Pianists' foibles.

[JeffL]

Some pianists seem to be obsessive in their behaviour; perhaps it's a form of "superstition". For instance, Richter is reputed to have checked pianos he was to perform on with a spirit-level and was even said to have had, on one occasion, a solitary sheet of paper placed under one of the piano legs to adjust the level of the instrument!
Cherkassky had to practice for exactly four hours a day. A radio producer I spoke to saw him timing his sessions with a stopwatch! Cherkassky's wife divorced him on the grounds of mental cruelty because of his practising requirements.
Does anybody know other stories about the strange antics of pianists?

[bernhard]

Eccentric pianists? Is there one that is not?

Glenn Gould would immediately come to mind, and Michelangeli, who probably cancelled more recitals than he actually gave (he would only play on his own piano, and if the humidity was not right he would cancel).

But I guess the most eccentric pianist that ever lived was Vladimir de Pachman. The list of his eccentricities is to large to mention, but have a look at this fascinating site:

https://users.bigpond.net.au/nettheim/pachmann/pachindx.htm

Then of course there is Erik Satie who is a close contender

https://www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/satie.html

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[cziffra]

that satie is a classic:

On my phono-scales a common or garden F sharp registered 93 kilos. It came out of a fat tenor whom I also weighed.

[newsgroupeuan]

that satie is a classic:

On my phono-scales a common or garden F sharp registered 93 kilos. It came out of a fat tenor whom I also weighed.

lol

[newsgroupeuan]

"Instruments belonging to the remarkable group cefalophones, with 30 octaves extent, completely unperformable. An amateur in Vienna tried in 1875 to handle the siphone in C; after having jared with a piercing drill, the instrument burst, broke the spine on the executor and scalped him completely. Since then no one has dared to concern oneself with the powerful assets that cefalophones contain and the state has forbidden all schools teaching the instruments." - Satie