VALENTINA LITSITSA!
In your comments to me, you made it clear that you love her power and energy combined with her emotional performances. For December's listening challenge, she will take on another of my favorite concert pianists playing one of my all time favorite pieces by Beethoven!
In the red corner this month is Daniel Barenboim. Mr. Barenboim is widely hailed as one of the great musicians of the 20th century. He was born in Argentina in 1942 and made his international piano debut at the young age of 10. In addition to conducting orchestras in major cities all over the world and receiving multiple honors and awards, Mr. Barenboim speaks six languages fluently and is a citizen of four countries!
He and our blue corner contender, Ms. Litsitsa, will be playing the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata Opus 13, No. 8, usually called the "Pathetique" due to its tragic character. This sonata was composed in 1798 when Beethoven was only 27 years old, and it is still one of his best loved and most played compositions.
This piece is longer than those I usually post, so listening to a small portion of each video is acceptable for this assignment.
Here is Daniel Barenboim's performance:
And here is Valentina Litsitsa's:
Remember to listen to each performance carefully. You might even try listening with your eyes closed. What did you like about each one? What do you think this piece is about?
The voting is open until December 31!
