Sure, there's Beethoven, but what about . . . ?

[LastS]

What do you think about some "popstar" (for lack of a better term) pianists out there?

Once, I was talking to a fellow pianist, and he tore Alicia Keys apart, outraged that the likes of MTV deem her a virtuoso.  He was completely merciless with Vanessa Carlton.

I don't pay much attention to the MTV music scene, so I don't know anything about these pianists.  I'm just curious as to whether any of you had similar feelings about such pianists, and whether there are any pianists out there who aren't traditional concert pianists, but who you consider are great all the same.

For me, it's Tori Amos.  In my opinion, she's a genius, and if there's a pianist out there who I would aspire to be like in performance presence and musical brilliance, she's it.  I've also read some complimentary posts about Elton John on these forums.  

Any more opinions?

[comme_le_vent]

the dude from muse is pretty good.
'pop' pianists like billy joel etc. are all at least competent at what they do, but more 'serious' music demands more technical skill. billy joel himself got a concert pianist to record his 'classical' cd. people calling alicia keys a virtuoso isnt completely out of line, she is an accomplished pianist- by anyones standards, but i think that the dude that put her down that u mentioned , did so because a virtuoso in pop music is of a lower general standard of technical skill and she is only mediocre at best in comparison to classical pianists, the reason she gets called a virtuoso or whatever is because in comparison to others in the pop world - she is way more technically accomplished, but again - that aint saying much.

[chopiabin]

I guess classical pianists get annoyed when they hear of a pop pianist deemed a virtuouso because she can play some repeated chords "really fast" or just play songs that they like. Most people have no idea of what difficult music sounds like, so they just deem anyone a virtuoso.

They also do this with people like britney spears who just do lots of vibratos in their voices. They suck.

[Sketchee]

I like Alicia Keys a lot, but whenever I hear anyone talk about her "classical" background it still bothers me.  She took Fur Elise and made a pretty good song out of it, yes, but her strength is in her powerful singing and songwriting more than in her piano skill.  She's an excellent R&B songwriter.  If she has great piano skill, she tends not to demonstrate it on a classical level.  She says Chopin is her favorite composer, btw. (Quoted as saying "I love Chopin - he's my dawg.")  She reportedly was playing the Chopin Sonatas by age nine after two years of lessons.  In high school her piano teacher told her he had "nothing left to show her" and so she then began to learn jazz.

There was a Saturday Night Live sketch where Kirsten Dunst played a parody version of Keys' appearance on Carson Daly that had then talking about classical influences followed by songs based on Mary Had a Little Lamb and songs like that which seemed exactly how it felt if you had scene that Carson episode.  Still, I love Alicia as a songwriter and a talented singers. (Good singers don't get much credit these days.)  She did take piano lessons throughout her life in classical music, but I have no idea what her repertoire was beyond Fur Elise and the first movement of Moonlight Sonata.  She did graduate from Manhattan's Professional Performance Arts School at 16 but her concentration was actually Choir which explains her great voice.

Pretty much everyone in the entertainment industry seems to agree that Britney Spears can't sing. I've talked to friends who've seen concerts where she opted not to lip synch and her voice is alledgedly pretty bad.  Her latest album, In The Zone, doesn't even have much of any singing on it.  She mostly whispers through the notes while they have some of the great modern electronic artists provide the beats and music.  I was really suprised when I heard the song Toxic and liked it to find that it was Britney.  The whole album is pretty good, but she's barely in it and she has great producers and songwriters to do it all .  I have no problem with artists who don't write their own songs since songwriters often need a strong singer, but that's not Britney!  Makes me wonder if the breakup with her and Timberlake was because he can sing and she can't ... Not that I follow those kinds of things.

It's often taboo to like both classical and popish styles but meh, they're entertaining in different ways.  In the end, many classical was musicians wanted the same appeal as pop, r&b and other widespread music do today.  If Alicia Keys encourages one kid or adult to start learning to play classical piano that's not so bad.  Maybe Britney will encourage someone to get a degree in singing or music.

[eddie92099]

I've also read some complimentary posts about Elton John on these forums.  

Not just anyone gets to go to the Royal Academy of Music,
Ed (feeling particularly smug)

[steveolongfingers]

If you consider Oscar Peterson a pop pianist then sure ther are some really good ones........but are they an Argerich......no way in hell.

[Noah]

Oscar Peterson is a legend.... don't call him a pop pianist.

[liszmaninopin]

Some of those jazz pianists are quite talented-Art Tatum comes to mind.

[eddie92099]

Some of those jazz pianists are quite talented-Art Tatum comes to mind.

Art Tatum is as talented as he is blind,
Ed

[liszmaninopin]

Blind in one eye, foggy in the other.

[Jemmers]

Whether Alicia Keys is a good pianist or not, becomes completely secondary to the fact that she is a good songwriter and singer. The amount of technical ability she will ever need is the amount necessary to play her own songs. She certainly does not display any virtuosity in her songs, but the most important fact is that she doesn't need to. That's not why she sells CDs.

Elton John is cool. I like him. Great songwriter too.

The dude from Muse (Matthew Bellamy) is great at putting at least some sort of technical difficulty into a rock routine. If you've heard Butterflies & Hurricanes from their album Absolution, you know what I mean. Of course, it's just needless thumping, but that doesn't draw away from the fact that it isn't completely easy.

[steveolongfingers]

Oscar Peterson is a legend.... don't call him a pop pianist.

I agree, but he doesnt play classical music now does he?  I also said "if you consider" which i personally do not.......but some people would