The last ten minutes of the third movement of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 performed by Olga Kern at the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
In 25 years of going to the symphony, I never leapt out of my seat to give an artist a standing ovation, until I witnessed Olga Kern do Rach 3, wow!!!!
I was THERE sitting in the box directly above Kern and she was AMAZING! You can probably hear me screaming Bravo! at the end! LOL Van Cliburn's playing of this will stand for all eternity as the very best in my book, Kern's was one of the best I've hear in 62 years.She plays this at a slower pace, as did Cliburn, which reveals all its lyricism and colors.(She listened to Van's recordings growing up & it shows!) I clapped & screamed so loud when she finished I was hoarse for days after!
Never have I cried so much over a performance of music of such calibre and passion. I can't describe this with the right adjective or say any more of the affect that it had on me. A tremendous effort. Olga Kern should feel so thoroughly proud of herself.
I love the clarity and transparency of her playing. No fuss, no muzz, but still intense and passionate. I think I need to listen to more of Kern's playing!
It's like a musical symbiosis between herself and the piano...I LOVE the way she just EXPLODED off the piano at the very end! And it's like a roller coaster for my ears!!
You should see and hear her in person!! I heard and saw Olga in person about 1 and a half years ago, and I was totally blown away by her sheer virtuosity, her dazzling, flawless technique, and her impeccable professionalism. She truly is an exceptionally-great pianist, and I hope I can see her again!!! I'd be right there in the front row!
I just want to say that piece took my breath away. Bravo Olga, you are the best. What brought me here today, Aug 28, 2011, is the critical remarks made about a Chinese pianist who came to the Hollywood ball, wearing a beautiful, tight and very short dress (she had the body and legs for it) and played this Third Concerto , and I am sure she was sensational. Do not understand why people have to criticize. I wish I had been there in the audience and enjoy this beautiful music. HAGD all/.
Darn right she won the thing. Saw her about a week ago in Toronto. She is even better now and played every piece to perfection. What a thrill it was to watch her.
NOBODY can play Rach3 quite like Olga Kern, I should know, because I heard and saw her in person back in April 2007. She TOTALLY BLEW ME AWAY, I was literally on the edge of my seat!! She has a DAZZLING virtuosity, she owns this Piano Concerto!!
I saw Olga Kern play the Rach 3 in Morristown, NJ a couple of years ago. Thrilling! This piece is difficult for a man to play much less for a woman...Rachmaninoff had very large hands and a wide span. Olga Kern was wonderful to watch and hear.
Wow, there are 73 thumbs down...I mean, who doesn't dream and aspire to be like charismatic Olga Kern wearing a stunning red dress and playing Rachmaninoff with absolute perfection, and of course winning gold. Even if you don't like her interpretation, you can at least acknowledge the dedication. To the 73 people, go back to your mediocrity.
Rachmaninoff knew how to make love with music. He knows when to breathe, when to build, when to hold back, when to simmer. . . I'd be estatic to write ONE piece at that level. OMG. . . I never tire of hearing this.
Saw Olga play this concerto in Detroit last weekend. She has such a feel for Rachmaninoff's music and played the piece superbly and perfectly. Brava, Olga.
This is my favorite DVD of all times and I have listened to it so many times. Olga Kern is truly the best. What a great and outstanding performance. The music is so beautiful.
I had the pleasure of attending her performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3 last Thursday in Nashville. As marvelous as she was during the Cliburn competition, she's even better today. When sharing a few brief words with her after the performance I found her to be so modest. I told her "That was incredible". She actually seemed a bit embarrassed to be called incredible. She's lovely, talented, humble, and so charming. Everyone must see he perform this concerto if possible.
