What are your thoughts on Evgeny Kissin?

[gezze]

Yesterday I had the chance to listen to Kissin live, in Berlin (Beethoven´s 4th-5th piano concerto, with Gubelkian Orchestra, conductor Foster).
What impressed me most was:
1) his haircut, the same as ten years ago (=was the first and last time - before yesterday - I listened to him live)
2) the perfect bows: many and in every directions, every time he came out on the stage.  Once he was giving a header to the conductor (who was not so keen on Kissin´s 6-all-around-bow schedule.
3) the amount of applauses. People know that the more they clap the more encores they get, so...on and on! Three encores, quite good.

Joking apart, he is for me like a very brilliant student of a fantastic teacher, who can teach him all the tricks to give feelings and logic to his music, and he follows perfectly the lesson.    I don´t know, he is like his bows: elegant, perfect, but not naturally coming from his heart...

[lenny]

yes, thats a common criticism, but how do you percieve this emotional insincerity? the performance didnt move you? or were you affected by extramusical elements of his performance or persona?

[tibidi]

So, there aren't many good pianists around and therefore the lousy pianist will not appear to be so lousy at all, right? Haha!  I give up!

[tibidi]

I have not listened to much of Kissin's playing. In fact, I believe I have only heard his Liszt's Transcendental Etude No. 5. I can not judge a pianist based on one recording, but I found the recording way too fast. It was a bit too stagnant and dry, and lots of the musical meaning seemed to have been lost, since the notes flung all over the place and the music all stayed on one plane. I'm expecting that there might be recordings. Also, I have to comment on tibidi's restless clamoring against the naysayers of Kissin. Other people have opinions that might not be in accordance with you. Fine, let them be, leave them alone. One friend of mine likes rap music. I don't. Oh well, life moves on. Leave them be. They might be missing out on something, or they just have a different way of percieving things. It usually turns out that most of the time you can never convince a person to think otherwise. So, you might fight it all you want, but in the end there will still be two factions, one that like his playing and others that don't. Their beliefs may not be grounded on solid substance, but that doesn't change much. Every pianist has his critics, good ones and bad ones. Trying to eliminate bad critics is like trying to avoid death.

I hope nobody here is encouraging groundless slanderous criticisms against any other pianist. Besides some groundless attack on Kissin's music, the way these people had criticized Kissin's character is rather disturbing to others.

Nobody is trying to eliminate bad critics, but at least criticisms of those music critics who are not respectable (critics who wrote a lot of nonsense) should not be discouraged.

[steinwaymodeld]

"EXCEPT YUNDI LI, EVERYONE SUCKKKKKKKKKKSKSSSSSSSS"

LOL

 

[orlandopiano]

To say Kissin is an awful pianist is just stupid. Maybe you don't agree with his interpretations, but you can't deny his technical brilliance. That alone rises him above "terrible" don't you think?

I feel Kissin was a little better when he was younger.  More sparkle to his playing.  I love his Carnegie Hall debut disc and his two Rach Concerto discs.  And I guess I am alone here, but I LOVE his Rach 3rd with Ozawa (outside of that painfully slow tempo in the 1st mvmt).  The 4th mvmt climax is the best on record if you ask me.  If you say that music is lacking emotion, you're deaf.

On the other hand, his Barcarolle is awful, as are most of the recordings he's done since the mid 90s. 

Oh and the guy who compared his Rach 3 to Helfgott... HUH?

[tibidi]

To say Kissin is an awful pianist is just stupid. Maybe you don't agree with his interpretations, but you can't deny his technical brilliance. That alone rises him above "terrible" don't you think?

I feel Kissin was a little better when he was younger.  More sparkle to his playing.  I love his Carnegie Hall debut disc and his two Rach Concerto discs.  And I guess I am alone here, but I LOVE his Rach 3rd with Ozawa (outside of that painfully slow tempo in the 1st mvmt).  The 4th mvmt climax is the best on record if you ask me.  If you say that music is lacking emotion, you're deaf.

On the other hand, his Barcarolle is awful, as are most of the recordings he's done since the mid 90s. 

