Oh wow! Very interesting video. I’m an American, but I studied with Vitaly Margulis for several weeks in Germany back in the mid-late 80’s. Blast from the past! I was not aware of this recording, but what a pleasant surprise, loved it! I, too, believe this is the most difficult Chopin etude because every weakness of the pianist is potentially exposed with the tiniest margin of error. It’s like walking a tightrope made of piano wire (pun intended) Pollini’s recording has always been my go-to; IMO the evenness/balance/clarity of the underlying harmonies is unparalleled. No cheating for him.
It’s not really cheating many pianists including the masters Aube Tzerko and Leonard Shure and Schaebel and Letscititzky left out notes or rearranges sections entirely in hairy places because you weigh the risk of missing the note vs getting the overall sound especially when it’s not really noticeable and you get the same effect (depends of course on the context) especially in Liszt for example. It’s genius because you manage to reduce the slip ups and get the same sound. Keep in mind the composers who wrote these had much lighter action French pianos not the super heavy actioned grand pianos of today I got to play on Liszt piano at the museum with my teacher haha they kicked us out but it was worth it. It was soooo light which is why it’s ok to rearrange sometimes.😊
@@Vic9994546 I understand why they did it, and the fact that today’s actions are harder to play is informative, but kind of irrelevant. The pianos of today (under the right artist) can also project over a big orchestra in a big concert hall and Chopin’s piano could not, and so there’s a trade off. Pollini and others have raised the standard, just as the athletes of today outperform the athletes of the past. The fact that we know it can be done as written makes it definitive. After all it’s an etude and is designed to develop your technical capability. No matter how you slice it, omitting notes is cheating.
By far, Margulies performance has everything! The Chopin rubato, the inner voices, the atmospheric touch and the light, delicate, precise touch. Off to seek out his other work! Thank you!
Fascinating overview of this piece and the many ways it can be played! For a long time I idolized Vadim Rudenko's blazing speed in this etude but have since developed a real appreciation for the variety of ways a great deal of poetry and real MUSIC can be generated from this deceptively "unmusical" piece. Czerny must have been really enamoured with this work and the technical advances it provided - he imitates it in his Op. 365 no. 19.
Margulis has taught many many years in Freiburg in Germany. I studied with one of his best students, Bernd Glemser. This type of technique seemed to be his specialty, I recommend listening to his recording of Rachmaninoff's e-flat minor prelude, op. 23 nr. 9, which is also extremely difficult. It’s available on TH-cam!
It's amazing how much a tempo change can alter the ambiance of a piece. In the earlier playing, we got a 'bee in the garden' feeling; light, airy, fun. With the favored playing at 126, it's more of lapping 'ocean waves'; a heavier feel, more atmospheric; along the lines of Claude Debussy's La Mer. Very interesting. . .
What a wonderful program! I was unfamiliar with Vitaly Margulis, but his playing of the Etude makes one think more about what was in Chopin's mind when he wrote all of them and the clues that the printed music offers. What a wonderful world we live in where we can sample so many of the world's great artists' interpretations - it's like having a music library in the next room. I, too, played the a minor Etude when I studied with Richard Cass, a wonderful teacher, charming person, and a student of Cortot. I was so glad to see Cortot recognized as someone who had plumbed the depths of Chopin's thinking and it reminded me of Mr. Cass's story of how, in studio, Cortot would call on him to play this Etude which he played with the shimmering mystery you spoke of. There were two notes that Mr. Cass marked out of the edition I was learning from. I wish I had asked him why because they weren't difficult to play. Your video has opened up new possibilities in revisiting this piece. Thank you!
The fact that Margulis brings out a melody in the middle voice is noticeable from the very beginning of the piece. So does Cortot in really different and delicate ways.
It’s not a melody. It’s a countermelody, and bringing it out in such a heavy handed way gives it sense of verticality that makes the performance feel contrived.
Thank you so much for highlighting the transcendent Margulis recording. I discovered it about 15 years ago and sent it to many pianists and friends. Then I forgot about it and I could never remember his name or find it on TH-cam. Now I am at last reunited with this magnificent performance. What a pity Grigory Ginzburg didn't record this etude!
I really like those recordings that go against the beaten pat, that make me hear more, and then again, hear more inside a piece I have known for years.
Fascinating video, thank you! Margulis' use of rubato lends a new perspective to the etude; more videos similarly focusing on several performances of a single piece, please!
The Polish pianist Josef Hofmann found a lot of inner melodies in pieces that no one else heard. It's quite striking to hear it and amazingly difficult but incredibly beautiful. Most pianists sound amateurish in comparison, especially in Chopin. It's no wonder Rachmaninov and others of that generation heId him in such high regard.I tried doing it in even easier pieces and just gave up. I went back to playing "classical" guitar.
Margulis version is my favorite. Amazing video - I love learning about these pieces. TH-cam affords me the classical music education I never could. Thanks for this. You are gorgeous, btw. 😍
So nice video! Vitaly Margulis was one of the most interesting musicians on earth. His Scriabin Sonata No.3 is for me the absolute reference. And I also had the luck to can hear him live twice, he was in his very late years and he played not the most demanding works but the sound of every note and every phrase was beyond this galaxy. I also had the chance to have some master classes whith him and his approach on sound production was exactly the key information for me. By the way, in the frame of a master class he also demonstrated a technical "trick" how to can play this etude whith less effort and he then played the etude very fast and light as if it was nothing difficult, of course whithout all this precious voicing, but still whith very nice sound. These were life changing experiences for me.
I actually really (really) like annique gottlers recording (i probably butchered her name but whatevs), she also brings out the middle voices alot (its a running theme in her recordings of the etudes).
I love this etude. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head who plays the recordings I've been listening to for years of the Chopin etudes, but the way he plays this one sounds, to me, so mysterious, and perhaps at times haunting or mischievous, but always mysterious. I love it. That performance you share at 8:06 is amazing, I've never heard this piece played like that before! It's very cool! I made a reply post but I'll just edit this anyway: the pianist I've been listening to for years playing this piece is Andrei Gavrilov.
The argentinian pianist Nora Doallo, a pupil of Scaramuzza, played this Étude in public in Lugano, 1986 marvelously .I could hear all the notes clear as crystall !
