Since the overrated thread about overrated pianists is so wildly successful, how about a thread for underrated pianists?I'm throwing in votes for Pludermacher, Entremont,Tudor, Uchida, Kontarsky and Bauhaus.
I'd certainly agree about Pludermacher, of whom one hears almost nothing nowadays - Dichter, too - but which of the three Kontarskys?! Alfons and Aloys were of course the better known of them and their two-piano partnership was nothing short of astonishing; I cannot imagine any other such duo bringing so very much to both Rakhmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Stockhausen's Mantra! But unless you believe that Uchida is by far the greatest living pianist, I would have some difficulty in accepting that she is underrated; she gets plenty of public and critical exposure and no shortage of praise.Best,Alistair
Well, all of these pianists have incredible critical acclaim, but Uchida I rarely hear getting mentioned. It seems like the only time her name ever comes up is if someone is talking about a Mozart concerto.
This thread reminds me a lot of this current thread tucked away on the polls board:http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=35078.0And on Uchida (you know she plays Kurtág too), from reading the surprisingly disparaging comments about her on other threads in this forum, I'd say if she's not underrated she is surely under appreciated, and that's a shame.
Actually, I was under the impression that Mitsuko Uchida played nothing but Mozart's Piano Concerti Nos. 20 and 21, as per the statement you were quoting should suggest.
Glad to see with both like Pludermacher. But just to help you avoid a possible, future faux pas, it is "Georges Pludermacher".
Here repertoire is by no means as wide as some pianists, but she has played the Schönberg concerto and a fair few other works outside the most standard of standard fare; in view of your citing of her, I wonder if she's just not so well represented in US, as she is certainly very well known in Europe.
She started off playing Chopin. I've heard her play Schumann, Schubert, Kurtag, Mozart of course, Beethoven, Schoenberg, Webern....She has recorded the last 5 of Beethoven's Sonatas to critical acclaim as well as the Debussy etudes, a disc of Schoenberg Webern and Berg and more I'm sure....
I don't quite understand what it means "underrrated" (or "overrated" for the same reason). To be a great artist one does not have to be well known, worldwide praised, or else having an extensive career. To be a great artist all it takes is just... great artistry. There are plenty of great pianists, which for one or another reason are very little known and still by far superior artists than say Ushida, E. Ax, E. Bronfman, M. Pollini, or excuse me... Lang Lang.Best, M
There are plenty of great pianists, which for one or another reason are very little known and still by far superior artists than say Ushida, E. Ax, E. Bronfman, M. Pollini, or excuse me... Lang Lang.
Dang Thai Son.Came upon an article in local newspaper yesterday. Reviewer fuzz about the pianist: Dang Thai Son, for his overshadowed by Pogorelich (the Chopin Warsaw competition in 1980).Heard he is coming to Singapore and work with SSO. Don't think I am going to miss it.
..I noticed this in a long stretch of listening to Beethoven's op. 132 string quartet, a constant want for new experiences with the piece, even if my last experience was most satisfying. Similarly I get excited to here and attend new concerts and recitals. It's an immense and somehow liberating thrill.
For years I was hunting for an old LP with Hungarian Quartet (with old members) playing this op. 132. I was so happy to finally find it... regardless of the performance.Best, M
Uchida "underrated?" She's the darling of the New York and British musical press. Don't you ever glance at "Gramophone," that tired Brit rag of musico-celebrities? And the NY Times?? Entremont? Philippe Entremont? Please. His recordings from the late Sixties are crude, but slightly impassioned. Still, passionate intent with excessive wrong notes and rhythmic distortions deserve to be underrated.But, it's always gratifying to see after all these years and mutations from "soliloquy," "ikepedia" and god-knows-what-else, that "john11inch" -- and the blatant, tacky pornographic images the name is intended to invoke -- is still doted upon by ahinton and others. Congratulations! You're the cyber-classical world equivalent of America's "National Enquirer."
Pludermacher, Entremont,Tudor, Uchida, Kontarsky and Bauhaus.
I'm sure lots of pianists have vanished, or were never very well known in the first place, despite having lots to say. Ever heard Jean Hubeau, for instance? Wonderful colourist. Thomas Rajna - left some really splendid recordings of Messiaen and Granados. Elisso Virsaladze - still playing (as far as I know) and excellent in classical and 19-century music. And so on.
methinks many of the nominees put forward here weren't underrated at all by their audiences and musical peers. they wouldn't get widely heard, however, without the right circumstances favoring concert and/or recording exposure. Horszowski was immensely respected, made a number of well distributed recordings, but probably preferred other aspects of work(teaching) or taking long holidays in Italy to concertizing extensively. he received much acclaim while very young and stopped concertizing as a young adult to study at the Sorbonne. for varying reasons, personal, political, economic, many or most of the nominees didn't gain prominence via recordings and concerts. Maria Yudina did make it onto the roster of the philips/decca 'great pianists of the century' series, but had limited access to the major western record companies and international concert tours. Virsaladze has made it out to the wild west of SF once (maybe twice) in her long career.
Underrated Pianists of the 20th Century (Read 5161 times)
