Facts established about this video so far: Pianist: Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Trumpeter: Leonid Yuriev (1913-1971) Conductor: Maybe Aleksandr Gauk (1893-1963) Orchestra: Probably Leningrad Philharmonic Venue: Moscow Conservatory “Great Hall“ Date: This info suggests it is 1940: Piano: Bechstein, E270. Year Built: ? (Thanks to everyone whose comments helped in establishing some of these facts. Please, keep them coming.) Original Note: This is the famous surviving video of young Shostakovich playing his first piano concerto. Footage is from 1934 or 1935 (I don't know for sure (I remember hearing about those years, but if anyone knows for sure, please let me know) -- definitely not on or before this concerto's premiere on October 15th, 1933, which happened at the Leningrad Philharmonic Hall). This performance is from Moscow Conservatory's Bol'shoi Zal. We get to hear the very end of that performance (starting with the piano cadenza) - the only footage that, supposedly, survives. Video and audio was taken from a DVD of a movie called “Sonata for Viola“. In that movie (and most likely the way the original footage was put together) most of concerto video doesn't coincide with audio and audio is played too fast (resulting in a raised pitch). So, I corrected as much as I could. (The frame rate of this video is fps, and it seems to work fine after upload). There is even one place (towards the end of the final “stride“ cadenza) where the video footage seems to have come from a different performance! (maybe a rehearsal). He hits (wrong) notes that cannot be heard on the audio. (So I tweaked it a bit there). Either way, enjoy it.
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