What a wonderful performance! Well done...I must say that you really transmitted that sense of utter hopelessness that being really depressed brings.your interpretation seems truly authentic.
As a composer I must say your feelings don't always influnece your piece - often the opposite happens, you're happy and write the saddest piece, or you're sad and try to comfort you with more cheerful music
Precisely-just take the example of Mozart. Nonetheless I think Rachmaninoff (and many others among the Romantics) tended to intentionally let their lives influence their work more directly than was common in other times.
I read with interest (and agreement!) the comment left with this upload by Luca, and also your response. I'm sure that whatever our psychological state of mind, it will always affect our behaviour in every respect, no matter what control we might try to exert to counter any negative drive. Unless you have experienced grief and despair, how could you express it authentically or convincingly in music? Or great joy? Or love? Or any emotion? Perhaps 'depression' is a gift if it enables such powerful and meaningful creativity as Rachmaninoff is able to display in his compositions? The Etude-Tableau in G minor you perform here, Cole, is so deeply affecting for me that I can hardly bear the waves of emotion that bathed me as I listened to you play. Your performance is just exquisite and leaves me in awe of the man who could create such sounds to penetrate the heart and soul, whatever picture may have been in his mind. I was nearly as moved with a recording by Nikolay Lugansky I listened to who commented that this Étude-tableau "casts a gloom, bringing to one’s mind Pushkin’s lines about autumn: ‘O drear and cheerless time, you charm the eye and tender. Contentment to the heart. How wondrous to behold Your dying beauty is, the lush and sumptuous splendour Of nature’s farewell bloom, the forests clad in gold...’ The drooping melodies seem to be sad remembrances of the past and even the sudden gusts of cold wind (in the middle of the piece) can’t dispel the mood of sweet sadness.” So, for me, 'sad remembrances' and 'sweet sadness' resonate somewhat more than any empty depression. B R A V O !
Incredible playing. I have listened many times to the performance by Idil Biret which has a much higher tempo. Considering your Interpretation this tempo fits perfectly.
I personally think that he probably didn‘t actively try to let his depression influence this piece, as he had a specific picture in mind for all the etudes-tableaux, and this dark and fragile mood just fit for what he was trying to paint musically. I generally find that with the op 23 preludes, although still often dark and melancholic, his music seems to have more concept and control of the emotions. In his earlier music i find it more evident that he required the expressing of emotions in the music to cope with his depression. There are exceptions though, like fragments which he wrote after he left russia or the b minor prelude which was possibly written as a response to the destruction of his summer residence. I might be wrong, but for me it seems less evident in this etude. Btw fantastic performance as always.
Yes, he definitely had some kind of program in mind of his own which he never shared. It's doubtful that it would have been what I came up with-but it was an idea that resonated for me. Thank you!
What a thought-provoking take on this piece. Thank you for sharing it. I will have to think about it for a while. I think your main idea is plausible, but I am not sure the specifics of it are always going to be found in analogical musical gestures. There is both something to that kind of thinking, and something deeper about how music resonates our various emotional frequencies.
Hi, very reflective (and peaceful) piece and performance indeed. I would like to read your thoughts on the resonance of emotional frequencies, can you please elaborate a bit? That will be interesting.
@@joanneswets. I probably should have written 'resonates' our emotional 'frequencies' so as to be clear that I did not intend that literally. Music brings up emotional associations for people, and it seems to do this by a direct calling up of the relevant emotions. Because of the complexity of response that is possible, I think something more than the geography (up, down, fast, slow, dense, sparse, etc.) of the music has to be at work. The best I can do at this stage is say that I suspect that when we find out how it works, "resonating our emotional frequencies (or modes)" will seem an apt metaphor, but nothing more.
@@joanneswets. Those can be factors, once their proposed scope is defined so it can be evaluated. But there are limitations on each--for instance if we are being literal, perception is a causal system that works in a very defined way. In that sense the process of musical meaning 'depends' on it, but in a very specific defined scope. On the other hand if you mean "depends on perception" to be part of an argument for subjectivity, in which "perception" carries the metaphorical meaning of something grasped by consciousness, there is a danger of vagueness. In this sense perception is a very broad term that does not have a clearly specified meaning. To think about a difficult topic with many unknowns such as music, the more specific you can get, the better you will define the scope of the uncertainties. Rather than go further down that road I will just say that yes each listener brings a great deal to the table in how music affects them, but there is enough commonality in the effects of music that I expect an objective mechanism of musical meaning to be understood some day.
The specifics can always be filled in (or not) by each individual that listens. This is only my idea for the piece. Of course the sound itself has a world of its own that it creates separate from words and images. Nonetheless the way that sound can suggest images, feelings or words is quite fascinating to me-as it seems to be to you as well!
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Playoffs Day 3 // DRX vs GEN | PRX vs TLN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CWM1Q-2-o3M/mqdefault.jpg)
One of my favorite études-tableaux, thank you for sharing your wonderful performance! I love the slower-than-usual tempo :)
Fantastic performance. This is such a beautiful piece, though understated in its display.
Incredible talent, Cole. This was amazing to hear and watch.
Gorgeous piece! Beautiful playing!
Ahh, beautiful man, thanks 👍🏻
Great job. Your analytical ability is excellent and I appreciate your interpretation!