Note the finish... pianist perfectly in unison with the orchestra. That’s rare in Rach 3 renditions!! I‘m no musician, just a passionate music lover and regular visitor of concert performances. I‘ve heard dozens of Rach 3 interpretions, but however astonishing the pianist is, I vote the performances by the collaboration (don‘t know a better word- sorry) with the orchestra. Even Horowitz himself messes up the finale in terms of finishing together with the orchestra in his recording. I guess the audience during this performance felt the energy of the finale, that was absolutely nailed by Olga AND the orchestra. The standing ovation says it all, everyone jumped from their seats. Wow, just wow!! PS: my other favourite performance is the recent one by Alexander Malofeev, also here on YT. I recommend everyone who loves Rachmaninoff to check it out.
she is amazing, She gve a master class today at CU and it was amazing. Her joy and passion fill the room. its my second time in a master class with her, so great.
Olga just played all 4 Rach concertos, the Variations on a theme by Paganini and much more as part of a 2 weekend Rach Festival with The Colorado Symphony. The night she played the 4th concerto, she first came on stage alone and played the 20 minute, 3 movement 2nd sonata, before changing gowns and returning to blaze through the 4th concerto, ending with two encores....all in all, four incredible Rachmaninov performances BEFORE INTERMISSION! Olga truly RACHS!
I've heard at least 100 interpretations of Rach 3, and would put Olga Kern's in my top 3. It's a stunning performance. Find it hard to believe some of the garbage posted here about posture, hand position, blah blah. Who cares about that? It's the SOUND that comes out that matters. She lives and breathes this piece. Her performance is sincere and heartfelt. I think some people think it's clever to criticize a great performance as if they know something we don't. Ignore them, sit back and enjoy.
Olga I Love you. This is the best performance in this piece. I have never heard any interpretation best than this. I love you for ever, Thanks for ever. Jorge
I can feel her passion... this is magnificent. Olga takes musicianship to the next level, almost segueing a path between reality and the place that very few musicians reach let alone portray. Incredible.
all these comments sounds like heaven , thank you god that there are so many rachmaninoff lovers out there , me i must confess i am a fanatic too much in love with his music and olga,, oh what can be said she says it all,,,
I can truly understand why you say this. I was lucky enough to have been in the NJPAC audience last year when Olga performed Rach 2accompanied by National Philharmonic of Russia. Frankly, I was in tears much of the time, so moved was I by the beauty of her playing and the depth of emotion that was behind the performance. Ms. Kern is a gracious performer as well, one who is willing to chat with and and sign autographs for her fans. I hope she returns to the NYC area soon!
GOD..!!! how can she actually memorize not only a 10 min piano concerto, but a Rachmaninoff, on top of that she plays it exquisitely and I have a hard time remembering phone numbers....
I hope your comment was satirical, otherwise it was distasteful and without any music ical judgmnet. This I believe the best performance of the 3rd concerto i have ever heard.
This is my favourite performance on youtube! The quality of the video is awesome and Olga is so beautiful and has such charisma and the ending is just perfect. I am speechless.
Kudos also to James Conlon, the conductor. He was phenomenal during the 2001 Competition. He is very, very expressive and beautiful hands when conducting. He was a joy to watch.
My guess is those who criticize......are those who have never tried to play this.....I'd like to see those who criticize try......put your hands on the keyboard and you do it!
To the people who critise this performance: Do you know what it feels like to be able to play this piece in the privacy of your own home? Do you know what it takes to be able to play this piece live in front of an audience and cameras? Do you know how how it feels to be able to play this piece AT ALL? I uncheck those three boxes for you all.
Olga played Rach 3 with our New Mexico Symphony Orchestra(NMSO) when I saw and heard her in person almost 2 years ago, and I was totally blown away by her dazzling virtuosity, her raw passion for this majestic piano concerto!! Even if you don't like the piano, she MAKES you like the piano through the depth of emotion that she puts into it! It makes me want to learn how to play the piano!! But I play the violin, so it would be great to accompany her on my violin.
@ferocel I agree - people who argue against how powerful her performance is here are in no way capable of judging the tremendous force and skill required to execute this piece. Oh, also idiots: she became the first woman in over thirty years to receive the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal for this performance that you're watching. She is a laureate of eleven international competitions.
