lot. he will be remembered well
wtff 😓RIP to an underappreciated piano legend
Totally agree, only 20-30 years later are people realising his recordings are often better than the 'gold standard' of the time. And, because, straight, direct, clear, simple, and heartfelt.
He was one of the greatest artist in the world !
He cared about the sounds. He will always be the pride of Hungarians.
Ah, brings me back to memories when I played this at my senior recital.
And missed the last note.
I never said they were good memories.
(One of these days I want to go back and learn Islamey properly, rather than just trying to survive the virtuosity. One of these days...)
Stray thought: I usually have a pretty clear personal favourite among the recordings I upload, but I’ve never been able to decide among all of these. Kind of curious to hear if you like one of these more than the rest, and why!
Kantorow is my personal favorite - and I thought Pogorelich was going to be my favorite. His intentional dynamics and pedal control really elevated his performance.
Pogorelich because of his hair
@@___l___based af
@@___l___ Somedays I wonder who would win if Kissin's afro and Pogo's sun halo got into a fight.
Whatever happens I bet we'd get some sick concerto performances out of it.
I still like Berezovsky's version the best, his interpretation just sounds the most natural to me and seems to convey the natural beauty of the Caucasus mountains that inspired Balakirev to write this piece. (I also like it when pianists go all out like Okada did in Reminiscences de Don Juan, which I tried very hard to imitate but fail miserably)
I feel like most people only know his Islamey (which is a great piece tbf), and maybe his arrangement of Glinkas „the lark“. I would like to mention his Piano Sonata no 2, which is incredible as well.
What makes Pogorelich’s interpretation captivating is his sense of pulse in the piece (heavy accents, slower tempo for more emphasis on rhythm) with having a steady pace throughout making Islamey feel like a realistic dance. Although marked Presto furioso I feel like too many rush the end excessively.
Pogorelich sucks and always sucked. Only he sucked and practice a lot then.
Composed in 1869 - really ahead of it's time! I also highly recommend Lyapunov's Transcendental Etude #10 'Lezghinka' - which was clearly inspired by this piece and is based on the same dance rhythm.
I got to know this work for the first time by listening to the Pletnev recording live at Carnegie Hall.
Thank you sharing these versions.
The first time I heard this piece it was the orchestral arrangement. One of the coolest live performances I’ve seen!
babe wake up new AXK video just dropped
Finally I wished you'd post about this one (i always listened to pogo)
Berezovsky's interpretation stood out the most for me. Also haven't played (attempted) this piece in several years and almost forgot about it until cropping up here. Time to get back to it with now refined technique.
Kantorow’s control defies belief. Utterly ridiculously good pianism. All wonderful recordings in different ways, as always. Thank you so much Ashish!
Berezovsky's performance is undoubtedly the best! it's just a standard
3:06the lick
2:45
12:05
20:31
28:41
36:35
4:11
13:28
21:50
29:53
37:56
4:34
13:49
22:09
30:10
38:14
7:11
15:58
24:16
32:20
40:09
7:52
16:30
24:51
32:53
40:42
I’m reading Rimsky korsakovs autobiography right now. It’s very interesting to see how much he was influenced by balakirev!
Yeah, you can hear some “Prince and Princess” from Scheherazade in here.
islamey! :o i will admit i'm not too too familiar with it, looking forward to hearing what recordings you've picked
Jando always plays with unmatched clarity. One of my absolute favorite pianists.
Nothing beats Pogorelich's interpretation for me
But this recording really neat and unique its own way.
Watch masaya kamei
@@bigpancake420 Cliburn competition? I've listened to it as well
Love all of them. ❤❤❤❤❤
I love the contrasts here.
Finally! I totally love that you have selected Jando to open this selection. His Islamey is steadily paced but full of excitement. Every detail is attended to. The tone is full. The articulation is crystalline. The accents are strongly marked. Listeners can hear every twist and turn of the harmonies as they change from bar to bar. The piece is explained properly as never before.
The (glorious) mid-section is beautifully phrased and warm. When called for, Jando unleashes that extra gear in the coda to shattering effect. But not before.
Versions by Pogorelich (ultra-intense), Beresovsky (swift yet heavy) and Pletnev live (light and playful) are also favourites. However for a desert island, taking only one... it would be Jando. The most clear, the most balanced.
Will have to look up the Pletnev 😊, but from this group i really like the Jando as well ! :D
Thank you!
Hi Ashish! I love your work.
I'm not sure what to think of this one... good thing Ashish will tell me! :)
0:27 wow how did he manage to make the alto sound so clear (Kantarow does it too)?
Also, RIP Jando 😢
Maybe he only uses the thumb (strongest finger) and curls his wrist to the left a little, I do it when I'm voicing inner voices
@@shimyy5658 alright, but at that speed?
@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabjipractice voicing really slowly, maybe at 1/5 of the performing speed
@@ssbuzenoI watched a Hamelin Tonebase video and he said literally the same thing on the same piece 😂
Thanks btw
@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji personally, I just practice really slowly, holding the other soft notes, and just bend my thumb and play deep down the keyboard. It just works lol
Kantorow interpretaion is my absolut favorit, not because by him the rythm in Presto furioso super to hear but his allround managing the lightfullness..
Yeah - he makes a big, brutish piece sound playful, which is such a difficult thing to pull off.
