The quietest pianist

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Something a little different..

Who do you think was the pianist who was capable of the quietest and most delicate playing?

Historically, I suppose one must suggest Chopin, but of course none of us heard him..

I'll suggest Michelangeli and Thibaudet for starters. On occasion, Cziffra.

[pianistimo]

jean sibelius's night playing?

cassedesus was pretty good with some of those mozart cadenzas.  anyone who can play faure nocturnes and cause someone to fall asleep like they were on some kind of yacht in the sun.

[nicco]

Håkon Austbø. He plays chords like you barely hear them, but still you feel the presence and articulation of every tone.

[opus10no2]

Technically, the FASTEST pianist is also the quietest pianist also.

Anyone, within reason, can control their sound in slow passages.

Control of pianissimo evenness in passages of demanding velocity, the dexterity of the fingers is of paramount importance - in conjunction with control.

[Alde]

This is a very difficult question to answer because there are many factors that are involved when playing quietly.

The first and most important quality is the choice of instrument.  Obviously a 9 foot concert grand is capable of producing huge sounds.  Where as a smaller grand could produce softer tones due to the shorter length of strings.

The next factor would be where one would be seated in a concert hall.  Are you close to the piano, behind the piano (facing the opposite side to the lid)?

[Kassaa]

This is a very difficult question to answer because there are many factors that are involved when playing quietly.

The first and most important quality is the choice of instrument.  Obviously a 9 foot concert grand is capable of producing huge sounds.  Where as a smaller grand could produce softer tones due to the shorter length of strings.

The next factor would be where one would be seated in a concert hall.  Are you close to the piano, behind the piano (facing the opposite side to the lid)?

Hmm, from my experience I can tell you that you can play a lot softer on a concert grand than on a normal grand.

[nsvppp]

What do you think of Radu Lupu?
I heard him playing a Beethoven pianoconcerto with orchestra and he played very soft. I would have preferred it a little louder, but it blended very well with the orchestra.

[demented cow]

Pogorelich and Wilhelm Kempf are good in quiet playing.
Pursuing somebody's point above: Can anybody recommend some good FAST pianissimo playing? I can't think of GENUINE examples of that. For instance, I've read a critic praising the pianissimo prestissimo at the end of Barere's Gnomenreigen, but if he'd actually listened to the record, he would have noticed that it's not really pianissimo. The pp octaves in Horrowitz' funerailles coda are pp, but aren't as fast as in the manic central section.
In particular, I fantasise about hearing subito pianissimos at very fast tempos, but I can't find anything like that in my collection (let alone do it myself). Maybe it's physically impossible.

[fnork]

I immidiately come to think of Akiko Ebi, japanese pianist who whon the Margarite Long competition in the 70s I think. I heard her in Spain this summer and played for her in masterclass, and she was playing Chopin nocturnes and other pieces in the most quiet, whispering way I've ever heard in concert. A cough would have completely disturbed the concert but the audience was spellbound by her pianissimos and una cordas... At the same time, she could sound really powerful when the music needed it.

[richard black]

Yonty Solomon. As a friend said of him, '....his enormous dynamic range, from pianissimo downwards'.

[liszt1022]

Besides Chopin's Nocturnes, I think Ravel's Gaspard would be the pieces that will determine one's mastery of soft playing. I've wanted to play them but I can't play soft that well.

[ahinton]

[luote author=richard black link=topic=24546.msg276014#msg276014 date=1177080940]
Yonty Solomon. As a friend said of him, '....his enormous dynamic range, from pianissimo downwards'.

Well said!

Best,

Alistair

[mikey6]

just saw a vid of Uchida's Beethoven 4th, some extraordinarily soft playing.

[invictious]

Horowitz.
although he can't go the softest, his piano playing is full of colors.
He can have a delicate touch like slik, and then in the next moment, he can have a tone color that is tougher than steel

[etudes]

did anyone here already mention Gieseking? and Clara Haskil   

[thalberg]

[jakev2.0]

Arthur Rubinstein
Grigory Ginsburg
Artur Schnabel