Dear Charles, I just had to tell you, you play with your heart and soul, I can feel it, you feel every note. It's such a joy listening to whatever you play, bless you and thank you for sharing your gift. ❤
You make it look so easy, but your touch and techniques are just flawless. To play something so slow and delicately take such precision! Thank you so much for tearing apart Bring Him Home yesterday. It is an incredible arrangement and this Les Mis fan could not pass it up. May take me forever, but there's so much to learn in that piece. With no musical training, your time and explanations are priceless. Thank you! Excited for another Masterclass!
So beautifully played, with grace, emotion and precision 👏🏻👏🏻, I love the portion towards the middle of the song as it crescendos, and you performed it so well! 😌
Very nicely played. I used to close with this every night at Chuck's Cellar in Waikiki. On this one your piano is singing very nicely in the treble. This performance is as nice as anyone will hear anywhere by anybody. Extremely lyrical and flowing as it is meant to be. I can't speak highly enough of this performance and recording. It's perfect in all respects.
Thanks, I really appreciate that! I just had some hammer work done last week, so this recording is "fresh" on the heels of that voicing and reshaping. Speaking of that and our previous talks about hammers and tone: I'm getting 2 quotes for new hammers finalized. The techs I've been talking to have been recommending either going with Abel hammers (made in Germany, using the pre-WWII style of felting typical of American Steinways from that era) or Renner Blue Points, which are used on many of the modern European designed concert instruments from Bosendorfer, to Fazioli, to Bechstein, and also the Hamburg Steinway. Plus the piano will be getting the top 3 octaves restrung with fresh wire, the capo bar will get sanded smooth again, new key bushing, and new flanges and shanks to go with the hammers. Just waiting on the last set of numbers to come in... then I need to figure out when to have the work done... I'll be without a piano for a month or more!
@@PianistAcademy1 I put Abel Hammers on my Chickering. I did the work myself. You have to "juice" the hammers up after they are installed as they are pretty soft out of the box. I don't have experience with the other hammers you mention. In Colorado and suppose in Arizona too you will have problems over the long term with the felt drying out. In Hawaii the problem is somewhat the opposite, but with the same result. The hammers pick up so much humidity they swell and become hard. Maybe you should look into the new Roland GP-6 and GP-9 digital grands. They sound very nice. Your acoustic sounds really pretty good right now. I would discourage you from putting a lot of money into it unless you can do the work yourself. I got my hammers from a smaller piano supply in Chicago. You have to measure the angle, and they bore them for you. It's not too hard to change them. You use a heat gun to soften the glue. You have to be very careful pulling the action out. It's easy to snap off the hammers if one accidentally gets pushed up. It can happen to even experienced technicians. Juicing takes a long time over several days. Basically you desolve a portion of a Styrofoam cup into acetone and saturate the hammer a little at a time with a needle dropper., let them harden and see how you like the tone. You don't want to over do it. I go with a pretty dilute solution. There seems to be all kinds of opinions on needling the hammers down for a softer tone. Some say not to needle the strike point. I've had pretty good luck just sanding the grooves on the face down. Honestly I would consider a different piano over dumping excessive money into this one. They had a used Yamaha 7 footer down at Schmitts in Denver for $30,000.00. I didn't play it, but it looked really nice. Stu Harrison really likes the Roland GP-6 and I guess the 9 is even better. I think acoustics are relics, and I'm not sure how top of the line the instrument you have is. People put money mostly into older Steinways. Since you don't do the work yourself it becomes very pricey. Schmitt's has a new Steinway on the floor for $186,000.00. It may not even be a 7 footer. Tomorrow I start Horsemanship ground training lessons, so I've largely lost interest in fixing up pianos. Watch some Steve Young videos on RUclips. He's the one that got me interested in messing with horses - just ground work, not riding. Steve is amazing. He can turn around a misbehaving horse rather quickly.
@@JoeLinux2000 - interesting that, having a rather extensive experience with acoustic pianos, you're actually recommending a digital instrument over an acoustic.
@@PianistAcademy1 I suppose if the primary use of the piano will be for recording and online classes you'll be more concerned with it's voicing and sound in that capacity as opposed to a larger, more live (or dead) room acoustic. What is the size and acoustic treatment of the room this was recorded in? It seems to be doing very well. To my ears the nuance level in the treble is better than a Yamaha, but maybe not quite the same as a well-voiced and set-up Steinway, Bechstein or Fazoli. The instrument is doing very well for its size and set-up. In case you're ever considering a different instrument, another foot in length (7.5') would fill in the overtone richness/balance in the lower mid-range and bass - last 2 - 1/2 octaves or so. You probably also have other arrangements/options (studios, etc.) for recording as well, I assume.
