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Valentina Lisitsa in a coffin, a publicity photo for a
Halloween Concert she did in Leiden last October.
I really don't know whether I am amused, or horrified.
OMG!
[Brief pause while I fantasize about Valentina as
a beautiful vampire, holding me under her spell,
"I vant your blood!"]
Her program for the Monster Mash included Ravel's
Gaspard de la nuit, the solo piano version of Liszt's
Totentanz — fifteen minutes of pianistic hell —
and four other works. You know what is really scary?
That she could play all that on the same program.
Incidently, the tickets to that concert cost about
E22,00 or roughly $30.00 USD. I would have paid my
entire monthly check to see that concert if it had
been here in Spokane — to hell with the rent and
such! 😀
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OH yeah, that vid is incredible. I think it's the greatest pianistic performance I've ever heard. In fact I referred it to another Opera friend just recently.German Romanticism. Ah so much to be said of that. It's definitely true that some of it was dark. They were certainly into Nature's darkness — and that is reflected even as late as Mahler's 7th. But on the other hand it was also a positive thing, the freeing of the soul from the constrictions of society, the freeing of the mind from the constructions of the rational. Amazing stuff. And as you say Liszt was one of its prime practitioners.Thanks for adding in!:D
And oh in case anyone wonders about what Martin was talking about, here it is. 😀
There's actually a video with V playing the Totentanz on YouTube. She definitely has skills, both as a pianist but also as e performer. That piece is notorious, like many pieces from Litszt'z hands. In my opinion he was the darkest soul of the Neudeutsche Schule composers, and I often call him the heavy rocker of his time. There is a lot of death and decay and stuff like that in his works. Halloween stuff, definitely.
Great video!!! I am not much into classical music (I mean I`ve heard about Liszt but that`s about it) but I couldn`t take my eyes off of her hands. She plays so easy but sound is so energetic and strong :up:
Channeling Sarah Bernhardt I see.And why not? 😀
@ Darko.Totally agree, I love watching her hands. In all the videos, but especially this one. Those glissandi at about the 3:00 mark — jeez!Well if you liked that one, here's another one you might like. Not as impressive as the Totantanz, but pretty impressive!@ Richard.Ha!You know, assuming Sarah Bernhardt was vampire, do you think she sucked the blood of Victor Hugo? :pThanks for the link. I had heard of Bernhardt but never knew any bio stuff about her.
@ Mags.When I was a kid we had to attend a night funeral at the church for this parish priest who had died. Lot's of candles and open coffin. After the Mass the congregation — my family included — had a procession past the coffin. Scared the hell out of me. And I had nightmares for weeks. For about the next decade I was scared to death of coffins. Every funeral Mass we had to sing in grade school was pure torture for me. But eventually, for reasons unknown, I got over all of that.
That must have been some Halloween Concert. $30.oo seems very inexpensive for tickets, did you mean $300.00? She is pretty amazing. Didn't know much about her until your introduction–thanks.Coffins are creepy. I don't think I'd be lying in one just for fun. This girl I went to high school with slept in one every night. I thought she was creepy too.
Not mine. Someone else's. Broke my heart.:heart:
:yikes:That is so Halloweenish! Glad it was just a promo shot. Coffins freak me out, too.Especially tiny coffins.
Originally posted by Stardancer:
I hope there is no sad story there, Star.:heart: