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Helloooo :-)
Not sure if this the right place to post this but I caught the Valentina Lisitsa concert in St. Pancras Station the other day, and seeing as I was standing like 2 metres away from her I thought I'd best video it, so here are the first 2 pieces, Liszt's 12th Hungarian Rhapsody and El Contrabandista. Enjoy (check out 6:31 minutes into the rhapsody)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTAFIwhmDN8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn-KEbvCckg

Hi Viz - Welcome to Piano World!

Yup, this is the place! Thank you for providing the links. It might be nice to post them in the Piano Corner and Adult Forum. Truly Stunning Piano!

Thanks again,

It's amazing how a real artist can make the crappiest junky instrument sound musical. Thanks for posting.

My thought was the old adage that "a great pianist can make any piano sound good" didn't hold up to its claim.

It sounded awful and Miss Lisitsa seemed to be enjoying that very fact!

One thing's for sure, she can make a crappy piano sound better than I can make a Steinway grand!

Nice music video...

Now I don't feel so badly about my crappy old upright pianos...

Rick

Except Valentina doesn't usually touch a Steinway. She's usually very particular.

It was nice to see this video. It wasn't so much that this was an upright, it was a "street piano" that probably wasn't in the best of shape either....

Those videos are awesome. She looks so fun and playing that compared to what is used to was so cool to watch

That was really enjoyable. Thanks for posting it. Ms. Lisitsa seems like a nice person.

Thank you for the post! This was fun to watch and, from the looks of it, Valentina has fun, too.

I love this YouTube viewer comment: "That piano cannot BELIEVE what just happened!
It says 'Now I can die happy.'"

She usually hangs out after the concert to sign autographs and talk to people. When I saw her in concert, the line to talk to her and get her autograph was unbelievable - probably 1/2 of the audience was in line.

You don't see a lot of classical musicians doing that (or listeners that want to do that).

Yep she's a dude. She's also willing to have her picture taken, yes I know I look like a dork.

Viz,

That was thoroughly enjoyable on many different levels. Thanks for sharing it.



That's simply not the case. The entire Rachmaninoff project was recorded on a Hamburg D. If Bosie could supply here a concert piano wherever she goes, I'm positive she'd be delighted. However, wherever she goes in her case would be a challenge even for Steinway. An impromptu concert in a train station attests to that. The key to Lisitsa is not her piano choice, but her love of the music she chooses and her genuine enjoyment of people.

+1. Thanks for sharing.

Valentina Lisitsa is the reason I started to play the piano again after years of being away from it. She's truly inspiring. I saw a YouTube video of hers months ago and now I call myself a pianist once more. I wish I could watch/listen to her live rather than her DVD or the Tube.

Turandot,

This comment surprised me and sent me scrambling for the insert in my CD set. You are absolutely correct! It is interesting that Lisitsa is so verbal about Bosendorfer, and when the rubber hits the road, she chooses Hamburg S&S. Very interesting. Now I understand my own reaction to the sound of the piano.

I wonder if this interesting piece of information will be disclosed at the event in Atlanta this Friday evening?

Thanks Viz,
for sharing this here.

It's refreshing to see a brilliant artist playing in this setting, and with the instrument at hand.
Valentina loves piano and expressing her aptitude and passion.
She doesn't come across as overly concerned about the label on the fallboard, though is known to have her preferences.

and you're not a dork !
though maybe that other guy trying to get his camera/lighting/audio etc. on board would qualify

Hi Viz,

The photo looks great and is quite a keepsake. How come Ms. Lisitsa looks like she knows som'thin and you ain't tellin'? !!

I knew I was correct.

When the rubber hits the road, Ms. Lisitsa deals with what she has (as Viz's video attests) Her own Bosies were both bought on eBay.

The path to the Rachmaninoff project was very complex. The recording seesions happened years ago even though Decca is only promoting the releasees now. At the time, the piano arrangement involved Lisitsa, her producer Michael Fine, Gerd Finkenstein and his rental fleet, and the lack of a suitable grand in the immediate area of Abbey Road Studios. Funding was also an issue. Ms. Lisitsa paid for the entire cost of the project out of pocket, including hiring the LSO for extended studio time. Mr. finkenstein later supplied her some splendid Bosie rubber for other venues.

The point is that Lisitsa sounds good on literally anything. She's a musician first and foremost. She's also a wonderful communicator.