If you keep playing so many beautiful songs, sigh, I will have to drink too many glasses of wine while closing my eyes and putting my feet up to listen to them all. 🥂
I am in heaven 😍 Many years ago I watched Frankie & Johnny with Al Pacino and heard this stunning Debussy piece, and I fell in love with it. Most play it far too fast, but this was gloriously perfect, thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤
Here we have a stellar - and definitive -- performance of Claire de Lune! (setting it on loop for the rest of the evening ... :-) Btw -- very lovely "close touch" observed here -- near total relaxation -- contributes greatly to the delicious levels and balance of voices and lines.
Bravo Sir Charles....the KAWAI is sounding great under your master control...thanks for this one..my grandfathers serenade song for my grandmother...:-)) what will the masterclass of this one consist of?? will it be like the way you broke down the various aspects, of Pure Imag / Over the Rainbow, several years ago??
Thanks!! Yes, the class will be about 2 hours in total and covers a HUGE amount of material, including deep dives into every phrase of the piece as well as discussions of the use of poetry and images in music and, of course, technique! I'll be posting a snippet of the material for free on YT... probably around 10 to 15 minutes of it. The full course will be available on my Thinkific page, haven't yet decided on a price for it... I'm continuing to edit it this morning!
@@PianistAcademy1 Could you also perhaps consider Debussy's Danse (Tarentelle styrienne) ? It was one of the last pieces I worked on in college (played for an exam -- did ok) -- I'd love to hear your performance of it!
@@aBachwardsfellow I'll add it to my list! I'm planning on doing masterclasses and performance recordings of rep I've previously learned (it's a whole lot faster to prep something I've performed before than something completely fresh!), so it might be a bit before I get to any new Debussy, but it's a fantastic piece!
Within the first few bars of the _un poco mosso_ I thought “yes, this is how you voice it.” I don’t know, so few can strike the balance of pulse/voicing/phrasing the way you do here. Cheers.
Ah thank you Jose! Yup, this performance is under a copyright claim by The Orchard... the algorithm thinks it's someone else's performance... I think I'll have to wait until that clears (around 30 days) before the Super will become available again on the video :-(
@@jowr2000 Yup. Pretty much everything classical I've ever released on RUclips gets claimed by someone or their publisher... the usual culprit is Ashkenazy, so perhaps my interpretations fairly often align with his haha.
VERY nice performance, sir! I do have questions about some things you do and would actually love to give you a "lesson" with this piece lol... just some things that I believe would make it just that much better. I LOVE the quality of the recording! Whatever equipment you use perfectly captures things and, of course, that means your knowledge of HOW to use said equipment is very strong, since it's very difficult to get a piano to sound good in smaller spaces.
Kenny, thanks for taking a listen and also for being in the livestream today! Great to get to chat with you! I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Clair de lune! I might be a hard sell because I have reasons behind every interpretive choice here, but I'm always open to hearing ideas! Music is a lifelong journey and, while I love where this piece is for me right now, I'd be upset if it didn't continue to change and evolve in ways I might not yet be aware of. I can definitely say that nothing I play today is interpreted the way it was 5 or 10 years ago in my life!
@@PianistAcademy1 I, thoroughly, enjoyed your livestream and will look for the next one! Thank you for taking the time to do it. I started writing a reply on the Debussy and realized I had to stop, because it was turning into an essay. I don't have a problem with your interpretation, per se, but just some things here and there that if you played this for me in a masterclass situation, I'd tackle. I don't think I can put all that down here. I'd try, if that's something you'd want to see, but it could get detailed and lengthy lol. I first played this movement in a recital when I was about 11 or 12 and like you it's evolved immensely over the years... especially, since I've long ago added the rest of the suite. I wanted to add in reference to your other Debussy, "Reverie", and the Dover copy you use (I assume you use the same with this piece) it's interesting that while Debussy didn't like the term "impressionist", Dover chose to use a painting (Monet's "Impression: Sunrise") for it's cover that is often credited with inspiration for naming the entire impressionist movement. While it's my favorite Monet (and hangs on my wall), critics were incredibly harsh in their reviews when it first appeared at a Paris exhibition and compared it to wallpaper.
