"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." -Ludwig van Beethoven Great performance!

KZfaq is a strange place. The whole world is here to criticise you if you make the smallest mistakes. This concerto was considered unplayable by Nicolay Rubinstein, one the the world's greatest pianists, and just because it's so familiar now, doesn't mean it was ever easy. I don't know this soloist but she's so young! And probably nervous. She plays wonderfully at times and let's celebrate the fact that she's playing a 40 minute piece from memory. Wrong notes are fine and they happen a lot in live performances. We've become accustomed to listening to perfected studio recordings. Let's give this gifted young pianist a break, shall we?

Sofia is lovely. She is almost singing and dancing her way through this. Wonderful.

I have watched many, many filmed performances of this Concerto. None have had the obvious love of the piece that this does. Technical excellence is for the exam room. Passion is for the Concert Hall. What an inspiring young lady!!!

I am not a professional musician, but as a lover of classical music, it does not matter if she made a few mistakes in a 40 minute concert played from memory. What matters to me is her energy, her love for this concert and her passion!!! This is contagious and therfore I LOVE her performance!

Although this is an old performance and surely no one is interested in my comment, I will still write a few lines for my own sake. I landed on this video by chance and didn't know it was a competition until I noticed those few mistakes, although overall I had already been impressed by Sofia's performance. Then I started to check the comments and saw that people mention some bad ones which I could hardly track down. That means the positive ones have literally drowned the bad ones ahahah! I have started to learn the piano seriously only a couple of years ago after a lifetime of playing by ear. What I like the most, beside the heartly performance, is that few mistakes haven't hindered her confidence at all and she's kept playing like nothing ever happened. I know from experience how hard that is and I can say I'm not even close to that frame of mind. I see that now in 2020 she's become an accomplished pianist and I'm glad she has not let the naysayers affect her heart and courage. Well done, Sofia! I wish one day I will be able to play like you, not at your level of course, but with the same confidence and purity of heart you are showing. If only the music world had more people like you...

She played the whole piano concerto from memory...WOW!

I never tire of watching this phenomenal young woman and the equally amazing orchestra. Thank you KZfaq for bringing this brilliant experience to us

Criticisms are from those people who are not able to distinguish between interpretation and a mere execution, no matter how good the latter could be. Sofia, your interpretation is wonderful. It can be "measured" by the feeling it transmits to the listeners. Tchaikovsky wrote that music for you. Thank you Sofia!

Bravo Sofia...you play with real spirit. Having listened to this work performed by so many great pianists accompanied by great orchestras led by great conductors...so young Sofia and so talented...you moved me to shed tears of absolute joy...God, I love the way you play the piano, with so much verve and immersion....

This girl is so full of love and emotion for the music. She's a joy to watch. I'm just seeing her now and this performance was nearly 5 years ago. I'm going to check her out for what she's up to these days.

This beautiful young lady has a wonderful calm, passion and skill when plays this master piano concerto, may Jesus watch over her always.

I just love the young lady's facial expressions with her mouth as she fingers the keys. So sweet, and what a concert pianist for her age. She plays with unadulterated passion. When Tchaikovsky wrote it, it was considered unplayable! Bravo Sofia.

People with a passion for music. It's not about better or about mistakes. If I could play like them ... I would smile at some mistakes. Fanatics don't really love music..they love to find something in others. I love their game and passion. Warm greetings from Germany

Sophia, I can see the way you love Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto nr. 1 as much as I do. You put your whole body into it. Without being a spectacle, you are as much enjoyable to watch as your music is to hear. You don't just "Play Piano", you Make Music with the piano and your soul. I would pay a fortune just to watch you practice. Very, very nice! Thank You!

Words simply can’t describe…this takes my breath away.

Sofia Vasheruk is a great pianist. She managed to embody herself along with the orchestra and at the same time to be distinguished. She actually rightfully became the orchestra' s crown. The musicians felt it and gradually responded to her positively. She won their respect and, I stress, that is a great achievement for a young student. I, as an audience, felt like we traveled together in the world of music. And that the same ideas about what is beautiful and what is ugly brought us together in a higher plane of existence. That it is about time to create a greater self, to fight for a better world. Many thanks to Sofia and to the orchestra.