@ferocel It's a symptom of the idea that attacking someone else's accomplishments can somehow make [them] feel less intimidated, less threatened, less "insignificant" by comparison. This performance of Rach 3 in many ways is the best I've ever seen-heard. Yes, I can play it, but you'll never see me do so in public; I have students who execute Rachmaninov better than I do. Olga's combination of technique, phrase, dynamics, inner voicing and pure brilliance adds up to MASTERWORK. Beautifiul!!!
On a brighter note - this version of Rach 3 is stunning. I agree that there are aspects of 'overkill' emotionally, therefore blurring the clarity of dynamic and phrasing, however, being an amateur pianist, I can only sit back in awe at this spectacle. Despite the flaws spotted by far greater musicians than myself, I can only say that from my point of view... you could lose youself, drown yourself in this music. It's stunningly beautiful.
This is the best ending to the concerto I've ever heard - the piano is heard really nicely whereas in some other recordings it's quite sadly drowned out. Bravo!
One of the greatest performances of any genre of all time...and I will venture on to say that this piece has not ever been played better than the young Olga did that day....this was a benchmark by which this piece shall be judged and compared...IMO
I'm always in awe, seeing gifted musicians play like it's a natural extension of their being. What must it be like ? I saw Midori play at the Kennedy Center about 10 years ago. She stood up their with no music and was fantastic. I think she was all of 20 or 21 years old... Nice video, thanks for posting!
i have seen her in concert and been at masterclasses with her, and at her solo recitals i've seen her play, she plays beethoven stunningly, and she played scarlatti and mozart as well, so though she lives and breaths rach, prokofiev, and shosty, i think she loves other music and performs quite well with it.
Although I have worked on this concerto for many years that damn extended chordal section in the 3rd mvt kills me everytime along with that triplet LH octaves leading to the coda. Ayayay!!
At 5:58 in this video, you can SEE her just say "what the heck, I'm going for it", and the music really stats to flow. The last minute is just so moving.
@mozart200657 I've also had a pleasure of listening to her live. In 2010 she had a recital in Kraków, She played pieces by Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninow and Liszt. It was an amazing concert.
In 25 years of going to the symphony, I never leapt out of my seat to give an artist a standing ovation, until I witnessed Olga Kern do Rach 3, wow!!!!
Pete B. Oh, you were there? I‘m envious 😉
This is by far the most emotionally charged performance I have heard of this concerto in a long time. She is a phenomenal pianist! BRAVO!
I was THERE sitting in the box directly above Kern and she was AMAZING! You can probably hear me screaming Bravo! at the end! LOL Van Cliburn's playing of this will stand for all eternity as the very best in my book, Kern's was one of the best I've hear in 62 years.She plays this at a slower pace, as did Cliburn, which reveals all its lyricism and colors.(She listened to Van's recordings growing up & it shows!) I clapped & screamed so loud when she finished I was hoarse for days after!
Flawless performance of one of the most challenging pieces in the world, amazing
an absolutely incredible performance of the Rachmaninov No. 3.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Never have I cried so much over a performance of music of such calibre and passion. I can't describe this with the right adjective or say any more of the affect that it had on me. A tremendous effort. Olga Kern should feel so thoroughly proud of herself.
This is so incredible a performance!
Her fingers fly in mid air.
What a big bold musical sound she gets out of the piano! Amazing talent!
i have listened to this more than 50 times.
One of the most passionate and dynamic performances one can watch. Hard to sit still! Hang on til the end. Amazing!
This song is my natural high. I feel like I'm floating in a cloud when I'm listening to it :D
I love the clarity and transparency of her playing. No fuss, no muzz, but still intense and passionate. I think I need to listen to more of Kern's playing!
It's like a musical symbiosis between herself and the piano...I LOVE the way she just EXPLODED off the piano at the very end! And it's like a roller coaster for my ears!!
You should see and hear her in person!! I heard and saw Olga in person about 1 and a half years ago, and I was totally blown away by her sheer virtuosity, her dazzling, flawless technique, and her impeccable professionalism. She truly is an exceptionally-great pianist, and I hope I can see her again!!! I'd be right there in the front row!