@kennywood6434 Feel free, if you have time, to draft up an email and send over your thoughts! cs@charlesszczepanek.com Yes, I also first learned this very early on, pre-teen as well. If I had a recording from then, It'd probably be pretty clunky! These days, my interpretation is based on Verlaine's "Promenade Sentimentale" instead of his "Clair de lune" poem. I find Debussy's vocal setting of Clair de lune much more convincing for that text. Debussy's original version of this piece was titled Promenade Sentimentale, and I'm not convinced he changed a whole lot of the music before retitling it. As such, the music very much fits the scenes and the order described in Verlaine's Promenade, and that's also how I teach it these days as well. I'm sure you've heard Debussy's piano roll recording of this as well? It's so far out there, but it aligns with his own views on music... today it would never be accepted as "proper" 😂 Yes, I use the Dover for both pieces and, yes, quite interesting the publisher would pair that painting with Debussy's music. I'm sure Debussy rolls over in his grave on a daily basis because of it!
How do you decide WHICH CHANNEL to list your latest works on?? I would think this would fit on your flagship channel?? no?? and also...you played this, so so well....I have to ask, how many takes did it take you to get this so right, as it is here?? can it possibly be your 1st take on it?? if so, amazing my friend..:-))) thx Charles..
Good question haha. I've found that nearly all of my subscribers on my other channel, "Charles Szczepanek," are interested in my arrangements of well known, more contemporary, music. When I've posted classical music there before, it usually doesn't get clicked on a whole lot. Combine that with the fact that I'll be releasing a masterclass course teaching this piece of music on this channel, and it makes most sense to release this particular recording here. Also, the "flagship" channel might be shifting to this one. My business overall has made a huge positive shift since starting this channel *almost* one year ago. It'll be one year on March 28!. At this point, the continual growth here is 90% of my other channel, despite it only being 11 months old, despite it not having videos with 600k+ views, despite it not getting 2k views per day like my other channel. We've also talked before about the creative process with writing new arrangements and the huge amount of time it all takes. I'm trying, desperately, to keep up with one new arrangement per month on the other channel, while continuing the positive momentum here, plus doing entrepreneurship coaching for musicians (outside of both of my channels) and of course teaching a very small number of in-person students. I only have so much time, and I need to put the majority of that time into the business that's showing the most growth and the most potential. And lastly! I did 4 takes of this one... and picked the 3rd to put up here. There's one tiny little thing I don't like about this one, but I'm ok with letting it live haha.
She seems to play it pretty straight, but very expressively in a different way than most! Debussy's own recording of this is ANYTHING but straight and in tempo haha. Have you heard Khatia Buniatishvili's recording of this? I quite enjoy hers.
@@PianistAcademy1 Yes, Khatia plays this very well, taking all the liberties she needs to. I think Maria João belongs to that special class of pianists, like Sokolov to name one, who matured an uncanny understanding of what makes music speak to the soul. Whatever they play sounds fresh and poignant, even if one has heard that piece a hundred times before played by other musicians. Every single note is not merely a sound but rather a word in a poem.
Dear Charles, I just had to tell you, you play with your heart and soul, I can feel it, you feel every note. It's such a joy listening to whatever you play, bless you and thank you for sharing your gift. ❤
You make it look so easy, but your touch and techniques are just flawless. To play something so slow and delicately take such precision! Thank you so much for tearing apart Bring Him Home yesterday. It is an incredible arrangement and this Les Mis fan could not pass it up. May take me forever, but there's so much to learn in that piece. With no musical training, your time and explanations are priceless. Thank you! Excited for another Masterclass!
Thanks so much, Bunny! I appreciate you being a part of this community!
Bravo, really loved it
Thanks, Ser Woolsley! You got the first comment again!! Love it 😀
Nice! I'd love to hear more famous classics
Great! And thanks for being subbed on this channel as well, Matthew!
So beautiful 🥰
Thank you, Meaghan!
bravo!
Thank you!
So beautifully played, with grace, emotion and precision 👏🏻👏🏻, I love the portion towards the middle of the song as it crescendos, and you performed it so well! 😌
Thank you, Imago!!
Very beautiful and inspiring. Clair de Lune is one of the pieces I would like to be able to play one day. Thank you!