I love how she is mouthing the tune as she plays! That's so cute. It's always interesting to watch musicians play because they get so into it.

I learned piano for 7 years, but i was not that brilliant and my parents knew it and didnt critizise me. But i actually can Imagine it very well. Composers/performer have spent months to prepare it so good they can. Take a look at Rachmaninoff, who fell in a deep depression as the critics about his piano concerto (or was ist a symphony) were really bad. After a therapie he wrote the piano concerto 2 and dedicated it to his therapist. This piece ist gorgeous. Thank god he found a way out of his depression and we can hear bis marvellous music today. Im really sorry for your experience. 😥 Most artist have a gentle soul. Dont brake it!!

She was wonderful. I stopped counting missed notes. They don't matter. Her spirit does. Thank you to whoever produced this.

I see a shining star rising over the horizon! We must remember she is a young pianist and is doing extremely well!. When we were her age, we had the same moments at our concerto performances.

I love her expressions as she's playing and intend to watch this many more times for that reason. She appears so absorbed in the music and completely immersed. Absolutely nothing 'put-on' here. How lucky we are to be able to enjoy performances like this. The odd wrong note enhances the experience for me as it reminds me how incredibly difficult it must be to play this fantastic piece of work.

I love this piece, I love his work, and I love this pianist. This was a wonderful performance!

This timeless Piano Concerto is played immacutalely. Appeasing the Soul.

What I like most about this performance is how fresh and original it is. Ms. Vasheruk may not have a grand fortissimo, and may not have exquisite polish, but she had exquisite courage, playing this old warhorse as if she'd never heard anyone else played it at all. Her tempi are unhurried, she plays softly where others play more loudly, and she lavishes a lot of care on things that other pianists pass over as mere details (for example, the trilling filigree that leads out of the first movement cadenza, or the stomping left hand in the opening of the third movement). It seems to me she has, more than other pianists, a feeling for the scherzando, antic elements in this concerto, and has a lot of fun in teasing them out. I've listened to this concerto in many different hands and hers, here, brought out sounds I'd never heard before. She makes the opening movement less a grand, impressive, cataclysmic thing than an intimate thing. This is a highly personal performance in the best possible sense. Instead of conquering the piece, she loves it and is delighted by it. 7/8/14

36:20 Yes!!! So amazing...I don't know any words for her emotion at this point but it makes me cry every time. Thank you

Will I ever come close to her skill? = No = I can't say nothing about two missed notes. You rocked it girl!

fantastic performance. Sounds better each time i sit down to watch it. I don't understand why there's so many haters posting ridiculous comments.

I love this girl simply from the opening!!!! Bravo! ♥♥♥

I don't care much about the competition, her way of playing this concerto totally opens my mind about this concerto. Since her first note, really. Such a thoughtful person who maybe skips some practice. I adore this performance.

OMG!! Just found about this wonderful pianist!! All I've got to say is WOW!! She has such a great complicity with the maestro and blends well with the orchestra. I've read some about the fortissimos, it's true she might not have the same force as other pianist but it's not needed as her play as a whole is just amazing! I like the way she feels the music and gives us that stunning sound!!

The most important she does: feels the music. Congratulations Sofia and God bless you!!

An absolutely amazing performance! It's a joy to listen to and very obvious that Sofia doesn't just play this piece. No, she lives it! He body language as well as her changes in emotion really bring out this age old but fantastic piece. Thank you Sofia, your performance really brings this piece to life. I'm listening to it while I work on the computer (such a boring piece of equipment) and it's already played twice. This is proper music, performed eminently.

15 years old! Beautiful. I'm nervous for her, such a difficult piece and she tackles it with the right energy and feeling. Magnificent interpretation. Brava, bravissima!! Timing is on point. So well done!

Sofia has brought this old warhorse to tears with her interpretation of my beloved tchaikovsky classic. Bravo Ms Vasheruk, Bravo!

Yes and Yes! This is what I look for. A unique interpretation which has not been seen before. The two parts go hand in hand. Execution and Interpretation. Sophia VAsheruk has a great technique and a very very great interpretation !

