The Gramophone Selects 50 outstanding pianists

110.147.211.231

Posted on May 20, 2022 at 17:11:25

Posts: 5146
Location: Northern Tasmania
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Fourth try at posting!!!!

The list I've compiled from "The Gramophone" is in alphabetical order of surname with no implied relative order of artistic ability. Like me, you might have selected some other album to illustrate his/her talent (e.g. I would have expected Uchida to have either a Schubert album or Mozart concerto beside her name).

The URL link is to the Gramophone article but you need a subscription to access the articles - well worth the price. The full article gives links to the review of the album quoted as well as other interesting articles.

Of interest is that nearly half (23 of the 50) are still with us and still releasing albums.

I guess many of you, like me, have many of these albums in their collection and maybe someone has them all?

Leif Ove Andsnes (b1970) - Grieg. Schumann Piano Concertos
Martha Argerich (b1941) - Chopin Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Claudio Arrau (1903-91) - - 100th Anniversary Collection
Vladimir Ashkenazy (b1937) - Rachmaninov Piano Concertos
Daniel Barenboim (b1942) - JS Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2
Alfred Brendel (b1931) - The Farewell Concerts
Bertrand Chamayou (b1981) - Saint-Sa
What can be more subjective than music? It reflects our personal tastes and preferences.

The Gramophone article

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hard to confine "list" to 50

oldvinyl

20:07:03 05/22/22

The current mania for top ten or top hundred whatever . .

Mali

11:28:01 05/22/22

18

current mania? "Top" lists have been popular for as long as I can remember [nt]

rkw

21:13:04 05/22/22

...

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hard to confine "list" to 50

oldvinyl

20:07:03 05/22/22

The current mania for top ten or top hundred whatever . .

Mali

11:28:01 05/22/22

18

current mania? "Top" lists have been popular for as long as I can remember [nt]

rkw

21:13:04 05/22/22

Well. . . sometimes they're fun - and they never fail to generate controversy! [nt] ;-)

Chris from Lafayette

12:12:58 05/22/22

16

RE: Well. . . sometimes they're fun - and they never fail to generate controversy! [nt] ;-)

Mali

16:02:16 05/22/22

15

From a certain point of view, I can understand that sentiment

Chris from Lafayette

00:42:14 05/23/22

14

He's not even my #1 for baroque composers

Analog Scott

17:16:26 05/24/22

13

OK, Scott - after much consideration, I'm going to guess. . .

Chris from Lafayette

00:49:19 05/25/22

12

Scarlatti is not Baroque,

sser2

00:04:21 05/27/22

3

Well if he's not Baroque, then what is he? [nt] ;-)

Chris from Lafayette

00:35:26 05/27/22

2

He is Scarlatti,

sser2

00:45:06 05/27/22

Well. . .

Chris from Lafayette

10:57:22 05/27/22

Guess again....

Analog Scott

07:11:01 05/25/22

7

Ana Vidovic. . . mmm!

Chris from Lafayette

11:10:45 05/25/22

6

Isn't it amazing?

sser2

23:57:51 05/26/22

5

The only practitioner of the clangsichord I like is Landowska's student, Rafael Puyana

Chris from Lafayette

00:33:54 05/27/22

4

Heard him,

sser2

00:51:14 05/27/22

3

Interesting comment on the Wikipedia article about Landowska

Chris from Lafayette

11:08:17 05/27/22

2

not Puyana, but maybe...

pbarach

12:21:41 05/27/22

She had her share of detractors.

sser2

11:51:10 05/27/22

So where's Sofronitsky?

andy evans

01:36:35 05/21/22

No Ivan Moravec? WTF?

Analog Scott

18:59:39 05/20/22

8

No Georges Cziffra......

Todd Krieger

17:49:00 05/21/22

7

Forgot you were a fan of Byron Janis too!

Chris from Lafayette

00:38:17 05/22/22

4

RE: Forgot you were a fan of Byron Janis too!