Thank you for an enjoyable post. I agree that the Margulis interpretation is technically stunning with note emphasis being incredibly difficult to control while so much is happening with the 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand. The tempo variations, however, are especially beguiling and create an ever-moving ambience that is irresistable. They somewhat reflect the 19th century practice of accelerating slightly during crescendos, and retarding equally during dimenuendos. This technique can breath wonderful sensitivity into pieces such the Grande Polonaise Brillante of Chopin. Just as with the A minor etude, playing the polonaise below the metronome marking and deliberately using velocity dynamics "in concert" with loudness changes makes the softer middle sections of the piece come alive .... most noticeably after the chromatic double octaves and before the main theme returns. Best wishes. Cass Alexander. Victoria. Australia
I Really, Really enjoyed this video. For Me my favorite is Cortot. I especially liked the clarity and musicality, plus he brought out the accents in the Bass octives which most other pianists rather glossed over. Reminds me of my days in Music, History, Litature and CRITICISM class (thank you Dr. David Z Kushner).
YES! I used to go over this piece in the wee hours of the morning on arrival at my workplace. Always the most elegiac resort before the morning light. Would love to be able to play it, but alas! PWG
My dear fellow Pianist I enjoyed your posting. It was very interesting. I would like to point out though that the best performance of this would have been the Pianist and the Composer himself by the name of Fred. Brilliant person that gave such wonderful Keyboard music for eternity.
Cole, I enjoyed all the performances of this astonishingly difficult Chopin Etude that you featured . . . and of course . . . I am looking forward with great anticipation to your own interpretation and performance. Cortot was truly magnificent, but for me, the performance by Vitaly Margulis remains outstanding because, as you remarked, he revealed a poetic dimension in the music that was somewhat lost with the technical fireworks of those who wanted to impress with speed. As I say . . . I can't wait to hear what you have in mind for your performance . . . but I hope you have your fingers well insured as this music should come with a high level dexterity warning! B R A V O !
@@dimitartsonev77 No, but I know people who have played all the Etudes and they say the thirds Etude is the hardest. I watched one fellow attempt to get going on it at an international piano competition, only to keep messing up - he was asked to stop by the jury.
First time listener...fellow pianist, but I'm an amateur .........you, sir, are not! I learned from you! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! New subscriber
Thank you Cole for your thoughts on this piece. It’s amazing to me that the teenage Chopin was so imaginative. I like the insight into the possibility of bringing out some of the inner voices. Finally, I love Cortot’s playing. Despite the terrible noise on the old recordings, the sound he produces from the piano is always striking.
Hi, This is my first time here. I think I'm going to enjoy this site. YOur presentation was good, and your commentary interesting and informative. I will tune in often
I can’t deny a partiality for Cortot’s interpretation…Cortot was truly the Chopin pianist par excellence!! For me Cortot was for Chopin what Schnabel was for Beethoven….
katsaris is like a building inspector; instead of living in the house and enjoying it, he is in the attic and basement exploring the structures and presenting them to the resident as exciting elements. Really annoying when you just want to sit in the living room and relax…
@@Janne.Mertanen When you don't want to know the innate details, sure; however he's a musician's musician. He brings out the stuff you don't hear for piece you hear all the time. I wouldn't recommend only listening to him, but occasionally those details are what takes a nice structure to a beautiful one. I for one would tour the basement in the Sistine Chapel. Similarly the arches and flying buttresses on a cathedral are meant to be admired and seen.
@@Roescoe for me, Katsaris seems to pay attention to external things only, the deepest essence and true character of the music is drowned in the compulsive and neurotic search for polyphony, even where the essential part of the music is somewhere else... if only Chopin were so superficial. In the 80s, Katsaris was one of my favorites, unsurpassed as a virtuoso, on the other hand, I think he has never been a very deep interpreter, like the greatest masters...
Thank you for another informative and interesting video. I have just listened to Margulis's live performance of the Rachmaninov Polka de V.R. Despite his technique not being so great in places, possibly due to his age when he played it, it is quite wonderful. Reminds me a little of how my dear friend Cherkassky played it
I HAVE AWAYS FELT THAT CORTOT WAS RELATED TO CHOPIN: HE TRASMITS THE SAME LET’S SAY KIND OF EMOTIONS, TO ME, PROBABLY BOTH REACTED TO THE SAME EMOTIONS IN A SIMILAR MODE, GIVING PREEMINENCE TO THE PURELY MUSICAL”MESSAGES”:HEART AND HUMAN SIDE, THAN TO DEMANDS OF THE SENSES. THANK YOU!
Yes, Lim was my first guess as to the performer here. I did not know Margulis before this. But, for heaven's sake, you have to do SOMETHING with this piece so that it doesn't become just a boring exercise.
What a discovery. He's so supple and so incredibly seductive, playing with such rhythmic freedom and charm. My go-to for the Etudes is generally Cortot or Ginzberg, both of whom often surprise with playing that's as full of irresistible personal touches as Margulis is here. Like you, I'm eager to hear more from him.
@@EttorealbertoGelli-vr6sz Yes, Giinzberg is a magnificent pianist whose name we should hear more often! His staggering and easy virtuosity is matched and enhanced by his poetic delicacy and immense tonal allure. To me his Schulz-Evler Blue Danube Arabesques is even more irresistible than Lhevinne's--effervescent, witty, charming, and played with such a delicious feel for rubato and with a sparkling songfulness that makes it all soar.
The thing that is so great about music,and particularly pieces like these etudes, is that the composer challenges each artist to not only develop technical skills but to bring his or her own artistic interpretation. But I do agree there is something special about Margulis' interpretation. He really does bring out the inner voices, and the rubato and dynamics really do bring the "poetry" of this piece to life. Thank you for sharing!
Margulis made a wonderful original Scriabin 3rd sonata. Utterly unique. I have all his Chopin. He is certainly an original. He is always absorbing. I wish he had a better sonic engineer, but he is/was very special.
Cortot found something usually overlooked on Chopin's music. A line moving from, say, left to right, bass to treble. Chopin did that a lot, but it's usually not marked. However, once one catches on to this, it shows up all over the place, and can actually make the piece easier to play by rebalancing the weight towards a more favorable advantage for an upcoming progression.
