Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (Lortie, Grosvenor)
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- Two dazzling performances of a suite whose absurd technical demands are easily matched by the precision of its construction and the dazzling range of textures it encompasses. Both performances here have been met with critical acclaim, but are otherwise very different. Lortie’s playing is sumptuous and limpid; there is a microscopic attention to detail, and you can hear even the tiniest musical gestures with startling clarity. Grosvenor's performance, on the other hand, seems to take seriously Ravel's instruction that when it came to Gaspard, one should not interpret - just play: his performance features precipitous accelerandi [38:10], striking colours [see the sudden change in texture at 25:44], wafer-thin pianissimos [26:31], and sudden reels of notes like jagged stabs of light in the murk. The level of virtuosity and control needed to pull off the sort of hyper-precise effects Grosvenor elicits from the piano is quite hard to imagine.
Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit has three movements, each based on an image drawn from a poem by Aloysius Bertrand. (As an aside, it is possible to analyse Gaspard as a Sonata: Ondine has a sonata-like two-theme structure, and the fast-slow-fast arrangement of the movements is fairly typical for a Sonata.) The first movement, Ondine, depicts a water demon trying to seduce the observer into her lake. The technical demands here include: quiet but rapid semi-chordal figuration, the passing of legato melody between hands, and maintaining the independence of the hands (especially in the climax: 3:54). The second, Le Gibet, depicts a man hanging from the gallows, silhouetted against a red sunset, while church bells toll in the distance (the B-flat ostinato in 3-3-2 syncopated rhythm running through the movement.) The third, Scarbo, depicts the nighttime mischief of a goblin lurking in the shadows. This last movement is notoriously difficult (featuring repeated notes, hand-crossing, large leaps, interlocking chordal runs, rapid figuration), and contains two colossal, intricate climaxes.
Lortie:
00:00 - Ondine
06:40 - Le Gibet
13:20 - Scarbo
Grosvenor:
22:14 - Ondine
28:41 - Le Gibet (Grosvenor accents the ostinato to so that the second beat becomes a near-inaudible echo of the first.)
34:10 -- Scarbo (Grosvenor's attacks here are among the sharpest I've heard: see 37:31and so on.) - Hudba
i always come back for the climax of ondine. it sounds absolutely atomic, as if a nuclear warhead has been detonated deep underwater
What an amazing description - couldn't agree more!
@@AshishXiangyiKumar what climax? you mean when Argerich or Michelangeli play it, the 'splash' at the end of Ondine is quite electrifying.
@4elovek the arpeggios at 5:58 are supposed to be a splash, but I just saw the crescendo in the score which makes Lorties and Benjamins performances unsurpassed.
@@789armstrong i was referring to the climax at _Un peu plus lent_
Particularly because of the use of both the highest and lowest registers of the piano, it gives the image of a great burst of light and sounds like the subsequent shockwave simultaneously.
More like an orgasm for the ages…
I read a long time ago that Gaspard de la nuit was about expressing three different kinds of fear: seductive malice in Ondine, nocturnal creepiness in Le Gibet, scurrying terror in Scarbo. Grosvenor's performance captures these moods perfectly. There is none better.
thanks fir the insight
One thing I think not enough people note is that Grosvenor was only 19 when he made this recording.
i would say im not surprised but i can't cause im actually really surprised. But it makes sense that younger bodies would suit better the absolute fuckery of technical skill and stamina required to play this well. It would be hard imagining an 80 year old playing this no matter how good they are, it simply requires a minimum amount of stamina.... but still 19 is insane
@@junlee7237 There is a video of Grosvenor here on CZcams performing the Ravel G Major Concerto - at age 11!
@@alger3041 now im really surprised, just wow
@@junlee7237 Vlado Perlemuter played the entire suite when he was almost 90
@@junlee7237 Listen to Vlado Perlmutter at 87!
Man Ondine is just ridiculous. A single piano creates the sound of a choir of one thousand magical mermaids luring you into a mind shattering oceanic landscape which eventually becomes to much to perceive, blasting you to the top of the surface and the bottom of reality at the same time. But whatever I write, it can never be enough to describe the beauty of this.
Everyone: How difficult...
Ravel: *yes*
h a h a o v e r u s e d m e m e f u n n y
It's not so difficult to play sheets. Ravel had a good finger positioning in his pieces mostly. The main problem is how to master it if you are not professional pianist.
