100 years later, our world is so technologically advanced by computers, conquering space, medicine, education abound. In my opinion, there’s been nothing that even rivals the music from that era. The world is full of great pianists and prodigies, but where are the composers.? Prokofiev is my favorite, because he was such a rebellious sort. One of my first memories as a child was Peter and the Wolf in kindergarten. He broke so many rules...thank God for him. (RIP Kapustin)
asdi234, The great composers are still all out there but sitting on their hands and doing nothing. And even if they are composing, you will never get to hear their music because they are no longer given any platform to be heard. Both academia and concert halls are only driven by money. Composers have to fundraise themselves. Great composers by definition are not political animals. They are not good at fundraising. They are not liars, they are not flatterers, they are not charlatans. They are principled people who can’t run after sponsors. But those who can, spend all their time politicking, and don’t have much time practicing, studying, learning or even composing. They are just busy self promoting. The best you get these days are the likes of John Williams who has plagiarized every composer of the past you can imagine. I must say, the same goes for performers. The era of great performers is over too. A handful of the older generation like Argerich, Nelson Freire, Muti, Pollini and Ashkenazi are left with no one to replace them.
as a young man in 1962 +- i bought a priceless recording of Prokofiev playing his own compositions when visiting the USA by Angel recording ,He was noted for having a very wide hand span so could play notes unique to him ,i loved his piano etudes and drove friends crazy whistling his tunes all day long .
haha Yep! I love a lot of composers, but his sonatas and piano concerti are the only works that I will 100% reliably yell along with when I'm driving. And if I'm bopping around the house whistling and blurting out bits of music, it's almost always Prokofiev.
Какое наслаждение слушать, как исполняет свои пьесы великий музыкант! Каждое произведение - сюрприз! Очищение от устоявшихся штампов! Каждая пьеса - свой мир образов, определяемый названием.
Prokofiev writes with such lyrical rhetoric! That combined with his lush harmonies puts Prokofiev on the top of my all-time favorite composer list. The March and Gavotte are perfect examples of this.
WOW WOW WOW!! Okay! See? Everything makes SO much more sense when he plays it! It's not like I think there can only be one interpretation or anything, but other performances I'm hearing keep feeling like...incomplete readings, like they haven't totally figured out what character they want to give each piece and they're trying to make them fit into some other box, without making the concessions for the natural character of each piece. Listen to how the tone of voice changes in the middle of the March at the beginning, but it does it without loosing its connection to the rest of the work! Every other interpretation I've heard feels like it breaks character and starts to tell an unrelated story here and it totally breaks the spell.
I always get so confused when I listen to composers perform their own works- are they playing it how it is in their heads, or only to what their technical abilities allow/suggest. Great pianist however, I love prokofiev.
Both. They can't compose music like this unless they can play it - it's pretty impossible to composer those crazy peices if youre not a master of the piano at least.
the visions fugitives of prokofieff does give us a wide range of liberty to express ourselves. There is a lot you can add to the interpretation without offending the composers intention. You can have a big succes with these pieces when doing them right. These pieces need your imagination!!!
Yes... I think that it is amazing how well he plays the scale for the march, around 00:16. I've been attempting, but can only play that run at 3/4 the speed, and it is uneven. Amazing.
Hmm, interesting. You're right. Though the thing I noticed was how he took the gavotte in very very noticeable "ONE-two" rhythm for each half-bar. I'd been playing it pretty straight "one, two," with an emphasis on the melody. I'll have to think about how to work this into my playing.
Tompelicious, I’m a composer too, and I fully understand why Prokofiev plays his music like that. There’s even an expression “playing like a composer”. For a true composer, notes are just a start, all the rest is interpretation. That’s why I have no interest in serialist or other dogmatic composers who start and end with notes. I was a composition student of John Corigliano who always told me to avoid writing “music for the eyes”.
@stalepie09845 Turn on your speakers or look at the volume control on the video window. If that doesn't work get some headphones. If there still no sound then use a different computer. If you are getting sound and hear no music go listen to some kenny G or something.
This is all wonderful music, but it is NOT Prokofiev playing for you acoustically, it is a machine, because all of this is in stereo. Somebody tell me I am out of my mind, I wish it were him, but it just can't be...compare him playing the concerto 3, that IS him, acoustically...