That's the case with every single piano piece, up until the early 20th century. It's only normal for passages to reoccur, often in a similar form. What you decide to accent on is entirely up to you. There are tons of hidden melodies (intentional or not) everywhere. Rachmaninoff was the master of that.
Great presentation and insights on this challenging OP 10 Etude. Loved the comparison between the artists - each having something to say in their own ways. My inspiration for the Etudes stems from the Russian pianist Youri Egorov, who also plays this etude more in line with the original metronome markings. His recordings of these are the ones I keep going back to.
Glenn Gould made a teenage recording that blows the socks off every other one. It's on my box set of all Gould's video recordings. The speed and precise articulation is unbelievable.
@@Chopin-Etudes-Cosplay It's possible. Gould was a notorious prankster. I couldn't find any evidence for your statement though. His student recording of the Weber Konzertstuck is evidence that he could play extremely fast and with great accuracy.
One of my favorite recordings of this piece is quite unknown, by Yiling Su. The voicings she brings out are unique and the piece has a wicked witch-like character only made possible by her rapid tempo. It’s so perfect that I question how real it is… Margulis is indeed a great discovery too! I actually find it’s more and more common these days for performers to bring out the inner voices in this piece though!
Thanks a lot for posting all those great examples. But Margulys was well known as a great teacher, I think, he has an extremly interesting recording of BachWTK (probably both books) But, please, try to find a recording of russian pianist Vadim Rudenko - because, this is the best performance I've ever heard of this etude, in 1994 in summer festival in Salzburg, when I was in masterclass of his teacher, Sergej Dorensky. I have a live recording in one old tape cassete, but can't find it- it is completely incredible- great pianist Lugansky said the same opinion, when I talked with him in Ljubljana after his recital. Rudenko is playing this etude with such kind of "easy flow", like this is nothing.. in incredible speed, but you can hear absolutely everything, and it is music, not only technic! Vadim Rudenko had than a extremly beautiful recital in Salzburg where he played Bach, Mozart, Schubert Brahms, some romantic russian composer, and in the end Tschaikovsky- Pletnjev Nutcracker (no worse like the author, maybe even better!), and he played this etude for one of bis pieces.. we stayed without words.. He had a sound of piano no worse than for instance, E. Gilels! Good luck with practicing and all the best, you are very nice person
What stands out for me in Cortot’s interpretation is the crescendo ascending chromatic and the decrescendo descending chromatic effect. It’s really quite expressive.
Had some master classes with V Margulis here in Los Angeles. His soft playing was magical, and indeed his ability to play 4 voices at once and keep them all independent and coherent!
Hello there ! I enjoyed this video very much. One of my favourite piano pieces is Opening (from Glassworks) and, of the many performances I’ve heard, the composer’s solo performances (many littered around TH-cam) are my least favourite, mostly due to the tempo being far higher than the 92 BPM written on the score. (The recording quality is another factor.) The version on the original 1982 album (played by Michael Riesman) was always definitive for me because I love the way my attention shifts between the left hand quavers and the right hand triplets. However, I also love the performance by Vikingur Ólafsson on the 2017 album Philip Glass: Piano Works where, it seems to me that whereas my shifting focus on Riesman’s performance is due to my mind, I think Ólafsson is deliberately stressing one hand (and sometimes one note, or notes). I would love to watch your take on this Sir! And thank you again for this video.
Great video as always, Cole! My favorite of the performances you highlighted here was definitely Cortot's. I like the dry sound for this etude, as well as the tempo close to Chopin's 144, and I think Cortot's playing has more personality than Pollini's, as great as his performance is. In particular, I really love the way Cortot plays the left hand accents in the B section; I've never heard them that pronounced before. I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation of this etude soon! On a completely unrelated note, I'm curious whether you are familiar with Scott Joplin's music, and if you might be interested in featuring any of it on your channel at some point. His pieces brings me much joy, and I find the extent to which they are ignored by the classical piano world disappointing. All of them are charming, and they would make for delectable encores!
Actually the Schirmer edition shown here from IMSLP only has the Op.10 Etudes. I was inspired to go out and buy the Schirmer (Friedheim) edition of the Etudes so enjoy his commentary and also get the Op.25 Etudes which said edition is not on IMSLP.
Thank you for the video! A little sad to watch how many people want to debate as in Sport pro or contra !🤦🏻♂️ what you like or dislike it’s as usual a personal question but more interesting and useful is to go deep inside the subject of the video,a very good one.Musicians has not to “make” music but they have to think about music and to think how they want to live it
tempo is a very subjective thing. someone can take a very fast tempo and it can sound rushed or out of control while someone else can take a fast tempo and play with a great deal of warmth and musicality. you can take a slow tempo and have the piece just labour along or feel like it is being pulled through mud. then again you can take a slower tempo and create such beauty that time seems to stop if only for a moment. it is something that an artist can do that says, this is me.
Thank you for these. What strikes me as the essential difference between Cortot and Margoulis (whose interpretations are beautiful) and Pollini and Backhaus (whose hardly are) is the fundamental difference of their conception. They understood that the “difficult etude” persona of the work is actually a trap, and that the real challenge is how to play the left hand. In both Margoulis’and Cortot’s view of the work the left hand comes to the forefront as an ironic, even impish character who does his/her little dance for the audience, above which the right hand flutters as a busy precursor of the bumble-bee. The left hand character almost sounds like Schumann!. The consequence is that the right hand can completely avoid neurotic infatuation with speed and pyrotechnics to be used for harmonic enrichment, and, as you say, to bringing inner voices out. Why serve empty virtuosity when expressive depth is required?
The really interesting question is the *philosophical status* of these inner melodies in Chopin. Found eg in Perlemuter all over the place. If purely technical considerations govern whether they are playable, their status in the overall matrix of the piece is blurry. This suggests to me that, sous entendu, all great art relates to Platonic archetypes; while lesser art merely imitates their effect. The anonymous presenter is spot on and first rate!
The etude is gorgeus and unique. My motther was an amateur pianist but she performed that etude surely in a slower tempo but with some kind of charm and I was absoltutely mesmerized. I think i wanted to become a profefisonal pianist afther i heard this etude performed by my mum .She was i already tell you an amateur.
