Biggest Jerk Pianist

[john11inc]

Given what I know about the parties involved, perhaps she would be more justified making the same remark about you.

What do you think you know?  <:

[furtwaengler]

I have experience with everyone I listed except Richter, and Richter is pretty much widely acknowledged as a douche.

Not every comment is directed to you, sir. I see mentions of Yefim Bronfman...but the couple times I met him he was extraordinarily gracious. Most of the meetings with people listed on this thread would be short moments in passing, and certain people provoke certain responses and forget they had anything to do with it.

I'm very curious, though. Please tell me about your experience with Aimard. I would love to sit down with him. I know a person can have a public persona which may not match their true character, and Aimard seems wonderful in interviews...what was your experience? 

[john11inc]

I'm very curious, though. Please tell me about your experience with Aimard. I would love to sit down with him. I know a person can have a public persona which may not match their true character, and Aimard seems wonderful in interviews...what was your experience? 

Aimard is reprehensibly self-important and conceited, and exudes a sense of absolutism and unerringness when it comes to his interpretation of absolutely anything.  I merely asked him how he put together his programme and his answer was something along the lines of how it should be obvious, and gave a ridiculously pretentious explanation of how the pieces interacted that made little sense and was often self-contradictory.  He also expresses quite a bit of disregard for the audience when performing, or at least that was how I felt when I saw him.  Watching him walk onto the stage put a sour taste in my mouth as he lavished in the applause while almost going out of his way to simultaneously disregard it.

[furtwaengler]

Do you remember the program?

[john11inc]

Do you remember the program?

Not exactly.  It definitely had Carter's Catenaires and some Debussy in it, and some medium-length piece by either Beethoven or Schubert (it wasn't a piece I liked, which is probably why I don't remember.  I think it may have been the Tempest Sonata).  Also had a couple movements from WTK.

[tea cup]

Why Richter? He seems terribly nice, judging from the "notebooks and conversations" and the documentary.

[lostinidlewonder]

If you think someone is a jerk you probably hardly know the person to start with. You do meet a lot of unknown pianists who are very angry people. Frustrated in many ways, poor things.

[point of grace]

Horowitz

[pianoplayjl]

Modified:

Probably Cziffra. He served in the Hungarian Army which was in league with the Nazis and he was like a tank commander, I think. He could have deserted the army...

But of course he might be coerced into it and if he deserted it, the piano world will be left with a black hole.

Lang lang's another one. I can hear him speak clearly during his interviews and documentaries but when it comes to his announcements of his encore pieces he mumbles to the point I think it is a miracle for anyone in the audience to pick out what the heck is is saying.

Kissin, I think he has some sort of lisp in his tongue and probably influenced by dialogue. I don't think he has some sort of condition.

JL

[jimbo320]

Lang Lang no doubt.....

[minor9th]

Another funny one about Gould.

Barbra Streisand loved Gould, and he was a fan of hers.  Once she walked in on one of his recording sessions--Beethoven Emperor with Stokowski I think--and said she just wanted to say hi.  The two had never met.  He just stared at her in silence.  She finally said "I'm Barbra Streisand."  And he just said, "I know."

Hmph.....no wonder he never dated.

Actually, he had an affair with Lukas Foss' wife! She has written about it.

Ruth Laredo was a complete pregnant dog to me and everyone around her when I was recording one of recitals for broadcast on NPR about 25 years ago. One of the nicest things she said to me was, "If I see even one mic or cable I will walk out of here and not play."  It was devastating, as I was a huge fan. Every other pianist I've met has been at least civil--even Schiff!

[arietteisclassical]

Which famous pianist do you think was the biggest jerk in real life?

(I'll vote perhaps Gould because he was arrogant and weird and sued Steinway for one of their employees tapping him on the shoulder.)