Oh and the guy who compared his Rach 3 to Helfgott... HUH?

Someone here had said that Yundi Li is declining and now Kissin is also declining? Certainly not true. Both are very very good in my opinion. I know you may not want to believe what I said, so I better quote some  real facts here. The fact is this: only a couple of years ago,

KISSIN HAD WON A CD PRIZE FOR HIS BRAHMS ALBUM

and

YUNDI HAD ALSO WON A CD PRIZE FOR HIS LISZT ALBUM

Kissin is definitely not declining. As I said above, only a couple of his concertos are not better than some other pianists. I haven't noticed any awful piece played by Kissin.

[orlandopiano]

Someone here had said that Yundi Li is declining and now Kissin is also declining? Certainly not true. Both are very very good in my opinion. I know you may not want to believe what I said, so I better quote some  real facts here. The fact is this: only a couple of years ago,

KISSIN HAD WON A CD PRIZE FOR HIS BRAHMS ALBUM

and

YUNDI HAD ALSO WON A CD PRICE FOR HIS LISZT ALBUM

Kissin is definitely not declining. As I said above, only a couple of his concertos are not better than some other pianists. I haven't noticed any awful piece played by Kissin.

Well in my opinion, Kissin, at only 30-something, has seen his better days.  His recent discs have been less than inspiring.  His Barcarolle is horrendous, and I never thought I would say that about any Kissin performance.  Then again, the Barcarolle is my favorite piece of Chopin, so I am very picky.  I also dislike his Ballades.  His Mussorgsky and Beethoven discs are average at best, and his Chopin live recitals from Carnegie Hall leave a little to be desired (save for a couple pieces here and there). 

One of his better discs is the one with the Transcendental Etudes.  I love his Wilde Jagd.  His Feux Follets is amazingly fast and fluid. Nojima and Mei-Ting are the only two I've heard play it that fast.

[steinwaymodeld]

Well in my opinion, Kissin, at only 30-something, has seen his better days.  His recent discs have been less than inspiring.  His Barcarolle is horrendous, and I never thought I would say that about any Kissin performance.  Then again, the Barcarolle is my favorite piece of Chopin, so I am very picky.  I also dislike his Ballades.  His Mussorgsky and Beethoven discs are average at best, and his Chopin live recitals from Carnegie Hall leave a little to be desired (save for a couple pieces here and there). 

One of his better discs is the one with the Transcendental Etudes.  I love his Wilde Jagd.  His Feux Follets is amazingly fast and fluid. Nojima and Mei-Ting are the only two I've heard play it that fast.

try live Boris Berevozsky for the fastest Feux Follet ever recorded, almost under 3 mins.

BTW, the Kissin Brahms CD is phenonmenal, much better than I expected.

[orlandopiano]

try live Boris Berevozsky for the fastest Feux Follet ever recorded, almost under 3 mins.

Wow really? I was never impressed with Berezovsky, but I must say I never heard him live.  You have any links to his FF?

[lenny]

yes, berezovsky is the fastest FF ever, the performance on the dvd is around 3 08 or something

kissin is hit and miss for me, when he gets genuinely temperamental he is great

and i really enjoyed his recording of the lark

he introduced me to this gem of a piece

[tibidi]

Well in my opinion, Kissin, at only 30-something, has seen his better days.  His recent discs have been less than inspiring.  His Barcarolle is horrendous, and I never thought I would say that about any Kissin performance.  Then again, the Barcarolle is my favorite piece of Chopin, so I am very picky.  I also dislike his Ballades.  His Mussorgsky and Beethoven discs are average at best, and his Chopin live recitals from Carnegie Hall leave a little to be desired (save for a couple pieces here and there). 

One of his better discs is the one with the Transcendental Etudes.  I love his Wilde Jagd.  His Feux Follets is amazingly fast and fluid. Nojima and Mei-Ting are the only two I've heard play it that fast.

