Hamelin...sometimes I agree with Josh, but then I occasionally hear something really great and expressive from him. Michelangeli...I can only say that if someone thinks his playing is dull, they never really listened or just don't understand the music. HE does, the things he does with any piece may be subtle but they show a level of understanding of it that is really rare. He didn't get his fame from not making mistakes. The no mistakes part is just a side affect of his perfect knowledge of the music that cannot be achieved by just practicing the notes. If you read his accounts about the way he worked, it becomes clear that he went further than most pianists in trying to get to the core of the music and respect the composer. His playing may look dull compared to some other great pianists, but that's mainly because with his amazing technique and touch he didn't have to make any extra movements to create the sounds he wanted.As for Chopin... He was heavily rooted in classism and IMO is ruined by an overly romantic approach. ABM may not be my favorite Chopin pianists and I can see why many don't agree with his choices, but I find his interpretations of Chopin's music well thought of and enjoyable.
Yes, Hamelin's playing is rather dull and "standard."I feel the same with Berezovsky- wow! amazing technique! but ice-cold... e.g. in his Chopin Etudes and Liszt TEs.
hamelin and berezovsky are great pianists. I mean have you ever listened to bere's performance of medtner's nightwind? sometimes i just think you guys are overly picky just for the sake of being picky.
hamelin and berezovsky are great pianists. I mean have you ever listened to bere's performance of medtner's nightwind? sometimes i just think you guys are overly picky just for the sake of being picky.I mean, arturo...emotionless? Lol it's like we're not even listening to the same pianist.
I think it's more of not understanding and for that reason dismissing, something very human after all...Also it seems many young people base their judgement on pianists on YT videos they listen to on some crappy computer speakers. High quality recordings and good equipment will reveal a lot more from the playing, even though not the same as hearing someone live. Or there might be one live recording from past pianists that everyone listens to and it's not necessarily even the pianists at his normal level.
There is a place for the aforementioned approach but whatever happened to those wild old times when composer-pianists ruled and music was full of adventure, freedom, creativity and excitement!
What happened IMO opinion was the introduction of recorded music. Many old time greats hated recording because they had an adventurous way of playing that had worked well with audiences, but it suddenly didn't work that well on the recording era.So now we have what we have... a public that expects to hear what they heard on a record... Can't turn the clock back I'm afraid
An interesting theory outin, it may be a contributing factor. I do however think that recording should be the new frontier for creative interpretation, I don't see why not.
What may soon change is the dominance of big commercial labels. YT pianists are already numerous. And amateurs are free to make any kind of interpretations of course. I don't see the standard of professional playing changing as rapidly due to music institutions and competitions. The amount of "creative interpretation" accepted is limited. And usually before the pianists get to the level where they really have something to offer, they tend to be well groomed
Listen to Hamelin's 4th Ballade. Not dry or academic at ALL
Topic: Highly Regarded, Dull Playing 