I am in love with this performance and this concerto! Brava!

That was so amazing! It was beyond adorable when you could tell she knew she was almost done. So concentrated before and then came the smiles from knowing it was a stellar perfomance. Bravo!

Here is a small word of advice, be very careful when you critique a young musician.,and here's why. I was 13 years old and eligible for my degree at the London Conservatory and a bunch of our class were to play at a recital and we don't know what happened but we all did poorly, There was a very bad setup for the concert hall that effected all, I won't go into all the gory details but it was a disappointment for everyone . As for my side of it one of my sisters tore into me about how badly I had done and kept it up for an hour , moving right along with the story , that was the last concert I ever played , I walked away from it all and never played seriously again.. I did start singing opera and church music at 16. That experience broke my heart and I never felt the same about performing. So I say to you all especially families, be very, very careful what you say and how you say it,.Artist are very sensitive about their work!!!!! P.S I am 85 now and I remember it like it was yesterday. P.S.S. Maybe this is why I always cry when hear a particularly well play ed piece of music by a particularly gifted and sensitive pianist, it can make life awkward especially in public.

I cannot find any version that matches with the emotion and gentleness I felt while listening to this. I love this one...

It's a competition folks so don't expect perfection. Just enjoy a gorgeous music work...

Wat een prachtige vertolking! Vooral het spel van de pianiste..de virtuositeit heeft mij erg geboeid.

Thank you ComposerinUK, indeed KZfaq and other sites can be strange places. I am not a composer, I do very much enjoy Classical music, especially in the piano, violin and cello modes. What is especially inspiring in this presentation of the Tchaikovsky, is this pianists total commitment, intellectually and emotionally to the performance. Bravo!!

Such an unexpectedly elegant performance...delicate... light and a breathe of fresh air .... and Ms Vasheruk is wonderful to watch she clearly loves this piece which is often derided but is one of the masterworks for piano. Her heart and soul are clearly in her performance. Wonderful!

Just shows how much better a performance can be when one enjoys themselves. I have watched this video umpteen times now and every time it makes me happy. I will cherish this version always. Thank you Sofia Vasheruk.

awesome... I adore her beautiful piano performance

Awesome, full blooded and intense playing. It's not my favourite piano concerto,but after watching this performance I've begun to appreciate the sheer grandeur of the piece. Absolutely stunning recording.

She played with such expression. Amazing memory.

Magnificent. She is the first pianist I have ever seen who reminds me very much of the remarkable and iconoclastic Canadian pianist Glen Gould, as remarkable an individual as one could ever be. Brilliant job, well done !! She brings the same intensity and artistry and her technique is close to perfection.

La orquesta es maravillosa, con una dirección fabulosa, Evidentemente que la técnica y la pasión de la interpretación de Sofia Valsheruk es espectacular.

I love classical music,Chopin,Beethovin,and Tchaikovsky as my big three. This young lady is spectacular,energetic,and passionate. I'm glad I found this piece of music on You Tube. Thanks to You Tube for supplying us with so many great music selections.

You can see the obvious love that she has for the music. It's great to witness something like this. A truly wonderful performance.

No soy músico, pero aprendí a escuchar esta música y es un descanso para el espíritu.

I so enjoy seeing her 'talking' to herself throughout this clip - she is totally enjoying it and thank you - so have I!

I like Sofia’s performance very much, her interpretation of the piece is much more clear than that of others, e.g. musical phrase, development of musical mood and linking between different sections, etc.. Congratulations on her successful interpretation and imagination.

The best version I ever listened to, simply for her passion, energy, and of course her skill, the orchestra is also good, overall a great one. I every much enjoyed it. You should turn the volume up to appreciate it.

Such composure, and care, not to rush in, to articulate and demonstrate, in all modesty, and with pride through accomplishment, her deep affinity, passion and talent for this composition; then, as this madly romantic- but never superficial- masterpiece reaches into the stratosphere of human emotion and experience, Sophia Vasheruk is there, on song, as the composer's soothsayer in all his vibrant , extravagant and tender colours.