Funky, that doesn't mean that he was a JERK pianist, thalberg. Don't judge people like this.
I think glenn gould would not like to see this post.
Ordinary people just don't  understand the world of a genius. Geniuses may have low EQs but have high IQs

[chopinlover01]

Cory Hall, AKA Bachscholar. Don't think we even need to discuss why..

[abel2]

Richard Kastle. He's arrogant, and he manages to blatantly insult some of the top ranking pianists in the world.

Here's part of his website.  https://www.richardkastle.com/site/e9b26bdf938a452eaeb047377e601b71/default?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.richardkastle.com%2FAbout_Liszt_s_Technique.html#2893

[listesso_tempo]

Richard Kastle. He's arrogant, and he manages to blatantly insult some of the top ranking pianists in the world.

Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Brendel, Cortot, Hamelin, Cziffra and Paderewski to name a few, because of a 10 seconds long passage

[schumaniac]

Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Brendel, Cortot, Hamelin, Cziffra and Paderewski to name a few, because of a 10 seconds long passage

yep! and welcome to the forum!

[vansh]

Richard Kastle. He's arrogant, and he manages to blatantly insult some of the top ranking pianists in the world.

I'm sorry. The OP clearly said "famous".

*ducks and runs for cover*

[schumaniac]

I'm sorry. The OP clearly said "famous".

*ducks and runs for cover*

[bronnestam]

Gould was obsessive about his health. He apparently injured his spine as a child, and his parents were protective of him. The whole thing about him having Asperger's is completely  unproven/unprovable. Gould was a good soul.

Having Asperger's does not mean you cannot have a "good soul", mind you!
Being the mother of one, and having met so many, I dare tell you that they are just as kind, empathic and intelligent (or sometimes much more intelligent) as anybody. They just sometimes have a clumsy way, which in turn could lead to bad self confidence when they get harsh reactions, which in turn lead to being very distant sometimes, trying to avoid conflicts by staying "safe".
I can very well believe Gould had AS, why not? Asperger people often excel in their passion, because of their high capability to focus and work with details. I bet there are many brilliant pianists with Asperger's. They are safe when they are doing what they are good at, in this case piano playing, but away from the piano, in social contexts, they get very shy and awkward and some of their fans may interpret this as "being arrogant".

Not long ago I met a pianist ... rather, I saw him right before a recital, and when I saw this introvert, gloomy guy who silently stared down at his feet, I feared he was the one to perform, and I felt that it could be quite an embarrassing event with this "dark" appearance of his. He almost looked ill. Then I reminded myself that some pianists get VERY introvert before a performance, because they need that. He came out on stage, played absolutely brilliantly, and afterwards he was a totally different person: very charming, talkative and happy.
So, if someone seem to be rude and repellant before their performances, just leave them alone. They are probably just trying to do their job properly, that is, doing their best and give their audience a great musical experience.

But ... well, pianists are just ordinary people, and there is a certain percentage of genuine jerks among ordinary people ...

[pencilart3]

Hmm... shall I suggest Robin Lamott? Nah, I won't.

[schumaniac]

Hmm... shall I suggest Robin Lamott? Nah, I won't.

He hasn't played for a while.

His compositions aren't all that bad actually, unlike Kastle's which are straight-up ripoffs. Kastle wrote a Symphony no. 5 (or maybe it was his "Titanic" symphony?) which quoted "The Swan" (Sain-Saens) NOTE FOR-FRICKIN' NOTE!

[pencilart3]

He hasn't played for a while.

His compositions aren't all that bad actually, unlike Kastle's which are straight-up ripoffs. Kastle wrote a Symphony no. 5 (or maybe it was his "Titanic" symphony?) which quoted "The Swan" (Sain-Saens) NOTE FOR-FRICKIN' NOTE!

Yeah I know his compositions aren't terrible but he is kind of a jerk 

[chopinlover01]

Robin Lamott is arrogant beyond belief. His compositions aren't awful, but they're rather uninspired, despite his website's motto.

[pencilart3]

Robin Lamott is arrogant beyond belief. His compositions aren't awful, but they're rather uninspired, despite his website's motto.