My pleasure! I hope that day comes soon for you, Brenda!
Very nicely played. I used to close with this every night at Chuck's Cellar in Waikiki. On this one your piano is singing very nicely in the treble. This performance is as nice as anyone will hear anywhere by anybody. Extremely lyrical and flowing as it is meant to be. I can't speak highly enough of this performance and recording. It's perfect in all respects.
Thanks, I really appreciate that! I just had some hammer work done last week, so this recording is "fresh" on the heels of that voicing and reshaping.
Speaking of that and our previous talks about hammers and tone: I'm getting 2 quotes for new hammers finalized. The techs I've been talking to have been recommending either going with Abel hammers (made in Germany, using the pre-WWII style of felting typical of American Steinways from that era) or Renner Blue Points, which are used on many of the modern European designed concert instruments from Bosendorfer, to Fazioli, to Bechstein, and also the Hamburg Steinway. Plus the piano will be getting the top 3 octaves restrung with fresh wire, the capo bar will get sanded smooth again, new key bushing, and new flanges and shanks to go with the hammers. Just waiting on the last set of numbers to come in... then I need to figure out when to have the work done... I'll be without a piano for a month or more!
@@PianistAcademy1 I put Abel Hammers on my Chickering. I did the work myself. You have to "juice" the hammers up after they are installed as they are pretty soft out of the box. I don't have experience with the other hammers you mention. In Colorado and suppose in Arizona too you will have problems over the long term with the felt drying out. In Hawaii the problem is somewhat the opposite, but with the same result. The hammers pick up so much humidity they swell and become hard. Maybe you should look into the new Roland GP-6 and GP-9 digital grands. They sound very nice. Your acoustic sounds really pretty good right now. I would discourage you from putting a lot of money into it unless you can do the work yourself. I got my hammers from a smaller piano supply in Chicago. You have to measure the angle, and they bore them for you. It's not too hard to change them. You use a heat gun to soften the glue. You have to be very careful pulling the action out. It's easy to snap off the hammers if one accidentally gets pushed up. It can happen to even experienced technicians. Juicing takes a long time over several days. Basically you desolve a portion of a Styrofoam cup into acetone and saturate the hammer a little at a time with a needle dropper., let them harden and see how you like the tone. You don't want to over do it. I go with a pretty dilute solution. There seems to be all kinds of opinions on needling the hammers down for a softer tone. Some say not to needle the strike point. I've had pretty good luck just sanding the grooves on the face down. Honestly I would consider a different piano over dumping excessive money into this one. They had a used Yamaha 7 footer down at Schmitts in Denver for $30,000.00. I didn't play it, but it looked really nice. Stu Harrison really likes the Roland GP-6 and I guess the 9 is even better. I think acoustics are relics, and I'm not sure how top of the line the instrument you have is. People put money mostly into older Steinways. Since you don't do the work yourself it becomes very pricey.
Schmitt's has a new Steinway on the floor for $186,000.00. It may not even be a 7 footer.
Tomorrow I start Horsemanship ground training lessons, so I've largely lost interest in fixing up pianos. Watch some Steve Young videos on RUclips. He's the one that got me interested in messing with horses - just ground work, not riding. Steve is amazing. He can turn around a misbehaving horse rather quickly.
@@PianistAcademy1 - what brand and model is the piano ?
- nvm -- I see from the video it's an RX-5 (Kawai)
@@JoeLinux2000 - interesting that, having a rather extensive experience with acoustic pianos, you're actually recommending a digital instrument over an acoustic.
@@PianistAcademy1 I suppose if the primary use of the piano will be for recording and online classes you'll be more concerned with it's voicing and sound in that capacity as opposed to a larger, more live (or dead) room acoustic. What is the size and acoustic treatment of the room this was recorded in? It seems to be doing very well. To my ears the nuance level in the treble is better than a Yamaha, but maybe not quite the same as a well-voiced and set-up Steinway, Bechstein or Fazoli. The instrument is doing very well for its size and set-up. In case you're ever considering a different instrument, another foot in length (7.5') would fill in the overtone richness/balance in the lower mid-range and bass - last 2 - 1/2 octaves or so. You probably also have other arrangements/options (studios, etc.) for recording as well, I assume.
Absolutely sublime ❤❤❤💯
Thank you, Toni!
Beautiful Charles!
Thank you!