Jando is very honest in his playing, with clear, but not very warm tone. Kantorow is the most elegant en detailed player, the most enjoyable to read the scores during his playing. Gavrilov has some exciting tempi and lines, but his ff tone is quite harsh, I find. Berezovski is not the most precise, but has interesting dynamics. The only one who made uninterrupted musical lines and captured the real ecxitement of this piece, with magical sound from round pps to thundering fff is Pogorelich; and it is the only performance with real performers risk,and no 'rubato-safe-timing'. It is... my favorite.
Saw Pogorelich perform this at Carnegie Hall in the 80s. Still, I think I prefer Masaya Kamei’s performance/interpretation from a year or so ago the most.
None of the others come close to Pogorelich in my opinion. Gavrilov has some interesting things to say, but Pogorelich's interepretation grabs the piece's character at its essence and carries it through a series of dramatic plot twists.
11:50 Oh, they didn't clap this time. Good on them!
17:36 Absolutely cataclysmic.
30:26 Wonderful.
Ive seen you before on another video
hehehehaw
It's a very difficult song, but it's a great performance!!
Have you heard Terrence Judd play this? It’s quite powerful.
Not familiar, but having just listened to it it's really excellent. Such a big, robust sound - a bit like Cliburn at his best.
Judd was a genius. Listen to the fugue from the Barber Sonata… my God. And the movement just before. LIVE playing, too.
I’m a big fan of Kantarow. A truly brilliant pianist and this shows many of his trademarks not the least the clarity of his playing among the very dense writing. Overall a rather boring piece of music but fun to listen to.
Pogorelić makes all the other guys look like schoolboys. He just murders them! A whole other level of pianistic ability.
Pogorelich ❤️❤️❤️
Familiar with the recording by Leonid Kuzmin?
22:06 ❤
6:51 almost reminds me of Ravel
Cziffra is missing from here
This is giving me strong Wizard of Oz soundtrack vibes
Hi ashish, this not related to the video but i was making my research and fknd some rrl on google scholar and saw your name, i didnt know youre a researcher too hehehehe
I'm not! There are many Ashish Kumars in the world, as it turns out.
Personally when I write music at a given metronomic mark then that is the general (room for phrasing or breath) speed at which it should be performed. If one doesn't like it that way let them go and write their own piece.
"Performing it how I like" is the same thing as "writing my own piece". There's no reason anybody should particularly care about a composer's opinion (more than their own).
@@AshishXiangyiKumar yeah, this is how so many people think it's cool to "cheat" with Chopin etudes not to mention disregard for pedal markings Classical music looks like it's becoming an effete version of personalized "cover" bands.
34:23
Ashish I think at 6:06 you meant to put T3, not T1.
Ashish I think at 6:06 you meant to put T3, not T1.
edit 8 minutes later: and T3 for 9:13 too.
Yi Chung Huang plays this piece best
No
Pothole rich or Kantarow for me
It's a pity about the quality of Gavrilov's recording which makes the piano sound unbelievably harsh at times, beyond any acceptable ugliness - this sounds like a phenomenal performance to my ears.
I saw Pogorelich perform this as an encore in the early 90s--- when he could still play. He did a brilliant job, but his yoga style breathing ( to beat fatigue) was so loud the sound was overpowering in the very back of the hall. These days he plays Islamey as if he is doing slow practice. Unbelievable that people pay to listen
Hi Ashish, what are your thoughts on Paul Barton's recording of this piece?
He plays the notes very clearly but he should use a piano that's in tune. He doesn't do much more than just play the notes.
Best is Horowitz's
Berezovsky could be omitted as a supporter of Putin and the criminal war. There are many great performers of this work. A pianist is not only about technique, he has to be an example of humanistic values.
An entirely fair point, and I was close to excluding this recording for that reason. In the end I was ok putting it in as most people seem to know this one already.
Not sure where my personal threshold is, but someone like Lisitsa who actually _went to play in Mariupol with the support of the Russians after they had genocided the population and razed most of the city to the ground_ is definitely waaaaay past it. That's about as fucked-up as going to play in Auschwitz for the Germans while the crematoria are still belching smoke.
Why do you have to make music about politics? Normal people don't care about things like that, get some perspective.
@@The_Guy_Who_Asked_06 Isn't that the problem, though? Normal people who say, "Oh, I don't want to get into politics, it's so messy and unpleasant", and as a result allow terrible things to happen in the world. Banality of evil and all that.
I 100% get where you're coming from, but while a genocidal war is being waged I don't think it's unreasonable for a viewer to be uncomfortable with the fact that an out-and-proud supporter of the _ongoing_ massacre of Ukrainians (look up Berezovsky's comments) is featured here.
You’re way out of line. Music is art. Should we also stop looking at paintings painted by those with whose political opinions we don’t agree? In the end, we’ll boycott everyone. This kind of reasoning doesn’t get you anywhere in life. One must draw a line somewhere, I agree. However, even politics and wars always have two sides. The world isn’t black and white and the truth presented by the mainstream media isn’t the only truth. Think wider.
@@AshishXiangyiKumarI agree with you to some extent; however, I'm not sure whether excluding these "pro-Russian artists" from your videos will make a significant difference in the war. I definitely do not support their personalities; they deserve the consequences they've faced, such as being kicked out of orchestras and having their concerts canceled. However, when it comes to their recordings, ... well they're just a recording¿! For example, Berezovsky's recording of Chopin etudes truly inspired me as a pianist, even though he stood for the cruel.
IMHO, people can maintain their political beliefs and awareness of global events without mixing them with art and music.
For some reason I just can’t stand this piece except for the first 10 seconds 💀.