Bright New Star Illuminates Classical Landscape for Millions
Valentina's viral online videos have tens of millions of views. I can understand that. Watching her play lifts my soul.
I remember when Valentina live streamed several 14-hour practice sessions. It was fascinating: a world-class artist busily honing her musicianship as legions of fans gazed in rapt attention. It was great to witness her preparation.
This Royal Albert Hall Concert, presented now on DVD, was also available online through live streaming. It is difficult to remember the last time any concert gave me so much pleasure and insight, and sent my soul soaring to such heights of joy. So many beloved piano pieces, so magnificently performed! Valentina has scaled the heights of technique, knocking off 'impossible' Liszt pieces like a stroll in the park. She melds with the piano with such assured ease that she can milk every piece for musical content and subtlety, reminding us of the great Hoffman, who also loved to play each piece a little differently...
Perhaps the most interesting living pianist.
Valentina is perhaps the most interesting living pianist. I purposely avoided saying "greatest" because at this high a level of artistry it does not seem right to implicitly denigrate other pianists such as a Kissin, Hamelin, Li, etc. She ranks in the very pinnacle of great pianists today, surely. I have heard her in live performance (playing the Albert Hall concert a week prior in Virginia), and have watched numerous recordings of hers. Technically, she gets as close to perfection as a human can get, probably because of her demanding practice schedule.
An excerpt from the London Telegraph review: "Her essential attribute is a fevered urgency, an almost desperate desire to suck the expressive marrow from a piece. Joined to her iron-clad technique (Lisitsa is no wunderkind - she's now 39, and has been practising hard since she was three), this often engendered a huge emotional charge, as in Liszt's arrangement of Schubert's Erlkonig. At the other end of the scale, the...
Over 2 Hours Recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo Surround Sound With the Following Program:
Valentina Lisitsa filmed live at the Royal Albert Hall on June 19, 2012 marks her debut on the Decca label.Playing for over 2 hours on her Bosendorfer piano.
The program consists of the following pieces:Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #12, Liszt Totentanz, Liszt/Schubert "Ave Maria", Liszt/Paganini Etude "La Campanella",3 more Liszt/Schubert transcriptions including "Erlkonig, 3 Chopin Nocturnes in C minor, D flat major,and E flat major, Scriabin 2 Poems opus 32, and 2 Etudes opus 42 #3 & opus 65 #1, Beethoven "Moonlight" Sonata, Rachmaninoff Etude Tableaux in A minor opus 39 # 6, Rachmaninoff 4 preludes opus 32 #5, #10, #12, opus 23 #5, Mozart Fantasia in C minor K 475.
Recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo Surround Sound and beautifully photographed, with lots of closups of her hands, students as well as connoisseurs of great piano playing will be overwhelmed be her dynamic style, countless expressive insights, and transcendental virtuosity that is always at the service...
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