I've heard or seen every virtuoso alive play Rach 3, and no one plays it with as much joy and passion as Olga does. She is a wonder to behold.
I just want to say that piece took my breath away. Bravo Olga, you are the best. What brought me here today, Aug 28, 2011, is the critical remarks made about a Chinese pianist who came to the Hollywood ball, wearing a beautiful, tight and very short dress (she had the body and legs for it) and played this Third Concerto , and I am sure she was sensational. Do not understand why people have to criticize. I wish I had been there in the audience and enjoy this beautiful music. HAGD all/.
I was at the Phoenix Symphony when she played Rach 3. It was an awesome performance.
Kids need this stuff yesterday!
Darn right she won the thing. Saw her about a week ago in Toronto. She is even better now and played every piece to perfection. What a thrill it was to watch her.
NOBODY can play Rach3 quite like Olga Kern, I should know, because I heard and saw her in person back in April 2007. She TOTALLY BLEW ME AWAY, I was literally on the edge of my seat!! She has a DAZZLING virtuosity, she owns this Piano Concerto!!
I saw Olga Kern play the Rach 3 in Morristown, NJ a couple of years ago. Thrilling! This piece is difficult for a man to play much less for a woman...Rachmaninoff had very large hands and a wide span. Olga Kern was wonderful to watch and hear.
Wow, there are 73 thumbs down...I mean, who doesn't dream and aspire to be like charismatic Olga Kern wearing a stunning red dress and playing Rachmaninoff with absolute perfection, and of course winning gold.
Even if you don't like her interpretation, you can at least acknowledge the dedication.
To the 73 people, go back to your mediocrity.
every single time i feel happy and excited and overjoyed listening to this beautiful
lady playing.
Rachmaninoff knew how to make love with music. He knows when to breathe, when to build, when to hold back, when to simmer. . . I'd be estatic to write ONE piece at that level. OMG. . . I never tire of hearing this.
Saw Olga play this concerto in Detroit last weekend. She has such a feel for Rachmaninoff's music and played the piece superbly and perfectly. Brava, Olga.
This is my favorite DVD of all times and I have listened to it so many times. Olga Kern is truly the best. What a great and outstanding performance. The music is so beautiful.
Olga Kern can tickle my ivories any day of the week, month, or year. She is terrific.
An excellent pianist. I heard her in Stuttgart performing Beethoven's Third...amazing style
Exquisite! Greatness should have a replay button, not commercials.
I had the pleasure of attending her performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3 last Thursday in Nashville. As marvelous as she was during the Cliburn competition, she's even better today. When sharing a few brief words with her after the performance I found her to be so modest. I told her "That was incredible". She actually seemed a bit embarrassed to be called incredible. She's lovely, talented, humble, and so charming. Everyone must see he perform this concerto if possible.
Note the finish... pianist perfectly in unison with the orchestra. That’s rare in Rach 3 renditions!!
I‘m no musician, just a passionate music lover and regular visitor of concert performances. I‘ve heard dozens of Rach 3 interpretions, but however astonishing the pianist is, I vote the performances by the collaboration (don‘t know a better word- sorry) with the orchestra. Even Horowitz himself messes up the finale in terms of finishing together with the orchestra in his recording.
I guess the audience during this performance felt the energy of the finale, that was absolutely nailed by Olga AND the orchestra. The standing ovation says it all, everyone jumped from their seats.
Wow, just wow!!
PS: my other favourite performance is the recent one by Alexander Malofeev, also here on YT. I recommend everyone who loves Rachmaninoff to check it out.
she is amazing, She gve a master class today at CU and it was amazing. Her joy and passion fill the room. its my second time in a master class with her, so great.
she plays the beginning of the last 10 minutes so smoothly its like legato at super speed sounds so great
I was there for this performance. I literally cried I was so moved.
Excellent...what more can one say.
Olga just played all 4 Rach concertos, the Variations on a theme by Paganini and much more as part of a 2 weekend Rach Festival with The Colorado Symphony. The night she played the 4th concerto, she first came on stage alone and played the 20 minute, 3 movement 2nd sonata, before changing gowns and returning to blaze through the 4th concerto, ending with two encores....all in all, four incredible Rachmaninov performances BEFORE INTERMISSION! Olga truly RACHS!
