Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Now those are some fast fingers!!

Because I didn't learn my lesson the last time , I submit for your approval:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lmFh_jVX0A&feature=g-vrec

All I can say is... holy crap! The overwhelming impression I get is a carnival inside an asylum!

The speed blows my mind... and it still sounds good too! I'm not very familiar with his work so I have to ask... is this what Liszt always sounds like? If so, I think he had issues!

There are a lot of folks that play it faster. (not that they should) Valentina Lisitsa's recent performance at (Albert?) Hall is remarkably faster.

Doesn't change the fact that those are still some pretty fast fingers!

Nice interpretation. I didn't agree with all the tempo changes, but she pulled it off well.

If you want to hear another version, try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0U73NRSIkw
This is the fastest and one of the best performances of this particular piece that I have ever heard. Evgeny Kissin in 1997 at Proms.

That guy is inhuman. And it still sounds like a carnival in an asylum to me.

I saw him in another video I watched a while back. I thought he was an actor! It would seem my original impression was a little bit in error. I think it's the crazy hair that caused my initial impression. Funny thing though... that video has the same feel to it as the other one of his I'd seen, like it was set way back. If that was from 1997 it sure feels like it's from a movie and not a real performance. It must be the type of film they were using when they filmed it.

Yeah, his hair is absolutely crazy. I think he's like a modern-day Sampson.. as long as he doesn't cut his hair, he'll be able to play like that. haha

lol

Another Liszt warhorse: Youtube.com

Fastest I've ever heard it played, maybe even faster than the crazy Mei-ting Sun recording.

I have no idea what much of this really means, nor why anyone would have the impression that it's not a real performance.

Those strange Canadians, eh ... Oh! Yeah, right!

That was a wonderful performance, especially considering the age of the pianist (and possibly relative size of his hands). I have never attempted this one, but I do think it's the hardest of the 12.

With Liszt, you can almost always count on Berezovsky to post a "fastest" recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqdfBeENL4c

I don't always like his interpretations, but the blinding speed his fingers move is incredible.

Jesus Christ, that kid needs to use the una corda pedal. Great soft playing, but if he just put it down...

How do you even get that good and not know to use the una corda pedal?

Most pianists (myself included) use it too much. It's a special effect, and it can easily become a crutch you use when you don't have enough control to play a passage quietly and evenly enough.

What do you call too much?

I use it for pp/ppp sections (if I think the tone is appropriate) and in places where I think the changed tone is a good effect, but nowhere else. I always test the pedal to see what the tone is like first, if the tone change is subtle and progressive I won't feel bad about partial soft pedaling in some spots.

If it were me the pedal would be down for a large portion of Feux Follets, just because it's Feux Follets. The piano that kid played on sounded a little tinny off the soft pedal as well.

I also think it's okay to use as a "crutch" because the vast majority of pianos are not in good enough shape to play soft, quick, and clean, as long as one is making their best effort to play softly. The fact is that it gives you an extra layer of sound suppression that is extremely valuable, especially on not so high quality pianos and unfamiliar pianos with worn actions.

Its best to understand the mechanism of the una chorda pedal: http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.24

There is a definite difference in tone-quality when the una chorda is depressed which I can discern very easily. Whenever I hear someone using it I wonder if its indicated in the score or if the performer is using it to achieve pp/ppp. IMO opinion its much better to achieve lower dynamics without relying on the soft pedal. It is there to achieve a special effect rather to make it easier for the pianist to play soft.

I actually don't use it at all. I don't necessarily have anything against it.. I just don't think I'm coordinated enough to work two hands and two feet at once.

Remind me to stay clear if you're driving.

Two feet? Remind me to stay clear if YOU'RE driving.

I drive a manual. No problem for someone as coordinated as a pianist, right? Right?

I had mentioned composers' haircuts as a possible thread suggestion in a recent thread, but it can also be extended to pianists' haircuts.

John McEnroe who, as tennis coach, I drove to quite a few Trinity School tennis matches, once said that I used the pedals on a car as if I was playing the piano. Of course, I immediately retorted that a piano has three pedals.