15 Great Pianists attempt Brahms’ most INSANE sequence of music (Paganini Variations Book 1: Var 14)

Probably the most insane three pages of music in the piano repertoire. Many other sequences of music match this in terms of technical demands of the pianist, but few render the pianist so exposed in their execution.

Pianists, in order:
1. Evgeny Kissin (with sheet music) (00:00)
2. Yuja Wang (01:04)
3. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (incomplete - he cuts a part out!) (02:13)
4. Emil Gilels (03:10)
5. Tianxu An (04:27)
6. Leonardo Pierdomenico (05:42)
7. Wilhelm Backhaus (like Michelangeli, also cuts the entire final section) (06:55)
8. Tatyana Kolesova (07:37)
9. Alexander Kobrin (my favorite) (08:53)
10. Egon Petri (10:13)
11. Francesco Libetta (11:13)
12. Sviatoslav Richter (12:25)
13. Ivo Pogorelich (13:50)
14. Jong Hwa Park (15:26)
15. Lilya Zilberstein (16:35)

I have once again limited my scope to LIVE recordings. These are few and far between... it seems pianists are very cautious to attempt this live! Many fantastic studio recordings however...Anda, Katchen, Cziffra....

[johnphillips]

I love how Kobrin (my teacher!) doesn’t exactly go for speed, but for sound. He produces a very organ-like sound here (and in the rest of Book I), which is better than just blowing through this

[HaischkaEST]

I'm not the biggest Kissin fan, to be honest, but this style is exactly where he shines. It's deliberate, powerful, and bravura. Wonderful!

[HerrEdge]

None of these recordings should be judged as direct comparison of the respective pianist’s abilities EXCEPT the live video performances. Pianist’s work (with varying degrees of performer’s complicity) are subjected to rigorous mistake-scrubbing. I know from personal experience in the recording booth. Even without my request, the tech was already busily deleting squashed notes and splicing takes to create a note-perfect performance. Let’s stop the brainless hero-worship of note-perfect recordings. They’re fake. We classical pianists are not pop musicians. The struggle of live performance is a massive undertaking: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Accordingly, I am delighted to find some fantastic feats in this excellently edited video, along with the telling and informative mistakes made by some genuinely consummate artists, all of which I have the utmost respect for. This piece is a BEAR. A terrifying, awe-inspiring beast. Clara Schumann’s ‘Hexenvariationen.’

[chazinko]

Have always loved Arrau's Paganini Variations. The articulation and quality of sonority are always connected to the expression of the music, even at its greatest intensity. And Gilels, though older here, played the Brahms Paganini Variations in the 1938 Queen Elizabeth Competition in which Michelangeli was also a contestant. It would be very interesting to have heard the younger Gilels play this work especially based on his other early recordings such as the Liszt Figaro Fantasy.

[markfowlermusic]

That section at 2:58 I can’t physically reach the bottom E key when you have to switch to the broken octave part in right hand and left hand plays the part I’m on about, because you have to play the D sharp and E in succession with index and thumb, I can’t reach down to hit that low E with my pinky when it gets to it, can reach the F sharp etc…

[BrianPaick]

You forget how absolutely superb Zilberstein is just because she's not often mentioned in the same breath as Kissin or Argerich or Sokolov. That power! Like Richter at his best (which he unfortunately is not here, based on album cover it's late in life)

[The_Guy_Who_Asked_]

Seeing all those broken octaves makes my wrists hurt.

[OpinionatedSkink]

Kissin's 100% for me. Absolute machine in this. Would love to see what Lim Yunchan does with this one day. He has the chops for it surely, after demolishing Feux Follets

[nilsfrederking]

I like the different approach of Francesco Libetta. Jong Hwa Parks version is very good in the sense that the duck tempo brings out the melodic structure better.

[sebastian-benedictflore]

Woah, Michelangeli. Too much pedal for my personal taste perhaps but absolutely incredible. He goes beyond technical feats and uses it to create something special that I've never heard in this passage

[Geisterschiff]

You should nickname this wonderful vídeos as a great Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues titled his chronicles in the newspapers "A vida como ela é" meaning "Life as it is". THIS is reality, a life taking risks in front of people, getting scratches, making mistakes and great music alltogether and above all showing deep sense of humanity. Congratulations🎉Great job!

[balsamicvinegar]

The camera cuts in the Zilberstein are out of this world. I felt like I was watching inception, every two seconds a new cut. The entire video is so cool.

[filmscorefreak]

Kissin is flippin amazing. But musically, I love Pogorelich's version the best, really brings out the macabre!

[jeromedinchong]

Wow this is so dramatic! I just love Evgeny's, Yuja Wang's and Jong Hwa Park's versions. Thumbs up !

[Piflaser]

Brahms called it "Studien für Klavier" witch means piano etudes. He wrote it for Carl Tausig, who played it often in concert. Clara Schumann studied the work, but never played it in public.

[Fritz_Maisenbacher]

16:35 and special thanks and respect for the very dominant female Mrs. Zilberstein. I love this kind of boxing Brahms knock-out instead playing it with mourning grimaces.

[carlhopkinson]

Sounds like a fine old watch that was wound too tightly and all the intricate mechanisms and brilliant jewels exploded all over into the brilliant sunlight.

[celloguy]

Wonderful video! Thanks for creating. Had never heard this piece.

(Weirdly Wang us down a tone)

[PastukhSkota]

For me, it's Kissin. Not only is it faster than most, but he also brings the most amazing clarity.
I was astonished i first heard his studio recording... jaw Dropped!!
-Michelangeli- great speed, but is more muddy than the Ultra crispness of Kissin.
(And that he cut out one of the harder bits!?.... I'm with You on this surprise is this realization! )

[Pseudify]

One thing is for sure - this piece has the full attention of every single one of them! Most appear to be quite thankful when that section is over.