From Sunday June 3rd until Friday June 8th, YouTube’s most popular classical pianist, Valentina Lisitsa, is once more streaming her rehearsals LIVE via her Ustream-channel. To watch click here.
Valentina Lisitsa’s rehearsing is a not-to-be missed event for anyone with a serious interest in classical piano playing. From her home in North Carolina Valentina is rehearsing the scheduled programme of her upcoming Royal Albert Hall concert. She’s done this before and up till now she’s the only classical musician that I know of who’s sharing this preparation process in a live event for a worldwide audience. This is really fascinating and a unique opportunity to witness Valentina Lisitsa getting prepared for this major event on June 19th in London.
Tag Archives: London
Royal Albert Hall-concert op 19 juni 2012 van Decca-artieste Valentina Lisitsa live op YouTube
Valentina Lisitsa / photo by Gilbert François
Valentina‘s muzikale wordingsgeschiedenis is volstrekt uniek. Haar concert voor een 5200-koppig publiek in de Royal Albert Hall op 19 juni a.s. wordt live gestreamd via YouTube en een week later al uitgebracht.
promotiefilmpje voor het Royal Albert Hall-concert op 19 juni 2012
Vanaf het moment dat ik enkele jaren geleden met Valentina kennismaakte – zie mijn bijdragen op YouTube en op mijn weblog – heb ik geen moment getwijfeld dat haar ster naar de hoogste platforms zou reiken. Het wonderlijke is wel, voor ieder die haar muzikale verrichtingen goed heeft gevolgd, dat de gang naar het grote succes nog zo lang op zich liet wachten, maar ach, over een paar jaar heeft niemand het daar nog over. 🙂
een door mij gemaakte Valentina Lisitsa promo-video van voorjaar 2010
From SD to HD: facelift for a Valentina Lisitsa promo video
My video Valentina Lisitsa: a somehow impossible combination of Backhaus and Argerich, published in March 2010 – and having more than 47.000 views on 13 November 2011, when this message was published – deserved a remake, a promotion from SD to HD.
Here’s the ‘makeover’, published on YouTube on 12 November 2011. Play the clip in 1080p to see the best result in High Definition.
Rachmaninoff #3 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon
Valentina Lisitsa, filmed by me on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in December 2009, Abbey Road Studios, London. Valentina plays a segment from the 1st Movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3. (Play in HD).
Valja’s ‘wake up’-call! :)
Deep commitment and musical depth during Valentina Lisitsa’s Rachmaninoff Project, but there was also lots of funny moments… here’s just one of them. Filmed by me in London, December 2009, Abbey Road Studios.
Light of Asia – rarely seen Indian epic, screens October 7th 2011 in Amsterdam with a new live score
Prem Sanyas/Light of Asia (1925, dir. by Franz Osten & Himansu Rai), a spectacular and rarely shown epic silent film, will be presented by the Amsterdam Tropentheater on Friday 7 October 2011. The film will be screened in the Mauritszaal of the Institute of The Tropics at the Mauritskade and starts at 20:30. Not to be missed!
“Two and a half thousand years ago there lived in North India a prince, Siddharta, who renounced his worldly wealth and a position and wandered the land in search of understanding and the secret of sorrow. After many experiences, as he sat one day in meditation, illumination came to him and he became The Buddha, the Enlightened One. Thereafter, through out his life, he taught the law of righteousness, the Middle Way.” (from the book ‘The Light of Asia’ [1879] by Sir Edward Arnold)
The celebrated Rajasthani gypsy ensemble Divana provides live musical accompaniment. The silent film tells the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), who achieved spiritual enlightenment by rejecting all material wealth.
Light of Asia – rarely seen Indian epic, screens August 6th 2011 in London with a new live score
On 6 August 2011 the British Film Institute in London screens Light of Asia (1925, dir. by Franz Osten & Himansu Rai), a spectacular and rarely shown epic with a new live score from Pandit Vishwa Prakash and his team of musicians (Sanju Sahai, Surjeet Singh, Mitel Purohit, Debipriya Sircar, Jonathan Lawrence and Uttara Joshi). Read more about it here.
A fantastic project!
Valentina Lisitsa plays Rachmaninoff #1 in Duisburg & Köln in December 2010
Some stunning playing in this blog by Valentina Lisitsa. Two recordings of the cadenza in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #1: first a solotake filmed by me, then another take of this cadenza – filmed by Val’s husband Alexei Kuznetsoff and at that point with the LSO around 🙂 Both takes filmed at Abbey Road Studios, London, September 2009.
In December 2010 Valentina plays the Rachmaninoff piano concerto #1 twice in Germany with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste: in Duisburg on 9 December and in Köln on 10 December.
An exquisite solotake – filmed by me – of the cadenza in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.1
And another exquisite take – filmed by Alexei, and now ’rounded’ by the LSO at start and finish 🙂 – of the cadenza in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.1
Documentary on Valentina Lisitsa’s Rachmaninoff Project 2009-2010
In January 2010 I published on my Youtube-channel a documentary – divided in three parts – on Valentina Lisitsa‘s Rachmaninoff recording project in London.
London, December 2009: me and Val at the end of a joyful day of stunning recording sessions in the Abbey Road Studios.
Valentina’s Rachmaninoff project concerns the recording of piano concerti 1 to 4 and the Paganini Variations and probably a few pieces for piano solo. The documentary focuses on the first phase of the project, the recording of piano concertos 1 and 2. Interviews with Valentina Lisitsa, conductor Michael Francis and producer Michael Fine are alternated with impressions of the recording sessions.
Documentary: Valentina Lisitsa’s Rachmaninoff Project 1/3
Documentary: Valentina Lisitsa’s Rachmaninoff Project 2/3
Documentary: Valentina Lisitsa’s Rachmaninoff Project 3/3
Hope you’ll enjoy this!
On Youtube: my portrayal of piano genius Valentina Lisitsa
Here’s my Youtube video-portrait of piano genius Valentina Lisitsa, based on an interview I had with her in London, April 2009. I’m sure all Valentina’s fans will be interested to hear her talking on her music and career and for those who don’t know her yet -it seems there are still many music lovers out there who haven’t been introduced to her music- I think Valentina might well be an unexpected surprise, a musical gem they’ll no doubt like to hear from now on. Check out the video!
Me and Valentina after the interview