Excellent performance ! Thanks

Just beautiful, thank you so much; to hear you play is a reason to celebrate the day ...

I can't imagine the stress of these major competitions! Yet Sofia pulls it of spectacularly, with a heart-felt interpretation! Glorious! thank you for posting! (from Canada)

I'll have to agree with you on that! She is attractive and without a doubt, the absolute best piano player I have ever heard! She is really feeling the music. Very very nice.

Sofia Vasheruk, bravíssimo!

36:25"Yess" I have made it!!!!!!, "makes sweating my eyes". The best musician is that, iff made a mistake, proceed as that was nothing wrong! And playing so intense 40 minutes, memorized all the sequences... speachless. Bravo, bravo, deep respect to Ms. Sofia. And the interpretation is moste beautiful ever, the dynamic is just the best (Yuja Wang is playing to fast (my opinion)- due this "hurry" some tones disapered, you can not hear them ). We do not have to forget excelent orchestra and the conductor. The orchestra interpretation is also the best for me.... congrats! And one of the most significant things - playing with feeling, as Sofia does as the whole orchestra!

I love her smile at the final recurrence of the third movement melody at the end of the concerto.

Just beautiful!!!

Ich bin Maler, beschäftige mich seit ein paar jahren mit den Energien künstlerischen Tuns: Freude, Lust, Leidenschaft, Begeisterung und Hingabe. Für mich ist es ein Weg in allem Tun. Wenn ich jemandem erklären möchte was ich meine, dann zeigt diese Interpretation von Sofia alles was ich mir vorstelle. Ich sehe die Freude und spüre die Lust und Leidenschaft, fühle Begeisterung und manchmal gibt es Augenblicke tiefster Hingabe. Mehr ist doch gar nicht möglich. Und jede falsche Note (Ich konnte keine heraushören, bin da aber auch nicht geschult) ist Salz in der Suppe. Perfektion ist grausam.Tiefste Anerkennung und ein großes Dankeschön für dieses Geschenk.

This concerto is the one which made me fall in love with this genre more than 13 years ago. I love Sofia's playing too! Amazing performance, thank you very much!

Fabulous!!!! The most truly involved and passionate presentation ever. As Tchaikovsky meant it to be played. Sofia. Vasheruk, you have no peers.

Much enjoyed and will look out for Sofia. Thanks for uploading.

Brilliant. Thankyou so much.

It's really refreshing to see a pianist where you can see her having to work. A lot of the more established soloists make it look 'easy' but with Sofia's performance here you get drawn into the sheer graft of performing the concerto. It brings a sort of tension and I find myself riveted and spurring her on. Great way to spend 38 or so minutes.

I played this at a concert once. I believe it's Tchaikovsky's only Piano Concerto. Great piece of music.

Thank you for uploading this -to me- one of teh best performances of Peter Ilich concert. The solist is an additional wonderful instrument playing with all the rest. Escellent, excellent

In a lot of the recording studios that I have been in there has been a plaque hanging above the entry doorway. It reads: " Many are the critics, but few are the artists. " Let those words sink in!

Bravo Sofia👍💖👋👋I am not an expert musician but I did study classic music when I was child and have very good ear. In spite of a few discord I think you did a very good job and enjoyed your performance. I see this is an old video but I agree people should not be so harsh on performers because it takes a lot of courage to perform in front of people. Thank you again Sofia🙏💕👋🌈

Sofia is not only wonderfully talented and STUNNINGLY beautiful young lady, but her unbridled joy and enthusiasm she displays when playing makes this the most watchable piece on the whole of KZfaq.

Love the smile on her face at the 36.23/4 mark as if to say NAILED IT ! Its a refreshing performance , but the bench mark on how this great old war horse should be played, was done by Van Cliburn in Russia at the height of the cold war between the USA and Russia. Van Cliburn got a standing ovation that lasted all of five minutes. I was 18 at the time he won the 1st Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. They year was 1955

She's amazing, so much emotion.

Mooi gespeeld en mooi "live gepresenteerd" door de pianiste. Wat een levendig enthousiasme voor het piano spelen!

she's extraordinarily talented and beautiful.