@@Ar1osssa _Interpretation_
@@Ar1osssa tf are you trying to elaborate?
@@Trooman20 I just said my point of noticing
That harmony at 26:50 is something that no other piece has ever replicated, inexplicable beauty
Love the way Grosvenor plays that part, idk if that's what Ravel intended but most pianists don't emphasize certain notes in that phrase like he did
@@butterflysoup7699 that's true ! I never noticed that part before
Andre laplante does it best imo
3:54 is truly epic
And Le Gibet has a lot of elements in it that remind me of Debussy's L'hommage à Rameau
Photoshop I've always thought the same thing re: chord progressions in Le Gibet and L'hommage à Rameau
I think you're quite right, though I would insist that the Debussy piece is all about feelings of grief, while the Ravel piece is all about feelings of dread. It makes for an interesting contrast.
That single second of music? Or an elapsed time beginning at 3:54? And to what second then?
@@BLADEMACAPHEE 3:54 to the next section i assume.
giant steps changes!
Your descriptions are truly worth of being program notes and excellent ones at that.
S. V. Villano Possibly more like a review? From what I know I think that performance notes are like about the piece rather than the playing
His description is about the playing and the piece.
Yes, at first i thought they were program notes, until i realized there were so many that it would be impossible
His descriptions are rather pretentious, boring, and ostentatious, that don't really provide much insight into the pieces other than pointing out some motivic development here and there. I don't come here for the descriptions anyway. He does pick some great and unique interpretations though, so his tastes are rather refined.
@Danny R.Z Does it matter?
25:53 my favourite moment in music
amen
Amen
Definitely up there
Amen
Amen
2:01 the slur is so cute
I was listening to Ravel's complete piano works while doing school work when I first heard Le Gibet and I was transported to another world without even realising it. It felt like a trans. So magical
As much as I love Lortie's performance of Ondine, I absolutely love Grosvenor's more aggressive buildup to the big climax from about 25:46 onwards.
I also love how he handled the ending climax at 28:04. For me, those accented high Cs really give off the impression of waves harshly crashing on sharp rocks. One of my all-time favorites, along with Pogorelić's legendary 1983 recording!
How, I mean how is it even possible to play Scarbo like that?!?! Grosvenor is a monster!
I think he's probably the world's best at the moment. Astonishing technique with the most musical soul.
Grosvenor's performance is breathtaking, especially Scarbo and Ondine. He has some of the most delicate, feather-light pianissimos I've heard. My only quibble is that Le Gibet is a bit too fast: it's marked très lent, and he plays it more like the tempo was "Adagio ma non troppo". But even there his tone control is fantastic.
I love the Grosvenor version so much. I think it might be my favorite recording I have ever heard of the piece.
totally agree, his scarbo is stupendously precise and expressive
Check out Argerich
@@PieInTheSky9 argerich plays ondine annoyingly fast
I hate it. A caricature. Very bad taste.
@@dariodrigo3778 I don't listen to much Ravel anymore, but after giving this another listen, it sounds like the musician isn't afraid to drop a few notes here or there for the sake of speed. It doesn't sound super clear. As for the caricature comment, I don't really know what you are talking about. A lot of Ravel's music seems kind of self aware and meta to me now which is part of the reason why I don't listen to it as much. I wouldn't really consider authenticity the most important attribute of a good Ravel recording. Am I wrong?
I decided I'm going to learn the entire Miroirs set before attempting this
The Pogorelich recording was what got me into this piece because of that perfectly subtle organic touch, but WOW I think the Lortie is my new favorite! It’s almost as if the phrasing controlled my breathing
Ondine is just... magic, impossible magic...
Grosvenor’s Ondine is absolutely brilliant. Might be the best I’ve heard
Agreed 100%! As much as I love Lortie's performance of Ondine, I absolutely love Grosvenor's aggressive buildup to the big climax at 25:52
The way the glissando was played at 26:32. It’s one of the most incredible pianistic textures I’ve ever heard. It’s so continuous and fluid.