Todd Krieger

02:10:57 05/24/22

"in the liszt" -- nice! n/t

SE

09:22:45 05/24/22

In all fairness...if it were basball...

Analog Scott

07:51:52 05/22/22

British pianists....

andy evans

01:20:55 05/22/22

Yikes!

Analog Scott

18:03:14 05/21/22

"Byron Janis would be a top 5 for me as a recording artist" - Me too! [nt]

Chris from Lafayette

00:39:42 05/22/22

RE: The Gramophone Selects 50 outstanding pianists

DrChaos

18:48:54 05/20/22

Me too.

sser2

22:09:55 05/21/22

Looks like our server choked on the diacritical mark in Saint-Saens

Chris from Lafayette

17:23:44 05/20/22

Looks like our server choked on the diacritical mark in Saint-Saens, posted on May 20, 2022 at 17:23:44
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	You'll notice that I don't dare use the same Umlaut. ;-) (I forget what it's called in French.) As for the list itself, it's all too predictable, although I may have more to say depending on how others respond.

RE: The Gramophone Selects 50 outstanding pianists, posted on May 20, 2022 at 18:48:54
DrChaos Audiophile Posts: 2063 Location: San Diego Joined: July 13, 2009	I'm very pleased to see Beatrice Rana and Yuja Wang

No Ivan Moravec? WTF?, posted on May 20, 2022 at 18:59:39
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	automatic DQ IMO

So where's Sofronitsky?, posted on May 21, 2022 at 01:36:35
andy evans Audiophile Posts: 4382 Joined: October 20, 2000	Sofronitsky is one of the giants of the piano - how did nobody think of him? He could replace around 10 on the list if not more.

No Georges Cziffra......, posted on May 21, 2022 at 17:49:00
Todd Krieger Audiophile Posts: 37333 Location: SW United States Joined: November 2, 2000	No Rudolf Serkin...... No Ivo Pogorelic...... No Byron Janis....... No Earl Wild...... No Andre Watts..... No Van Cliburn...... No Leon Fleisher..... No Emanuel Ax......

Yikes!, posted on May 21, 2022 at 18:03:14
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	You dug deeper than I did. That's quite a list of MIAs. Byron Janis would be a top 5 for me as a recording artist.

Me too., posted on May 21, 2022 at 22:09:55
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	especially for Rana. It is refreshing to see the modern talent among the old dinosaurs, many of latter I don't care much about. I was wondering why Yundi Li is not there.

Forgot you were a fan of Byron Janis too!, posted on May 22, 2022 at 00:38:17

Chris from Lafayette
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Yes - Pogorelic, Janis, Wild, Fleisher, Ax. . . All missing in action. Also the incomparable Ekaterina Dershazvina (aka Derzhavina). And yet, there was Cooper, Grosvenor, Hess, Hewitt, Lympani. . . As I say, it was an all too predictable British list. Actually, it was an all too predictable Gramophone list from the Brits - which is one reason why I haven't bothered with that rag for decades. ;-)

"Byron Janis would be a top 5 for me as a recording artist" - Me too! [nt], posted on May 22, 2022 at 00:39:42
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

British pianists...., posted on May 22, 2022 at 01:20:55
andy evans Audiophile Posts: 4382 Joined: October 20, 2000	...there was Cooper, Grosvenor, Hess, Hewitt, Lympany. . . There was also John Ogdon, not quite one of the greats maybe. Out of those I would keep Myra Hess and add Solomon. But both would have to compete with Sofronitsky, Van Cliburn, Janis and other greats.

In all fairness...if it were basball..., posted on May 22, 2022 at 07:51:52
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	Batting .400 is really impressive!