You people are amazing, how can one be at his peak only at 30-something? Someone else also thought that Yundi should retire now. This person had  asked  Yundi if he is thinking of retiring now during a radio interview in Hong Kong last year, what kind of question is that？

Kissin’s Barcarolle is definetely not horrendous. He was very expressive and gentle. I like the whole piece except for his slightly sluggish left hand at the beginning of this piece. Apart from that, he had played the whole piece beautifully. For this piece, I have heard Pollini, Ashkenazy, Arrau, Cziffra, Cortot, Rubinstein. I like Rubinstein’s Barcarolle the best. His rubati set you dreaming away. Although I don’t quite like Kissin’s rubati for the slower part of the music sometimes(for example, the binginning of Ballade No. 1), you will still agree with his rubati for the rest of the whole piece and he had certainly played it beautifully. Kissin is certainly very good at Chopin’s music and he is certainly a very expressive, very emotionally pianist. I know I defintely prefer his chopin than Rachmaninnof's.

Kissin’s Ballades are very good too although I prefer Zimerman’s rubati for Ballade No. 1. I haven’t heard any awful piece played by Kissin. If you ask me if I have heard any awful pieces, I will say the end of Rubinstein’s Ballade No, 4 is rather awful, Horowitz’s bass is sometimes rather awful too, don’t you think so?

I don't think I need to say too much in future as criticisms of Kissin are always just given without any justification. Have you seen any elaboration of any criticism? I haven't. You even see comment like: If I were Kissin, I would rather be dead, be less unkind, men! All such criticisms should be ignored in future.

[lenny]

lol, tibidi, vendetta perhaps?

[tibidi]

lol, tibidi, vendetta perhaps?

No, my heart bleed when I saw people bullied. Let this be my last post.

[lenny]

have you ever seen a psychiatrist?

[orlandopiano]

You people are amazing, how can one be at his peak only at 30-something?

Simple. It's not uncommon to be on top of the classical music universe as a child prodigy, then for whatever reason (burnout, lack of musical development) fall into obscurity.  I haven't heard much from Midori or Sarah Chang or Ofra Harnoy since they've reached "adulthood". 

I am not a Kissin hater.  I said earlier in this thread that it's ridiculous to call him an awful pianists, which is what some go as far to say.  I respect his pianistic genius. But I don't dig his interpretations.  His Rach 3 is among my favs (save for the 1st mvmt).  And I love some of the recitals he did in the late 80s and early 90s.   But over the last 10 years or so his playing has lacked something to my ears. 

[pskim]

I respect his pianistic genius. But I don't dig his interpretations.  His Rach 3 is among my favs (save for the 1st mvmt). 

I have his Cd with Ozawa and in the booklet, Kissin follows the tempo marked written out on the orchestral score when Rachmaninoff himself wanted the tempo to be.  And as for the composer's recording of the 3rd concerto, mind you that during his time, there weren't such thing as a cd or anything that will play over an hour worth of music on one side of a disk.  Rachmaninoff had to speed up the tempo and sometimes, he had to cut off chunks of sections on the first movement of his 3rd concerto because it wouldn't fit on one side of an LP.

 And I love some of the recitals he did in the late 80s and early 90s.   But over the last 10 years or so his playing has lacked something to my ears. 

Could it be that he is now at a status where he is able to play what and how he wants?  Maybe he doesn't want to play what other people want to hear anymore.  I love the fact that sometime he takes things to the extreme.  That certainly doesn't mean that his creativity has stopped.

It was Kissin that made me like musics I used to dislike very much.  The way he interprets gives me the chills with excitement and think to myself, "Wow!  I never thought that this piece could sound like this."

If you want a beautiful performance of the Barcarolle, listen to Murray Perahia's recording of it.  It is the best of the best, in my opinion.  Even better than the mentioned performers on the previous reply.

[orlandopiano]

If you want a beautiful performance of the Barcarolle, listen to Murray Perahia's recording of it.  It is the best of the best, in my opinion.  Even better than the mentioned performers on the previous reply.

I couldn't agree more.  Perahia's Barcarolle is tops in my opinion. That disc also has the best G Flat Impromptu recording as well. 

