Which pianist has the best left-hand technique?

[retrouvailles]

I just recently saw Hamelin perform Ravel's Left Hand Piano Concerto and that just about settles it for me.

[pianowolfi]

I just recently saw Hamelin perform Ravel's Left Hand Piano Concerto and that just about settles it for me.

I've heard him also live with this one a few years ago. Plus Liszt's Todtentanz. His left hand seems to have 20 fingers

[steve jones]

But interestingly, comparing his studio Chopin-Godowsky left-hand etude recordings with Berezovsky and Libetta, he is considerably slower, same when comparing his Blumenfeld LH etude with Barere's.

Berezovsky has some kind of speed fetish. I think he butched the Liszt Transcendentals in this respect. Make them quick and excited where need be, yes. But not speed just for the sake of it!

I MUCH prefer Hamelin's Godowsky Etudes recording to Berezovsky's.

SJ

[ramseytheii]

Berezovsky has some kind of speed fetish. I think he butched the Liszt Transcendentals in this respect. Make them quick and excited where need be, yes. But not speed just for the sake of it!

I MUCH prefer Hamelin's Godowsky Etudes recording to Berezovsky's.

SJ

Yikes!  I don't hear it.  I think Berezovsky's tempos are appropriate, and also I think his recording has much more life, sparkle and verve than the Hamelin's.  especially astounded at Berezovsky's Ignus fatuus.  I hope he records more!

Walter Ramsey

[jinfiesto]

Leon Fleisher. End of discussion. His focal dystonia in the right hand gave him about 40 years to do nothing but develop his left hand.

[daro]

Well, not quite the end of the discussion. Gary Graffman also has been playing nothing but the left-hand literature for the past 30 years due to a similar problem. In fact, I just saw him last week at Cal. State Fullerton, where he played, among other things, the Reinicke Sonata Op. 179, some ferocious Reger studies, a Corigliano etude, the Blumenfeld, of course, and then topped it all off with a couple of Chopin-Godowsky's. Not too shabby for a guy who's 79 years old. Now, he wasn't absolutely completely 100% note-perfect, but I'd say he was at least 98%, and his musicianship was second to none.

yd

[retrouvailles]

Leon Fleisher. End of discussion. His focal dystonia in the right hand gave him about 40 years to do nothing but develop his left hand.

I saw him recently perform the Ravel left hand concerto and it was just about the worst thing I have heard in my life. You must be joking. I respect Gary Graffman a heeluva lot more. I would someday like to hear the concerto written for him by Bolcom, known as Gaea.

[jakev2.0]

Barere Blumenfeld LH etude.
Friedman Chopin 10/12.
Any Hofmann recording.
Any Gould recording.

Hamelin's Godowsky = pedestrian.

[georgethemusicalme]

I know he's probably not the best, but Sandro Russo makes mighty fine work of Blumenfeld's Etude for the left hand alone.
see here -

[mephisto]

I agree, very impressive!

[dashing_dutchman]

Among left hand specialists I have found Jan Wijn to be a truly magnificent artist, who has a two-hand record that is just as great.

[jlh]

I know he's probably not the best, but Sandro Russo makes mighty fine work of Blumenfeld's Etude for the left hand alone.
see here -

I agree, however, this video has been removed and replaced by this one:

Same piece for LH alone, same pianist, different performance - recorded a month after your post.

[term]

omg ... He's the greatest at nothing except being weird.

No, you're just talking for the sake of talking.

[zemyk4e]

Best left hand alive - Ian Pace
Best left hand ever - Ian Pace
Best right hand alive - Ian Pace
Best right hand ever - Ian Pace
Fastest Alkan - Ian Pace
100 metres breaststroke - Ian Pace
Largest glasses - Ian Pace
Most boring website - Ian Pace

Discussion over.

Thal

I will agree you with on everything! xD

I had attended over 10+ of his recitals of his in Europe while I lived in Italy and Germany. I witnessed him playing Sciarrino sonatas, I saw the UK premiere of the Hoban monster (THEE hardest thing ever written for piano!), and actually heard him play the Bartok and Ligeti etudes. He left for a while to the west when I was in UK to play a recital or 2 where he was also playing that NONO piano piece with tape.

Point is, he cannot be compared to human pianists. When I saw him play Sciarrino and Hoban on the same night, I had seen the limits of technique, and also the limits of sight-reading.

You forgot to put best sight-reader!

regards,

guill

[jabbz]

Yeah, Ian Pace has my vote for everything. Absolutely terrifying.

[aslanov]

which pianist actually injured his right hand and had to play left handed.  simon barere?  i can't remember.

i think that was godowsky

[abagdasa]

Hofmann had the most crashingly powerful and accurate [l'il] left hand, imo. He didnt need retakes or digital editing and splicing lol.

Hell, he used practically ZERO pedal.

[weissenberg2]

Glenn Gould and Egon Petri.

[keyofc]

I would think that Paul Wittgenstein probably had the best left hand technique.
He was an Austrian pianist who lost his right hand in WW 1.

A friend of Ravel's - Ravel wrote a concerto for him and later Wittgenstein commissioned
others to write left hand only concertos for him.
Some of those whom he commisionned was Richard Strauss, Prokofiev, and Britten.

[thalbergmad]

Check out me mate Artur Cimmiro. He has a left hand that makes Dreyschock look like Mylene Klasse.

Hopefully he will do a studio recording of this.

Thal

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Check out me mate Artur Cimmiro. He has a left hand that makes Dreyschock look like Mylene Klasse.

Hopefully he will do a studio recording of this.

Thal

Wow. Tell him to learn the Fumagalli lh Robert le diable

[thalbergmad]

I think he is in Tausig mode at the moment, but Artur does like his left hand pieces.

His transcription of Albeniz's Asturias is beyond crazy.

Thal

[communist]

I think he is in Tausig mode at the moment, but Artur does like his left hand pieces.

His transcription of Albeniz's Asturias is beyond crazy.

Thal

Is he still recording the complete works of Tausig?

[thalbergmad]

Yes, and i cannot wait for this.

Thal

[weissenberg2]

Yes, and i cannot wait for this.

Thal

Do you know which label he is recording it for and when it will be released?

[minor9th]

While not "the best" (whatever that means...) perhaps, but I enjoy Horowitz's left hand. At times, it sounds like concussion bombs going off! Try the recently released private 1948-49 Carnegie Hall recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures and Liszt's Sonata--whew!

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Do you know which label he is recording it for and when it will be released?

It's for Acte Prealable. Like Thal, I'm very keen to hear it.