They weren't particularly melodic either, and he definitely was not unpretentious!! ha ha

[rubinsteinmad]

I don't think he's a pianist, but he DOES do critisms for the International Piano Magazine...


So, he's Stephen Wigler.
  Here's a quote:
   
   "The pianist I would predict as the winner is the 21-year-old Singapore-born American, Kate Liu, a student of Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia,' says Wigler. 'Her performances of the F minor Ballade, Polonaise-Fantasy, Fantasy in F Minor and Sonata in B Minor impressed me as among the very best throughout the first three rounds. She's a real pianist in every sense of the term – a genuine talent, not something that is manufactured.  I love the sincerity of her playing.  There is an overall simplicity to what she does, but if you listen carefully you realise how beautifully everything is nuanced.

‘The 17-year-old Chinese–born American, Eric Lu – also a student of McDonald’s at Curtis – is almost as impressive. Lu obviously adores the playing of Grigory Sokolov. His performance of Chopin’s 24 Preludes in the third round much resembled the great Russian’s. Often very slow – his ‘Raindrop’ Prelude, like Sokolov's, lasted nearly seven minutes – and always very intense, what Lu achieved was not merely a carbon copy, but a performance energised by tremendous conviction.

‘Perhaps the greatest virtuoso among the ten finalists is the youngest, the 16-year-old Canadian-born Yike (Tony) Yang, who studies with Julian Martin at the Juilliard School in New York. Certainly, one could not imagine more brilliant performances of the Polonaise in A-flat (‘Heroic’), the Scherzo in C-sharp Minor or the B-flat minor ‘Funeral March’ Sonata. He's probably the most formidably equipped 16-year-old pianist since Evgeny Kissin, though he may have met his match in the F minor Ballade – a work that he threw off with ridiculous ease but which was emotionally light years beyond him. Yang plays Chopin’s E Minor Concerto in the final round, an age-appropriate work for this Wunderkind, and I would hesitate to vote against his chances for First Prize.

‘A personal favorite was the 26-year-old Croatian, Aljoša Jurinić , a student of Eliso Virsaladze, whose B minor Sonata made my hair stand on end.’

In summary, Wigler adds: ‘All but one of the 10 finalists would maker a worthy first-prize winner. The exception is the only Polish pianist, Szymon Nehring, whose over-loud, somewhat vulgar and not always accurate playing makes his presence in the finals a mystery.’

The finals of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition run from 18 to 20 October 2015. Each of the finalists will play one of the Chopin piano concertos: No 1 in E minor, Op 11, or No 2 in F minor, Op 21. The artists will be accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Maestro Jacek Kaspszyk.

Finalists
Seong-Jin Cho (South Korea)
Aljoša Jurinić (Croatia)
Aimi Kobayashi (Japan)
Kate Liu (United States)
Eric Lu (United States)
Szymon Nehring (Poland)
Georgijs Osokins (Latvia)
Charles Richard-Hamelin (Canada)
Dmitry Shishkin (Russia)
Yike (Tony) Yang (Canada)
"

[romancatholicpianist]

Lang Lang, I'd say.
Not sure about Gould's character, but when it comes to Bach, I primarily look to his interpretations.

[ahinton]

Reviewing this thread(bare thread), perhaps I should be relieved that I am not a pianist...

Best,

Alistair

[ajlongspiano]

Oh, come on guys. Lamott's compositions are pretty dang bad... haha.

Best,

AJ Long

[pencilart3]

Yeah... nothing new in Robin's stuff. But guys, you can pay him 200 dollars a year to have a tab on his website which gets no traffic whatsoever if you record ALL of his pieces!!!

