No matter how far reproduction harpsichords have developed since the filming of this, it's somewhat reassuring to see how closely Iturbi's ornamentation follows modern practice. Very interesting find.
The PLAYING is superb. The SOUND is ess-aitch-eye-tea! I wish we had more recordings of Iturbi at the Pleyel. I also wish someone would REVIVE the instrument as Wanda Landowska designed it with Pleyel. It is a BIG improvement on the "authentic" "period" models. Sadly Pleyel shuttered its doors only a few years ago.,
Big improvement? Whatever you're smoking I DON'T want any! Why do you think builders stopped building instruments like these in favor of the historic models?
I'm with you on on the sound of this instrument and Iturbi's playing. Too bad the recording is execrable early '40's or so. I've read of WL's instrument sneered at as a "cinema organ" in notes to the recordings of another (then) contemporary of hers. Whatever keyboard music prior to the nineteenth century is played on, somebody is going to decry it as "inauthentic".
Hi, he was born in Valencia, Spain, he went to Paris to study at the Conservatory there when he was 14, after a few years when WW1 broke out he moved home again and a bit later to Geneva, again to Paris and much later to the States. The Dutch line is not a quote but the title of my book about Iturbi's life and pianotechnique. Dagmar
Wonderful video. I know nothing of the harpsichord but find it the most fascinating of all the classical music instruments. The sound is very distinctive.
The four fragments with Iturbi playing Rameau, Liszt, Chopin and Albeniz come from two short-films he made in the early 40's. You can only find them on 16mm films. I bought them on e-bay and let someone put them on DVD for me. The original quality is much better, but I had to reduce it to get it on you-tube. There's another fragment of Iturbi playing a harpsichord on "The art of José Iturbi", a VAI-DVD of performances he made for "The Bell Telephone Hour". But he only plays "Tambourin".
Although Wanda Landowska recorded Mozart on the Piano, she is best remembered for her performances, teaching, recordings and writings which played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord. She was the first person to record Bach's Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord (1931). revival of the Harpsichord.
And Conniedaevilcow, playing harpsichord requires softness of touch, holding the fingers close to the keys because a hand falling from high draws a harder sound from the string. Never weight the fingers with the hand, rather the hand must support the fingers, so that in running passages, fingers are not lifted quickly, but glide off the edge. This makes the runs clear.
Hi there, I work with a harpsichordbuilder (when I'm not studying). This is not a typical harpsichord; its sound is very different - as are the looks of it. Interesting! I wonder who built it! Kindest regards, Roger from Holland
I just watched a few Scarlatti sonatas on the 'Horowitz in Moscow' DVD, and he also plays them with flat fingers. But I've seen him play sometimes with very curled fingers in some passages in other pieces, it would be interesting to know what kind of sound he produced with it. I'll have to look into that. Horowitz himself insisted on playing with the whole finger phalanx and not only with the fingertip.
Watching Landowskas "claws" makes one think "Ouch!", - but she did allright, as we know. What hurts and destroys one can be absolutely without problems for another.
Either way, just because brilliant players like Iturbi or Landowska can do it, it doesn't mean that this position fits to everyone. The basic piano hand position, "roof-like", is the one that should be teached when on a piano. This is my opinion, anyway.
he explains Landowska's Pleyel creation....! fun and amusing , such an instrument, snubbed by the hysterical-historical clan.Berlin's Musikinstrumenten Museum has such a Pleyel clavecin....
It would be adventurous for some one to write for the magnificent instrument to duet with the historical ones. Not all of us in the HIP clan disagree with the modern harpsichord, it has a unique tone that can be employed to great effect. They should really create more pieces using both! It would be amusing to see them revive music from the Renaissance to the Romantic era. Imagine the endless stream of creativity!
Question: Can somebody please recommend a really good harpsichord method book or something to improve at playing in the style of 17th/18th harpsichord players. Thanks.
I have a little girl piano pupil who curls up her fingers like this. It makes me stressed to see such muscular tension for nothing. However, José is plaing brilliantly. Maybe I should stopasking the little girn not to do that....
@1401JSC Please do not do such thing. The basic piano hand position is not this one, and in works from Beethoven on, it will NOT work at all. The only reason this works is because it promotes a "touché" appropriate to this harpsichord. However, if you see an authenticist harpsichord performer, his hand position will have nothing to do with Iturbi's or Landowska's. Therefore, I do not know to what extent this "curled" position is a physical demand of the instrument.