@@TyronTentionseriously. The miracle of that glissando conjuring instantly renders the efforts of many “piano masters” irrelevant, and this was accomplished by a 19 year old
Your notes in the description are always clear and edifying to both the pieces and performers. This puts you in a higher class than the other channels just offering video score/ audio and titles. Thank you for putting in that effort Ashish. This work is a manifestation of metaphysical yearning that crystallised from Ravel's 'shadow' into a solo piano work. It is truly one of the best and most imaginative creations in the repertoire.
incredible piece of art
I don't know how you can enjoy most of Debussy and Ravel and NOT enjoy this piece. Seems bizarre to me.
PieInTheSky what
I get chills every single time I listen to Ondine's climax
I hope you save a copy of all these descriptions you write. I always look forward to reading them nearly as much as I look forward to the music itself.
You're very insightful.
Both exquisite. I have a tough task for you if you are interested. I really, REALLY, love Pogorelich's interpretation of Gaspard, but I constantly read somewhere he is too free and not to the point, but I don't care. I see the point of Ravel, but I still prefer Pogorelich, almost like thinking that Pogorelich knows better than Ravel how to play his Gaspard de la Nuit.
Then we have Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. I heard that he played Gaspard de la Nuit to Ravel in person when he (Michelangeli) was just 15 years old. Ravel reportedly said this after listening: "Like that! I want Gaspard to be played exactly like that, as if you were painting on glass". I like Michelangeli's Ondine, but I can't say I like it more than Pogorelich's. Le Gibet for me is movement where I don't hear many differences, maybe I'm not mature enough to take patience and compare pianists there, because it's mainly Ondine and probably even more Scarbo that absolutely take my breath. And again, Scarbo played by Michelangeli may be perfect, but played by Pogorelich - for me - is totally breathtaking, out-of-the-universe-taking. I love the vast energy he uses, all the tension he creates, really sounds extra-terrestrial for me. The culminations in Scarbo are so powerful that I would just add a bit of bass there and would be absolutely happy.
And then Lortie and Grosvenor. Both sound awesome to me and I spent a lot of time trying to find at least one pianist other than Pogorelich that I would enjoy listening when playing Gaspard - Michelangeli is perfect, but I don't know why, compared to Pogorelich, sounds boring to me. Lortie and Grosvenor don't.
Question is - would you like to extend your comparison and awesome in-depth analysis on these four? I am really interested in what you think about Ivo and Arturo :)
I like Pogorelich's rendition a lot. He may be "free-er" than Lortie, but that freedom helps carry him from idea to idea. In my opinion, Pogorelich is more cohesive than Lortie, and does a better job taking advantage of Ondine and Scarbo's lyricism.
Radim Tichý Check Vlado Perlemuter, Who studied with Ravel himself.
I'm no expert, clarinettist, this is my favorite piano piece, and personally love Pogorelich, and Argerich versions:) Martha has serious flow, technique and just moves through it capturing the enchantment, but must my feeling about it...
Pogorelich ignores le gibet marking. I love his ondine though
Thank you for all your hard work compiling this.
9:09 onwards falling scales reminded me opening of Scriabin's 9th sonata.
trueeeee
Ravel et 2 interprètes fabuleux ; c'est une forme de bonheur. Merci.
Always nice to see a Grosvenor recording. I've come to quite enjoy his style of playing, especially after hearing that wonderful interpretation of Chopin's scherzi (in particular, the first one was rather breathtaking). Thanks as usual for the upload and wonderful analysis, Ashish. I cannot thank you enough for helping me get back into appreciating classical music.
If only Ravel’s life didn’t get cut short! Imagine what someone with such mastery of dissonance could do to develop contemporary music we hear today.
@@hh2763 It seems like the greats usually go before they're supposed to. I get sad thinking about what Ravel, Chopin, and Debussy would have accomplished had they lived 20 or 30 more years. Especially Chopin, because I imagine his contributions to the later Romantic era would've been incredible. Who knows? He might've even been able to contribute to early inklings of impressionism like Liszt did in his final years. What a shame. 😩
@@christianvennemann9008Let's not forget Lily Boulanger's death
@@MiScusi69 True. Her early death is one of the biggest tragedies in music, in my opinion
@@hh2763 One of the saddest early deaths for my musical taste was the organist and composer Jehan Alain. Only 29! If you don't know his music you should check it out. It's so creative and beautiful and almost improvisational. I have some of his pieces in the "organ" section of my playlist. Intermezzo is my favorite.
