Ronald Stevenson (...) may not be performing any more but he's very much still alive!
He never did perform frequently in public, MORE'S THE PITY! I once crossed swords with him (albeit only briefly) about my profound regret that he had done so little public playing, to which his somewhat terse and irritated reply was "would you have me as a travelling salesman in Busoni?", to which I unfortunately responded without prior thought "well, that would be great for starters!". It would have been, too. Just as my thoughtful response was at the same time thoughtless. The conversation fortunately reverted to amicable status very soon thereafter, though. It remains a matter of great sadness to me that hardly anyone has actually experienced Ronald Stevenson the pianist at a public performance. I myself have done so but rarely, although of course I have heard his recordings (few though even they are). I have no hesitation in regarding him as one of the very few pianists that could be spoken of in the same breath as Rakhmaninov and Michelangeli. At his very best, he had (I hate to use the past tense for a living artist, but you know why I do so in this instance) the dynamic range of John Ogdon (well, almost!), the dynamism of Ronald Smith, the reflexes of Hamelin (well, almost!), the crystalline precision of Michelangeli, the stylish elegance and spontaneity of Cherkassky and the kind of gorgeous sound to which one would have to go to Yonty Solomon for an equal; his utterly comprehensive understanding of pedalling probably transcends that of almost any other pianist of any era (expect perhaps Banowetz). I can honestly say that, had I ever harboured ambitions to be a pianist (and it is as well that I never did!) and I wanted to cite one single rôle model to whose work to aspire, it would be Ronald Stevenson.
Best,
Alistair
Topic: Top Ten pianists still that are a live.