What a wonderful performance! Well done...I must say that you really transmitted that sense of utter hopelessness that being really depressed brings.your interpretation seems truly authentic.
I'm amazed by this explanation of musicality, great video 🤌
As a composer I must say your feelings don't always influnece your piece - often the opposite happens, you're happy and write the saddest piece, or you're sad and try to comfort you with more cheerful music
Precisely-just take the example of Mozart. Nonetheless I think Rachmaninoff (and many others among the Romantics) tended to intentionally let their lives influence their work more directly than was common in other times.
Scientist found the opposite actually. Listening to sad music when you are sad provides more comfort, as you feel the music relates to your feelings.
I read with interest (and agreement!) the comment left with this upload by Luca, and also your response. I'm sure that whatever our psychological state of mind, it will always affect our behaviour in every respect, no matter what control we might try to exert to counter any negative drive. Unless you have experienced grief and despair, how could you express it authentically or convincingly in music? Or great joy? Or love? Or any emotion? Perhaps 'depression' is a gift if it enables such powerful and meaningful creativity as Rachmaninoff is able to display in his compositions? The Etude-Tableau in G minor you perform here, Cole, is so deeply affecting for me that I can hardly bear the waves of emotion that bathed me as I listened to you play. Your performance is just exquisite and leaves me in awe of the man who could create such sounds to penetrate the heart and soul, whatever picture may have been in his mind.
I was nearly as moved with a recording by Nikolay Lugansky I listened to who commented that this Étude-tableau "casts a gloom, bringing to one’s mind Pushkin’s lines about autumn:
‘O drear and cheerless time, you charm the eye and tender.
Contentment to the heart. How wondrous to behold
Your dying beauty is, the lush and sumptuous splendour
Of nature’s farewell bloom, the forests clad in gold...’
The drooping melodies seem to be sad remembrances of the past and even the sudden gusts of cold wind (in the middle of the piece) can’t dispel the mood of sweet sadness.”
So, for me, 'sad remembrances' and 'sweet sadness' resonate somewhat more than any empty depression. B R A V O !
Yes
Incredible playing. I have listened many times to the performance by Idil Biret which has a much higher tempo. Considering your Interpretation this tempo fits perfectly.
I love when you cover Rach's etude-tableaux! They're a favorite of mine. Have you considered covering works by Alberto Ginastera?
I would certainly consider it! I've never played any Ginastera, so I would need to look into it.
❤️❤️
I personally think that he probably didn‘t actively try to let his depression influence this piece, as he had a specific picture in mind for all the etudes-tableaux, and this dark and fragile mood just fit for what he was trying to paint musically. I generally find that with the op 23 preludes, although still often dark and melancholic, his music seems to have more concept and control of the emotions. In his earlier music i find it more evident that he required the expressing of emotions in the music to cope with his depression. There are exceptions though, like fragments which he wrote after he left russia or the b minor prelude which was possibly written as a response to the destruction of his summer residence. I might be wrong, but for me it seems less evident in this etude. Btw fantastic performance as always.
Yes, he definitely had some kind of program in mind of his own which he never shared. It's doubtful that it would have been what I came up with-but it was an idea that resonated for me. Thank you!
What a thought-provoking take on this piece. Thank you for sharing it. I will have to think about it for a while. I think your main idea is plausible, but I am not sure the specifics of it are always going to be found in analogical musical gestures. There is both something to that kind of thinking, and something deeper about how music resonates our various emotional frequencies.
Hi, very reflective (and peaceful) piece and performance indeed. I would like to read your thoughts on the resonance of emotional frequencies, can you please elaborate a bit? That will be interesting.
@@joanneswets. I probably should have written 'resonates' our emotional 'frequencies' so as to be clear that I did not intend that literally. Music brings up emotional associations for people, and it seems to do this by a direct calling up of the relevant emotions. Because of the complexity of response that is possible, I think something more than the geography (up, down, fast, slow, dense, sparse, etc.) of the music has to be at work. The best I can do at this stage is say that I suspect that when we find out how it works, "resonating our emotional frequencies (or modes)" will seem an apt metaphor, but nothing more.
@@AndSendMe It all depends on perception, perspective and intention of course
@@joanneswets. Those can be factors, once their proposed scope is defined so it can be evaluated. But there are limitations on each--for instance if we are being literal, perception is a causal system that works in a very defined way. In that sense the process of musical meaning 'depends' on it, but in a very specific defined scope. On the other hand if you mean "depends on perception" to be part of an argument for subjectivity, in which "perception" carries the metaphorical meaning of something grasped by consciousness, there is a danger of vagueness. In this sense perception is a very broad term that does not have a clearly specified meaning. To think about a difficult topic with many unknowns such as music, the more specific you can get, the better you will define the scope of the uncertainties. Rather than go further down that road I will just say that yes each listener brings a great deal to the table in how music affects them, but there is enough commonality in the effects of music that I expect an objective mechanism of musical meaning to be understood some day.
The specifics can always be filled in (or not) by each individual that listens. This is only my idea for the piece. Of course the sound itself has a world of its own that it creates separate from words and images. Nonetheless the way that sound can suggest images, feelings or words is quite fascinating to me-as it seems to be to you as well!
i need them fingerings for that cadenza :(