I've only listened to the first performance, but these recordings you're sharing are wonderful. I can't thank you enough, especially given that you include the score. I learned this as a piano major ages and ages ago (playing six hours a day). Nothing beats playing it, but what I'm loving here is getting fresh inspiration from stellar artists. Such musical moments are truly, as someone else stated here, almost orgasmic. This is my favorite youtube channel. Cheers to you! What a gift you're giving us.
I goosebumped reading the score to this. Although a lifelong fan of Ravel, I hadn’t got around to reading the Gaspard score. This is such a treat: thank you so much for this!
The first one is a revelation so far. I'm only 3 minutes in. I assume it's Lortie, as I already know Benjamin's Gaspard. So Crystal clear. I'm astonished. I was looking for a sensitive clear musical performance. Thank you. The Ondine final arpeggio is the best I ever heard.
I keep coming back to this song since I first heard it on this channel. I think this is my favorite song of all time.
Especially Lortie's performance. It doesn't even seem real. The tempo dynamics are out of this world.
It's rather odd that a lot of Ravel's piano music is extremely hard, yet Ravel himself was only a middling level concert pianist.
One of the greatest pieces of piano music ever written!
The depth of ondine by Lortie is mesmerizing, incredibly well played chord, amazing
Both the pianists played it fantastically!
Much to love with these two excellent readings. I especially love how Grosvenor achieves a great build-up to the climax in Ondine, as already mentioned by Christian Venneman below. As for the climax itself, Michelangeli's 1960 Prague performance is my preferred choice. Here, Michelangeli unleashes the maelstrom like no other pianist I have ever heard in this piece. Just as csdrew22 noted about coming back here to hear the underwater atomic climax again, I found myself repeatedly returning to Michelangeli's 1960 Gaspard just to hear that maelstrom and convince myself that a human pianist could achieve that almost otherworldly sound. But as far as more recent recordings go, Grosvenor seems to me to belong at the top with few equals.
Thank you so much for this. I've been listening to this nonstop for the past 72 hours, and I think it's safe to say this is a new lifetime favorite of mine.
72 hours? Actually?
@@segmentsAndCurves Not literally, but it was all I listened to in my available waking hours.
Going to see Daniil Trifonov play this suite in November. I'm excited :)
My favorite Ravel's piece, thank you for this upload ! :)
You're here too? Heh.
wow...REALLY love Lortie's performance...not just speed. so melodic and just downright pretty! phrasing and structure. so perfect. Ivo Pogorelich's was my prior favorite...now...I don't know :)
Took LSD with my girlfriend while listening to Ravel and other impressionist composers, the experience was extremely beautiful, colors everywhere, I felt so much I can't even describe it with words. Without taboos about drugs, I think it is an experience that everyone deserves to live at least once in their lives.
Can I offer you a song that is the equivalent to seeing a new colour? Its awesome to listen to while baked, something like LSD or shrooms would be amazing.
@@9sunsjuddleponk Sure man!
@@senortenpiedad8515
The temperament takes some getting used to but its good! They use microtones, the key is to listen to the overtones ( the echo of the strings/notes ) The part near the end with the stretching strings is awesome because I think it resembles the thinning conscious, stripping you of your earth self. Then right before it breaks theres a release and resolution.
czcams.com/video/5yYrx4Mv4rA/video.html
My experience listening to music while on LSD was traumatizing. Everything I listened to sounded trite and I was afraid my new condition was going to be permanent (because this is the kind of sh*t you think when you're high). It was a huge relief that my appreciation had been restored after the high wore off.
Absolutely brilliant performance(the first one)
So beautiful............
just awesome!
Seven sharps key, that's rare.
Seven sharps are only for boss boss kids.
It’s rare because it’s C# major, which is obviously the same as D-flat major. Wonder why Ravel didn’t simply use the D-flat key signature.
Yt Yt maybe if he was modulating from C# Minor
@@ytyt3922 a lot of double-flats would be required when writing parts like 0:50, right hand. also 7 sharps look more cool haha
@@CMLPoP There are going to be lots of double flats or double sharps no matter if it's written in Db major or C# major. Ravel decided to use some enharmonic notation to avoid the use of excessive double sharps, but I prefer excessive double sharps as long as the accidentals remain true to step-wise voice-leading motions and the tension/resolution of the various chromatic key centers. When I listen to the piece, it definitely has a bright sharpy sound to it, so I can see why C# major was Ravel's key signature of choice.
