Favorite pianist/least favorite overrated pianist and why

[korlock]

I'm sure I'm the first to ask this...ha

Krystian Zimerman - Personally the best pianist that I've ever heard a recording by.
Stephen Hough - He has some great stuff, and a few flaws, but I think he deserves recognition for his recordings of Saint Saen's Piano Concertos

Most overrated
Vladimir Horowitz - I'll probably get a lot of crap for this but I needed to throw it out there that some of the worst professional recordings have been from him. Such as his recording of Ballade 1...abysmal. 

[j_menz]

Favourite: Richter

Most overrated: Pogorellich

[danbourke07]

Favourite : Zimerman

Overrated : Everyone else...

[werq34ac]

I'm sure I'm the first to ask this...ha

Krystian Zimerman - Personally the best pianist that I've ever heard a recording by.
Stephen Hough - He has some great stuff, and a few flaws, but I think he deserves recognition for his recordings of Saint Saen's Piano Concertos

Most overrated
Vladimir Horowitz - I'll probably get a lot of crap for this but I needed to throw it out there that some of the worst professional recordings have been from him. Such as his recording of Ballade 1...abysmal. 

Favorite: Horowitz!
Least favorite: I'm starting to like Richter less and less as I listen to him. I have no idea why.


As for your comment on Horowitz, while sure he has some pretty bad recordings, he also has some of the best playing ever recorded. I mean his Rachmaninoff 2nd piano sonata? Freaking awesome. And his Wagner-Liszt Liebestod is just amazing.

[chauncey]

Favourite: Evgeny Kissin
Overated: Lang Lang..

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Favourite: Evgeny Kissin
Overated: Lang Lang..

I either hate or love Lang Lang's recordings.  Never in between for me.  I do feel like he does get a little too much criticism though. 

But man does he have a damn mean Prokofiev and Bartok!

[werq34ac]

Favourite: Evgeny Kissin
Overated: Lang Lang..

Actually... Kissin is way overrated too... There are many pianists out there with higher musical intellect and technical skill than Kissin.

[omar_roy]

Favorite: Richter

Least favorite: Lang Lang

Most overrated: Many of today's major competition winners.  Incredible techniques, but bland interpretations, to be honest.

Regarding Zimerman: He is an excellent pianist, deserving of much respect, but sometimes he sounds too perfect, if there ever was such a thing.  Everything has its place when he plays, which is all well and good.  I admire that about him.  However, sometimes I'm looking for a little reckless abandon, and that's where Cortot comes in.  Two very different approaches that produce two very different results, both enticing and ethereal.

[christovr]

Sorry - won't ever have an absolute favourite, but there are plenty favourites among low profile, overlooked pianists whom I like for particular special qualities and whom I often discover through recordings almost by chance.  Most rescently, Canadian (I think) Louis Lortie.
My least favourites are often making the list more because of blown-up hype which I find especially irritating, but I'm resolved not to name names

[sevencircles]

Regarding Zimerman: He is an excellent pianist, deserving of much respect, but sometimes he sounds too perfect, if there ever was such a thing.  Everything has its place when he plays, which is all well and good.  I admire that about him.  However, sometimes I'm looking for a little reckless abandon, and that's where Cortot comes in.  Two very different approaches that produce two very different results, both enticing and ethereal.

I agree sometimes it´s hard to believe that Argerich was Michelangeli´s student and not Zimmerman. 

[thalbergmad]

Favourite - Katsaris
Overrated - Hamelin

[drexo]

Favourite at this moment - Yevgeny Sudbin

Least favourite - Lang Lang.
I think he has a great personality and an astonishing technique, but I can't stand listening to most of his classical recordings. Also watching his face while playing is something which I can't take seriously. I do like his new-age kinda music recordings, which really suits his playing imo.

[49410enrique]

i really like a lot what vadim does, he's very consistent

https://www.vadim-chaimovich.com/

english
https://www.vadim-chaimovich.com/engl/main.html

[werq34ac]

Favourite - Katsaris
Overrated - Hamelin

After watching this video, I couldn't take Katsaris seriously...

in particular :30

[ronde_des_sylphes]

After watching this video, I couldn't take Katsaris seriously...

in particular :30

  Really??  That is amazing playing.

[werq34ac]

  Really??  That is amazing playing.

It is fantastic playing, but faces just crack me up haha. Did you see :30?

[ronde_des_sylphes]

It is fantastic playing, but faces just crack me up haha. Did you see :30?

Yes.

Here's some Chopin.

Priceless.

[werq34ac]

Tahaha if you're gonna make faces, they should at least be entertaining (cough cough Lang Lang)

[thalbergmad]

Amusing facial expression coupled with astounding playing.

I have huge respect for Katsaris and unlike others, he has not built up a reputation as a supertechnician playing worthless plinkers.

Thal

[liszt8]

Favorites: Andre Watts, Martha Argerich, Valentina Lisitsa, Vladimir Horowitz, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Gyorgy Cziffra.
Least Favorite/Overrated: Lang Lang. 

[jinfiesto]

Favorite: Perlemuter followed by Michelangeli and Gieseking

Least Favorite: Yundi Li. Dude was a total flash in the pan. Him getting dropped by DG was the best thing to happen to classical music in a long time.

As an aside, I actually like Lang Lang's playing I just can't watch him. His Don Juan is really overly theatrical (the playing is spectacular though.)

Also, Thalberg, Hamelin > Katsaris.

[black_keys]

Favourite : Hamelin 

least favourite : Yundi lee

[sevencircles]

Favourite - Katsaris
Overrated - Hamelin

Hamelin isn´t overrated I think. He is too focused on playing technically well and too lazy to work on the musical aspects. i remember when I read that Misha Maisky thought that Marta Argerich could have been a much better pianist if she practiced more and I think it´s the same thing with Hamelin he can do better if he wants too.

[raihu]

Favourite- Yuja Wang if you talk about classical pianist.

But if you talk non-classical there is one pianist I love above all and that is Robert "Ragtime Robert" Glenn.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Favourite: Cziffra, followed by Earl Wild (imo scandalously underrated, except by connoisseurs).

Overrated: Brendel.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Horowitz!!!

I wouldn't say that he's overrated, but I feel like people say that some of his recordings are incredible just because he's Horowitz.  Like they don't know why he's incredible.  You know what I mean?

[slobone]

Can't restrict it to just one.

Favorites: Glenn Gould, Pogorelich, Moravec, Arrau, Perahia

Overrated: Argerich, Richter. Both gave some great performances and some pretty bad ones. But saying somebody is overrated doesn't mean they're terrible, just that there are a lot of people out there who worship them uncritically without actually listening to the performance. Youtube is full of that kind of thing.