If you keep playing so many beautiful songs, sigh, I will have to drink too many glasses of wine while closing my eyes and putting my feet up to listen to them all. 🥂
Wine doesn't at all sound like a bad thing!
I am in heaven 😍 Many years ago I watched Frankie & Johnny with Al Pacino and heard this stunning Debussy piece, and I fell in love with it. Most play it far too fast, but this was gloriously perfect, thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤
Thanks, Helen!
So lovely! Thank you!
Thanks so much for the Super, Jess! Glad you enjoyed this performance!
A lovely interpretation!
Thank you!
Here we have a stellar - and definitive -- performance of Claire de Lune!
(setting it on loop for the rest of the evening ... :-)
Btw -- very lovely "close touch" observed here -- near total relaxation -- contributes greatly to the delicious levels and balance of voices and lines.
Thank you!! You'll have to let me know if this performance survives the "loop" test haha
@@PianistAcademy1 yup! -- still looping -- very relaxing, and quietly energizing
@@aBachwardsfellow Great!!! Btw, I'm going to reply to the other comments about the piano... just still teaching today.
@@PianistAcademy1 tks -- no hurry 🙂
I just love the way you play and the emotion and feeling put into this. It's definitely on my list of pieces I really want to learn
It's such beautiful music, I hope you learn it as well! Thank you for the kind words!
Beautiful...
Thanks so much, Mirjana!
Bravo Sir Charles....the KAWAI is sounding great under your master control...thanks for this one..my grandfathers serenade song for my grandmother...:-)) what will the masterclass of this one consist of?? will it be like the way you broke down the various aspects, of Pure Imag / Over the Rainbow, several years ago??
Thanks!! Yes, the class will be about 2 hours in total and covers a HUGE amount of material, including deep dives into every phrase of the piece as well as discussions of the use of poetry and images in music and, of course, technique! I'll be posting a snippet of the material for free on YT... probably around 10 to 15 minutes of it. The full course will be available on my Thinkific page, haven't yet decided on a price for it... I'm continuing to edit it this morning!
Absolutely sensational, this is a very high level performance 👏👏👏, looking forward to some Rachmaninoff
Thanks so much, Haydar! I'll add some Rachmaninoff to my list of practice rep!
@@PianistAcademy1 Could you also perhaps consider Debussy's Danse (Tarentelle styrienne) ? It was one of the last pieces I worked on in college (played for an exam -- did ok) -- I'd love to hear your performance of it!
@@aBachwardsfellow I'll add it to my list! I'm planning on doing masterclasses and performance recordings of rep I've previously learned (it's a whole lot faster to prep something I've performed before than something completely fresh!), so it might be a bit before I get to any new Debussy, but it's a fantastic piece!
@@PianistAcademy1 Thanks! 🙂 It's a fun piece to play!
Within the first few bars of the _un poco mosso_ I thought “yes, this is how you voice it.” I don’t know, so few can strike the balance of pulse/voicing/phrasing the way you do here. Cheers.
Ah thanks! This piece is interpreted in such a huge variety of ways. I'm glad my interpretation spoke to you!
Beautifully played. 👏👏👏👏 Wanted to send a $thx but not available. Maybe it will be later.
Ah thank you Jose! Yup, this performance is under a copyright claim by The Orchard... the algorithm thinks it's someone else's performance... I think I'll have to wait until that clears (around 30 days) before the Super will become available again on the video :-(
@@PianistAcademy1 What a nuisance!
@@jowr2000 Yup. Pretty much everything classical I've ever released on RUclips gets claimed by someone or their publisher... the usual culprit is Ashkenazy, so perhaps my interpretations fairly often align with his haha.
FYI....Charles still has a TIP JAR set up on his 1st/primary channel I do beleive...if thats of any consolation...
@@dannyweiss9701 thanks for mentioning that!
VERY nice performance, sir! I do have questions about some things you do and would actually love to give you a "lesson" with this piece lol... just some things that I believe would make it just that much better. I LOVE the quality of the recording! Whatever equipment you use perfectly captures things and, of course, that means your knowledge of HOW to use said equipment is very strong, since it's very difficult to get a piano to sound good in smaller spaces.
Kenny, thanks for taking a listen and also for being in the livestream today! Great to get to chat with you!
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Clair de lune! I might be a hard sell because I have reasons behind every interpretive choice here, but I'm always open to hearing ideas! Music is a lifelong journey and, while I love where this piece is for me right now, I'd be upset if it didn't continue to change and evolve in ways I might not yet be aware of. I can definitely say that nothing I play today is interpreted the way it was 5 or 10 years ago in my life!