It requires a lot of work and patience, but its feasible. The most unusual trait is moving the 3rd over 4th finger in upwards motion, where i found it helps pushing a little bit to the right sidewith the hand to speed up the motion. Yes it does not have to be *that* fast, although Backhaus has some nice ideas also. I agree very much with that comment, it should still have a relaxed and playful quality. Its not necessary the hardest etude but it has a special difficulty that is nowhere else in the literature.
Thanks for great compilation and analysis. You might want to listen to the version of Cecile Licad available on you tube - think from 2002. There is no piece that technically too difficult for her - but she has unique thoughts and minor tempi and inner voice accentuations that are great.
Congrats 🎉🎉🎉 on this video on the flight of the bumblebee, as always erudite and informative . keep up the amazing work kind regards Mr Worrell Robinson...
The young budding pianist Jorge Bolet was attentive to concert artists performing in Cuba. The first major figure to have made a lasting impression was Wilhelm Backhaus. Jorge once told his student (and now conductor) Ira Levin: '"One of my most vivid memories is of Backhaus playing the most incredible Chopin Étude Op. 10, No. 2 (in A minor) in Havana in the 1920s. I never heard anything like it since." Levin added: "When I played Backhaus’s 1927 recording for him, he said I told you so.”
It's great, but not for me. Again, it's a little bit too much in the camp that turns these pieces into something a little bit comical. Very impressive technically of course!
First time seeing one of your videos and I found this one fascinating. I studied piano for a very short time fifty years ago and can’t imagine playing this with the fingering shown. I would have been delighted if you had included an actual video of someone playing this etude with the fingerings as written. In my mind I just find it impossible that anyone can make fingers 4 & 5 do the things written here. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos.
I loved your video and the Comments, as well as Margulis' interpretion. Cyprien Katsaris alerted me to inner melodies. A youngster named Arielle Beck does the same in Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 10 of the Op 25 Etudes: Arielle Beck (14 yo) Chopin 12 Etudes Op 25. I agree that a slower tempo allows the opportunity to play with a more nuanced interpretation. I suggest viewers listen to these: Arielle joue la "Valse Op 64" de Chopin au piano, Arielle Beck (10) Rameau Le Rappel des oiseaux, Arielle Beck (13) Mendelssohn Variations sérieuses op 54.
Thank you for your enlightening video, and for pointing me to Vitaly Margulis ! Regarding this etude, György Cziffra reveals inner voicing although he plays the piece much heavier than Cortot ….
Fascinating to this non-instrumentalist - I approve of your regard for this Margulis recording. The inner melody certainly brought out something rather pretty in the composition, which otherwise can sound rather mechanical. That anyone can play it half speed is still incredible to me!! It would also have been valuable to have a recording of Chopin playing it himself, must have got broken?? ;-)
Fantastic content. This was the first Chopin Etude I set my heart on as a young pianist. When I told my teacher I wanted to learn this one first, he said: 'Let's not start with this one...' Really enjoyed this episode. I have a somewhat sticky question that I hope doesn't cause offense: how did you acquire the rights to air the various performances you feature on your channel?
If I had come here to be dazzled by technique, then I'd be pretty impressed by Backhaus, but if I wanted to be swayed by a gorgeous piece of fine music, Margulis is *_the one!_* It actually felt quite choked up and not far from tears. We all download music from TH-cam these days, but 40 years ago, if I had been going out to buy an LP record of this piece, the Margulas interpretation is the one I would prefer to hear many times. I wonder what Chopin's reaction would have been.
My father was a professional musician with great orchestras and I remember him saying, "Even the best pianists can't count." Listening to the tempi and tempo changes here seem to show how right he was.
![[UNBANNED] A SCANDALOUS Theory about Horowitz's peculiar Piano Playing Technique](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C6iVT1qyj_8/mqdefault.jpg)
That Vitaly Margulis recording is WONDERFUL. So musical, delicious phrasing, spooky dynamics... SO ENJOYABLE.
Gorgeous.
Couldn't agree more. Sheer delight.
I was convinced that it was Cyprien Katsaris since he has a tendency to find those hidden melodies.
I took some lessons from Vitaly at some point. In hindsight.. I didn't deserve his teaching at all.....
Oh wow! Very interesting video. I’m an American, but I studied with Vitaly Margulis for several weeks in Germany back in the mid-late 80’s. Blast from the past! I was not aware of this recording, but what a pleasant surprise, loved it! I, too, believe this is the most difficult Chopin etude because every weakness of the pianist is potentially exposed with the tiniest margin of error. It’s like walking a tightrope made of piano wire (pun intended) Pollini’s recording has always been my go-to; IMO the evenness/balance/clarity of the underlying harmonies is unparalleled. No cheating for him.
It’s not really cheating many pianists including the masters Aube Tzerko and Leonard Shure and Schaebel and Letscititzky left out notes or rearranges sections entirely in hairy places because you weigh the risk of missing the note vs getting the overall sound especially when it’s not really noticeable and you get the same effect (depends of course on the context) especially in Liszt for example. It’s genius because you manage to reduce the slip ups and get the same sound. Keep in mind the composers who wrote these had much lighter action French pianos not the super heavy actioned grand pianos of today I got to play on Liszt piano at the museum with my teacher haha they kicked us out but it was worth it. It was soooo light which is why it’s ok to rearrange sometimes.😊
@@Vic9994546 I understand why they did it, and the fact that today’s actions are harder to play is informative, but kind of irrelevant. The pianos of today (under the right artist) can also project over a big orchestra in a big concert hall and Chopin’s piano could not, and so there’s a trade off. Pollini and others have raised the standard, just as the athletes of today outperform the athletes of the past. The fact that we know it can be done as written makes it definitive. After all it’s an etude and is designed to develop your technical capability. No matter how you slice it, omitting notes is cheating.
By far, Margulies performance has everything! The Chopin rubato, the inner voices, the atmospheric touch and the light, delicate, precise touch. Off to seek out his other work! Thank you!
Cortots is definitely the most inspiring performance for his careful observing of Chopins pedalling, which makes the music so warm.
Cortot is the best for Chopin and Schumann
But why did he leave the water running?
@@johnbanach3875 it was just too good to listen to he had to dumb it down a little :)
Fascinating overview of this piece and the many ways it can be played!