It's funny, a few months ago I tried to listen to this music and other pieces of this era and I just couldn't be moved by the music. I constantly searched for the tonal centre and just couldn't enjoy the music.
Now that I try again, I find that the music is absolutely tantalizing; full of depth and complex emotions. The buildup to the first climax is just as satisfying as the climax (3:54) itself and creates goosebumps every time.
Jakob ----Maybe my favorite musical climax of all time...
What about 41:37?
I don’t know if Ravel qualifies as atonal. Maybe a middle ground between tonal and atonal, he occupies a place on that spectrum all his own.
It’s in c-sharp major I believe (Ondine)
11:19 Claire de lune?!?!?!?!?!?!? lol
Well Debussy and Ravel are both Impressionism. So it means they have the same music genre.
@@mystogan6556 Yes, but despite the fact that both of them are *now* labeled as such, neither of them felt too close to the movement... Debussy, actually recieved much more experience from Satie (which can be seen in it's hability for subtle landscape) and from other Romanticist musicians as Schumann and Borodin; while Ravel was definitely more into nationalist classicism and baroque musicians as Couperin. It's kind of like saying that similarities between Chopin and Liszt are because they're both romanticist composers
@@omerresnikoff3565 Ohh thanks
@@omerresnikoff3565 i was rightin this time of explanation when i read your comment, but they do share some similar tastes in therm of musial reflection, like the way they both use specific sounds in arpegios to portray the water, some really typical dynamics for the feeling of motion, they write in different ways, ravel is way deeper in an armonical point of view, where debussy has some most likely a better talent when it comes to sustain a haunting melody. they're like two lands in the same continent, or at least that's how i like to think og them, if that's not too presumptious from me hahaha
@@andresguillermoalvarezlope418 No, it's not pretentious at all. But taking my same example as in Liszt vs Chopin you can see that both of them also share similarities in their virtuoso music, some of the rhythms of the notes and the wide use of the notes in the scale. Debussy for instance I'd say uses a lot the whole scale of sounds, while Ravel tends to stick and play with fewer notes but with more effectiveness; in a way I'd say there is a much stronger attraction in Ravel's music. Another example of composers who held similar ideas but have radically different styles are Schumann and Brahms, they even were friends as Ravel and Debussy.
Also I want to clarify I'm no music expert, and quite far from it. Everything I just said it's my perspective
Grosvenor's Scarbo has so much energy, I love it
13:13 - Ravel just literally never ceases to amaze me.
wat?
If that's the comment you chose to post about this stunning classical work ... I feel bad for you.
Listening to Grosvenor for a change of lazily prefering first person. This version is lovely! It would be great on the harp!
3:22 crazy chromatic descents, contrary motion
19:49 harmonic 2nds, the most common melodic material!
those 2nds sound spooky, like the voice of a figure behind you, edging closer and closer (accélérant)
38:19 I absolutely love, how Grosvenor strikes the LH chord a millisecond before the RH chord - Seems to reflect the way your reaction to a jump scare is delayed by just a tiny moment
The same at 41:46
Masterpiece
quelle belle interprétation dans l'ensemble
Those first three measures on the page at 21:33 are just hilarious. I wonder if it looked the same in the manuscript.
Reupload to correct some mistakes in the first.
oh and the reverb off those staccato chords at 15:02 and 15:09 is such an incredible effect
14:38 sounds like Mily Balakirev's Islamey
Gaspard de la nuit is made to be harder that Islamey
In the time this piece was germinating in Ravel's mind, everyone was bragging that Islamey was THE most virtuosic and difficult to perform piano piece in the literature. I KNOW that Ravel wouldn't let that stand, and he KILLED Islamey with Gaspard! Gieseking once said that one had to have a certain amount of luck to bring off a performance of the piece--particularly Scarbo! Virtuoso pianists today are skilled to handle the technical difficulties of Gaspard, but many over-blow the technical facets of the work and miss a lot of the passion and emotion buried in this awesome piece!
Oh, and as a jazz pianist, I love the #9 chords and minor 9ths too in Le Gibet!
