Leslie Howard- a phenomenon

[cziffra]

oh my god, this man is phenomonal...why is he not more famous?  He has recorded, across 94 cd's, all of Liszt's piano music...and that's where his repertoire begins!  

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on this guy, maybe someone can give me a reason as to why he isn't more well-respected and well-known.

[thracozaag]

 Because his playing is well...kinda bland....

[eddie92099]

Who hasn't heard of him? I think most people here have...
Ed

[allchopin]

Oh yeh, Ive heard of this... god?    This guy is indeed incredible and has the techinical skills of Liszt himself, which seems almost impossible given all they hype about Liszt's abilities.  Also, his playing is definitely not bland- I like it a lot- as well, he plays EVERy piece written by Liszt so you must give him some credit... He knows what he's doing.  I really dont know why he's not more famous either (why do we hear of "Horowitz" and not "Howard"?)

My theoy is that his name just simply isnt marketable- Horowitz is catchy and rememberable, not Howard.  Aside from that, I really dont know why....

Amazing...!

[thracozaag]

Oh yeh, Ive heard of this... god?    This guy is indeed incredible and has the techinical skills of Liszt himself, which seems almost impossible given all they hype about Liszt's abilities.  Also, his playing is definitely not bland- I like it a lot- as well, he plays EVERy piece written by Liszt so you must give him some credit... He knows what he's doing.  I really dont know why he's not more famous either (why do we hear of "Horowitz" and not "Howard"?)

My theoy is that his name just simply isnt marketable- Horowitz is catchy and rememberable, not Howard.  Aside from that, I really dont know why....

Amazing...!

 *chuckle*...well thank god then, he decided to heed someone's advice and go by Horowitz, rather than Gorowitz..he would have NEVER gotten famous, then.

[jeff]

i think some of his recorded work can be a bit 'bland', perhaps.. but hearing him live is COMPLETELY different (i saw him in concert a couple of months ago, and started a thread about him in the Miscellaneous section, i think )

[thracozaag]

i think some of his recorded work can be a bit 'bland', perhaps.. but hearing him live is COMPLETELY different (i saw him in concert a couple of months ago, and started a thread about him in the Miscellaneous section, i think )

 Then I'll seek out the next opportunity to hear a live performance of his.  Anton Kuerti is another pianist that comes across much tamer on record than his live concerts.

[cziffra]

i've come to the conlcusion after thinking about this guy for a while that maybe he isn't more famous because he's Australian...there aren't many australian pianists, and on the world stage we might not be very well respected, what with david helfgott and all (he's an amazing man but critics just laugh at him)

this is especially so given the importance the piano-going public seems to place on people being from Europe.  if you're not from Europe, it's almost as if you can't be a real musician.  

[eddie92099]

Robert Woodward is a good Australian. And wasn't Percy Grainger also?
Ed

[thracozaag]

Robert Woodward is a good Australian. And wasn't Percy Grainger also?
Ed

Whatever happened to Woodward?  He was phenomenal...Grainger certainly was an Aussie.  There was another VERY promising Australian pianist named Noel Mewton-Wood who died tragically at a very young age (suicide).  If you can get a hold of any recordings of his, they're well worth it.  
 Sadly, Both Mewton-Wood and William Kapell died in the same year, at the same age, after meeting each other during Kapell's tour of Australia.

[jeff]

has anyone heard Michael Kieran Harvey?
i love him~~ (for his playing).

[frederic]

It is pretty amazing how Leslie Howard can record all of Liszt's piano works. But have to agree his playing is a bit "bland".
Its maybe because he has to play all this Liszt and won't have enough time to seriously concentrate and study one particular piece and get it up to a very good standard.
And another factor is that he does not play much other than Liszt on recordings.
If he gave us a little bit of everything (Bach especially, or Mozart, Beethoven...etc) and demonstrated his knowledge when working on other composers, he would get the respects he deserves.

[trunks]

Howard and Horowitz on Liszt? Aww . . . come on, Horowitz never came even close to Howard. Howard excites me every time with a new Liszt CD, there is always something to listen from Howard, especially from the rare repertoire. Sadly Horowitz was there to disappoint me every time unmistakably. And he never recorded much Liszt either.

Oh how I wish Alfred Brendel would move on to record as much Liszt as Howard . . . !

[Nightscape]

One unique thing about Leslie Howard is that he and several others had discovered a lot of new music by Liszt within the past decade or so.  He is a top-notch musicologist too!

[BoliverAllmon]

One unique thing about Leslie Howard is that he and several others had discovered a lot of new music by Liszt within the past decade or so.  He is a top-notch musicologist too!

that may be, but I still think his music is only good for research purposes, not musical entertainment.

[thalbergmad]

I have listened to several of his Liszt CD's (about 30) and have found nothing that is outstanding.

Yes he has great fingers, but have to agree with some of the former posts that his playing is sometimes bland and empty.

Another post mentioned that his name was not marketable. Perhaps Leslov Howardev.

[Eusebius_dk]

oh my god, this man is phenomonal...why is he not more famous?  He has recorded, across 94 cd's, all of Liszt's piano music...and that's where his repertoire begins!  

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on this guy, maybe someone can give me a reason as to why he isn't more well-respected and well-known.

A lot of CDs, not much quality... 

Heard a masterclass with him a months ago; that man is the most arrogant idiot on earth...

[MattL]

that may be, but I still think his music is only good for research purposes, not musical entertainment.

Agreed but at least there is one resource out there if want to attempt a rarer liszt piece

[ludwig]

Robert Woodward is a good Australian. And wasn't Percy Grainger also?
Ed

you mean roger woodward? He's not doing much these days I don't think??? Not sure but I really liked his Beethoven recordings

As for Howard, I do praise his recordings because they brought new music to me which haven't been recorded previously, like the Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven......very valuable to me....

[Daevren]

The good thing about Howard is that he records all the rare stuff which he sometimes puts together himself and then records it. He may not be the best pianist or Liszt interpreter, but he is trying way harder than anyone else. He recorded plenty of stuff that has never been played after the death of Liszt. Of course it is hard to be sure of this but it is still amazing.


Ludwig, if you mean the Symphony transcriptions, other people have recorded those too. Katsaris comes well recommended.

BTW, what is everyones favorite Howard-Liszt volume?

[ludwig]

Daevren, yeah I remember looking at Katsaris symphony 1-9s in a set, it was too expensive for me I would really like to own the set of transcriptions though...can't believe I forgot! Yeah what I meant was what you said, that Howard's comprehensiveness with recordings, he brings all the unheard "new" music to me so I know they are out there....

[pies]

­

[faulty_damper]

you mean roger woodward? He's not doing much these days I don't think??? Not sure but I really liked his Beethoven recordings

Woodward is now teaching at a University in the States.  Boy is he "moody".