No matter how far reproduction harpsichords have developed since the filming of this, it's somewhat reassuring to see how closely Iturbi's ornamentation follows modern practice.
Very interesting find.
No one plays Rameau on the harpsichord as lively and as beautifully as him - not even Wanda Landowska.
The PLAYING is superb. The SOUND is ess-aitch-eye-tea!
I wish we had more recordings of Iturbi at the Pleyel. I also wish someone would REVIVE the instrument as Wanda Landowska designed it with Pleyel. It is a BIG improvement on the "authentic" "period" models.
Sadly Pleyel shuttered its doors only a few years ago.,
Big improvement? Whatever you're smoking I DON'T want any! Why do you think builders stopped building instruments like these in favor of the historic models?
I'm with you on on the sound of this instrument and Iturbi's playing. Too bad the recording is execrable early '40's or so. I've read of WL's instrument sneered at as a "cinema organ" in notes to the recordings of another (then) contemporary of hers. Whatever keyboard music prior to the nineteenth century is played on, somebody is going to decry it as "inauthentic".
Wanda Landowska's peculiar finger position seem to explain Iturbi's, too
Hi, he was born in Valencia, Spain, he went to Paris to study at the Conservatory there when he was 14, after a few years when WW1 broke out he moved home again and a bit later to Geneva, again to Paris and much later to the States.
The Dutch line is not a quote but the title of my book about Iturbi's life and pianotechnique. Dagmar
Wow! Iturbi and a harpsichord lesson -- a double whammy! Terrific addition to the Iturbi films here, thanks Hofman1895!
Wonderful video. I know nothing of the harpsichord but find it the most fascinating of all the classical music instruments. The sound is very distinctive.
Iturbi makes it look so easy, but I am not fooled. M. Rameau was a genius, and Iturbi is a true artist. Art can hardly be more expressive than this.
The four fragments with Iturbi playing Rameau, Liszt, Chopin and Albeniz come from two short-films he made in the early 40's. You can only find them on 16mm films. I bought them on e-bay and let someone put them on DVD for me. The original quality is much better, but I had to reduce it to get it on you-tube.
There's another fragment of Iturbi playing a harpsichord on "The art of José Iturbi", a VAI-DVD of performances he made for "The Bell Telephone Hour". But he only plays "Tambourin".
TY Hofman1895 for posting this lovely music.
Truly enchanting.
Although Wanda Landowska recorded Mozart on the Piano, she is best remembered for her performances, teaching, recordings and writings which played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord. She was the first person to record Bach's Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord (1931).
revival of the Harpsichord.
Maestro de Maestro José Iturbi.
Bravo!
Great to see Iturbi again.
Coool! Thanks for posting this!
nice jose! can barely hear it but when i do, sounds great
No lo había escuchado en Clavecin. Siempre 🙏 exelente , 🇮🇷 desde niña había nedtos discos en casa.
If this is the only one you've heard, you still haven't heard one.
I had no idea Iturbi studied with Landowska. Very interesting.
Precious, lovely! Thanx! :) A shame that doesn't exist any similar with Wanda Landowska.
モダンチェンバロの解説動画は非常に少ないので貴重ですね、ありがとうございます。
And Conniedaevilcow, playing harpsichord requires softness of touch, holding the fingers close
to the keys because a hand falling from high
draws a harder sound from the string. Never
weight the fingers with the hand, rather the
hand must support the fingers, so that in
running passages, fingers are not lifted quickly,
but glide off the edge. This makes the runs clear.
Hi there,
I work with a harpsichordbuilder (when I'm not studying). This is not a typical harpsichord; its sound is very different - as are the looks of it. Interesting! I wonder who built it!
Kindest regards, Roger from Holland
What a delight to see real harpsichord playing
here on RUclips! I play it myself (a double
manual like ^ ^ ^) and this is masterful. Bravo,
dear man!
For it to be real harpsichord playing, one would have to have a real harpsichord, rather than a plucking piano.