Hey, who are you?
jk i see the resemblance
My favourite part is definitely scarbo, it's like you experience the beginning of the universe
27:37 - Hands down the hardest part of the entire suite.
I'm not even joking. Grovener's playing here broke my heart... and I think that was Ravel's intent. I can't believe he was only 19 when he made this recording and 27:37 is why.
No
@@GUILLOMBelieve or not, these single notes are the hardest to interpret well
@@predrop If you are unable to make an unaccompanied phrase sound beautiful you definitely aren't able to play the rest of the piece either
@@GUILLOM Your statement is in fact true. However, the other parts can be interpreted by putting every other note together as some sort of a chain. These single notes, they must be individually executed with precision, which for some (Including me) is harder than playing complex passages.
Now in no way I have the abilities to play this, but strengths and weaknesses doesn’t change here. Enjoy the music.
@@predrop As if all the other passages didn't require precision. I get the point you're trying to make but it's just plainly wrong to assume that fast passages can be played without any attention to detail, especially considering that this is ravel's music.
26:31 wow
Has anyone here tried to learn this? I’m tempted to try - It’s so beautiful but so daunting. I’ve written off the 3rd movement as unplayable for me, but the 1st movement looks doable.
well the first movement is pretty hard too, but it all comes down to work, really. i still have some years ahead of me before i learn this one, heh.
Creemos que las interpretaciones son insuperables hasta escuchar alguna que nos sorprende por su magia. Acaece rara vez y, cuando ocurre, nos deja tanto más suspendidos cuanto menos la esperábamos. La interpretación de Benjamin Grosvenor es una de ellas. Me pilló de improviso. Desde las primeras notas, su “Gaspard de la nuit” me sorprendió tanto por su tacto como por su atrevimiento. ¿Dónde halló la inspiración? Solo él lo sabe -si lo sabe. «J'ai rêvé tant et plus, mais je n'y entends note», anuncia Rabelais (Pantagruel, livre III). Lo propio del sueño es su viaje, imprevisible, desatinado, errático. La inspiración también. El texto del poema es sugerente. « Et le canal où l’eau bleue tremble, et l’église où le vitrage d’or flamboie, et le stoël où sèche le linge au soleil, et les toits, verts de houblon…» Todo en él evoca el vínculo entre realidad y misterio. ¡Atento al pronunciamiento! En “Le Gibet”, la exploración monofónica que Scelsi desarrollaría obsesivamente, da la clave. Ángel-insecto proferido durante todo el desarrollo. Vuelo indisociable, vuelo tenaz que ahonda la profundidad de campo. La revela al modo de luciérnaga que puntea la noche. No lo olvidemos, ángeles e insectos son especies gemelas. Una y otra [con]fusas-[con]fundidas « Jouons-nous dans la lumière et l’azur…» Incluso al borde del talud, vuelan sin cura, sigámoslas, basta con dejarse llevar. Más tarde, cuando lo creas conveniente, lee el hermoso poema de Aloysius Bertrand y vuelve a escuchar este Gaspard que Grosvenor te ofrece. No pienses más. Lo verás crecer en ti como tallo de yedra.
wow
Ezt az piano darabot öt évbe telt, mire megtanultam. Összekeverem az "ondine" rész ismétlésével.
During “Scarbo,” I had to check a few times to ma ke sure I wasn’t in x0.50 playback speed. Unreal performance.
sorry,,, how many sharps??
He is just de King of arppegios
It is really outstanding play by both of them, but I listened to this piece a couple of hundreds of times in my life and I still like Pogorelich more. I find his Gaspard unsurpassed.
21:08 The refrain and gradual decline in tempo really brings this climatic part to life, he nails it!
I just love 3:46
Le Gibet is so freaking scary!
The most beautiful ondine...
My eardrums do be getting blasted out when I’m listening to le gibet and an ad hits
When Lortie plays Ravel, the world stops turning
Aaah shit, here I go crying again...
Nice
While listening to these performances, the phrase I keep hearing escaping my lips is, "You've got to be kidding." Occasionally, "Holy cow." It's difficult even to follow this music, much of the time.
옹딘..... 너무 좋다
(3:43, 25:45) 3:54, 25:58 this climax for life
Anyone think parts of Scarbo kinda sounds like Balakriev's Islamey?
