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Nothing to argue about. Who do you like and why. All anecdotes welcome. I'll post mine later.
Follow Ups:
Not in any particular order apart from the first:
Richter: in Rachmaninoff, Liszt and much else but not Chopin, although being Richter his frontal assault on various preludes is obviously not the product of laziness.
Gilels in Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. Stout-hearted and courageous are the qualities that his playing conjures up for me.
Koroliov and Nikolayeva in Bach
Alexander Melnikov in just about anything: a player of great subtlety. What Horowitz might have aspired to had he lived
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet ditto
Moravec ditto
Arrau in Chopin and Liszt
Cziffra in Liszt (I've come around to his way of thinking in recent years)
Bolet in Liszt
Martha who can do no wrong in my eyes
Ahmad Jamal - showing that the spaces between the notes also count Tremendous technique available when icalled upon.
Erroll Garner
Red Garland
Ray Charles
Duke Ellington - I used to think he was a bit of a bash artist as a player. I was wrong
Hampton Hawes
John Medeski, tho I gotta say he's even better on Hammond - unafraid to give offence
Wynton Kelly
Leon Russell
Ray Manzarek
Professor Longhair - an ear-opening experience for me. The repertoire and devices used may have been limited but the man put the K in funky. It just makes ya want to procreate ...
Edits: 11/30/14
Lorin Hollander
Dave Frishberg
Dick Wellstood
Dunno - where does one draw the line - Oh so many
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
I'm not a classical guy, but I do like solo classical piano and guitar.
My favorite classical pianists are Argerich, Pletnev and Gould.
My favorite jazz pianists are Dave McKenna, Tommy Flanagan, Gene Harris,
and T. Monk.
So many experts in this thread, or at least they think so.
Pollini was cold and then not cold. Wasn't cold heard live in Cleveland 2000.
On record, I like Fleisher (Beethoven and Brahms PC, Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme) and Sv Richter (all of them).
Maybe Arrau (Brahms PC) and Van Cliburn (Tchaik 1and Rach 2).
Hardly an expert comparing a lot of people to each other (no time), I just have enjoyed many of the stated pianists thru the years. And I can never get to the bottom of it all.
I am not classically trained, just responding instinctively to music as I hear it.
“Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t. - Charles Bukowski
Yeah, it was the point of the thread. To share our favorites. You beat me to the punch
1. Vladimir Horowitz
2. Vladimir Horowitz
3. Vladimir Horowitz
4. Vladimir Horowitz
5. Vladimir Horowitz.....
Honorable mention: Van Cliburn, Artur Rubinstein, Earl Wild, Claudio Arrau, Arturo Michelangeli, Ayako Uehara, Antonio Barbosa, Rudolf Serkin, Lars Vogt (Beethoven), Stephen Hough, Leon Fleisher, Ivo Pogorelich, Georges Cziffra..... Left out quite a few.......
I really tried hard to like his playing Beethoven Sonatas v Brendel. Albert wins every time, to my layman ears:
“Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t. - Charles Bukowski
I could probably list quite a few pieces I'd prefer a relative unknown over Horowitz....
I've also recommended Horowitz for a lot of composers, but don't recall anything he stands out w Beethoven. Horowitz's style isn't a good fit for Brahms either.
But whenever Horowitz really nails something, nobody is in the next area code...... (Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude, for one. Scriabin's Etude 8/12 is another.) I cannot say that about another pianist.
Agree 100%
nt
“Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t. - Charles Bukowski
...for sure he belongs to the most "underrated"...
“Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t. - Charles Bukowski
His Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 with Rattle isn't bad either.
I would have loved to see him live. I missed him at the CSO a few years back.
