Did Cziffra have a lot better technique before he became a P.O.W.?

[sevencircles]

Cziffra was a P.O.W. for a couple of years in the early fifties and he damaged his hands due to hard labour and propably didn´t touch a piano for over 3 years.

I heard that his technique was significantly better before and he really never recovered completely.

Anybody know anything about this?

Would love to hear some late forties recordings that he did 

I have heard the same thing about Richter by the way, he damaged his hand in the fifties and never fully recovered.

[peterjmathis]

I've never heard about it, but it's definitely something that would affect playing skills.

I once read about a pianist who had some hand-affecting disease and got surgery, couldn't play for a couple of months or so, and they talked about how it took them years to get back to playing the way they could.

[sevencircles]

There is youtubeclip when he plays the piano as a kid but I haven´t heard anything by him from the late forties before he became a P.O.W.

His technique after he was a P.O.W. was mindblowing, If he had significantly better technique before then... 

[pianoplayjl]

read canons and flowers for more info on cziffra and his remarkable technique.

[sevencircles]

read canons and flowers for more info on cziffra and his remarkable technique.

Thank´s, wonderfull when people go back and reply to old threads

[ahinton]

read canons and flowers for more info on cziffra and his remarkable technique.

Yes, do - not least the foreword by that most remarkable pianist and scholar Charles Hopkins (1952-2007).

Best,

Alistair

[pianoplayjl]

I haven't read the biography yet but I will one day.

[pianoplayjl]

If this rumour were true then no doubt he might just be the greatest pianist of the 20th century in terms of technical ability.

[barnardo]

I am looking to trace a copy of Cannons & Flowers, indeed I've found the main text at  https://www.musicweb-international.com/Cziffra/index.htm,
but Charles Hopkins' foreword is not online there, and I would dearly love to read it!
When I studied with Charles Hopkins he mentioned Cziffra's extraordinary technique several times, in amazing terms, I wish I had recorded those conversations!

[perprocrastinate]

There is youtubeclip when he plays the piano as a kid but I haven´t heard anything by him from the late forties before he became a P.O.W.

His technique after he was a P.O.W. was mindblowing, If he had significantly better technique before then... 

Could you link that video?

[sevencircles]

Could you link that video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S83wEAaaXVA

[chadbrochill17]

I heard that his technique changed after his son died. Haven't heard it changing from being a POW though.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Whats a POW?

[patrickd]

Prisoner of war.

[albertus_magnus]

I heard that his technique was significantly better before and he really never recovered completely.

I do not think his skill was affected at all.

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[sevencircles]

I do not think his skill was affected at all.

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He was very young in this clip, Would love to hear what he could do when he was in his twenties before he damaged his hands 

[barnardo]

I am looking to trace a copy of Cannons & Flowers, indeed I've found the main text at  https://www.musicweb-international.com/Cziffra/index.htm,
but Charles Hopkins' foreword is not online there, and I would dearly love to read it!
When I studied with Charles Hopkins he mentioned Cziffra's extraordinary technique several times, in amazing terms, I wish I had recorded those conversations!

I finally have found a copy of this book... Complete with Charles Hopkins' foreword at last. Great stuff.

[pianoman8]

Barnado could you post a link to where you found it?

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I think it's been out of print for a while now. It was published by Appian (APR) if that helps. I got a copy maybe ten years ago. Possibly you might be able to find it on eBay, etc.

This improvisation has turned up, incidentally. 1950, which predates the forced labour period when his hands were damaged.

[dima_76557]

I do not think his skill was affected at all.

I don't think so either. For Cziffra fans, the following clip about his bar playing days is a must. Tamás Vásáry Remembers Georges Cziffra (with English subtitles). Tamás Vásáry relates how he and a friend of his went to a bar after a concert by Emil Gilels. When they entered the bar, he (an already thoroughly trained musician) clearly heard two virtuosos playing the piano in that bar. A closer look, however, revealed that there was only ONE person playing: Georges Cziffra. How much better could he have been before that?

[ronde_des_sylphes]

In Cannons and Flowers, he states that he had to have four months of physiotherapy before he felt able to return to "bar piano" work. It doesn't seem to make any value judgements on whether he was better or worse, only that the emerging possibility of future professional commitments made him have to contemplate interpretative issues anew.

[barnardo]

Barnado could you post a link to where you found it?

I found a £30 second hand copy via a Malvern book shop using www.abebooks.co.uk.