underrated pianists of the 20th century

[anda]

why do i feel like the names here will coincide perfectly with the ones on "overrated pianists of the 20th century"? 

so... i'll start naming names:

geza anda
william kapell
ingrid haebler
dino cianni
john lill
nikolai luganski

[Motrax]

Ech, I don't care for Lugansky much.

Rafael Orozco, who won the Leeds compeition in '66, is practically unknown, although I never miss the opportunity to post a link to his Rachmaninoff concertos.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000004167/qid=1082408439/sr=1-13/ref=sr_1_13/002-3505585-1709643?v=glance&s=classical

I listened to a few other recordings done by Orozco, and I admit I was rather disappointed. His encore CD is wonderful, but his Liszt sonata is rather mundane in my opinion.

I have a number of recordings by Dubravka Tomsic from the times when I bought a CD for the repertoire, and not for the pianist. So I have her playing a few Beethoven Sonatas, and various oddities by Chopin (a few nocturnes, two mazurkas, one ballade, or something like that).  Though I know nothing about her beyond these recordings, I like them a great deal. She is quite lyrical, and plays the Beethoven sonatas with a lovely, light touch - very different from the usual heavy-handedness many other pianists approach Beethoven with. Her Chopin is very good, and although it doesn't reach the heights of Rubinstein or Kappel, I am still quite satisfied with her performance of these pieces.

Then there's Ashkenazy, who although is very well known, seems very underrated if this forum is to be any barometer. I get the impression that people believe he is a pianist who simply takes quantity over quality, since he recorded basically everything. However, I have not heard better Rachmaninoff Preludes than Ashkenazy's, and some of his Beethoven sonatas have unique interperetations to offer. I don't like a number of the concertos he recorded, but I feel that he is a very solid soloist, and in a few cases, simply the best.

[musicsdarkangel]

Kapell
Alexeyev
Lavine

All underrated IMO.  The control that Lavine had over the piano was just disgustingly good.

[Nina_too]

Youri Egorov

Although to say he was underrated is perhaps not fair, given that he died so young.  Perhaps better to refer to him as "lost potential."   

[Goldberg]

I dunno too many pianists, but Anton Kuerti, Jeno Jando, Katsaris, Gyorgy Sandor, Jean Philippe Collard, and John O'Connor are all on my list for underrated.

[anda]

Rafael Orozco, who won the Leeds compeition in '66, is practically unknown, although I never miss the opportunity to post a link to his Rachmaninoff concertos.

i heard a lot about rafael orozco, but i never heard him play. anything i could get for free? please let me know, i am very curious.

thanks.

[anda]

I have a number of recordings by Dubravka Tomsic from the times when I bought a CD for the repertoire, and not for the pianist. So I have her playing a few Beethoven Sonatas, and various oddities by Chopin (a few nocturnes, two mazurkas, one ballade, or something like that).  Though I know nothing about her beyond these recordings, I like them a great deal. She is quite lyrical, and plays the Beethoven sonatas with a lovely, light touch - very different from the usual heavy-handedness many other pianists approach Beethoven with. Her Chopin is very good, and although it doesn't reach the heights of Rubinstein or Kappel, I am still quite satisfied with her performance of these pieces.

i heard tons of works with dubravka tomsic, at one point i was thinking she recorded more than any other pianist. but i totally dislike everything i've heard - what she plays is so far from what these works should be...

imo.

[anda]

Kapell
Alexeyev
Lavine
All underrated IMO.  The control that Lavine had over the piano was just disgustingly good.

i never heard lavine! but i'd be very interested in hearing a pianist with a control over the piano "disgustingly good" imo, that's a complete technique.

[Piazzo22]

Martha Argerich.

[Aspiring Romantic]

Yundi Li is definitely one of the greatest up and coming pianists, although he rarely gives concerts...
Anyways, he is one of the best interepters of chopin and liszt (considering he won both internation competitions)

[maxy]

Collard?

In what I heard from him, he was using the technique: locked wrists.  Awful sound...
Almost as bad as Berov.

Underrated pianists? Hard to say, I'll say Brunhoff, but it would be in big part because he is unknown and retired at the age of 40 to become some kind of monk.

[quasimodo]

Samson François was really great !!! But he seems not to be very popular in the USA.

[Noah]

Haskil
Lipatti
Moiseiwitsch
Sokolov
Leonskaja
Pires
Solomon
Kapell
Curzon
Istomin
Sofronitsky
Zilberstein

etc etc (unfortunately!)

[musicsdarkangel]

i never heard lavine! but i'd be very interested in hearing a pianist with a control over the piano "disgustingly good" imo, that's a complete technique.

I'm sorry, I must have been drunk.

I ment Josef Lhevinne


not Lavine, what was I thinking.

[tds]

Jon Kimura Parker

[presto agitato]

Benjamin Frith: He won Gold Medal and first prize in the Rubistein Competition 1989. He plays for NAXOS

Tony Macalpine: Guitar and Piano Virtuoso 

Vitalij Kuprij: His playing of Liszt´s Sonatas in B minor is the best ive heard.