To play this concerto is sooo exciting! especially this movement... WHAT AN AMAZING CONCERTO!!
I've heard at least 100 interpretations of Rach 3, and would put Olga Kern's in my top 3. It's a stunning performance. Find it hard to believe some of the garbage posted here about posture, hand position, blah blah. Who cares about that? It's the SOUND that comes out that matters. She lives and breathes this piece. Her performance is sincere and heartfelt. I think some people think it's clever to criticize a great performance as if they know something we don't. Ignore them, sit back and enjoy.
Olga I Love you. This is the best performance in this piece. I have never heard any interpretation best than this. I love you for ever, Thanks for ever.
Jorge
You're kidding, right? I saw and heard Olga Kern, and she totally blew me away!!
There is so little music that could move one to tears, this is so beautiful.
I can feel her passion... this is magnificent.
Olga takes musicianship to the next level, almost segueing a path between reality and the place that very few musicians reach let alone portray.
Incredible.
i love Olga..she is immense..Rach is smiling listening to her...
Good God almighty - I'm surprised there was any piano left to play by the time she'd finished with it. Outstanding.
I feel so honored to have watched her perform live in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday. ;)
all these comments sounds like heaven , thank you god that there are so many rachmaninoff lovers out there , me i must confess i am a fanatic too much in love with his music and olga,, oh what can be said she says it all,,,
What an amazing piece played superbly by a splendid pianist! My God! RUclips is really a source of gold!
I can truly understand why you say this. I was lucky enough to have been in the NJPAC audience last year when Olga performed Rach 2accompanied by National Philharmonic of Russia. Frankly, I was in tears much of the time, so moved was I by the beauty of her playing and the depth of emotion that was behind the performance. Ms. Kern is a gracious performer as well, one who is willing to chat with and and sign autographs for her fans. I hope she returns to the NYC area soon!
GOD..!!! how can she actually memorize not only a 10 min piano concerto, but a Rachmaninoff, on top of that she plays it exquisitely and I have a hard time remembering phone numbers....
I also attended her performance 3 weeks ago at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.. and it was simply amazing.
she is the cleanest I have heard. Keeping his tempo. WOW. no one better
I hope your comment was satirical, otherwise it was distasteful and without any music ical judgmnet. This I believe the best performance of the 3rd concerto i have ever heard.
Riveting, maybe the most heartfelt performance of this passage I've heard.
Not only is this a great recording and performance, but it is historic in that she won the Van Cliburn competition that year with this performance!
This is my favourite performance on youtube! The quality of the video is awesome and Olga is so beautiful and has such charisma and the ending is just perfect. I am speechless.
Loving Olga's pianistic technical abilities.! Bravo. Bellissima!!!
Kudos also to James Conlon, the conductor. He was phenomenal during the 2001 Competition. He is very, very expressive and beautiful hands when conducting. He was a joy to watch.
My guess is those who criticize......are those who have never tried to play this.....I'd like to see those who criticize try......put your hands on the keyboard and you do it!
she is so good! really, compared to other videos Ive seen of this concerto, she is one of the best
Rachmaninoff hits me emotionally more than any other composers work. This performance seriously gives me chills. Beautiful!
To the people who critise this performance: Do you know what it feels like to be able to play this piece in the privacy of your own home? Do you know what it takes to be able to play this piece live in front of an audience and cameras? Do you know how how it feels to be able to play this piece AT ALL? I uncheck those three boxes for you all.
Absolutely sublime
Olga played Rach 3 with our New Mexico Symphony Orchestra(NMSO) when I saw and heard her in person almost 2 years ago, and I was totally blown away by her dazzling virtuosity, her raw passion for this majestic piano concerto!! Even if you don't like the piano, she MAKES you like the piano through the depth of emotion that she puts into it! It makes me want to learn how to play the piano!! But I play the violin, so it would be great to accompany her on my violin.
she is absolutely amazing...thanks for posting this!!!!
great performance, full of artistry, emotional power and beauty.