[steinwaymodeld]

I have his Cd with Ozawa and in the booklet, Kissin follows the tempo marked written out on the orchestral score when Rachmaninoff himself wanted the tempo to be.  And as for the composer's recording of the 3rd concerto, mind you that during his time, there weren't such thing as a cd or anything that will play over an hour worth of music on one side of a disk.  Rachmaninoff had to speed up the tempo and sometimes, he had to cut off chunks of sections on the first movement of his 3rd concerto because it wouldn't fit on one side of an LP.



Could it be that he is now at a status where he is able to play what and how he wants?  Maybe he doesn't want to play what other people want to hear anymore.  I love the fact that sometime he takes things to the extreme.  That certainly doesn't mean that his creativity has stopped.

It was Kissin that made me like musics I used to dislike very much.  The way he interprets gives me the chills with excitement and think to myself, "Wow!  I never thought that this piece could sound like this."

If you want a beautiful performance of the Barcarolle, listen to Murray Perahia's recording of it.  It is the best of the best, in my opinion.  Even better than the mentioned performers on the previous reply.

Ok, it was proven that, by the time of Rachmaninoff, the media it used, is more than enough to fit the whole Concerto even in a much slower tempo. The 'LP Hypothesis' is simply not true.

he doens't use rubato like a drunk cow, and that's why it is faster than most of the recordings nowadays. And that's Rachmaninoff's intention.

And about the Kissin, you saying that he 'doesn't want to play the way audience wants', I actually hold the absolute opposite idea about that.
But if Kissin makes u happy, that's all matters i think. I am not trying to sabotage your musical hero, just trying to tell u that, by the time Rachmaninoff recordd the Concerto, he was rushing to 'fit onto the media', he wasn't even rushing at all. That's the way it should be played.

[pskim]

by the time Rachmaninoff recordd the Concerto, he was rushing to 'fit onto the media', he wasn't even rushing at all. That's the way it should be played.

I don't think so.  If that was the case, why did he cut a huge section out of the first movement in the recording?  I'm sure that he made several recordings of the concerto but the one I hear of him playing was fast and made cuts out of the music.

[Motrax]

Rachmaninoff was notorius for making cuts in all of his music, both recorded and live. Here's a letter he wrote to Medtner about the Corelli Variations:

"I've played them here about fifteen times, but of these fifteen performances, only one was good. [...] And it's so boring! Not once have I played these all in continuity. I was guided by the caughing of the audience. Whenever the coughing increased, I would skip the next variation. [...] In one concert, I don't remember where - some small town - the caughing was so violent that I played only 10 variations (out of 20). My best record was set in New York, where I played 18 variations..."

The composer editted the 1st Symphony, 1st concerto, 4th concerto, and 2nd sonata by making large numbers of cuts. He complained about the vast length of much of his music many times - he once said of his second sonata:

"I look at my early works and see how much there is that is superfluous. Even in this sonata so many voices are moving simultaneously, and it is too long. Chopin's Sonata lasts nineteen minutes, and all has been said."

Quotes aside, it's pretty evident that Rachmaninoff was never wholly confident or secure with his own playing, at least on the outside. The speed at which he plays the third concerto suits the piece perfectly well, and the cuts were probably just made on the composer's whim. (This is the only recording he ever made of the piece. The only pieces Rachmaninoff recorded more than once are the second concerto, the G minor and C# minor preludes, and one or two of his polkas).

[lenny]

IMO uncut rach is best, what he sees as superfluous , i see as yet more precious genius from rach.

cutting the rach3 is simply a musical crime IMO, i wish hed have had more confidence , but its this lack of confidence and happines that drove him to write such moving and sad music.

[Motrax]

I certainly agree that Rachmaninoff shouldn't've cut his music. The first version of the fourth concerto makes a whole lot more sense than the second version.

I don't think Rachmaninoff lacked too much confidence - he was somewhat arrogant when he was younger, and I think he spent much of his later life trying to hide this. He was definitely a proud man, and I think that if he were left to his own devices without perceived pressure from other people, he would not have made cuts to anything.

But that's all speculation of course.