There's a very interesting story in connection with that Ravel recording, which I posted about here in 2010:
Why didn't Zimerman record BOTH Ravel concertos with the Cleveland (rather than recording the G maj. with Cleveland and the D maj [left hand] with the LSO)? Well, according to my source - whose name I can't reveal :-) - Zimerman was supposed to record BOTH Ravel concertos with the Cleveland, but during one of the sessions there, one of the orchestra's union reps ended the session too abruptly for Zimerman's taste, whereupon he slammed his score down on the piano and shouted that he would never make a recording with the Cleveland Orchestra again! Thus, the remaining (left hand) concerto had to be hastily arranged with the LSO!BTW, I was just listening to Zimerman's Chopin F-minor Concerto (with his hand-picked Polish Orchestra) a couple of days ago - that is surely a one-of-a-kind recording if there ever was one, in terms of the orchestra and the soloist: rubato, dynamics, balance all combine for a kind of expressive rhetoric like no other performance. (Of course, that doesn't mean that other performances can't be good too, but I don't think anyone else could afford to take the same approach, where the soloist and orchestra feel as one, despite the extreme expressive tempo manipulations and other rhetorical modifications - a result of Zimerman and the orchestra getting tons of rehearsal time and then touring with these concertos.)
Zimerman's Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 left me with a strong impression.
I love the way he tells the story in that piece in spite very stretched out 1st movement he had me captive what he's going to say next.I read somewhere that musicians in that orchestra were hand picked by him and that he stipulated that noone over 35 year old of age should be permitted. ( no way you can get away with this age discrimination in the US~! )
Interesting background story on the Cleveland Orchestra fiasco.
He's such a prima donna but man.. no doubt he's very talented. I don't like everything he does but what he does well offers unique way of looking at things.
Edits: 11/29/14
I don't think he will ever come back to the U.S.
If i've known this I would have made it to the concert come hell or high water...
Actually, I find that the "perfection" which many listeners attribute to ABM actually applies more truly to Zimerman. He's not as "extreme" as some other pianists I like, but the detailed finish of his playing is incredible IMHO. I don't often agree with The Gramophone (if only because their reviewers almost reflexively tend to support big label, big advertiser recordings!), but their praise of, say, Zimerman's Debussy Preludes on DG is very well founded: the exactitude of the rhythm and the transparency of the texture is fantastic. Even though I have a couple of great hi-rez recordings of these works (Koroliov on DVD-Audio and Bavouzet on 24/96 download), I'm also spellbound by Zimerman on plain old CD!
fds
compelled you to make this post?
As of today:
Gould - for his Beethoven Piano Concert No.1's wonderful original cadenza which I never get tired of listening
Richter - for Mousorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition: my reference. After listen to this, orchestrated versions feel wrong
Weissenbeg - for Bach Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue
Perahia - for his Schubert and Mozart Rondos
Lipatti - For his Bach Nun Komm', Der Heiden Heiland and his last recording with Ansermet
Michelangelli - for his Chopin Ballad No.1 and Ravel Concerto for left hand
Paul Lewis - for his Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle. Looking forward to hear him play the Emperor soon.
Backhaus - for his Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with Schmidt-Isserstedt and 'Les Adieux'
Rudolf Serkin - for his playful Mozart concertos on Columbia
Novaes - for her bouncy Beethoven Sonata 'Waldstein'.
Pollini- for his later Chopin and Mozart pieces. He mellowed out a lot in his older age and enjoyed his recitals in spite a few misplaying. Funny that I did not find him analytical or cold.
Gulda - for his fluid and rhythmic Beethoven and Mozart Concerts. Plus his own cello concerto with Henrik Schiff. A strong sense of improv and esprit!
Wilhelm Kempff - for his Beethoven sonatas and Piano Concerto No.4 with Leitner
Moravec - for his Beethoven Piano Concerto no.4
Geiseking - for his Debussy Suite Bergamasque and Emperor Concerto with Galliera
Zimerman - for his Ravel Concertos with Boulez and Chopin Piano Concertos
Gilels - for Brahms Piano Concerto NO.2 with Reiner
György Sandor - for Brahms Piano Concerto
Ashkenazy - for Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 with Haitink
Horowitz - Tchaikovsky No1 with Toscanini most of his Chopin pieces
Ingolf Wunder - for his Chopin pieces
Argerich - Chopin Preludes and Prokofieff pieces as well as unusual programming for her Lugano Festivals which I enjoy as well as discovering new tunes and arrangements
Rubinstein - for his Chopin it's like wearing comfy old pair of shoes
Witold Mulcuzinski - for his Chopin Waltzes and Muzurkas Least flower. More canons.