Wow, you can feel what she's playing. Breathtaking. Thank you for posting. :)
Extremely well done for this insanely difficult piece. She got it right. Thumbs up.
Geez all those little runs here and there, amazingness!
@ferocel I agree - people who argue against how powerful her performance is here are in no way capable of judging the tremendous force and skill required to execute this piece. Oh, also idiots: she became the first woman in over thirty years to receive the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal for this performance that you're watching. She is a laureate of eleven international competitions.
Still my favourite after 2 yrs of close Utube watch.
@ferocel It's a symptom of the idea that attacking someone else's accomplishments can somehow make [them] feel less intimidated, less threatened, less "insignificant" by comparison. This performance of Rach 3 in many ways is the best I've ever seen-heard. Yes, I can play it, but you'll never see me do so in public; I have students who execute Rachmaninov better than I do. Olga's combination of technique, phrase, dynamics, inner voicing and pure brilliance adds up to MASTERWORK. Beautifiul!!!
Wow - loved her expression/gasp right after she finished!
On a brighter note - this version of Rach 3 is stunning. I agree that there are aspects of 'overkill' emotionally, therefore blurring the clarity of dynamic and phrasing, however, being an amateur pianist, I can only sit back in awe at this spectacle.
Despite the flaws spotted by far greater musicians than myself, I can only say that from my point of view... you could lose youself, drown yourself in this music. It's stunningly beautiful.
Totally just saw her play this tonight, she looked and played absolutely amazing!!
This is the best ending to the concerto I've ever heard - the piano is heard really nicely whereas in some other recordings it's quite sadly drowned out. Bravo!
I am going to see her concert, Rach 3 tonight... I have been waiting for a long time.
i am not a musician so i do not have an expertise at all.
but by goodness this performance every time that i watch it makes me shiver
in enjoyment.
I also attended the Phoenix symphony that she played at! It was so incredible to watch her play in person!
she is a great performer, I liked so much her way of playing
i love how when she is playing less then 20 notes at a time she isnt even paying attention
Ezt az előadásmódot talán még Rachmaninov is megirígyelné!Bravo OLGA!
One of the greatest performances of any genre of all time...and I will venture on to say that this piece has not ever been played better than the young Olga did that day....this was a benchmark by which this piece shall be judged and compared...IMO
Absolutely amazing! Bravo!
Beautiful!!!!!
This is amazing!
how can someone compose music like this???!!!
Rachmaninof is so amazing
this is perhaps the greatest thing i have ever witnessed...
AMAZING!!!! definitely my fav pianist!!!!
Wonderful........a real gem!!
I'm always in awe, seeing gifted musicians play like it's a natural extension of their being. What must it be like ? I saw Midori play at the Kennedy Center about 10 years ago. She stood up their with no music and was fantastic. I think she was all of 20 or 21 years old... Nice video, thanks for posting!
Thanks for posting, much appreciated.
love this performance.
i have seen her in concert and been at masterclasses with her, and at her solo recitals i've seen her play, she plays beethoven stunningly, and she played scarlatti and mozart as well, so though she lives and breaths rach, prokofiev, and shosty, i think she loves other music and performs quite well with it.
I love rachmaninoff..... so much
Although I have worked on this concerto for many years that damn extended chordal section in the 3rd mvt kills me everytime along with that triplet LH octaves leading to the coda. Ayayay!!
At 5:58 in this video, you can SEE her just say "what the heck, I'm going for it", and the music really stats to flow.
The last minute is just so moving.
Incredible and pasionate performance. Bravo!
I just heard her with the DSO last night and she's phenomenal!
@mozart200657 I've also had a pleasure of listening to her live. In 2010 she had a recital in Kraków, She played pieces by Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninow and Liszt. It was an amazing concert.
I saw Olga's live performance of Tchaikovsky's piano concerto No.1 a few years back and it also was incredible.
Saw her playing last night. She's incredible!
it's called passion for music, probably something you will never have the luck to feel