Rachmaninoff 1st Piano Sonata Op28 Mov.1 Valentina Lisitsa

No recording, no matter how perfect, can do a justice to this sonata. The sheer power and strength of this enormous stream of sound, Amazon river of piano writing, doesn't translate well into limited bandwidth of even the most hi-def capturing. It's best left to concert halls. I hope those of you who have a chance will visit Dortmund in a couple of weeks , April 17th to be exact :
There is lots of Scriabin, more Rach and some Liszt...but this piece is a true centerpiece of a program. And this it the only occasion for me to play it live this year. So, grab your chance :-) lol
Few words about the piece- being Op 28 , it has far more famous and popular pieces for its neighbors: 2nd Symphony, Third Concerto, Cello Sonata...Since no Hollywood movie ever borrowed either a melody or a plot fro this piece, it remains largely as unknown and unappreciated as it was when "born". Rachmaninoff, being extremely insecure about himself and his art, asked for an opinion of several friends. Of course, being real friends ( lol) they didn't pass a chance to say that the piece is too long, too boring and too difficult. Rachmaninoff subjected it to several bodily mutilations- again, acting on "helpful" friends' suggestions, cutting out good 10 minutes = 25% of the original piece. He later said about inflicting similar cuts in 2nd Symphony that he feels like he is cutting his own live flesh...
One of those friends, Konstantin Igumnov, delivered the debut performance of the mutilated piece, which was - again- declared too long. Just maybe, maybe , perhaps , there was a tiniest guilt of the performer ? Igumnov was known and widely respected as a "miniaturist" - playing with a finesse, utmost polish and a detailing of a jeweler . Whereas this piece requires an architect as the very minimal qualification , better yet, a demi-god giant :-) ...After a failure and much criticism, Rachmaninoff largely abandoned this baby as a hopeless case. I think it deserves a better fate. Don't you? Here is sheet music in case you want t give it a try:
There WAS a program in this piece, Rachmaninoff shared it with a few people and decided against making it publicly known. It has to do with Goethe's Faust. Three movements ( just like in Liszt's Faust Symphony ) represent Faust, Gretchen( Margarete), and Mephistopheles.

[tsessebe]

82 people were so overcome with emotion they missed the like button

[markahmadieh]

The more I listen to other recordings of this piece the more I appreciate what Lisitsa did here. The whole sonata form makes more sense with the faster tempo she chooses to maintain, it really glues everything together and unleashes all the hidden power in this deep work.. wow.. I have yet to find other recordings on YouTube that match this, I'm so happy she decide to post it

[EvilDogProductions]

At a party:
"Oh you play piano? Show us a little piece!"
And she plays this
lol

[PlayingRequiem]

If you need to understand how from the chaos the beauty of the world was born - listen to Rachmaninoff.

[fredsharp]

Lisitsa makes everything she plays sound as if I am hearing it for the first time! Such clarity where so many others muddy the waters - and such subtle highlights of sound. I love her paying. She has 're-discoved' the Liszt Totentanz for solo piano almost single-handedly. Simply brilliant in all respects.

[wcsxwcsx]

Wow. She can make Rachmaninoff seem effortless.

[limited]

No other composer made the piano sound like Rachmaninoff. His music took the instrument to its absolute limits. Maybe the fact he was so insecure about his talent is what helped to make him so great. Valentina is about as close to a Rachmaninoff reincarnation as we could possibly ask for. I've never heard anyone play Rachmaninoff better, at least in the modern era. At the time the master himself lived, recording techniques weren't too good so we were not able to document his playing as well as I wish we could have. 

[raoultak]

God, I was convinced that #2 was Rach's major sonata. But his 1st also has, maybe not so well understood, eternal beauty. Long live Rachmaninoff.

[craigmclanachan]

Wonderful playing. This sounds great on my headphones, full range and dramatic. Your work takes my breath away, how wonderful to be alive with you there!

[voolare]

Maybe I didn't hear enough interpreters on this sonata, but she's the only one I heard who maintains a total sense of unity to the piece; she takes the listener by hand through the sonata like Virgilio leads Dante through the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Thank you Maestro Lisitsa, now I understood this composition and from now on I won't think "too many notes" anymore, when listening to this masterpiece!

[juniorflip]

One seldom hears Rach played so well...and with such expressiveness! Valentina, you have, amazingly, managed to surpass my personal favorite, Vladimir Ashkenazy, as one of the best interpreters of Rachmaninoff. Bravo!

[spencerhodgson]

This piece is extremely underrated in the piano repertoire, and you @ValentinaLisitsa have inspired me to learn and perform this sonata. Thank you

[mcnultyfp]

A teacher said in 1978 that SR was the most underrated 20th c composer, and predicted eventual recognition. SR was less optimistic himself, but today the verdict is clear: all it took was Val's unparalleled dedication with her unique abilities, attached to matchless expression and the most generous character, in order to get inside SR's music. "True art is like red-hot, boiling lava held in check by seven plates of armour, " Sofronitsky said, and he's right, but Val's Ipod is just blazing.

[michaelt]

This is the best version of this piece by anyone ever.

[hadricalifornia]

Thank you Valentina for unearthing these gems. I was first utterly astonished by your piano solo interpretation of Liszt's Totentanz, now I see that you keep bringing the good word to Youtube. Never stop! We're all begging you!

[jessicakespohl]

Valentina, beautiful work and you should post the entire sonata! I recently discovered sonata 1 after loving Helene Grimaud on sonata 2. Can't stop listening to all versions of this wonderful piece, and looks like Rachmaninoff's piano sonata 1 is finally being seen for its beauty and power, more artists are playing it (who can, it's not simple). I have to laugh at people who say, "I can't get Rachmaninoff, I've tried but just can't"----well, don't, leave it to us fans. I think his work is getting more and more attention. He revised much of his works while other composers started others, and he also had to earn a living in the US as an exile from Bolshevik Russia to support his family. He became one of recording's top pianists and was also a conductor, even wrote choral works. A complex and intelligent person, interesting bio he has; his music is full of melody, harmony, polyphony, and shows his great knowledge of music theory taught in Russia. He was not understood in his time as a composer but now he would be surprised to see his popularity---or maybe he does, from another dimension!

[dale]

The mystical qualities of this brilliant performance are a joining of Rachmaninov and his greatest living interpreter, the great Lisitsa.

[TheJonny]

9:35 sooo muse, butterflies and hurricanes

[deborahchildress]

She is absolutely fantastic on this piece! ❤

[dale]

I was unfamiliar with this piece, having heard only Sonata #2. Since hearing this reading of Sonata #1 I heard Lugansky play it. He is a brilliant pianist and I love his work, but Val nailed this one so completely that anyone else must be judged to be in her shadow..