Modern giants of the piano that nobody talks about?

[webern78]

I don't mean neglected or obscure pianists, i mean performers which are generally considered on top of their game and may even have a discreet critical or commercial following but that nobody ever  mentions except specialists.

I'll start with the following:

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Krystian Zimerman

Ivo Pogolerich

Vladimir Feltsman

Evgeni Koroliov

Marc-Andre Hamelin

Scott Ross (harpsichord, whatever. This man was a genius)

For half of those, you are lucky if you can even find more then 30% of their recordings in print, even when their performances are near legendary (Koroliov's Art of Fugue comes to mind). What gives?

[soliloquy]

Zimerman?  Aimard?  Hamelin?  Pogolerich?  Are you serious?  They're some of the highest-paid soloists in the world, recording with Boulez, Ormandy, Sallinen etc on RCA, Hyperion, Deutch Grammophonen and everything else, and plenty of people talk about them, not to mention the fact that they all tour internationally and have sold out some truly massive concert halls.  Oh what's that one called... starts with a "C" I think.

[webern78]

and plenty of people talk about them

In forums like this one perhaps. In the real world i never heard squad about them. I have a lot of friends that have been studying piano for years and most of them were completely oblivious to those individuals, or knew them only vaguely, which is just as bad considering the level of ability of those artists.

And when was the last time you actually heard of Feltsman, Koroliov or Ross?

And i'm well aware some of them are commercially successful, that was kinda the point.

[opus10no2]

Classical piano is extremely unpopular, simple as that.

And from talking to some people who claim to love the piano, the majority of them do not have a passion for recordings of a variety of great pianists and can barely name a few.

To add to the list, I think Libetta is a great talent.

[chromatickler]

mei-ting sun

[liszt-essence]

Artur Pizarro

Check out his liszt recordings.. best i've heard

that man is a genius

[pianowelsh]

Alfredo Perle
Paul Lewis

are two other candidates in my book.  Its a small gene pool at the top there simply isnt enough room for them all. Only the strongest will survive!!

[burstroman]

Pia Sebastiani, Grant Johannsen, Charles Rosen, and Anton Kuerti.
 





















.

[leslieb547]

Martin Roscoe

[counterpoint]

Only the strongest will survive!!

I don't hope so.

[sevencircles]

Classical piano is extremely unpopular, simple as that

Pollini´s new album is outselling many popacts in Italy right now (almost top 30 on the mainstream albumcharts)

Classical piano is still nowhere near as popular in Italy as it is in Russia and China.

[richard black]

In forums like this one perhaps. In the real world i never heard squad about them. [Pogorelich, Hamelin etc.] I have a lot of friends that have been studying piano for years and most of them were completely oblivious to those individuals

They can't be that obscure if they're selling out big halls and shifting loads of CD etc. etc. Your friends apparently need to get up from the keyboard and go to some concerts!

Isn't Scott Ross dead, by the way?

[mephisto]

I have seen the nd Marc Andre Hamelin only one(1) time in norwegian media. Sad, but true.

[zheer]

  How about the legendary Swatinven un vaystinghow. Few ever mention him.

[tompilk]

Martin Roscoe

he taught my piano teacher! and offered to teach my mother's friend, but she refused.

anyway, I agree. The only pianist with a household name in Vladimir Ashkenazy...
i think hamelin deserves the status that ashkenazy has (he has among pianists i suppose...)
Lazar Berman is also another fantastic pianist. So is volodos and berezovsky. Kocsis is another great one. The list is endless...
Tom

[pies]

Lang Lang

[imbetter]

I don't mean neglected or obscure pianists, i mean performers which are generally considered on top of their game and may even have a discreet critical or commercial following but that nobody ever  mentions except specialists.

I'll start with the following:

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Krystian Zimerman

Ivo Pogolerich

Vladimir Feltsman

Evgeni Koroliov

Marc-Andre Hamelin

Scott Ross (harpsichord, whatever. This man was a genius)

For half of those, you are lucky if you can even find more then 30% of their recordings in print, even when their performances are near legendary (Koroliov's Art of Fugue comes to mind). What gives?

d00d those are some of the worlds greatest pianist that everybody looks upon above the rest

[tompilk]

yes but the point i think he is trying to make is that they are not household names.
Tom

[elevateme_returns]

Martin Roscoe

good choice

[franzliszt2]

Martin Roscoe is fantastic!

[elevateme_returns]

Lang Lang

you are joking, right?

[jre58591]

Martin Roscoe is fantastic!

agreed. he definitely needs more attention.

[thracozaag]

Cyprien Katsaris
Mikola Suk
Chuan Qin
Matti Raekallio

koji

[arensky]

Vladimir Viardo

[tompilk]

agreed. he definitely needs more attention.

this really makes me feel special. I think that he didn't immediately make it to the top - he worked harder than just winning a competition, which seems like all you need to do nowadays...
Tom

[franzliszt2]

Cyprien Katsaris
Mikola Suk
Chuan Qin
Matti Raekallio

koji

Do you really like Katsaris? I can't stand his playing, it's all over the place and makes no sense whatsoever. His scherzo's are musical rape. His mendelsohn 1st concerto is pathetic, have you heard is rhythms? And why is he obsessed with inner voices? It sounds awful when he hammers them out. You have a beutifull melody going on, then all of a sudden he blasts this totally unintersting harmony out, and starts hammering notes in some chords that sound  awful. Totally unmusical. He has no consideration for the music. He's a fine example of if you have a good technique, you can win competitions and get concerts, but he won't be remembered as a great pianist in 200 years

[thracozaag]

  *sigh* Forget it.

koji

[ted]

These pianists are probably not "giants" of the piano in the concertising sense, but I feel John Lenehan's recordings of the complete Ireland (Naxos) and Peter Jacobs' recordings of the complete Chaminade (Hyperion) and Bridge (Continuum) deserve much more attention than they have received.

[rob47]

"I wasn't satisfied with myself. I was on top of my career, had everything, was giving lots of concerts. In a material sense I was doing very well. But I knew if I was to continue in this way I would never be the artist I dreamed of being - free, original, idealistic, out of the so-called musical industry, which is a contradiction in terms. Music cannot be an industry; music is not like producing tractors."

-andrei gavrilov

[counterpoint]

Why is there a photo of Harry Potter 

[daniel patschan]

Konstantin Scherbakov. Without a doubt. Cyprien Katsaris - not understandable why he is not considered as one of the greatest ever. Volodos-like technique, great musical sensibility.

[dmk]

Cyprien Katsaris
Mikola Suk
Chuan Qin
Matti Raekallio

koji

Have to agree with Raekallio and give him a massive plug here.

For example, take a listen to his Prokofiev.  Anyone teaching or learning the Sonatas or Visions Fugitives grab a copy as fast as you can, you won't be sorry. 

I understand his Beethoven Sonatas are also excellent in the Concert Hall but I haven't seen them myself, has anyone here?

dmk

[jre58591]

ill have to second raekallio. his prokofiev set is by far the best ive heard. also, his paganini variations disk is one of my favorites.

[elevateme_returns]

raekallio = amazing