Which Virtuoso pianists practice very little?

[sevencircles]

Which ones of the famous Virtuoso pianists claim to practice very little?

That is of course relative but I personally get bored very quickly and practicing on a silent piano is often easier since I get bored by hearing the same part over and over.

I would be much better if I practiced a lot more of course but I feel that my finger reflexes has reached it´s limit (I can´t play scales or trills faster then I do know)

Do you feel the same thing about any of today´s pianostars?

Radu Lupu seems to be someone who is underpracticing but I might be wrong. Pogorelich seems to be the best example though, he propably spends a lot more time on Jewelry design these days.






 

[animae]

Which ones of the famous Virtuoso pianists claim to practice very little?

That is of course relative but I personally get bored very quickly and practicing on a silent piano is often easier since I get bored by hearing the same part over and over.

I would be much better if I practiced a lot more of course but I feel that my finger reflexes has reached it´s limit (I can´t play scales or trills faster then I do know)

Do you feel the same thing about any of today´s pianostars?

Radu Lupu seems to be someone who is underpracticing but I might be wrong. Pogorelich seems to be the best example though, he propably spends a lot more time on Jewelry design these days.

I heard Glenn Gould put in very few hours of practice each day. He claimed he doesn't have to practice meticulously everyday to become better, rather he simply studied the music then played it afterwards.

[franz_]

Only supersupersupertalents can play genius with little practice, so I don't advice this to you.
To answer your question, I heard that Volodos is quite a lazy pianist.

[stephenv]

I'll venture a guess:  the ones who make the most mistakes?   

[sevencircles]

Only supersupersupertalents can play genius with little practice, so I don't advice this to you.

True, you can of course perform a very limited repertoire over and over again. It is really unlikely that you will become one of the greatest classical pianostars in the world if you have a repertoire as limited as Michelangeli´s these days I guess.

[richard black]

John Ogdon probably practised less than any pianist in living memory. Really, he hardly did any playing at home at all, at least towards the end of his life. I'm pretty sure I caught him sight-reading a Grainger's 'Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz' in a well-attended public concert.

[sevencircles]

John Ogdon probably practised less than any pianist in living memory. Really, he hardly did any playing at home at all, at least towards the end of his life. I'm pretty sure I caught him sight-reading a Grainger's 'Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz' in a well-attended public concert.

Ogdon´s technique was a bit sloppy in the 80:s  when he was young he was a freak of nature, too bad that he only recorded a small part of his repertoire.

[pianolilly]

Only supersupersupertalents can play genius with little practice, so I don't advice this to you.
To answer your question, I heard that Volodos is quite a lazy pianist.

There is no substitute for hard work.  If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be so rare. I am not sure even the so called "supersupertalents" don't practice. Here is a quote from Vladimir Horowitz: "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." The article is very interesting and you may enjoy reading it.  https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm

[sevencircles]

There is no substitute for hard work.  If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be so rare. I am not sure even the so called "supersupertalents" don't practice. Here is a quote from Vladimir Horowitz: "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." The article is very interesting and you may enjoy reading it.  https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm

The reason that Horowitz played so well was propably that he practiced more then most pianists and he didn´t have a huge repertoire either.

Hamelin claims that he practice very little actually and that is surprising I guess, you can only speculate how good he would be if he actually worked a lot harder. The reason that many of his recordings are pretty mediocre from a musical respect is propably due to lack of practice rather then lack of musicality. He is too focused on playing them technically well perhaps.

[franz_]

@Pianolilly: I read that quote differently and from Paderewski: If I don't practice one day I know it, two days the critics know it, and three tdays the public knows it.

@Sevencircles: I don't agree. I think Horowitz did have a huge repertoire. And about Hamelin, I don't think he's a mediocre player. He has one the finest techniques ever seen, but musicaly he's great as well I think. True that he doesn't practice that much, but he has a phenomenal memory, and can learn extremaly fast. So probably he doesn't have to practice the same amount of hours as an other pianist to achieve the same, as he's super effecient.

[sevencircles]

@Sevencircles: I don't agree. I think Horowitz did have a huge repertoire. And about Hamelin, I don't think he's a mediocre player. He has one the finest techniques ever seen, but musicaly he's great as well I think. True that he doesn't practice that much, but he has a phenomenal memory, and can learn extremaly fast. So probably he doesn't have to practice the same amount of hours as an other pianist to achieve the same, as he's super effecient.

Horowitz played the piano for apr 80 years and he propably recorded all his repertoire as well unlike for instance Ogdon. It´s not that large I think for a pianist that was active during so many years.

Hamelin has got incredible motorics and he can be great musically too but the majority of the Kaleidoscope album sounds like an uneven playerpiano I think, his Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 and Beethoven sonata no.30  are really mediocre musically except for his cadenza in HR2 perhaps.

[Bob]

I would be leery about buying what someone says about how much they practice.  I've heard of a few performers who say they practice very little, but they're always in the practice room.  And it depends what they mean by practice, how they're figuring their time, etc.  Point being they may just want to appear that they don't practice that much.  Maybe it adds a bit more mystique.

[sevencircles]

I would be leery about buying what someone says about how much they practice.  I've heard of a few performers who say they practice very little, but they're always in the practice room.  And it depends what they mean by practice, how they're figuring their time, etc.  Point being they may just want to appear that they don't practice that much.  Maybe it adds a bit more mystique.

True, good examples are Richter and Gould, they practiced a lot more then they claimed that they did.

Some pianists are outstanding quicklearners that´s true but these days it´s hard to really know if they can play the pieces they have recorded. Some studiorecordings are so edited  that a really sloppy pianist may sound really good on the recording.