Indeed, this piece was created for being harder than islamey. Ravel itself said thar
Hey Ashish, thanks for all the fantastic uploads! Thinking of your love for lesser known pianists and contrasting performances, I wondered if you'd seen Kim da sol playing this piece? czcams.com/video/yDRlLpsfeKQ/video.htmlm45s He's almost the polar opposite of Grosvenor, super sinuous and refined, legatos to die for, hyper-elegant phrasing. For my money, it's almost like hearing Perahia playing Gaspard (which we'll unfortunately never hear). He seems to have a similar aversion to showboating and something of that beautiful 'velvety bell' sound that Perahia has. His style suits Ondine particularly well, it's so fluid and unctious, but even in Scarbo listen to his lovely phrasing in the semiquaver chords against the octave Es czcams.com/video/yDRlLpsfeKQ/video.htmlm48s.
Good lord! I can't believe I had never heard of this pianist! Thank you so much for introducing me to him. One of the finest performances I've ever heard of Gaspard de la nuit. I'll have to check out his other work.
@19:50 until 20:14 - I have never heard the bass line this clearly.
I think Scarbo sounds like spanish music in some parts
Amazing
Lois Lortie’s interpretations of Ravel are so tasty
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn
best version of ondine. lortie
Over all i think you must render the craziness of Scarbo, (as Pogorelich...) that evil dwarf. The music must escape of control a little bit... must be frightening.
Hey, Ravel, ever heard of the *harp* ?
My thought
the ending tho
6:42 진짜 좋다…… 엉엉
How ironic! Lortie is a super famous pianist and Grosvenor is completely unknown. But Lortie's Scarbo sound like a school boy playing if you listen back to back. Just goes to show that famous people just had better luck.
I know Scarbo is brutal, but is it really harder than something like Godowsky's Die Fledermaus?
Scarbo is hard for standar rep but definitely prob most of godowskies works are harder
A very difficult piece to learn amazing if the pianist can play without looking at the books.
26:31-27:13 celestial ecstasy
Almost unsettling beauty
0:58, 3:35, 19:50, 21:08
Hardest Ravel pieces coming soon.
@@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851 Shhh
@@calebhu6383 so you do the timestamps before uploading the video? Good to know
@@Bohh574 They contain reference points
difficult to play this on an upright piano, it demands a grand piano action.
@bill Bloggs While keeping your iPad steady with the tip of your nose - unless of course you were playing it all with one hand - and I don't doubt your ability to pull that off.... :-)
Also helps to have a sostenuto pedal.
3:41
Doesn’t anyone play Ravel’s dynamics? Scarbo’s range from ppp to fff. Many times both pianists play a marked ppp note as f! This crazy, wide dynamic range is one of the things that make Scarbo so effective. I’d much rather hear a slower version if it means that the player will have the presence of mind to play the correct dynamics . . .
I had exactly the same thought, but so far I’ve only heard the first perfomer. My brain must rest before any more of this or my gray and white matter will undoubtedly cascade out my ears. But I do seem to recall learning as a child something like pianississimo is the French word for “not so damn loud, this is not an oompahpah band you idiot.”
I think one of the essence of "impressionistic" music is the freedom of playing as long as it can evoke listeners' imagination. Ravel's music are simply not meant to play strictly according to what he marked. You made a valid point about the wide dynamic range but I think that's what Lortie was doing on purpose. Taking the B marked ppp at 16:34 as example, he played the ppp note f on purpose to create a sudden dramatic dynamic change in a relatively plain and light passage. This is one of the points I like about Lortie's interpretation. Regarding the a slower version, I believe Lortie made a good balance in tempo and dynamic control. Playing too slowly would make Scarbo lose its meaning as it was meant to impress audience with a small creature traversing roofs quickly.
You should probably blame the recording engineers. They typically use compression to reduce the dynamic range. There are practical reasons for this: in a car, the soft parts would be inaudible over engine and road noise if compression were not used. On a big home stereo, triple forte could be painfully loud. With the exception of very high-end equipment, virtually all playback devices do things to the music that you wouldn't hear in a concert hall or live performance. Listen to Grosvenor (ideally on a good pair of headphones) in a home performance at age twelve: czcams.com/video/yHOAzscF7YI/video.html
7 sharps