I met Lazar Berman in the 1970s after a concert in which he played mostly Liszt and Scriabin. I went leaping through the halls of Hopkins Center at Dartmouth when lo and behold there came Lazar walking alone down the same corridor. He recognized that we were young and jumping for joy, inspired by his piano playing. He flashed us a huge smile and said something in Russian. There was a gold tooth somewhere inside that smile and I've never forgotten it. The rest is pure gold!
Do you know that he dropped the score into fire and that only the rwo first movements couls=d be saved? The tuird moement axtlly did exist but was lost. 😮💨
Perhaps you know the reason why the title is "From the Street". The piece's tragic inspiration comes from the murder of carpenter František Pavlík, aged 20, for a demonstration in defense of a university. Thus from the composer's hatred of the vileness of this act gave birth to this (the piece) child of defiance! And so Master Janacek writes: ""The white marble of the steps of the Besední dům in Brno. The ordinary labourer František Pavlík falls, stained with blood. He came merely to champion higher learning and has been slain by cruel murderers." - Wikipedia
Janacek is held high above most everyone in the early 20th century . Listening tells us how different he is from everyone else . Iwould have to really look at these pages to know how these motifs or themes represent a Sonata . The Waldstein it is not nor a Boulez Sonata . Not concert-showy like the Barber Sonata or Carl Vine . It is some a mostly interior experience . It takes a special musician to hold his audience with this music . Berman the great Lisztian ,learned and believed in the greatness of Janacek !
This sonata had a strange destiny. Janacek destroyed a third movement, the Finale, a few days before its first performance. It is not known why, if I remember correctly, because there are no (?) extant sketches. The performance was cancelled, and he subsequently destroyed also the first two movements! Fortunately the pianist had become suspicious and secretly copied the two movements we know. (Many years later, she presented her manuscript to Janacek, who then agreed that it should be performed.) My conjecture would be that the Finale was a fast-paced movement conveying maybe hope.. and that he felt it would destroy the effect of the extraordinary, sad nether shift of tonalities in the last measures of the "Death" movement. However, a fast Finale would have given the Sonata a more classical overall shape - representing a structural choice which Janacek, in 1905, was still inclined to making. As it stands now, its overall climate is quite close to the two string quartets’, dating from the 20s. “The Waldstein it is" definitely "not”: the “Germanic” ancestor of this music I feel to be Schubert, rather than Beethoven, or Schumann. To my ears, and as regards structure, Debussy’s Sonatas are distant family , although he could not have heard Janacek’s , as well as Bartok’s second violin/piano Sonata.
Ich bin damit einverstanden….Very beautiful indeed! Ebenmäißgkeitsentzückung…(Ich meinte Schuldaufdeckungsangst!) Herzlich, Mexikaner Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän ! .
@@mgul0619 the reference is a couple of commentaries above. There were riots in Brno, Moravians/Czechs were fighting with Germans. The main reason was that the Czechs wanted to establish a new, Czech university in Brno. The army was called in to calm things down. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers stabbed a young Czech carpenter Mr. Pavlik with a bayonet.
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I met Lazar Berman in the 1970s after a concert in which he played mostly Liszt and Scriabin. I went leaping through the halls of Hopkins Center at Dartmouth when lo and behold there came Lazar walking alone down the same corridor. He recognized that we were young and jumping for joy, inspired by his piano playing. He flashed us a huge smile and said something in Russian. There was a gold tooth somewhere inside that smile and I've never forgotten it. The rest is pure gold!
Beautiful story - admiration: what an uplifting display of emotion..!
I also heard Berman in the 70`s at Miami University in Ohio. I think I read somewhere that it was his first tour abroad. Maybe the same tour as your`s
This is an incredible and completely self-contained piece of music. Janacek was so much his own man.
Do you know that he dropped the score into fire and that only the rwo first movements couls=d be saved? The tuird moement axtlly did exist but was lost. 😮💨
Perhaps you know the reason why the title is "From the Street". The piece's tragic inspiration comes from the murder of carpenter František Pavlík, aged 20, for a demonstration in defense of a university. Thus from the composer's hatred of the vileness of this act gave birth to this (the piece) child of defiance!
And so Master Janacek writes:
""The white marble of the steps of the Besední dům in Brno. The ordinary labourer František Pavlík falls, stained with blood. He came merely to champion higher learning and has been slain by cruel murderers." - Wikipedia
So fastastically expresive... so beautiful . ...soy full of life
beautiful performance, especially the sound...
Great performance! Thanks!
Amazing performance! So pure!
Great performance!
In 2023 Alexander Malofeev added Janacek as well as Weinberg to his repertoire. Bravo.
Janacek is held high above most everyone in the early 20th century . Listening tells us how different he is from everyone else . Iwould have to really look at these pages to know how these motifs or themes represent a Sonata . The Waldstein it is not nor a Boulez Sonata . Not concert-showy like the Barber Sonata or Carl Vine . It is some a mostly interior experience . It takes a special musician to hold his audience with this music . Berman the great Lisztian ,learned and believed in the greatness of Janacek !
This sonata had a strange destiny. Janacek destroyed a third movement, the Finale, a few days before its first performance. It is not known why, if I remember correctly, because there are no (?) extant sketches. The performance was cancelled, and he subsequently destroyed also the first two movements! Fortunately the pianist had become suspicious and secretly copied the two movements we know. (Many years later, she presented her manuscript to Janacek, who then agreed that it should be performed.) My conjecture would be that the Finale was a fast-paced movement conveying maybe hope.. and that he felt it would destroy the effect of the extraordinary, sad nether shift of tonalities in the last measures of the "Death" movement. However, a fast Finale would have given the Sonata a more classical overall shape - representing a structural choice which Janacek, in 1905, was still inclined to making. As it stands now, its overall climate is quite close to the two string quartets’, dating from the 20s. “The Waldstein it is" definitely "not”: the “Germanic” ancestor of this music I feel to be Schubert, rather than Beethoven, or Schumann. To my ears, and as regards structure, Debussy’s Sonatas are distant family , although he could not have heard Janacek’s , as well as Bartok’s second violin/piano Sonata.
Bello e struggente.
7:06 I can hear some serious Dvořák's inspiration from the New World Symphony (Largo movement) :)
Thank you for this wonderful performance!
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful and gripping performance.
Very interesting that Lazare Berman played this. With much passion.
Stunning!
Leoš Janáček:1905.X.1 Zongoraszonáta
1.Rossz előérzet (Předtucha) - Con moto 00:00
2.Halál (Smrt) - Adagio 06:05
Lazar Berman-zongora
Köszönöm az értékelést
schitterend !
Ich bin damit einverstanden….Very beautiful indeed! Ebenmäißgkeitsentzückung…(Ich meinte Schuldaufdeckungsangst!) Herzlich, Mexikaner Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän !
.
For background to this piece, see Simon Winder's book Danubia pg 419
I didnt get the reference. Can you explain?
@@mgul0619 the reference is a couple of commentaries above. There were riots in Brno, Moravians/Czechs were fighting with Germans. The main reason was that the Czechs wanted to establish a new, Czech university in Brno. The army was called in to calm things down. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers stabbed a young Czech carpenter Mr. Pavlik with a bayonet.
@6:22 anyone else the wrong rhythm?
Lazar, not Lazare
ベルマンのヤナーチェクは演奏してた事に驚き。基本的に日本人には同じ生活の場での人種間の怒り、恐怖は皮膚感覚的に判らない。国境線を越さずとも違う体臭、自分の肉体の輪郭の外にある他者の空間地図。ロシア系ユダヤ人ベルマン。しかし演奏は凡庸やな・・
danke