@FameThreeTimes the great beauty of Alicia's "slower" approach (which never removes the excitement) is that the all-important RYTHMIC TENSION is actually enhanced..i love that about Alicia's playing in ravel and spanish music. she never sacrifices the rythmic details and subtleties of tension by just playing "fast". amazing artistic and musical Discipline from one of the Greats.
Help!! I can't breathe after listening this!! It doesn't matter whether it is a fast or slow Scarbo, for that I feel perspiring while sitting there and listen, that's enough!
Another things I've always loved about Alicia is her no-nonsense performing style; there's none of the over-dramatic hand gestures and comical facial expressions you see from so many other pianists, including some very famous ones (Bang-Bang takes the prize in this regard, not that he is even in the same league as a pianist as was De Larrocha). She was as enjoyable to listen to as she was to watch...
This performance of Scarbo while certainly impressive, is upstaged by an even more technically daring live Carnegie Hall performance from around 1968. Something about the best of her live performances brought out a "throw-caution-to-the-wind" aspect to her personality and playing that's generally missing from the studio recordings of the same works...What's amazing about her is that regardless of her mood, she was never less than completely musical.
Yeah, I wasn't sold on it at first but as I listened, I realized I was hearing some things in the piece I hadn't heard before, not to mention she totally rocked the mysterious bit just before the last crescendo which she also killed. Excellent!
One thing I noticed she does here and in the 1968 Carnegie performance is she adds another measures worth of the Bmajor octave arpeggios at the final fff @8:18. Such a cool addition.
Fantastic! What a find! By the way, about the time of this telecast she recorded Gaspard, Valses and Alborado for Epic. I await to see this remastered on CD soon!
Gina Bachauer's Mussorgsky is also out of this world . She really was an amazing woman with small hands like ALicia that could do anything her imagination wanted!
She is amazing and what I love most of all is that she keeps the tempo steady, something Ravel would have certainly appreciated. The tempo given in the score is 'vif' which is fast and spirited, but NOT as fast as possible. It's unfortunate that most pianists think that's how they should play it. And as we know well, many pianists sacrifice a lot (notes, textural details, clarity of articulation etc) to achieve breakneck speeds. I would rather hear it played like this.
but the REAL revelation to me, after so many years (of listening to versions and having played this piece too) - was the Scarbo of Gina Bachauer..now -- THAT is an unbelievable rendition..not just in virtuosity and coloration but in suggestions of sonoroties beyond the piano with such a HUGE "no-bang-bang" sound it really knocked me off ..i recommend Bachauer's to every one..it makes many players sound "tiny" or just brittle...i guarantee.
I dont think she plays 'too slow'. This piece is technically the most impossible out of all 3 movements. I suppose you listened to Argerich's interpretation before? Alicia's speed is totally acceptable to me.
@Malcolm64 who's "bang-bang?" haha..anyway-I always loved Larrocha's Gaspard, especially her Scarbo and Gibet's hypnoticism..i thought Agerich at HER best in the Ondine..
You pointed out Scarbo...an example of Alicia's "beyond bombast" is how the sweeping crescendos (ex: the important thematic statement near the beginning - going up then down again with a huge crescendo) reveals the EXPANSE of tone and grandeur that is often lost in simply fast renditions)....compare this with ARgerich for example which, in contrast, sounds very brilliant yet strangely "tiny" in concept...although it has its own beautiful tension. i guess it's also a matter of taste.
Sehr interessant! Sie spielt ziemlich weich, geht nie an die Grenzen oder gar darüber hinaus. Ähnlich wie Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Vielleicht ist aber die Art und Weise wie Samson Francois "Scarbo" interpretiert diabolischer? Ich mag die Pianistin Alicia de Larrocha sehr. Nobel, wie Claudio Arrau. Vielleicht war es auch der Zeitgeist, der die Künstler so spielen liess? Heute muss alles spektakulär sein. Ob das so gut ist sei dahingestellt!
@FameThreeTimes the great beauty of Alicia's "slower" approach (which never removes the excitement) is that the all-important RYTHMIC TENSION is actually enhanced..i love that about Alicia's playing in ravel and spanish music. she never sacrifices the rythmic details and subtleties of tension by just playing "fast". amazing artistic and musical Discipline from one of the Greats.
A great artist of unfailing musicality !