Many people comment that Sofia made mistakes. I can't see or hear any flaws in her performance. I love watching her and listening to her. I am not a musician, but I have been listening to classical music all my life. And I am very picky! Great job Sofia :-)

She makes Tsjaikovski more romantic with the softer touch and playing not from the paper. Indeed many misshits and forgotten hits, but the too small orchester makes more mistakes!!! Anyway she helped me to appreciate Tsjaikovski more than before.

So nice to see so many views and still comments after six years but - wow -does she ever deserve it and I hope she has continued to challenge herself and interpret so well.

I have watched this performance countless times and does not get tired watching it. She is just magical.

I don't care what the negative criticisms are, Tchaikovsky would be proud!

I think the pianist is wonderful. Makes it come alive. Brava

The “wrong notes” and mistaques is a beutifull of singularity. We are imperfect but same time this is divine and precious ! I am not a musician. I am a simple and ordinary human been . I love music and I’m full of gratitude by the network / internet and new technologies that allow us to be enchanted by these wonderful works. THANKS!!!

aarrrhh soothing beautiful i feel like i have been blessed thank you. The 577 dislikes must be sad people

Those who dont like this interpretation should listen to only the exact performance that is "correct." Dont clutter your brain with any thing else. It would be a wonderful world if the correct versions of every masterpeice would be the only one ever allowed. No more Glenn Gould. I like to see prodigies and hear their ideas . This pianist is wonderful, I marvel at her hands at work & connect with her musical intellect. It is unique as all greatness should be.

She has enthusiasm and talent in abundance and it has been a real pleasure to listen her. In addition, and an unexpected pleasure in an age of intense and sometime "wooden" performers, watching her is a delight. She is at one with the score and its romantic themes, and looks confidently hooked on the piano and orchestra "singing" together. I have been to many concerts and competitions, and as a long-time pianist (tho' not of this calibre), I am absolutely over watching competitors who have technical brilliance in spades, but seemingly no soul or feeling. This young lady confirms my love of watching good, happy pianists do their thing at the keyboard. No, I agree, she has yet to develop polish and that elusive perfection ... but it all comes with practice and performance challenges. I will watch this young lady again with pleasure and contentment that here is a real pianist and perhaps a great one in the making.

Listening to the video of Sophia's performance again is really exciting!

Shucks, fifty years ago I had to learn how to make wheels on the lathe because the school I taught at couldn't afford to buy them. Found it fun so I began my adventure in turning. Finally I am beginning to make some good "stuff". I thought I read here this young lady is fifteen. Wow, to have that poise, aplomb, style, to say nothing of her ability at that age....thank you mam

I don't care about the technicalities, I love this interpretation. It's sensual, she feels the music. Wonderful!

Sofia, I know this video first appeared 6 years ago so I am a little late. I hope you are having a wonderful life and continuing to play the piano! I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your performance. Your ability, your focus, your emotion, your stamina, your courage and your great partnership with the maestro had me watching you wide eyed the whole 38 minutes! About 3/4 through the conductor nodded to you something like, "Everything okay?" You smiled at him and reassured him you were ready! Yes, ready! Let's do it! And near the very end your smile was hard to contain because you knew you were nearing the end and you were so overjoyed about your accomplishment! And, so was I and everyone else that was supporting you throughout the piece. Sofia, incredible! Thank you so much for this performance and I think Tchaikovsky would have loved to come back stage to congratulate you for your performance. He would have been in tears (like me) watching you play with so much emotion. Peace, my dear.

Beautiful! What wonderful budding talent! Kudos to the orchestra! The maestro not "seeing" the pianist; the pianist not "seeing" the conductor......Wonderful coordination!

Congratulations to the orchestra and the conductor.

Frankly, I can't think of a more terrifying place to be. There's nowhere to run, you've just got to keep going. It's a lovely piece of music and this is Sofia's rendition of it. Lovely.

A wonderful performance!

...simply magnificent. This young lady's spirit, quite literally, brings tears of joy to my eyes.

I keep coming back for another listen. Must be doing something really well.❤️