This is not the true Prokofiev piano roll recording I was hoping to find. I know the true recording. It is not this echo-ridden over-reverbed piano sound at all. I guess the real thing was taken off of youtube so that people would have to buy it.
+Simone Ducloux The "real thing" is the piano roll. The difference in sound can be attributed to the duo-arte piano on which it is reproduced and the space in which it is recorded. I had an LP of Prokofiev's piano roll recordings on vinyl in the 1960s and the rhythm was jumpy and clearly not well reproduced. This reproduction is excellent.
You can find Duo-Art pianos for sale on Craigslist, eBay, Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange, etc and listen to this and other rolls in your own home.
Make sure they're the actual upright or grand reproducing piano from the 1914-1941 Era (Aeolian, Stroud, Steck, Weber, or Steinway brands) and not one of the modern 1970s-era "Duo/Art" console players that are a regular player and not a reproducing piano.
It's scary to imagine him playing this. It's like he's actually speaking to us, from the grave.
People often forget what an outstanding pianist Prokofiev was.
Thank you for sharing these historic pieces.
100 years later, our world is so technologically advanced by computers, conquering space, medicine, education abound. In my opinion, there’s been nothing that even rivals the music from that era. The world is full of great pianists and prodigies, but where are the composers.? Prokofiev is my favorite, because he was such a rebellious sort. One of my first memories as a child was Peter and the Wolf in kindergarten. He broke so many rules...thank God for him. (RIP Kapustin)
asdi234, The great composers are still all out there but sitting on their hands and doing nothing. And even if they are composing, you will never get to hear their music because they are no longer given any platform to be heard. Both academia and concert halls are only driven by money. Composers have to fundraise themselves. Great composers by definition are not political animals. They are not good at fundraising. They are not liars, they are not flatterers, they are not charlatans. They are principled people who can’t run after sponsors. But those who can, spend all their time politicking, and don’t have much time practicing, studying, learning or even composing. They are just busy self promoting. The best you get these days are the likes of John Williams who has plagiarized every composer of the past you can imagine. I must say, the same goes for performers. The era of great performers is over too. A handful of the older generation like Argerich, Nelson Freire, Muti, Pollini and Ashkenazi are left with no one to replace them.
1. March 0:00
2. Gavotte 1:34
3. Rigaudon 4:10
7. Prelude 5:27
10. Scherzo 7:31
as a young man in 1962 +- i bought a priceless recording of Prokofiev playing his own compositions when visiting the USA by Angel recording ,He was noted for having a very wide hand span so could
play notes unique to him ,i loved his piano etudes and drove friends crazy whistling his tunes all day long .
haha Yep! I love a lot of composers, but his sonatas and piano concerti are the only works that I will 100% reliably yell along with when I'm driving. And if I'm bopping around the house whistling and blurting out bits of music, it's almost always Prokofiev.
this is great....how a good pianist! Prokofiev was not only a good composer, also a brlliant pianist! Thanks
It's among my favorite Prokofiev works, alongside the third piano concerto (op.26 in c major).
His piano technique was beyond I had expected.
I knew that he was also a great pianist.
it was actually the first one i did out of the bunch, its the piece that makes people fall in love with prokofiev's brilliance.
Thank You very much for posting!
Какое наслаждение слушать, как исполняет свои пьесы великий музыкант! Каждое произведение - сюрприз! Очищение от устоявшихся штампов! Каждая пьеса - свой мир образов, определяемый названием.
Prokofiev writes with such lyrical rhetoric! That combined with his lush harmonies puts Prokofiev on the top of my all-time favorite composer list. The March and Gavotte are perfect examples of this.
i played this gavotte two and a half years ago and i must say it is an extra ordinary piece of music. I recommend that all try it.
WOW WOW WOW!!
Okay! See? Everything makes SO much more sense when he plays it!
It's not like I think there can only be one interpretation or anything, but other performances I'm hearing keep feeling like...incomplete readings, like they haven't totally figured out what character they want to give each piece and they're trying to make them fit into some other box, without making the concessions for the natural character of each piece.
Listen to how the tone of voice changes in the middle of the March at the beginning, but it does it without loosing its connection to the rest of the work! Every other interpretation I've heard feels like it breaks character and starts to tell an unrelated story here and it totally breaks the spell.