[chomaninoff1]

Chopin. While he might not be the biggest jerk pianist, he was quite rude to Freidrich Wieck (Schumann's teacher), after he gave Chopin a glowing review. Apparently, after Chopin published his Variations on "Lŕ ci darem la mano," (Op. 2) Wieck published a positive review, praising the Variations, but Chopin would not allow the review to be published in French because it was too sappy. He said that Wieck, "instead of being clever, is very stupid" and referred to Wieck as a "stubborn German."

Chopin also snubbed Schumann, himself. (I'm sure Thalberg would approve ) Schumann
helped jumpstart Chopin's career with his now famous quote also concerning Chopin's work on his Op. 2 Variations: "Hats off, gentlemen! A genius!" Chopin seemingly never thanked Schumann, and never wrote Schumann back after he sent Chopin 5 letters.

Yes, I got this all from Wikipedia.  Hopefully it is accurate!
If you want to check for yourself, here is the link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variations_on_%22L%C3%A0_ci_darem_la_mano%22_(Chopin)#Hats_off.2C_gentlemen.21_A_genius.21

[huaidongxi]

whether accurate or hearsay, there seems to be plenty of smoke where chopin's snubs of schumann are concerned.  there's one usually connected to Carnaval (which of course has a pithy, ethereal character sketch of the great frederic), chopin supposedly scoffing at the work.

[indianajo]

I join the Gould crowd for biggest jerk.  
I bought Gould's 2 part invention album with 3 hours pay in 1971, and he was singing over the piano, tunelessly. The engineer had the mike on the piano, but it still came through.  I've since seen the canada broadcast corp bio show of Gould.   I was not convinced of his genius. I play 2 part inventions better than he did.  
As far as Gould's Asperger's syndrome, I have Asperger's, my Dad had Asberger's, my brother has Asberger's. That is no excuse for rudeness.    Treating other people the way you want to be treated (J. Christ 2nd law) should be interpreted for people with Asperger's, as treat other people the way you would want to be treated if you were normal.  It requires intensive study to figure out what normal is.   The way travel guidebooks warn you to not point at people or eat with your left hand in certain foreign countries.  
My Dad assigned me to read Dale Carnegie How to Make Friends and Influence People as a summer book assignment when I was 10.  I wasn't very good at it, but I'm getting better.  

[ajlongspiano]

The biggest jerk pianist is the pianist who wants everybody to reach their highest potential as long as that potential isn't higher than his/hers.

Best,

AJ

[abel2]

I'm sorry. The OP clearly said "famous".

*ducks and runs for cover*

True, he's more infamous....

[flashyfingers]

Richter.

BUT WHY

[j_tour]

You do meet a lot of unknown pianists who are very angry people. Frustrated in many ways, poor things.

HEY!!!  Cut that ess out, mf.  Actually, not angry, just a complete *** IRL.  But I'm "addicted" to nicotine, and also just a medium-talent, lazy pianist.  So that excuses everything, you see.

Surprised I haven't seen Tureck's name mentioned -- I can't begin to recall the number of puff-pieces/profiles of her that didn't shine a harsh light on her character.  In fact, that's one reason I don't really listen to her performances more than I have to.

Not so sure about Gould -- no opinion, really.  Yeah, the wife-cheating or whatever, but I just don't think that's a big deal.  I'd just call him an arrogant man with strong opinions.

The jazz "world" seems to be littered with jackass piano "players," but it may be that there's more gossip and opportunity for spontaneous collaboration over there, so I'd rather hear more dirt on legit pianists.  Honestly, I'd rather not just spread gossip that is basically only repeating what somebody said, even if "somebody" is a lot of people.  Keith Jarrett is a "unique" individual, we all know that.  Herbie thinks he's a gd god among mortals.

Nice thing about classical -- there's a paper trail.

Brahms was a prick, though.  By all accounts, a rather good pianist, not to mention he wrote some tunes.

And based on Eliot's testimony in her novel *Daniel Deronda*, Liszt was kind of a little fancy lad himself.  Yeah, that was a joke, but I'm happy with saying Liszt probably was not a pleasant person to "have a beer with," or whatever.