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[ca88313]

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[visitor]

both. the point of the competition is to select and highlight those rare individuals that exhibit both in combination with rare creativity

[ca88313]

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[beethovenfan01]

Is it or is it not possible to become a successful classical musician without competing in a competition?

It should be. Whether or not it is possible to become a world-famous concert pianist without winning some major competition like the Cliburn or Leeds, I don't know. But it is certainly possible to break your way in in other ways--and I have a feeling that, now, it is more important than ever to be creative not only in how you perform the music itself, but how you present yourself as a whole. I feel like the internet is already playing a huge role here, and it is so important to be adaptable, willing to do anything (and occasionally break away to or even combine with other genres of music, ie rock or jazz), and, in a word, an entrepreneur.

[cuberdrift]

Since it has been asked, it would be very interesting if we had a list of famous great concert pianists who either never competed, or lost competitions.

[pianoville]

Is it or is it not possible to become a successful classical musician without competing in a competition?

I think Yuja Wang did it. Not sure if it only has to do with her pianistic abilities though.

[ca88313]

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[beethovenfan01]

Yes I completely agree. When I met the winner of the 2017 Van Cliburn, he said that the only reason he entered was because he really needed the money. And he got it, I guess. I do like his playing, but there were pianists I enjoyed more that got eliminated in the earlier rounds (Tony Yike Yang with an astounding Liszt B minor Sonata and Alyosha Jurinic, whose Debussy was on par with Moravec's, in my opinion). Likewise, several of the pianists who made it to the finals did not impress on me at all.

Yes, I think Bartok would be saddened as well, as well as most of the other great pianists of the last century, who prioritized beauty and expression over perfect technique and accuracy, which, too me, should be merely a means to an end rather than the goal.

Perhaps pianism as we know is dying. But hopefully there will be a change, a new innovation that has yet to be discovered--perhaps some composers will compose new repertoire that asks for improvisation as being part of the performance--which would be difficult to accept at first, because so few pianists are trained to improvise. I don't like saying it, but a turn like that would bring limit the excess number of pianists (who are all vying for a career) to those who can compose and improvise as well as play. Perhaps in that way the standard should be much higher.

[mrcreosote]

I didn't think it would be possible to love Martha any more - what a woman:

Mr. Pogorelich, 22 at the time, was eliminated before the final round of the 1980 Warsaw International Chopin Competition. Though he played with astounding technique and undeniable magnetism, some of the jurors were baffled to the point of outrage by his headstrong interpretive liberties, not to mention his attire: no jacket, tight pants and string ties. When the decision was announced, one juror, the pianist Martha Argerich, recognizing a fellow Dionysian in this young Croatian virtuoso, called Mr. Pogorelich a 'genius.' She resigned in protest."

Source: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2006/07/01/arts/music/01ivo.html?referer=https://www.google.co.uk/

The judges seem to have disapproved of Pogorelich's performance because of his "interpretive liberties" and his appearance despite the fact that "he played with astounding technique and undeniable magnetism". This did occur quite a long time ago in 1980. Are piano competitions still the same?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Perhaps pianism as we know is dying. But hopefully there will be a change, a new innovation that has yet to be discovered--perhaps some composers will compose new repertoire that asks for improvisation as being part of the performance--which would be difficult to accept at first, because so few pianists are trained to improvise. I don't like saying it, but a turn like that would bring limit the excess number of pianists (who are all vying for a career) to those who can compose and improvise as well as play. Perhaps in that way the standard should be much higher.

too late Jazz is already doing that lol

[beethovenfan01]

too late Jazz is already doing that lol

Yes but it should not be solely jazz either.

[torandrekongelf]

I think competitions has been quite destructive. Today it seems that all pianists are playing more or less the same way. Becasue they are aiming for the same standard which is needed to win competitions. The earlier pianists had their own sound. And you could recognize them even though they played something on the radio you havent heard before.