Entremont - for his jazzy Gershwin's Concerto in F & Rhapsody in Blue with Ormandy
Samson Francois - for his Chopin pieces
Annie Fischer - for her Mozart NO. 20
Fazil Say - for his Mozart concertos as well as Stravinsky's Le Sacre for great improvisation skills
Robert Cassadesus - for his Mozart No. 18
Clara Haskil - for her Mozart pieces
Pletnev - for his Carnegie Debut CD. Not sure he has topped this one since then.
Bishop - the king of bland but I like some of his Mozart Concertos with Davis
Pires - for some of her Mozart Concertos
Janis - for his Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 with Dorati
Rafael Orozco - for Rachmaninoff Piano Concert No.3
Brendel - for Pre Phillips Vox Schubert Impromptus
Andreas Staier - for his Schubert pieces on a piano forte
Graffman - for his Horowitz-esque Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 with Szell.
Thiboudet - for his 'Conversation with Bill Evans' CD.
Arrau - for his Debussy Images
Anna Vinnitskaya - for her Ravel Piano Concerto in G Hoping she'll be more active soonMy latest addition to the list is Edwin Fischer's Bach Piano Concertos. He's not super accurate but love his spontaneity.
I haven't connected with too many young players yet. ( both in recording and live concerts ) But that's probably due to my main source of software is Vinyl.
Edits: 11/27/14 11/27/14 11/27/14 11/27/14
Horowitz for his Scriabin
Arrau for Liszt Sonata
Sudbin for Rachmaninov Soanata 2 & Sciabin
Volodos for Schubert and Liszt
Gilels for Tchaikovsky PC-1 with Reiner & Schumann Nachtstucke
Parahia for Schumann Fantasia, Mendelssohn and Bach
Rubinstein for Racmaninov PC-2 & Brahms Pieces
Alicia De Larocha Granados and Albeniz
Radu Lupu Schubert and Schumann Krisleriana
Pollini Beethoven Sonata 31
Richter Beethoven PC-1 with Munch
Moravec everything Chopin
R. Serkin Beethoven late Sonatas
W. Malcuzinski Franck Prelude, Choral et Fugue
Igor Tchetuev Hope he records all Beethoven Sonatas
Yoram Ish-Hurwitz Liszt Annees
Freddy Kempf Bach-Busoni Chaconne & Mussorgsky Pictures
Young Kissin Liszt Harmonies du Soir
And half a dozen more that I can not put my finger on at this moment, and on the subject of source of software I left Vinyl when CD’s showed up and have never looked back.
Vahe
used classical vinyl is so much cheaper than new release CD which they can still command 16$+ per CD.
For some reasons, used CD in our area are not discounted deep as vintage vinyl.
I am sure that there are free music download site but I am not set up for streaming or playing files.
Regarding Pletnev. He has a new album out which includes outtakes at sessions where he just sat down and played a piece straight thru. No retakes. No editing. Includes the greatest performance of the Bach/Busoni Chaconne. I agree with many of your picks. Very nice
Alan
.
Horowitz (for Scriabin), Arrau, Michelangeli, Pollini, Richter, Dalton Baldwin, Jorg Demus, Paul Badura-Skoda, Gerald Moore, Georges Cziffra, Paul Jacobs, Marc-André Hamelin, Myra Hess, Earl Wild, Gould, Andre Previn, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Gilels
So many, hope we don't have to chose 1 ....
Enjoy the music.
.
Keith Jarrett.
For starters....
Horowitz. We used to have a recording of the Rach 3 with Reiner, which I acquired on LP and CD as an adult. I have a terrific CD of Beethoven's Moonlight, Pathetique and Apassionata sonatas on CBS. I have some recordings of Chopin I like, and also of some Schumann pieces.
Rubinstein. I like him mostly for his Chopin recordings.
Earl Wild. He did some excellent recordings of the Rachmaninoff concerti and some of the big Chopin pieces.