For a long time I idolized Vadim Rudenko's blazing speed in this etude but have since developed a real appreciation for the variety of ways a great deal of poetry and real MUSIC can be generated from this deceptively "unmusical" piece.
Czerny must have been really enamoured with this work and the technical advances it provided - he imitates it in his Op. 365 no. 19.
The Czerny look alike is quite fun and amusing-as well as fearsomely difficult!
Margulis has taught many many years in Freiburg in Germany.
I studied with one of his best students, Bernd Glemser.
This type of technique seemed to be his specialty, I recommend listening to his recording of Rachmaninoff's e-flat minor prelude, op. 23 nr. 9, which is also extremely difficult.
It’s available on TH-cam!
Absolutely loved Vitaly Margulis’ interpretation. Thank you
It's amazing how much a tempo change can alter the ambiance of a piece. In the earlier playing, we got a 'bee in the garden' feeling; light, airy, fun. With the favored playing at 126, it's more of lapping 'ocean waves'; a heavier feel, more atmospheric; along the lines of Claude Debussy's La Mer. Very interesting. . .
GOOD ANALYSIS, GOOD SPEAKING VOICE, VERY GOOD TEACHER AND VERY GOOD-LOOKING !!!
What a wonderful program! I was unfamiliar with Vitaly Margulis, but his playing of the Etude makes one think more about what was in Chopin's mind when he wrote all of them and the clues that the printed music offers. What a wonderful world we live in where we can sample so many of the world's great artists' interpretations - it's like having a music library in the next room. I, too, played the a minor Etude when I studied with Richard Cass, a wonderful teacher, charming person, and a student of Cortot. I was so glad to see Cortot recognized as someone who had plumbed the depths of Chopin's thinking and it reminded me of Mr. Cass's story of how, in studio, Cortot would call on him to play this Etude which he played with the shimmering mystery you spoke of. There were two notes that Mr. Cass marked out of the edition I was learning from. I wish I had asked him why because they weren't difficult to play. Your video has opened up new possibilities in revisiting this piece. Thank you!
The fact that Margulis brings out a melody in the middle voice is noticeable from the very beginning of the piece. So does Cortot in really different and delicate ways.
It’s not a melody. It’s a countermelody, and bringing it out in such a heavy handed way gives it sense of verticality that makes the performance feel contrived.
@@gojewla a counter-offer is still an offer ;)
Chopin was a master of countermelody. It's such a special part of his compositions. However, I must say that the inner voice here IS THE MELODY.
@@gojewla I disagree. The inner voice here IS THE MELODY. The chromatics above are NOT the melody.
@@thomassicard3733 nah. Those chords are just filling in the harmony.
Thank you so much for highlighting the transcendent Margulis recording. I discovered it about 15 years ago and sent it to many pianists and friends. Then I forgot about it and I could never remember his name or find it on TH-cam. Now I am at last reunited with this magnificent performance. What a pity Grigory Ginzburg didn't record this etude!
The Ukranian pianist's bringing out of the middle line was scrumptious! How on earth did he manage it? Quite sublime!
I really like those recordings that go against the beaten pat, that make me hear more,
and then again, hear more inside a piece I have known for years.
So glad I found your wonderful channel. Thanks so much I look forward to more videos and to watch all your videos.
Fascinating video, thank you! Margulis' use of rubato lends a new perspective to the etude; more videos similarly focusing on several performances of a single piece, please!
A superb podcast and podcaster! Bravo!
Great video. Thank you very much.
The Polish pianist Josef Hofmann found a lot of inner melodies in pieces that no one else heard. It's quite striking to hear it and amazingly difficult but incredibly beautiful. Most pianists sound amateurish in comparison, especially in Chopin. It's no wonder Rachmaninov and others of that generation heId him in such high regard.I tried doing it in even easier pieces and just gave up. I went back to playing "classical" guitar.
Margulis version is my favorite. Amazing video - I love learning about these pieces. TH-cam affords me the classical music education I never could. Thanks for this. You are gorgeous, btw. 😍
So nice video! Vitaly Margulis was one of the most interesting musicians on earth. His Scriabin Sonata No.3 is for me the absolute reference. And I also had the luck to can hear him live twice, he was in his very late years and he played not the most demanding works but the sound of every note and every phrase was beyond this galaxy. I also had the chance to have some master classes whith him and his approach on sound production was exactly the key information for me. By the way, in the frame of a master class he also demonstrated a technical "trick" how to can play this etude whith less effort and he then played the etude very fast and light as if it was nothing difficult, of course whithout all this precious voicing, but still whith very nice sound. These were life changing experiences for me.
Can you talk more about this technic trick?
It’s the unexpected voicing and graceful rubato that makes the recording so special!
Margulis performance is something else... Bringing out that middle voice at the same tie you play all the cromatic shenanigans...
I actually really (really) like annique gottlers recording (i probably butchered her name but whatevs), she also brings out the middle voices alot (its a running theme in her recordings of the etudes).
Amazing, I’ll look it up!
Thank you for exposing Annique gottlers, I'm listening to it right now
@@Nick-qs9ux that is good to know :)
Annique Gottler is absolutely superb in all the Chopin etudes, available on TH-cam. Also check out Zlata Chocheva, another modern master.
I love this etude. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head who plays the recordings I've been listening to for years of the Chopin etudes, but the way he plays this one sounds, to me, so mysterious, and perhaps at times haunting or mischievous, but always mysterious. I love it.
That performance you share at 8:06 is amazing, I've never heard this piece played like that before! It's very cool!
I made a reply post but I'll just edit this anyway: the pianist I've been listening to for years playing this piece is Andrei Gavrilov.
This came up in my suggestions again. The pianist I've been listening to play this piece for years is Andrei Gavrilov.
The argentinian pianist Nora Doallo, a pupil of Scaramuzza, played this Étude in public in Lugano, 1986 marvelously .I could hear all the notes clear as crystall !