The current mania for top ten or top hundred whatever . . , posted on May 22, 2022 at 11:28:01
Mali Audiophile Posts: 2220 Location: Wyoming Joined: June 12, 2003 Contributor Since: November 11, 2009	is ridiculous. Everything has its list it seems

Well. . . sometimes they're fun - and they never fail to generate controversy! [nt] ;-), posted on May 22, 2022 at 12:12:58
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

RE: Well. . . sometimes they're fun - and they never fail to generate controversy! [nt] ;-), posted on May 22, 2022 at 16:02:16
Mali Audiophile Posts: 2220 Location: Wyoming Joined: June 12, 2003 Contributor Since: November 11, 2009	For composers put Bach no. 1 and you can forget the rest. Nobody else is needed on that list.

hard to confine "list" to 50, posted on May 22, 2022 at 20:07:03

oldvinyl
Audiophile

Posts: 967
Location: Bay Area
Joined: June 6, 2000

Not like the fastest 50 renditions of Fur Elise gets the prize.

At any rate - also notably missing Grigory Ginzburg. I lucked out years ago and came across a trove of his recordings, before I even knew what I had found (labels were in Russian and I was not familiar with his work). I would also like to see Jean-Efflam Bavouzet make it to "the list".

Also missing are some of the other finest pianists - the accompanists. Graham Johnson, Gerald Moore, Roger Vignoles, Geoffrey Parsons etc. While they may not steal the spotlight, they are amazing artists in their own right.

Maybe we could do a list of the top 50 Liszt players?

Enjoy the music.

current mania? "Top" lists have been popular for as long as I can remember [nt], posted on May 22, 2022 at 21:13:04
rkw Audiophile Posts: 321 Joined: July 12, 2000

From a certain point of view, I can understand that sentiment, posted on May 23, 2022 at 00:42:14
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	But Bach is not Number 1 on MY list. ;-) BTW, have you seen this Rick Beato video which appeared on YouTube recently? View YouTube Video It's kind of "stream of consciousness" but I think that Rick's genuine appreciation and love for Bach's music do come through if you're patient.

RE: Forgot you were a fan of Byron Janis too!, posted on May 24, 2022 at 02:10:57
Todd Krieger Audiophile Posts: 37333 Location: SW United States Joined: November 2, 2000	There are also a few pianists in the liszt that I would take out..... You probably know who they are..... [-;

"in the liszt" -- nice! n/t, posted on May 24, 2022 at 09:22:45
SE	.

He's not even my #1 for baroque composers, posted on May 24, 2022 at 17:16:26
Analog Scott Audiophile Posts: 9933 Joined: January 8, 2002	Blasphomy I know....He was the best baroque composer, but only my second favorite. I bet you can't guess my favorite. I bet you can't even if I gave you two guesses.....

OK, Scott - after much consideration, I'm going to guess. . . , posted on May 25, 2022 at 00:49:19

Chris from Lafayette
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Domenico Scarlatti! (Because of that D-minor Sonata with the repeated notes which Yuja plays a mile a minute!)

And even if I'm wrong, it gives me the chance to relate a story about the yearly "Baroque Festival" they have in Orinda, CA, where I've been one of the judges during certain years. Most of the competitors are pianists, who play mostly short pieces, and, for some reason, the program lists only the first initial (or initials) of the various composers. So one year, the guy running the competition was helping pass the time (while we judges made our decisions), by asking the young players various questions about music. This particular year, he noted that the program listed "D. Scarlatti" as the composer of one of the pieces and asked the kids, "What does the "D" stand for? One kid raised his hand and volunteered, "Dmitri?". Ever since then, I've devoutly wished that there had been a composer named Dmitri Scarlatti! ;-)

Guess again.... , posted on May 25, 2022 at 07:11:01

Analog Scott
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Posts: 9933
Joined: January 8, 2002

Just joking...Don't bother guessing again. You nailed it. But not just because of Yuja's performances of his sonatas. His sonatas translate so wondrfully to piano and work beautifully with many different styles of interpretation. The Horowitz performances are great. Alexandre Tharaud's performances are fantastic. I love that his sonatas work so well in many different styles. Kind of the opposite for me with Bach. With Bach I often find a very narrow window of interpretation that works for me.