Those are the three I listen to most often. But there are lots of wonderful pianists.
-----
"A fool and his money are soon parted." --- Thomas Tusser
Zimmerman...
“Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t. - Charles Bukowski
All time favorites on record.
Ivan Moravec. For me he set a standard that no other recording artist has touched (until recently). He had an ability to play the most complex pieces with nuance, subtlety and articulation that was in a league of his own. I found most of his interpretations to be my favorite or among my favorites. Very few other pianists so consistently achieved that with me.
Second favorite Byron Janis. A master of the big concertos. His Rachmaninoff recordings are all among my top choices.
Historical pianists of note. Generally speaking I find the old old guard to be lacking in technical excellence to the point of distraction and to be very stilted and heavy handed in their phrasing and dynamic shadings. The two notable exceptions for me were Rachmaninoff and Hoffman. Rachmaninoff in particular on the face of it could sound cold and rushed but there is a certain rightness for me to his performances that are bare boned in a good way and cut to the heart of the music.
Today's recording artists, live performers. For me there is one true standout. Yuja Wang. Tehcnical excellence that equals or even surpasses the likes of Hamelin and Volodos with that special touch and nuance that only Moravec achieved to my ears. She plays in a way that makes me believe she is writing the music as she plays it. Her live performances of Prokofiev II, Rachmaninoff III, Chopin II, and Bartok II along with her recitals stand out as by far my most amazing experiences for me as a concert goer. I remember seeing her for the first time playing with Charles Dutoit at Disney Hall with the L.A. Phil. I was there to see Scheherazade. I had never heard of Yuja Wang and had very little expectations with this 21 year old unknown taking on the monster Prokofiev II. That was an out of body experience. Truly surrealistic to see some unknown deliver far and away the single most amazing performance I had ever seen to that date. Been a huge fan ever since.
I feel that there are other pianists currently (or recently) before the public who are in this same league. (There are a lot of them IMHO, and I'm not going to name them all.)
I think Richter was the greatest pianist of the 20th century, but I also think some of his most famous signature performances have been equaled (or even surpassed?) - for instance, the Schumann Toccata recordings by Pogorelich and Lugansky.
I'd also just like to make one more comment on Byron Janis - as part of my transfer of recordings from CD's to iTunes, I've re-listened to a couple of Janis performances just in the last couple of weeks. Wow - do they ever hold up well! He's most famous for the big concertos, like the Rachmaninoff ones you mentioned, but I just re-listened to the comparatively simple Arabesque by Schumann. If you can play even a simple piece like that one with the romantic yearning and technical mastery that Janis manifests, I contend that that in itself would make you one of the really great pianists.
BTW, that doesn't mean I like Moravec or Yuja (or Pogo or Lugansky or others I haven't named) any less!
1. I wish you would name them.
2. Excellent points about Janis.
Regarding your first point, I feel that if I named others, there would be two problems:
- I would doubtless forget some pianists I meant to include, and I'd get mad at myself! ;-)
- As a couple of posters have noted, no one plays at such a consistently high level in all repertoire that all criticism can be banished! For instance, I would include Sokolov, but he's too often not to my liking - however, at his best, he's so good that I think he would need to be included regardless. BTW, now that he's just signed with DG, I hope we'll be hearing some of his performances (which have been floating around the internet in various states of fidelity) in improved SQ! Anyway, given the variability of performances in general, I feel that I would need to explain my choices in a lot of cases, which I just don't have time to do right now.
Edits: 11/28/14
What Janis performed he really performed well. Once saw him live doing Pictures. Truly great. Is only problem he tried to copy Horowitz's technique and it eventually ruined his hands. Also I]his repertoire was limited. His Mercury recordings are really very good.
Alan
I would agree with Chris about Richter and about modern players both. Would like to hear more of Moravec, especially in Chopin.
Have you heard the two late CDs the Janis did of Chopin and Liszt? Quite extraordinary.
Other greats to consider among living greats, I think, are Sokolov and Roger Woodward...