Help!! I can't breathe after listening this!! It doesn't matter whether it is a fast or slow Scarbo, for that I feel perspiring while sitting there and listen, that's enough!
wow :) this is amazing! I love the pace she takes it at, unhurried, every detail so clear, what a refreshing interpretation
Another things I've always loved about Alicia is her no-nonsense performing style; there's none of the over-dramatic hand gestures and comical facial expressions you see from so many other pianists, including some very famous ones (Bang-Bang takes the prize in this regard, not that he is even in the same league as a pianist as was De Larrocha). She was as enjoyable to listen to as she was to watch...
Thank for this upload. A simply fabulous musician!
This performance of Scarbo while certainly impressive, is upstaged by an even more technically daring live Carnegie Hall performance from around 1968. Something about the best of her live performances brought out a "throw-caution-to-the-wind" aspect to her personality and playing that's generally missing from the studio recordings of the same works...What's amazing about her is that regardless of her mood, she was never less than completely musical.
Yeah, I wasn't sold on it at first but as I listened, I realized I was hearing some things in the piece I hadn't heard before, not to mention she totally rocked the mysterious bit just before the last crescendo which she also killed. Excellent!
One thing I noticed she does here and in the 1968 Carnegie performance is she adds another measures worth of the Bmajor octave arpeggios at the final fff @8:18. Such a cool addition.
Fantastic discovery!
Fantastic! What a find! By the way, about the time of this telecast she recorded Gaspard, Valses and Alborado for Epic. I await to see this remastered on CD soon!
Wow. Maravillosa Alicia . maravilloso descubrimiento. Me encanta
Gina Bachauer's Mussorgsky is also out of this world . She really was an amazing woman with small hands like ALicia that could do anything her imagination wanted!
She is amazing and what I love most of all is that she keeps the tempo steady, something Ravel would have certainly appreciated. The tempo given in the score is 'vif' which is fast and spirited, but NOT as fast as possible. It's unfortunate that most pianists think that's how they should play it. And as we know well, many pianists sacrifice a lot (notes, textural details, clarity of articulation etc) to achieve breakneck speeds. I would rather hear it played like this.
but the REAL revelation to me, after so many years (of listening to versions and having played this piece too) - was the Scarbo of Gina Bachauer..now -- THAT is an unbelievable rendition..not just in virtuosity and coloration but in suggestions of sonoroties beyond the piano with such a HUGE "no-bang-bang" sound it really knocked me off ..i recommend Bachauer's to every one..it makes many players sound "tiny" or just brittle...i guarantee.
Do you have 'Le Gibet' (the second movement) available for upload? It would be wonderful to hear the entire performance.
I dont think she plays 'too slow'. This piece is technically the most impossible out of all 3 movements. I suppose you listened to Argerich's interpretation before? Alicia's speed is totally acceptable to me.
Lang Lang is hopeless.
Große Dame, große Musik!
@Malcolm64 who's "bang-bang?" haha..anyway-I always loved Larrocha's Gaspard, especially her Scarbo and Gibet's hypnoticism..i thought Agerich at HER best in the Ondine..
@tedly10027 Bang-Bang = Lang-Lang, who else?
You pointed out Scarbo...an example of Alicia's "beyond bombast" is how the sweeping crescendos (ex: the important thematic statement near the beginning - going up then down again with a huge crescendo) reveals the EXPANSE of tone and grandeur that is often lost in simply fast renditions)....compare this with ARgerich for example which, in contrast, sounds very brilliant yet strangely "tiny" in concept...although it has its own beautiful tension. i guess it's also a matter of taste.
Sehr interessant! Sie spielt ziemlich weich, geht nie an die Grenzen oder gar darüber hinaus. Ähnlich wie Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Vielleicht ist aber die Art und Weise wie Samson Francois "Scarbo" interpretiert diabolischer? Ich mag die Pianistin Alicia de Larrocha sehr. Nobel, wie Claudio Arrau. Vielleicht war es auch der Zeitgeist, der die Künstler so spielen liess? Heute muss alles spektakulär sein. Ob das so gut ist sei dahingestellt!
One ☝️ of Larrocha that misses the mark! She is human after all:)
Better than Argerich.
Agreed. Always style and rhythm over speed.
How can you be so dull? ;)))))))
too slow!