But what put Scarlatti over the top for me was hearing Ana Vidovic play his sonatas transcribed to guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9LEqsey184

Ana Vidovic. . . mmm!, posted on May 25, 2022 at 11:10:45
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	As one of the YouTube posters says, we're lucky to have her around! ;-) Ms. CfL says she's never heard a bad piano performance of a Scarlatti sonata! Some of the others I like too are Maria Tipo (especially her performances which originally came out on the Ricordi label), Sergei Babayan. . . and even (despite the excessive rhythmic latitude he allows himself) Ivo Pogorelich.

Isn't it amazing?, posted on May 26, 2022 at 23:57:51
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	"Never heard a bad piano performance of a Scarlatti sonata". I cannot but wholeheartedly agree. These sonatas somehow benefit from pianistic trickery, although they weren't meant for it. By contrast, bad harpsichord performances of Scarlatti abound. I do not want to name the names. Maybe incomparable Landowska had set the standard so high that others sound clumsy by comparison?

Scarlatti is not Baroque,, posted on May 27, 2022 at 00:04:21
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	unless one lumps all music of 17th century into one "Baroque" pile.

The only practitioner of the clangsichord I like is Landowska's student, Rafael Puyana, posted on May 27, 2022 at 00:33:54
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	OTOH, Puyana had a multi-disc set of Scarlatti Sonatas on the Harmonia Mundi label (after his Mercury and Philips days) that was terrible - I don't know who the engineer was for that recording, but, instead of a couple of skeletons copulating on a tin roof, it sounded like a whole orgy of skeletons copulating on a tin roof! Jeez, what a monstrous noise! :-0

Well if he's not Baroque, then what is he? [nt] ;-), posted on May 27, 2022 at 00:35:26
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

He is Scarlatti,, posted on May 27, 2022 at 00:45:06
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	the thing onto itself. I find it hard to find parallels between Scarlatti and mainstream baroque.

Heard him,, posted on May 27, 2022 at 00:51:14
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	I guess he was good turning pages for Landowska.

Well. . . , posted on May 27, 2022 at 10:57:22

Chris from Lafayette
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. . . I kind of agree just a bit - and yet there were a few Iberian composers of that time (e.g., Soler and Matteo Albeniz) who had Scarlatti's style down pretty well themselves. And, personally, I don't think it's such a big leap from the simplicity and clarity of many of Vivaldi's concertos to the Scarlatti piano sonatas. To me, his style fits with the Italian/Iberian style within other Baroque music (Italian style, French style - and German style, which was supposedly a mingling of Italian and French in that era).

Interesting comment on the Wikipedia article about Landowska, posted on May 27, 2022 at 11:08:17
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26465 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	Sol Babitz stated that "She always played the music 'as written' with the result that a series of fast notes did not sound like 'bundles of them' (North 1700) but like a sewing machine. Thanks to her wide influence this blight can be heard in her pupils to this day." I've been trying to find documentation that Puyana ever turned pages for her - no luck so far! ;-)

She had her share of detractors., posted on May 27, 2022 at 11:51:10
sser2 Audiophile Posts: 2571 Location: Pittsburgh USA Joined: July 30, 2003	Mostly from the harpsichord establishment, accusing her of being too exuberant. But Babitz is the first one to propose that her technical strength, the ability to clearly articulate the fast passages, was actually a weakness. Bizzare.

not Puyana, but maybe..., posted on May 27, 2022 at 12:21:41
pbarach Audiophile Posts: 3307 Location: Ohio Joined: June 22, 2008	A high school friend was taking harpsichord lessons and asked his teacher how Landowska managed to play a particularly gnarly passage. The instructor said, "Denise." My friend said, "Who??" He was referring to Denise Restout, Landowska's assistant, protege, and (some say) life partner.

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The Gramophone Selects 50 outstanding pianists

110.147.211.231