Very inspairing. Thanks a lot for your dedication and your passion❤
Thank you for an enjoyable post. I agree that the Margulis interpretation is technically stunning with note emphasis being incredibly difficult to control while so much is happening with the 3rd, 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand. The tempo variations, however, are especially beguiling and create an ever-moving ambience that is irresistable. They somewhat reflect the 19th century practice of accelerating slightly during crescendos, and retarding equally during dimenuendos. This technique can breath wonderful sensitivity into pieces such the Grande Polonaise Brillante of Chopin. Just as with the A minor etude, playing the polonaise below the metronome marking and deliberately using velocity dynamics "in concert" with loudness changes makes the softer middle sections of the piece come alive .... most noticeably after the chromatic double octaves and before the main theme returns. Best wishes. Cass Alexander. Victoria. Australia
how nice to end your presentation with Cortot.
A wonderful presentation. Thank you❤
extremely interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Amazing performance by Vitaly. I love the inner voicing!
I Really, Really enjoyed this video. For Me my favorite is Cortot. I especially liked the clarity and musicality, plus he brought out the accents in the Bass octives which most other pianists rather glossed over. Reminds me of my days in Music, History, Litature and CRITICISM class (thank you Dr. David Z Kushner).
YES! I used to go over this piece in the wee hours of the morning on arrival at my workplace. Always the most elegiac resort before the morning light. Would love to be able to play it, but alas! PWG
My dear fellow Pianist I enjoyed your posting. It was very interesting. I would like to point out though that the best performance of this would have been the Pianist and the Composer himself by the name of Fred. Brilliant person that gave such wonderful Keyboard music for eternity.
Thank you. All great pianists. Good analysis. Yes, I cannot yet play this !
Thank you! This was an informative and inspiring video.
I didn't know the mystery pianist either. Amazing. Thanks.
Cole, I enjoyed all the performances of this astonishingly difficult Chopin Etude that you featured . . . and of course . . . I am looking forward with great anticipation to your own interpretation and performance. Cortot was truly magnificent, but for me, the performance by Vitaly Margulis remains outstanding because, as you remarked, he revealed a poetic dimension in the music that was somewhat lost with the technical fireworks of those who wanted to impress with speed. As I say . . . I can't wait to hear what you have in mind for your performance . . . but I hope you have your fingers well insured as this music should come with a high level dexterity warning! B R A V O !
Op. 25 No. 6 is harder than that.
@@franksmith541Have you played both?
@@dimitartsonev77 No, but I know people who have played all the Etudes and they say the thirds Etude is the hardest. I watched one fellow attempt to get going on it at an international piano competition, only to keep messing up - he was asked to stop by the jury.
@@franksmith541 true 25 6 is really the hardest, 10 2 is probably the 2nd hardest
First time listener...fellow pianist, but I'm an amateur .........you, sir, are not! I learned from you! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! New subscriber
Ohmygod that's STUNNING! The one around 126. You get to hear the emotion in the piece!
Thank you Cole for your thoughts on this piece. It’s amazing to me that the teenage Chopin was so imaginative. I like the insight into the possibility of bringing out some of the inner voices. Finally, I love Cortot’s playing. Despite the terrible noise on the old recordings, the sound he produces from the piano is always striking.
Hi, This is my first time here. I think I'm going to enjoy this site. YOur presentation was good, and your commentary interesting and informative.
I will tune in often
I can’t deny a partiality for Cortot’s interpretation…Cortot was truly the Chopin pianist par excellence!! For me Cortot was for Chopin what Schnabel was for Beethoven….
I thought it was Cyprien Katsaris. He is also known for finding hidden melodic lines, and unique interpretations.
Very much so. I could only tell that it wasn't him when I listened to the LH.
@@Roescoe And because of the rubato. I think he wouldn't do it like that. But definitely he would do the inner voices.
katsaris is like a building inspector; instead of living in the house and enjoying it, he is in the attic and basement exploring the structures and presenting them to the resident as exciting elements. Really annoying when you just want to sit in the living room and relax…
@@Janne.Mertanen When you don't want to know the innate details, sure; however he's a musician's musician. He brings out the stuff you don't hear for piece you hear all the time. I wouldn't recommend only listening to him, but occasionally those details are what takes a nice structure to a beautiful one.
I for one would tour the basement in the Sistine Chapel. Similarly the arches and flying buttresses on a cathedral are meant to be admired and seen.
@@Roescoe for me, Katsaris seems to pay attention to external things only, the deepest essence and true character of the music is drowned in the compulsive and neurotic search for polyphony, even where the essential part of the music is somewhere else... if only Chopin were so superficial. In the 80s, Katsaris was one of my favorites, unsurpassed as a virtuoso, on the other hand, I think he has never been a very deep interpreter, like the greatest masters...
Thank you for another informative and interesting video. I have just listened to Margulis's live performance of the Rachmaninov Polka de V.R. Despite his technique not being so great in places, possibly due to his age when he played it, it is quite wonderful. Reminds me a little of how my dear friend Cherkassky played it
I HAVE AWAYS FELT THAT CORTOT WAS RELATED TO CHOPIN: HE TRASMITS THE SAME LET’S SAY KIND OF EMOTIONS, TO ME, PROBABLY BOTH REACTED TO THE SAME EMOTIONS IN A SIMILAR MODE, GIVING PREEMINENCE TO THE PURELY MUSICAL”MESSAGES”:HEART AND HUMAN SIDE, THAN TO DEMANDS OF THE SENSES. THANK YOU!
Hi Cole, a most insightful and inspiring comparison, thank you.
What a wonderful video, thank you!
Margulis' one is fascinating. Yunchan Lim also does this kind of voicing in this piece as well as a number of other chopin etudes.
Yes, Lim was my first guess as to the performer here. I did not know Margulis before this. But, for heaven's sake, you have to do SOMETHING with this piece so that it doesn't become just a boring exercise.
@@Chopinzee613Lim was also my first guess.
Lim is a bit heavy handed by comparison.😢
@@Chopinzee613Boring???
What a discovery. He's so supple and so incredibly seductive, playing with such rhythmic freedom and charm. My go-to for the Etudes is generally Cortot or Ginzberg, both of whom often surprise with playing that's as full of irresistible personal touches as Margulis is here. Like you, I'm eager to hear more from him.
Dear TOM Happy to ear the name of GINZBURG !!! Tank you
@@EttorealbertoGelli-vr6sz Yes, Giinzberg is a magnificent pianist whose name we should hear more often! His staggering and easy virtuosity is matched and enhanced by his poetic delicacy and immense tonal allure. To me his Schulz-Evler Blue Danube Arabesques is even more irresistible than Lhevinne's--effervescent, witty, charming, and played with such a delicious feel for rubato and with a sparkling songfulness that makes it all soar.