Aguistin Anievas: The best with Chopin´s Etudes
 

[Skeptopotamus]

are pace and aimard underrated?

[steinwayguy]

Richard Goode, Annie Fischer, Dubravka Tomsic, Gyorgy Sandor.

On a side note, Ashkenazy has to be one of the most overrated pianists I've ever heard .

[steinwaymodeld]

Benjamin Frith: He won Gold Medal and first prize in the Rubistein Competition 1989. He plays for NAXOS

Tony Macalpine: Guitar and Piano Virtuoso 

Vitalij Kuprij: His playing of Liszt´s Sonatas in B minor is the best ive heard.

Aguistin Anievas: The best with Chopin´s Etudes

Try Horwoitz live one (performed in Umich, private recording if u can get ur hands on), most awesome recording of ANY liszt sonata i have heard.
Also try Ernst Levy's release on Martson, volume 2, with Hammerklavier and oP.111, u won't be dissapointed, one of the best recording i have got.
Actually i have heard Tony Macapline's Chopin etude Op.10 No.4 several years back, I was shocked with his technique, and being not a professional pianist. He certainly pulls that off well.

Anievas is very well known for cheating while performing.
Bolet once told him after the recital 'Congrad on playing SOME of the notes.'
And after the Chopin competition, he wanted to release his live Op10 No1 etude, the person (who was a recording manager i think) didn't say a word, and then put on the Argerich Chopin competition live recording of 10/1, Anievas didn't say a word and left.

Anyway

Cyprien Katsaris
Sergio Fiorentino
Ernst Levy (the Forgotten genius of course, anxiosuly waiting for the new release on Martson)
Freddy Kempf (should have won the Tch if it wasn't all the dirty politics at that year)
Nikolai Petrov (fine fine pianist, with Gilels quality, one of the best Russian Pianist nowadays)
Anton Kuerti (fine beethoven, schubert interpretor)
Vladimir Krainev
Bolet (definately deserve more fame than he did, the most beautiful tune i have heard)
Annie Fisher
Enrico Pace (very fine Liszt interpretor)
Alexei Sultanov (Tch comp winner, was injuried and can't play anymore, some of the most eletrifying live recordings.)
Dino Ciani
Brunhoff
Raymond Lewenthal
Nelson Freire (alwasy being considered as Argerich's little buddy, which he had some really awesome recordings, like Godowsky Die Fledermaus and remain undiscovered)
Byron Janis

Other ones that once had fame and now forgotton:
Moiseiwitsch
Kapell
Friedman
Barere
Lipatti
Samuel Feinberg (some really aweosme Bach recordings)
Hofmann
Rachmaninoff
Michelangeli
Serkin

[brewtality]

Lang Lang
Evgeny Kissin
Maksim
Richard Clayderman

[nikodr]

Michael Habermann ,first time i heard him was on a cd of sorabji transcriptions.After i heard him play,sorabji's/ravel's rapsodie espagnole  transcription for solo piano i was shocked!Especially in the feria.He has to be one of the best musicians and pianists.Check https://www.michaelhabermann.com

[DarkWind]

Michael Habermann ,first time i heard him was on a cd of sorabji transcriptions.After i heard him play,sorabji's/ravel's rapsodie espagnole  transcription for solo piano i was shocked!Especially in the feria.He has to be one of the best musicians and pianists.Check https://www.michaelhabermann.com

Could you please send me mp3s of the recording? (darkwind@darkwinddesign.com)

I've been dying to hear the transcription.

[steinwaymodeld]

Could you please send me mp3s of the recording? (darkwind@darkwinddesign.com)

I've been dying to hear the transcription.

PM me ur msn
i can send u

[steinwayguy]

Lang Lang
Evgeny Kissin
Maksim
Richard Clayderman

what?

[tds]

russell sherman, sequeira costa, robert roux, michael gurt

[Dazzer]

what?

Hahahahahahaha I was about to say...

But maksim, i think, has some potential as a classical pianist. I've heard him play bumble bee (in its original way, i meant). He's definately got the training.

As for lang lang, i think he's OVERrated, as far as the comments i've heard about him.

Don't get me started on ol' richard.

[Waldszenen]

what?

Ahaha


My list;

- Leon Fleisher (his Brahms concerti steal the fame of his other recordings)

- Byron Janis

- Nikolai Petrov

- Murray Perahia

- Jorge Bolet

- Enrico Pace

- Simon Barere

- Lazar Berman

- Tamas Vasary

- Simon Trpceski

[chromatickler]

hirofumi uematsu

[brewtality]

hirofumi uematsu

concurred. 

[LVB op.57]

Leon Fleisher

[nomis]

Probably Benno Moiseiwitsch and Ignaz Friedman. Both of them had such lovely tone and great technique, but I prefer Friedman more because of his interesting (occasionally eccentric) interpretations.

[volodya]

I'd definitely have to go with Lazar Berman.