[nyiregyhazi]

Horowitz played the piano for apr 80 years and he propably recorded all his repertoire as well unlike for instance Ogdon. It´s not that large I think for a pianist that was active during so many years.

If you actually knew what his repertoire was, you might be in a position to realise what a nonsense that bizarre assumption is. Glenn Plaskin's book lists a large amount of the repertoire he is known to have played in concert yet never recorded. It's all also widely known that he had learned ALL of Beethoven's sonatas. Even the wide range of music he played in concert probably scarcely represents his repertoire. Only in his last few years did he play a very small range of pieces.

[tsachi]

I speculate that Yuja Wang doesn't have much time to practice since she is constantly traveling.
Michelangeli said he practiced 2 hours a day, but the truth was 12 hours a day.
I have heard that Pogorelich practices before concerts by playing chords and listening to every note. This is how he gets to know the piano.

[krystellle]

Argerich.  Even when she was still playing solo.

[sevencircles]

If you actually knew what his repertoire was, you might be in a position to realise what a nonsense that bizarre assumption is. Glenn Plaskin's book lists a large amount of the repertoire he is known to have played in concert yet never recorded. It's all also widely known that he had learned ALL of Beethoven's sonatas. Even the wide range of music he played in concert probably scarcely represents his repertoire. Only in his last few years did he play a very small range of pieces.

Do you have a complete list of his repertoire?

Too bad that he didn´t more pieces despite his long career. Same thing with Rachmaninov, he should have recorded more pieces 

[nyiregyhazi]

Do you have a complete list of his repertoire?

Too bad that he didn´t more pieces despite his long career. Same thing with Rachmaninov, he should have recorded more pieces  

I told you, it's in Glenn Plaskin's book. Do you realise how much Horowitz recorded? While Rachmaninoff  only recorded 9 CDs worth (plus his conducting) I'd estimate that Horowitz must have recorded at least 40-50CDs worth of unique material- if you leave out the many re-recorded works. You're talking about it like there's a shortage of material. Far from it. There's a huge amount.

[phillip21]

Historically, possibly Walter Gieseking.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gieseking.  He apparently memorised scores on trains and planes, and could memorise a concerto in a day.

[Bob]

And there's how much time they spend studying the score vs. actual time at the piano.  And whether they count maintenance/technique practicing.  And what type of practicing -- Maybe sight-reading doesn't count... Maybe reviewing old pieces doesn't count... Maybe things like determining fingering doesn't count... So they only practiced two hours, but maybe it took 12 hours to do that.

[sevencircles]

Historically, possibly Walter Gieseking.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gieseking.  He apparently memorised scores on trains and planes, and could memorise a concerto in a day.

Just because you can mentally play them doesn´t mean that you can physically play them. 
Gieseking had the motorics too but many people don´t, unfortunately I am one of them 

[pianoplayjl]

I don't think virtoso pianists practice little. If they do, they won't be called Virtuosos.

[keyboardkat]

Jorge Bolet was reputed to be one of those artists who didn't practice much.  But again, it depends on what you mean by practicing.  He said he had never solved a musical or technical problem at the keyboard, only away from it.

Also, you can practice 12 hours a day and if it consists  of only mindlessly repeating the same things over and over, it will not help you much.   The mind cannot concentrate over so many hours, and we are actually practicing through the fingers to the brain.  A shorter practice regimen is much better if done with complete mental focus and if you have a plan for how to use your time and what you want to accomplish.

[jesc]

I'm not so sure. I'm not a professional pianist but when I discover the right technique for a certain passage I noticed that it takes a lot less practice to get that passage right.

If I had a "Divine" gift to know such in advance without trial and error, then my practice time would be greatly shortened.

This is just from an amateur pianist. I shudder to think the factors involved with legendary pianists.

[kellyc]

it certainly depends on what you mean by practice. There are times I just sit and study a score for an hour. I will listen to how other pianists have played it. Then go over in my head my artistic interpretation I will use.  Other times I may practice certain passages over and over again. There was one particular patch in the last movement of the mendelssohn second piano concerto that I must have played at least a hundred times in one shot till I was happy with it.

Again all depends on what you mean by practice.


Kelly

[sevencircles]

I don't think virtoso pianists practice little. If they do, they won't be called Virtuosos.

Everything is relative I guess but I would propably say that less then an hour a day is very little if you have a repertoire comparable to Argerich for instance and can play all the pieces uptempo and accurate.   

[pianoplayjl]

I think to even have a chance of becoming a virtuoso you have to practice 6 hours a day. I mean 6 hours not like 6 hours where half the time is spent analyzing stuff and disusison but 6 hours of really playing.

[sevencircles]

I think to even have a chance of becoming a virtuoso you have to practice 6 hours a day. I mean 6 hours not like 6 hours where half the time is spent analyzing stuff and disusison but 6 hours of really playing.

Didn´t Josef Hofmann practice for 3 hours a day  as a child and a lot less then that as an adult? 

Maybe he wasn´t exactly honest about his practice schedule 

[scott13]

Studying the score and being very familiar with every minute detail will do wonders for learning a piece. I'm currently working on Chopin's G minor Ballade after a good 5-6 months of listening and studying, but not playing it.

It is now coming very easily and quickly, and after a mere two weeks i only have the code left to learn.

[teccomin]

What do you mean by practice? Working on a piece methadically or just warming your fingers by playing familar songs for fun.

[sevencircles]

What do you mean by practice? Working on a piece methadically or just warming your fingers by playing familar songs for fun.

Both