The thing that is so great about music,and particularly pieces like these etudes, is that the composer challenges each artist to not only develop technical skills but to bring his or her own artistic interpretation. But I do agree there is something special about Margulis' interpretation. He really does bring out the inner voices, and the rubato and dynamics really do bring the "poetry" of this piece to life. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for all the great videos!
Margulis made a wonderful original Scriabin 3rd sonata. Utterly unique. I have all his Chopin. He is certainly an original. He is always absorbing. I wish he had a better sonic engineer, but he is/was very special.
Cortot found something usually overlooked on Chopin's music. A line moving from, say, left to right, bass to treble. Chopin did that a lot, but it's usually not marked. However, once one catches on to this, it shows up all over the place, and can actually make the piece easier to play by rebalancing the weight towards a more favorable advantage for an upcoming progression.
That's the case with every single piano piece, up until the early 20th century. It's only normal for passages to reoccur, often in a similar form. What you decide to accent on is entirely up to you. There are tons of hidden melodies (intentional or not) everywhere. Rachmaninoff was the master of that.
@@alanpotter8680 Chopin's way of doing this was a little more subtle
A version by W.Backhaus is very unforgettable.
Brilliant video and academic commentary...
I'm just wondering if Michael Andreas will play this piece that well, for me no doubt because he always surprised me with all of his performances.
Thank you for another great video man, well done!
Thank you!
Great presentation and insights on this challenging OP 10 Etude. Loved the comparison between the artists - each having something to say in their own ways. My inspiration for the Etudes stems from the Russian pianist Youri Egorov, who also plays this etude more in line with the original metronome markings. His recordings of these are the ones I keep going back to.
Glenn Gould made a teenage recording that blows the socks off every other one. It's on my box set of all Gould's video recordings. The speed and precise articulation is unbelievable.
He did that as a joke. It was him and one other pianist playing the chords
@@Chopin-Etudes-Cosplay It's possible. Gould was a notorious prankster. I couldn't find any evidence for your statement though. His student recording of the Weber Konzertstuck is evidence that he could play extremely fast and with great accuracy.
That was my guess of the mystery pianist.
Exactly it was whom i expected!! I had the same experience while listening to nocturne op.27 nr. 2. Listen to Margulis!
One of my favorite recordings of this piece is quite unknown, by Yiling Su. The voicings she brings out are unique and the piece has a wicked witch-like character only made possible by her rapid tempo. It’s so perfect that I question how real it is…
Margulis is indeed a great discovery too! I actually find it’s more and more common these days for performers to bring out the inner voices in this piece though!
Thanks a lot for posting all those great examples. But Margulys was well known as a great teacher, I think, he has an extremly interesting recording of BachWTK (probably both books)
But, please, try to find a recording of russian pianist Vadim Rudenko - because, this is the best performance I've ever heard of this etude, in 1994 in summer festival in Salzburg, when I was in masterclass of his teacher, Sergej Dorensky. I have a live recording in one old tape cassete, but can't find it- it is completely incredible- great pianist Lugansky said the same opinion, when I talked with him in Ljubljana after his recital. Rudenko is playing this etude with such kind of "easy flow", like this is nothing.. in incredible speed, but you can hear absolutely everything, and it is music, not only technic! Vadim Rudenko had than a extremly beautiful recital in Salzburg where he played Bach, Mozart, Schubert Brahms, some romantic russian composer, and in the end Tschaikovsky- Pletnjev Nutcracker (no worse like the author, maybe even better!), and he played this etude for one of bis pieces.. we stayed without words.. He had a sound of piano no worse than for instance, E. Gilels! Good luck with practicing and all the best, you are very nice person
The melodic line is in the Badura-Skoda edition (Wiener Urtext edition) and comes from Chopin itself (alternative version)
What stands out for me in Cortot’s interpretation is the crescendo ascending chromatic and the decrescendo descending chromatic effect. It’s really quite expressive.
Had some master classes with V Margulis here in Los Angeles. His soft playing was magical, and indeed his ability to play 4 voices at once and keep them all independent and coherent!
Hello there ! I enjoyed this video very much.
One of my favourite piano pieces is Opening (from Glassworks) and, of the many performances I’ve heard, the composer’s solo performances (many littered around TH-cam) are my least favourite, mostly due to the tempo being far higher than the 92 BPM written on the score. (The recording quality is another factor.)
The version on the original 1982 album (played by Michael Riesman) was always definitive for me because I love the way my attention shifts between the left hand quavers and the right hand triplets.
However, I also love the performance by Vikingur Ólafsson on the 2017 album Philip Glass: Piano Works where, it seems to me that whereas my shifting focus on Riesman’s performance is due to my mind, I think Ólafsson is deliberately stressing one hand (and sometimes one note, or notes).
I would love to watch your take on this Sir! And thank you again for this video.
I like the Guiomar Novaes recording.
Great video as always, Cole! My favorite of the performances you highlighted here was definitely Cortot's. I like the dry sound for this etude, as well as the tempo close to Chopin's 144, and I think Cortot's playing has more personality than Pollini's, as great as his performance is. In particular, I really love the way Cortot plays the left hand accents in the B section; I've never heard them that pronounced before. I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation of this etude soon!
On a completely unrelated note, I'm curious whether you are familiar with Scott Joplin's music, and if you might be interested in featuring any of it on your channel at some point. His pieces brings me much joy, and I find the extent to which they are ignored by the classical piano world disappointing. All of them are charming, and they would make for delectable encores!
Actually the Schirmer edition shown here from IMSLP only has the Op.10 Etudes. I was inspired to go out and buy the Schirmer (Friedheim) edition of the Etudes so enjoy his commentary and also get the Op.25 Etudes which said edition is not on IMSLP.