@@PianistAcademy1 I, thoroughly, enjoyed your livestream and will look for the next one! Thank you for taking the time to do it.
I started writing a reply on the Debussy and realized I had to stop, because it was turning into an essay. I don't have a problem with your interpretation, per se, but just some things here and there that if you played this for me in a masterclass situation, I'd tackle. I don't think I can put all that down here. I'd try, if that's something you'd want to see, but it could get detailed and lengthy lol. I first played this movement in a recital when I was about 11 or 12 and like you it's evolved immensely over the years... especially, since I've long ago added the rest of the suite. I wanted to add in reference to your other Debussy, "Reverie", and the Dover copy you use (I assume you use the same with this piece) it's interesting that while Debussy didn't like the term "impressionist", Dover chose to use a painting (Monet's "Impression: Sunrise") for it's cover that is often credited with inspiration for naming the entire impressionist movement. While it's my favorite Monet (and hangs on my wall), critics were incredibly harsh in their reviews when it first appeared at a Paris exhibition and compared it to wallpaper.
@kennywood6434 Feel free, if you have time, to draft up an email and send over your thoughts! cs@charlesszczepanek.com
Yes, I also first learned this very early on, pre-teen as well. If I had a recording from then, It'd probably be pretty clunky! These days, my interpretation is based on Verlaine's "Promenade Sentimentale" instead of his "Clair de lune" poem. I find Debussy's vocal setting of Clair de lune much more convincing for that text. Debussy's original version of this piece was titled Promenade Sentimentale, and I'm not convinced he changed a whole lot of the music before retitling it. As such, the music very much fits the scenes and the order described in Verlaine's Promenade, and that's also how I teach it these days as well.
I'm sure you've heard Debussy's piano roll recording of this as well? It's so far out there, but it aligns with his own views on music... today it would never be accepted as "proper" 😂
Yes, I use the Dover for both pieces and, yes, quite interesting the publisher would pair that painting with Debussy's music. I'm sure Debussy rolls over in his grave on a daily basis because of it!
You have polish surname?
Yes I do!
How do you decide WHICH CHANNEL to list your latest works on?? I would think this would fit on your flagship channel?? no?? and also...you played this, so so well....I have to ask, how many takes did it take you to get this so right, as it is here?? can it possibly be your 1st take on it?? if so, amazing my friend..:-))) thx Charles..
Good question haha. I've found that nearly all of my subscribers on my other channel, "Charles Szczepanek," are interested in my arrangements of well known, more contemporary, music. When I've posted classical music there before, it usually doesn't get clicked on a whole lot. Combine that with the fact that I'll be releasing a masterclass course teaching this piece of music on this channel, and it makes most sense to release this particular recording here.
Also, the "flagship" channel might be shifting to this one. My business overall has made a huge positive shift since starting this channel *almost* one year ago. It'll be one year on March 28!. At this point, the continual growth here is 90% of my other channel, despite it only being 11 months old, despite it not having videos with 600k+ views, despite it not getting 2k views per day like my other channel. We've also talked before about the creative process with writing new arrangements and the huge amount of time it all takes. I'm trying, desperately, to keep up with one new arrangement per month on the other channel, while continuing the positive momentum here, plus doing entrepreneurship coaching for musicians (outside of both of my channels) and of course teaching a very small number of in-person students. I only have so much time, and I need to put the majority of that time into the business that's showing the most growth and the most potential.
And lastly! I did 4 takes of this one... and picked the 3rd to put up here. There's one tiny little thing I don't like about this one, but I'm ok with letting it live haha.
Lovely interpretation of this gem but... geez, on this one Maria João Pires is damn well untouchable.
She seems to play it pretty straight, but very expressively in a different way than most! Debussy's own recording of this is ANYTHING but straight and in tempo haha. Have you heard Khatia Buniatishvili's recording of this? I quite enjoy hers.
@@PianistAcademy1 Yes, Khatia plays this very well, taking all the liberties she needs to. I think Maria João belongs to that special class of pianists, like Sokolov to name one, who matured an uncanny understanding of what makes music speak to the soul. Whatever they play sounds fresh and poignant, even if one has heard that piece a hundred times before played by other musicians. Every single note is not merely a sound but rather a word in a poem.