Which Pianist has the best personality?...and worst :D

[opus10no2]

Hamelin and Cziffra seem like great dudes.

Mei-Ting Sun appears to have the worst personality.

What do y'all thank?

[counterpoint]

Hamelin and Cziffra seem like great dudes.

Mei-Ting Sun appears to have the worst personality.

Could you please explain, why you think so?

[el nino]

Lang Lang is very kind and positive

[bench warmer]

Hamelin and Cziffra seem like great dudes.

Mei-Ting Sun appears to have the worst personality.

What do y'all thank?

You do realize Cziffra is Dead and therefore has at best a very bland to No Personality at all?

If you want to include dead guys (&girls) you got to include Artur Rubenstein(sp?) as having
one of the best.

What difference does their personality make to you anyway?

[avetma]

You do realize Cziffra is Dead and therefore has at best a very bland to No Personality at all?

If you want to include dead guys (&girls) you got to include Artur Rubenstein(sp?) as having
one of the best.

What difference does their personality make to you anyway?

In my opinion, playing without personal touch (so called personality) is boring and far away from art. I do not enjoy listening pianists with bad or no personality. Call me crazy.

[kreso]

I met few great pianists who are also fantastic persons: Leif Ove Andsnes, Nikolai Demidenko, Lang Lang, Simon Trpceski, Philipo Gamba and Denis Matsuev..

[jre58591]

hamelin is perhaps the nicest performer i have ever met. hough is along the same lines. and, from what i hear, barenboim is a complete a-hole.

[arbisley]

I saw a video with Hamelin which made me think he was rather arrogant in the way he was demonstrating something, but that might have been an intentional patronising act as the chinese assistant watching him was making extremely obvious "ooohhh" and "aaahhhh" comments....

I believe Arkady Volodos should be a great character, since I know his parents and they're really interesting, artistic, but also humble people.

[mephisto]

and, from what i hear, barenboim is a complete a-hole.

Why?

[jre58591]

Why?

its just what ive heard frm a few sources. but it doesnt really matter to me. i think he sucks as a pianist and wouldnt meet him anyways.

[infectedmushroom]

From what I've read/saw about Volodos, he has a great personality. Also, you can say everything negative about his playing, but Lang Lang is also a very nice person (not arrogant and always interesting in what someone else is saying/doing etc.)

[jakev2.0]

Lang Lang, Pletnev, Andsnes, Fiorentino, Ashkenazy, Hough all seem very pleasant and well-adjusted people. Godowsky and Schnabel were both famous for their sense of humor. Gould was a total nut, but I'd be fascinated to meet him.

I've heard things suggesting Barenboim is a sleazy character as well. Gieseking and Cortot were both Nazi sympathizers.

Greats like Ricther, Horowitz, Rubinstein always strike me as the kind of egotistical pianists I admire but would not particularly want to have tea with. Too overpowering.

[infectedmushroom]

Horowitz also had a great sense of humor... From what I've saw in all the interviews with him.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

This thread isn't relative to truth, as no personality is ever restricted to simple "best and worst" qualities. Furthermore, just what kinds of personalities are we talking about? Is it the personalities found in playing or performing, or just in social conduct?

[opus10no2]

Greetings.

This thread isn't relative to truth, as no personality is ever restricted to simple "best and worst" qualities. Furthermore, just what kinds of personalities are we talking about? Is it the personalities found in playing or performing, or just in social conduct?

Social.

Furthermore - 

[debussy symbolism]

Social.

Furthermore - 

Social? Okay, but this thread still doesn't bear any significance simply because relying on hackneyed interviews and public opinion is not an honest way of assessing personality. If one for example has claimed a particular personality flaw of mine, but not necessarily knew me to really make a real conjecture, that claim will stick to others as true, and thus everyone will see me with that flaw. Same thing here. Unless you personaly know the pianist, it is impossible to claim anything about their personality.

[rc]

I remember Alicia De Larrocha stuck out as a very pleasant lady in an interview I read.  Ashkenazy seems like a good guy too, I can imagine chilling with him would be a good time.

Social? Okay, but this thread still doesn't bear any significance simply because relying on hackneyed interviews and public opinion is not an honest way of assessing personality. If one for example has claimed a particular personality flaw of mine, but not necessarily knew me to really make a real conjecture, that claim will stick to others as true, and thus everyone will see me with that flaw. Same thing here. Unless you personaly know the pianist, it is impossible to claim anything about their personality.

lol, you're right Debussy, I guess we'll just have to speculate what somebody's like based on what they say and do.

I claim your personality is most like a robot.