Thank you for the video! A little sad to watch how many people want to debate as in Sport pro or contra !🤦🏻♂️ what you like or dislike it’s as usual a personal question but more interesting and useful is to go deep inside the subject of the video,a very good one.Musicians has not to “make” music but they have to think about music and to think how they want to live it
Margulis also recorded some wonderful Scriabin!
tempo is a very subjective thing. someone can take a very fast tempo and it can sound rushed or out of control while someone else can take a fast tempo and play with a great deal of warmth and musicality. you can take a slow tempo and have the piece just labour along or feel like it is being pulled through mud. then again you can take a slower tempo and create such beauty that time seems to stop if only for a moment. it is something that an artist can do that says, this is me.
Terrific analysis...just liked and subscribed.
Shishkin in the chopin competition takes the cake for me. The speed and articulation in that performance was just ridiculous
Thank you for these. What strikes me as the essential difference between Cortot and Margoulis (whose interpretations are beautiful) and Pollini and Backhaus (whose hardly are) is the fundamental difference of their conception. They understood that the “difficult etude” persona of the work is actually a trap, and that the real challenge is how to play the left hand. In both Margoulis’and Cortot’s view of the work the left hand comes to the forefront as an ironic, even impish character who does his/her little dance for the audience, above which the right hand flutters as a busy precursor of the bumble-bee. The left hand character almost sounds like Schumann!. The consequence is that the right hand can completely avoid neurotic infatuation with speed and pyrotechnics to be used for harmonic enrichment, and, as you say, to bringing inner voices out. Why serve empty virtuosity when expressive depth is required?
The really interesting question is the *philosophical status* of these inner melodies in Chopin. Found eg in Perlemuter all over the place. If purely technical considerations govern whether they are playable, their status in the overall matrix of the piece is blurry. This suggests to me that, sous entendu, all great art relates to Platonic archetypes; while lesser art merely imitates their effect. The anonymous presenter is spot on and first rate!
The etude is gorgeus and unique. My motther was an amateur pianist but she performed that etude surely in a slower tempo but with some kind of charm and I was absoltutely mesmerized. I think i wanted to become a profefisonal pianist afther i heard this etude performed by my mum .She was i already tell you an amateur.
It requires a lot of work and patience, but its feasible. The most unusual trait is moving the 3rd over 4th finger in upwards motion, where i found it helps pushing a little bit to the right sidewith the hand to speed up the motion. Yes it does not have to be *that* fast, although Backhaus has some nice ideas also. I agree very much with that comment, it should still have a relaxed and playful quality. Its not necessary the hardest etude but it has a special difficulty that is nowhere else in the literature.
Amazing rubato on mystery performance
Great video!
Thanks for great compilation and analysis. You might want to listen to the version of Cecile Licad available on you tube - think from 2002. There is no piece that technically too difficult for her - but she has unique thoughts and minor tempi and inner voice accentuations that are great.
Congrats 🎉🎉🎉 on this video on the flight of the bumblebee, as always erudite and informative . keep up the amazing work kind regards Mr Worrell Robinson...
The young budding pianist Jorge Bolet was attentive to concert artists performing in Cuba. The first major figure to have made a lasting impression was Wilhelm Backhaus. Jorge once told his student (and now conductor) Ira Levin: '"One of my most vivid memories is of Backhaus playing the most incredible Chopin Étude Op. 10, No. 2 (in A minor) in Havana in the 1920s. I never heard anything like it since."
Levin added: "When I played Backhaus’s 1927 recording for him, he said I told you so.”
As far as I'm concerned, MP first recording of the etudes (released on Testament in Europe) is by far the best. It's in a world of it's own.
Dmitry shishkin's interpretation was always my favorite . It's the fastest on youtube and it's incredibely accurate . He plays al the chords correctly
It's great, but not for me. Again, it's a little bit too much in the camp that turns these pieces into something a little bit comical. Very impressive technically of course!
First time seeing one of your videos and I found this one fascinating. I studied piano for a very short time fifty years ago and can’t imagine playing this with the fingering shown. I would have been delighted if you had included an actual video of someone playing this etude with the fingerings as written. In my mind I just find it impossible that anyone can make fingers 4 & 5 do the things written here. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos.
first time i heard that right hand hidden melody was on heartofkeys channel, i love it.
I loved your video and the Comments, as well as Margulis' interpretion. Cyprien Katsaris alerted me to inner melodies. A youngster named Arielle Beck does the same in Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 10 of the Op 25 Etudes: Arielle Beck (14 yo) Chopin 12 Etudes Op 25. I agree that a slower tempo allows the opportunity to play with a more nuanced interpretation. I suggest viewers listen to these: Arielle joue la "Valse Op 64" de Chopin au piano, Arielle Beck (10) Rameau Le Rappel des oiseaux, Arielle Beck (13) Mendelssohn Variations sérieuses op 54.
Thank you for your enlightening video, and for pointing me to Vitaly Margulis ! Regarding this etude, György Cziffra reveals inner voicing although he plays the piece much heavier than Cortot ….
Fascinating to this non-instrumentalist - I approve of your regard for this Margulis recording. The inner melody certainly brought out something rather pretty in the composition, which otherwise can sound rather mechanical. That anyone can play it half speed is still incredible to me!! It would also have been valuable to have a recording of Chopin playing it himself, must have got broken?? ;-)
Fantastic content. This was the first Chopin Etude I set my heart on as a young pianist. When I told my teacher I wanted to learn this one first, he said: 'Let's not start with this one...'
Really enjoyed this episode.
I have a somewhat sticky question that I hope doesn't cause offense: how did you acquire the rights to air the various performances you feature on your channel?
Nice coverage of this etude, but I'd be curious as to your opinion of some of the faster versions: Kissin, Richter and Gould.
Seongjin Cho was also dropping notes and redistributing the chords in the Chopin competition of all places 😅.
Exquisite video as always...what do you think of Earl Wilds complete set of Etudes.....
If I had come here to be dazzled by technique, then I'd be pretty impressed by Backhaus, but if I wanted to be swayed by a gorgeous piece of fine music, Margulis is *_the one!_* It actually felt quite choked up and not far from tears. We all download music from TH-cam these days, but 40 years ago, if I had been going out to buy an LP record of this piece, the Margulas interpretation is the one I would prefer to hear many times. I wonder what Chopin's reaction would have been.
very interesting 👍👍👍👍👍
My father was a professional musician with great orchestras and I remember him saying, "Even the best pianists can't count." Listening to the tempi and tempo changes here seem to show how right he was.
Love the Backhaus.