Harry
By the way Janis performance on Mercury of the Prokofiev 3rd is my all time favorite performance of that piece. Just love it
Alan
"By the way Janis performance on Mercury of the Prokofiev 3rd is my all time favorite performance of that piece. Just love it"
Yes - not always the fastest by any means (but still faster than a lot of other pianists), but so full of tonal inflection and color! It certainly gives the lie to the idea that Prokofiev is all about mechanistics (I know that's not a word!) and rhythm. No! Those are just the starting points! ;-)
Plus Kondrashin is great and so is the recording. My favourite recording except for Prokofiev himself when I can stand the sound.
Alfred Brendel, I guess.
I don't think his name showed up much,if at all. He would certainly by on any list of mine, along with Dick Hyman and John Lewis.
JM
So, nearly 50 years after his famous New York recording, he still had the magic. This 2011 live performance might be even MORE magical that the what, 1963 NYC that IIRC was made in the Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria.
"There were giants in the earth in those days."
ATB,
jm
In no particular order:
Moravec
Rubinstein
Friedman
Brendel
Tomsic
Firkusny
Casadesus
Fischer
Graffman
Wang
Fleisher
Rachmaninov
Babayan
Perahia
Cortot
Moiseiwitsch
Richter
Jerry Lee Lewis
Otis Spann
Fats Domino
Count Basie
Bud Powell
Tommy Flanagan
Nat ColeEmil Gilels
Byron Janis
Van Cliburn
At the request of the Moderators,
This space has been deleted
Edits: 11/27/14
Richter
Michelangeli
Rubinstein
Geiseking
Horowitz
Novaes
Katchen
Curzon
Anda
Gulda
Kempff
Backhaus
Sofronitzky
Arrau
Argerich
Freire
Cascadesus
Haskil
Bachauer
Jacobs
Lupu
De larrocha
Ciccolini
Tipo
Weissenberg
Fiorentino
Hamelin
Tharaud
Eric Le Sage
Kocsis
Graham Johnson
Gerald Moore
Jorg Demus
Bill Evans
The list goes on and on. That's it for now:)
.....and Glenn Gould
Tom B.
Tom,
Agree with you 100%
Happy Thanksgiving
Alan
Glenn Gould, Van Cliburn, Byron Janis and Leon Fleisher. I've heard the first three live. Recently, Janis was a resident artist at the University of Tennessee and asked him to autograph a late 50s recording (see attached). He's not playing much anymore, but what he played (Gershwin Prelude No. 1) sounded great.
Richter
Michelangeli
Rubinstein
Geiseking
Horowitz
Novaes
Katchen
Curzon
Anda
Gulda
Kempff
Backhaus
Sofronitzky
Arrau
Argerich
Freire
Cascadesus
Haskil
Bachauer
Jacobs
Lupu
De larrocha
Ciccolini
Tipo
Weissenberg
Fiorentino
Hamelin
Tharaud
Eric Le Sage
Kocsis
Graham Johnson
Gerald Moore
Jorg Demus
Bill Evans
The list goes on and on. That's it for now:)
I'm just going to list Jazz players. Other than the first on the list, no particular order.
Art Tatum
Fats Waller
Teddy Wilson
Mary Lou Williams
Oscar Peterson
Bud Powell
Hank Jones
Bill Evans
Nat Cole
Nina Simone
Willie The Lion Smith
Dick Hyman
Dave Brubeck
Count Basie
Ray Bryant
Cyrus Chessnut
John Lewis
I could think of even more.
Phil
No Monk?
I probably think of Monk as a composer first and I do love his music. By the way North Coast Brewing Co. has honored him with a Belgian style ale called Brother Thelonious. I bought it mainly for the bottle with Monk's picture on it. I figured if the ale was no good at least I'll have a decoration for my stereo room. It turns out it is worthy of the master and it is almost weening me off of stout.
By the way I just thought of an other SF Bay area pianist who needs to be on the list. Tammy Hall
A couple of years ago I heard her live accompanying Kim Nalley. A few months back she was at KCSM's Jazz On The Hill accompaning Barbara Dane. In addition to being a great pianist, she is a monster B3 player.
Phil
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