[donjuan]

I vote Tzimon Barto for the worst

Paderewski for the best

[debussy symbolism]

I claim your personality is most like a robot.

Oh if you only knew just how wrong you are.

[thalbergmad]

Greats like Ricther, Horowitz, Rubinstein always strike me as the kind of egotistical pianists I admire but would not particularly want to have tea with. Too overpowering.

I would like to have had tea with Horowitz, but perhaps when Mrs Horowitz was out.

Just looking at pictures of her scares me.

Thal

[liszt-essence]

I would love to have met horrowitz. Just watch the video where he plays vers la flamme and you know what I mean

[jakev2.0]

Oh I'm sure it'd be wonderful to hang out with him for an afternoon or to be casual friends with him... But he was totally self-centered,  a failure as a father and husband, and ultimately an  incredibly difficult character. 

[mikey6]

I met few great pianists who are also fantastic persons: Leif Ove Andsnes, Nikolai Demidenko,

Demidenko is a complete a-hole and is well known for it!

Gould was a total nut, but I'd be fascinated to meet him.

Watch the Alchemist DVD and you might change you're mind - he's a self possessed freak!

[thalbergmad]

De Pachmann sounded like a bit of a laugh.

[tompilk]

demidenko did not smile at all when we applauded him throughout the concert i saw him in... he also wiped his nose on his hand about three times during a piece when his left hand was not doing anything... charming...
Tom

[thalbergmad]

Thats how the song greensleeves was invented.

[kreso]

demidenko did not smile at all when we applauded him throughout the concert i saw him in... he also wiped his nose on his hand about three times during a piece when his left hand was not doing anything... charming...
Tom

It's true, but Demidenko is such a great person-I talked to him and he is very intelligent and modest...

[tompilk]

Thats how the song greensleeves was invented.

lol... i really did laugh out loud... then he unleashed weinen klagen sorgen sagen by liszt... whoa...

It's true, but Demidenko is such a great person-I talked to him and he is very intelligent and modest...

he is a great pianist, and probably intelligent (as musicians tend to be). He must have just had a bad day...
Tom

[jakev2.0]

Thats how the song greensleeves was invented.

 

[invictious]

Well I have the worst personality here as  you can see from my posts here in ps

[debussy symbolism]

Well I have the worst personality here as  you can see from my posts here in ps

No there are worse...

[invictious]

No there are worse...

I AM THE WORST, ADMIT IT.

Why am I admitting I'm the worst..

well I am. I don't remember contributing to a thread so far.
and my posts have been, hehehehehe.

[minor9th]

Lazar Berman was very gracious when I met him...had rather strong body odor, but he seemed like a nice guy! Jonathan Powell was also very friendly--met him before he played Sorabji's O.C. in NY. 

[pianistimo]

andre watts always seemed very friendly. 

somehow - i don't care, though.  i mean - sometimes you just come to hear the music.  pogorelich is a seemingly quiet personality - and probably doesn't greet behind the stage sometimes - due to needing rest or whatever.  i never get mad anymore if i can't personally shake someone's hand.  although i'd like to shake ricardo muti's (but he's not only a pianist). 

i want to meet barry douglas, too.  i think that from 1985 or 86 onwards - i was completely in love with his personality because it was just sorta rough boyish.  hard to explain.  but, he didn't pre-plan everything like it was supposed to be 'perfect perfect.'  i like real people. 

[brewtality]

Greats like Ricther, Horowitz, Rubinstein always strike me as the kind of egotistical pianists I admire but would not particularly want to have tea with. Too overpowering.

I think Rubinstein would be a marvellous acquaintance to have, all those stories, imitations etc. But I'd imagine he'd be a terrible friend though; such an ego. Horowitz was in love only with himself and the piano, but he also I think would be a good acquaintance. Richter is not a pianist I'd call egotistical but he seemed rather grumpy a lot of the time. 

[tds]

i want to meet barry douglas, too.  i think that from 1985 or 86 onwards - i was completely in love with his personality because it was just sorta rough boyish.  hard to explain.  but, he didn't pre-plan everything like it was supposed to be 'perfect perfect.'  i like real people. 

is it possibly sexual?

[tompilk]

is it possibly sexual?

i met him after manchester piano week and he shook my hand and signed my program. however, he seemed surprisingly short with me and didn't say much. I said that I'd really enjoyed the week of concerts he'd organised ( I near enough lived there for the week!) and he just said it was his pleasure, in a non-convincing way, and wandered off. then again, he had just said goodbye to noriko ogawa (who i met the night before) and I think he must have been thinking about her...
Tom