Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Valentina Lisitsa at Royal Albert Hall

Here comes Chopin!

Currently playing Liszt Todtentanz. Never heard a solo version, but it's just as impressive.

Imperial Bösendorfer Valentina is in top form

She messed up the cadenza pretty badly....everything is so fast!!

that piano is a perfect match for her -- amazing. wonder if it's mic'd for the size of that hall?

Scriabin and Chopin was nice and Totentanz makes up for Rachmaninoff.

Too fast...honestly I thought a lot of it sounded pretty sloppy...

For me who knows nothing about classical music, it is not about the note-by-note mistakes but this is the moment an average music lover can appreciate Classical Music and the effort behind it.

It's not as good as her youtube video I'll give you that, but still very impressive the way she pulled it off live.

well said suniil

I just wish she hadn't gone so fast...much faster at parts than in the video which is already so fast..

Oh my god she starts in such crazy tempos in some pieces, this can't go right with La Campanella.

The blue hairs must be aghast that there was applause during the beginning octaves of La Campanella.

I can only speak as a music lover, but I’ve really enjoyed this concert.

I'd say that was fantastic!
Great HD video and sound capture .... streaming live in to my living room out in the middle of the forest on the wild west coast of Canada.
What an age we live in to be able to share such events in real time.
Thanks Valentina and all the crew involved.

The strangest thing for me was how she barely paused between pieces. The segue from the Chopin Nocturne to Totentanz was pretty weird. I guess she was trying to fit everything in because there was a time limit, but it made it seem frantic. Too bad she couldn't take her time.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed it (watching out of the corner of my eye while working, listening on headphones).

And of course she was really nervous -- who wouldn't be? -- but I thought she pulled it off well.

My only real criticism would be the excessive length of the program, especially the second half.

I liked her performance of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody and Schubert Liszt song transcriptions the most.

Well said.

Preaching to the same choir will not sustain the classics much beyond the current generation of old fogies such as myself. And if it takes embracing new technologies and allowing a younger generation of pianists to show a little more of their personalities (God, forbid!), then so be it. At least Bach, Beethoven and Chopin may actually live to see another day.

It was wonderful to see that on YouTube, and judging from the YouTube comments, this was a much-needed introduction to the classical piano repertoire for a lot of kids!

(And I always support fellow Bösendorfer Artists :-) )

poor babama wishes they could be as amazing