2 Pianists Who Get Criticised

[johannesbrahms]

Recently, I have been hearing quite a bit about two pianists who are criticized a lot.  They are Vladimir Horowitz and Gyorgy Cziffra.  Now, many people say that they are just technique machines who play with no emotion whatsoever.  I understand that they both created extremely hard transcriptions of pieces and that they both rearranged pieces, but why does that mean they are simply flashy, show-off players?  They both play with a lot of emotion, but a lot of people still insult them.  Sergei Rachmaninoff believed Horowitz to be a great pianist, and his opinion carries a lot of weight.  One must also not forget that Franz Liszt did the same sorts of things a century before, but everybody nowadays calls him the greatest pianist who ever lived.  I would like to hear your opinions on these two wonderful pianists.

[awesom_o]

The more that people criticize one of these two masters, the more likely it is that they themselves blow absolute chunks on the piano in comparison.

[rubato22]

'Walk a mile in my shoes' springs to mind. My Guess would be that the critics couldn't even polish Horowitz's shoes let alone walk in them, for an inch! 

[faulty_damper]

Not a fan of Horowitz when he goes all out piano.

Cziffra I like... until he goes bombastic.  I can't help but laugh when he does this because it's just so unexpected.  Yeah, he's definitely a pianist.   Very entertaining.

Hororwitz not so much entertaining.

[indianajo]

I've listened to thousands of hours of classical FM radio, and classical music programs on Public Television, and the only criticism I've heard of Horowitz is that he wasn't quite as amazing in his eighties as he was before. Well, doesn't age happen to us all?  I have a couple of Horowitz LP albums. 
The other fellow, I've never heard of. 

[outin]

I've listened to thousands of hours of classical FM radio, and classical music programs on Public Television, and the only criticism I've heard of Horowitz is that he wasn't quite as amazing in his eighties as he was before. Well, doesn't age happen to us all?  I have a couple of Horowitz LP albums.  
The other fellow, I've never heard of.  

Thousands of hours and never even heard of Cziffra? What has happened in the world  

Both were formidable pianists, although not my greatests favorites.

[hfmadopter]

To me Cziffra shows a different touch, less dynamic than Horowitz. However, I'm sure there are those who would prefer and appreciate that style of playing. I love the spontaneity of Horowitz, to me he is more the master. It is from Horowitz that I gained the idea that even a level 6 piece can be played as a masterpiece and not destined for the scrap pile once learned. Amazing pianist how he made music sound so alive..