I just watched a few Scarlatti sonatas on the 'Horowitz in Moscow' DVD, and he also plays them with flat fingers. But I've seen him play sometimes with very curled fingers in some passages in other pieces, it would be interesting to know what kind of sound he produced with it. I'll have to look into that. Horowitz himself insisted on playing with the whole finger phalanx and not only with the fingertip.
Clavecin ,me encanta.
Very cool!
such finesse
El primero 🥇 que escuche de niña. ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼🎻
It's possible that it is one of the (modern) Pleyel-harpsichords.
Pleyel built them on request of Wanda Landowska, one of the teachers of José Iturbi.
that last song is called tambourine. and he handled it
Enlightening!
Nicest and most complex harpsichord I've ever seen.
6 pedals!
Superb playing! A joy!
The word "Clavier" is a word of french origin that simply means "keyboard". This word is used to mean "Piano" in German. Hope this helps! ;-)
He and Landowska were apparently both double-jointed.
wow!
WOW
Watching Landowskas "claws" makes one think "Ouch!", - but she did allright, as we know. What hurts and destroys one can be absolutely without problems for another.
her piano playing was more than excellent,too!
incantevole
Either way, just because brilliant players like Iturbi or Landowska can do it, it doesn't mean that this position fits to everyone. The basic piano hand position, "roof-like", is the one that should be teached when on a piano. This is my opinion, anyway.
very true:) haha - he speaks well the language of hapsycord music! he is amazing!
he explains Landowska's Pleyel creation....! fun and amusing , such an instrument, snubbed by the hysterical-historical clan.Berlin's Musikinstrumenten Museum has such a Pleyel clavecin....
It would be adventurous for some one to write for the magnificent instrument to duet with the historical ones. Not all of us in the HIP clan disagree with the modern harpsichord, it has a unique tone that can be employed to great effect. They should really create more pieces using both! It would be amusing to see them revive music from the Renaissance to the Romantic era. Imagine the endless stream of creativity!
Question:
Can somebody please recommend a really good harpsichord method book or something to improve at playing in the style of 17th/18th harpsichord players. Thanks.
Clavecin ,como me gusta ,si que encuentras tesoros perdidos ,gracias 🌹 por compartir.
He holds his hands like that at the piano also. The opposite of Horowitz.
You can even make a fist without muscular tension, so the form of the fingers has nothing to do with tension.
it takes no muscular tension to curl one's fingers like that
Quite the opposite, the trademark of Horowitz was playing with very flat fingers. Although he sometimes made use curved fingers.
he plays with his imagination!
@1401JSC perhaps she should switch to the harpsichord then - I was taught to always do that
Wonder fur performance do cor music
Jose Iturbi was a fine artist. Its too bad he didnt have access to one of the fine historical replicas that are being made today.
"L'art de Toucher le Clavecin" ;)
Wonderful, even the quality of this record is not good enough
Yes, he is more like a piano player. This is like a hibrid non historical harpsichord
What is Clavier then?
beautiful playing it ashame the sound is so garbled
wanda Landowska, wasn't she an organist too?
pianist and composer
clavier is german for piano?
the quality of this video makes it sound like a piano lol
Jajajaja si, y eso pasa en todas las grabaciones viejas, y mas con los claves Pleyel, terminan sonando como piano.
Actually it's the kind of harpsichord Wanda Landowska used.
He plays with his fingers curled up, like Horowitz...
A 16mm film from 1940.
Why He speaks like Super Mario? XD
I'm joking... He's absolutely wonderful!!
too bad the sound is not good--yet there is enough to discern that Iturbi was a great harpsichordist and interpreter of baroque music
The harpsichord is played with very curled fingers.
14001 must do a lot of harm as a teacher.
yo i'm doing a report omn a harpsicord
I have a little girl piano pupil who curls up her fingers like this.
It makes me stressed to see such muscular tension for nothing.
However, José is plaing brilliantly. Maybe I should stopasking the little girn not to do that....
@1401JSC Please do not do such thing. The basic piano hand position is not this one, and in works from Beethoven on, it will NOT work at all. The only reason this works is because it promotes a "touché" appropriate to this harpsichord. However, if you see an authenticist harpsichord performer, his hand position will have nothing to do with Iturbi's or Landowska's. Therefore, I do not know to what extent this "curled" position is a physical demand of the instrument.
Con el Mix ,lo demas no me gusta y se llena mi cel.