I think that the best interpretation one can obtain for any musical composition is going to be his own.
prokofiev is the best performer of himself...no one can play prokofiev like prokofiev
I always get so confused when I listen to composers perform their own works- are they playing it how it is in their heads, or only to what their technical abilities allow/suggest. Great pianist however, I love prokofiev.
Both. They can't compose music like this unless they can play it - it's pretty impossible to composer those crazy peices if youre not a master of the piano at least.
the visions fugitives of prokofieff does give us a wide range of liberty to express ourselves. There is a lot you can add to the interpretation without offending the composers intention. You can have a big succes with these pieces when doing them right. These pieces need your imagination!!!
Yes... I think that it is amazing how well he plays the scale for the march, around 00:16. I've been attempting, but can only play that run at 3/4 the speed, and it is uneven. Amazing.
YES! The "Ten Episodes" played by Prokofiev himself!
i found this cd but i haven't bought it yet. definately will now!
Hmm, interesting. You're right.
Though the thing I noticed was how he took the gavotte in very very noticeable "ONE-two" rhythm for each half-bar. I'd been playing it pretty straight "one, two," with an emphasis on the melody. I'll have to think about how to work this into my playing.
He was quite the skilled pianist on top of his composing.
Great stuff! I don't think I've heard these performances by Prokofiev before.
Read the fine print in the description. Hint: "Duo Art"
I wish so much he would have recorded the Capriccio!
it's interesting how much rubato Prokofiev uses when he plays his own music, comparing to other pianists who use much less.
Tompelicious, I’m a composer too, and I fully understand why Prokofiev plays his music like that. There’s even an expression “playing like a composer”. For a true composer, notes are just a start, all the rest is interpretation. That’s why I have no interest in serialist or other dogmatic composers who start and end with notes. I was a composition student of John Corigliano who always told me to avoid writing “music for the eyes”.
Prok gotta be the king of whimsy
Hi did not play the Allemande (no 8). :(
I agree... I never play number 7, Prelude, like that! I actually think it is too much tempo change.
times of every piece please!!! times!!!
@stalepie09845
Turn on your speakers or look at the volume control on the video window.
If that doesn't work get some headphones. If there still no sound then use a different computer. If you are getting sound and hear no music go listen to some kenny G or something.
ik noem dit 'geleide fantasie '
where did u get this?
Who actually played this? This doesn't sound like a recording from the Prokofiev's time.
Olivia Qi It's a modern recording of a reproducing piano roll of his playing.
This is all wonderful music, but it is NOT Prokofiev playing for you acoustically, it is a machine, because all of this is in stereo. Somebody tell me I am out of my mind, I wish it were him, but it just can't be...compare him playing the concerto 3, that IS him, acoustically...
It's him, here you can read something about the reproducing piano technology Duo Art: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duo-Art
I agree with Fedidovisk, Richter is superior when it comes to Prokofiev.
This is not the true Prokofiev piano roll recording I was hoping to find. I know the true recording. It is not this echo-ridden over-reverbed piano sound at all. I guess the real thing was taken off of youtube so that people would have to buy it.
You're mistaken.
+Simone Ducloux The "real thing" is the piano roll. The difference in sound can be attributed to the duo-arte piano on which it is reproduced and the space in which it is recorded. I had an LP of Prokofiev's piano roll recordings on vinyl in the 1960s and the rhythm was jumpy and clearly not well reproduced. This reproduction is excellent.
You sir have been Punk'd this is the real one
You can find Duo-Art pianos for sale on Craigslist, eBay, Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange, etc and listen to this and other rolls in your own home.
Make sure they're the actual upright or grand reproducing piano from the 1914-1941 Era (Aeolian, Stroud, Steck, Weber, or Steinway brands) and not one of the modern 1970s-era "Duo/Art" console players that are a regular player and not a reproducing piano.
Good recording, but this is NOT Prokofiev playing.
He wasn't a great pianist!
Prokofiev: Horrible noise
No, don't be ridiculous, prokofiev was a genius!
Dissonant at times, sure - and to be fair, dissonance is not to everyone's tastes. But do you deny that the music is playful and memorable?
Zuhair Bakdoud: Idiot