[lenny]

emotionally his melancholic indulgence doesnt exactly paint the picture of an arrogant man.

it paints the picture of a man weeping in solance in a dark corner.

[Brian Healey]

cutting the rach3 is simply a musical crime IMO

Maybe if someone else cut it, yeah, but when it's your own composition I think you pretty much have free reign over what to include and not include. I'm sure Rach had a reason for cutting it.

Ok, it was proven that, by the time of Rachmaninoff, the media it used, is more than enough to fit the whole Concerto even in a much slower tempo. The 'LP Hypothesis' is simply not true.

That's not really true. The media Rach had available was the LP at best, there was no other media available. The total length of an LP is 40 minutes (20 per side). Since there is not enough time to fit 2 movements of the Rach 3 on one side, it would require 3 sides to record the complete concerto. Sure, it is possible to fit it all on record, but to fit it on a single LP with 2 sides, there would be have to be some cutting involved.


Peace,
Bri

[Brian Healey]

And actually, the long-play record (LP) wasn't even really in use until the 50s, and Rach died in 1943, so he couldn't have been using LPs to begin with.

The media Rach would have been using would have been quite a bit a more time restrictive. In his time, I think the max time per side was about 3-4 minutes.


Peace,
Bri

[Motrax]

The original concerto with Rachmaninoff as pianist was released on five records. This gave Rachmaninoff 10 sides with which to play, but only nine sides were used. He had an extra blank side with which to take a slower tempo and no cuts, but the fact of the matter is that he did make cuts and did choose a faster tempo.

[Kapellmeister27]

i just have one question about evgeny.  i recently saw a video if him playing at the proms and i want to know how he can baly so fast and precisely with his fingers so darn high of the keys.  i have this same problem if high fingers (stupid hanon) and i cant play nearly this fast.

[thracozaag]

I couldn't agree more.  Perahia's Barcarolle is tops in my opinion. That disc also has the best G Flat Impromptu recording as well. 

  Moiseiwitsch, Kapell and Lipatti for me. 

koji (STSD)

[lenny]

i just have one question about evgeny.  i recently saw a video if him playing at the proms and i want to know how he can baly so fast and precisely with his fingers so darn high of the keys.  i have this same problem if high fingers (stupid hanon) and i cant play nearly this fast.

its a stupid 'show-off' habit and makes him look like an idiot.

[Alfonso Van Worden]

Have you seen the latest DVD ? when he plays with Argerich? What do you think about that???

[BoliverAllmon]

Have you seen the latest DVD ? when he plays with Argerich? What do you think about that???

I would be interested in seeing this video. I personally have to say that Kissin exposed me to the lovely melodies of Chopin's preludes. Is he the greatest? comes to personal opinion. Is he terrible? that would be stupid to say. he commands large crowds wherever he goes. People just love him.

[Alfonso Van Worden]

You sould get it, the title is "piano extravaganza" or some thing like that... it is extremely interesting. Two great and completely different artists make really chamber music !!! They play a Mozart´s sonata, and it is the best recording of that piece ever!!!!!!!!!!!

[BoliverAllmon]

I do have the vid of argerich performing music with her "friends" but the kissin one would be really fun to watch.

boliver

[Alfonso Van Worden]

well... IT IS fun to watch!!! Don´t get me wrong, they play beautifully!!!!!! But it is a weird couple!!! (in one particulary moment Kissin makes a terrible mistake!They are reading and  he´s chaging the sheets and guees what? ....He took two pages in stead of one!!!!!!).

[Classicalized]

      What a politically-correct world we live in.  Never fear:  the state of the world as of now won't last forever.
      Mr. Kissin is a good performer.  Some parts of his playing are not in accordance to my interpretation, but I know I can't do anything.  He is entitled to his interpretation, and I am entitled to mine.  What he does doesn't affect me in a negative way; therefore, I respect his performance.

[BoliverAllmon]

well... IT IS fun to watch!!! Don´t get me wrong, they play beautifully!!!!!! But it is a weird couple!!! (in one particulary moment Kissin makes a terrible mistake!They are reading and  he´s chaging the sheets and guees what? ....He took two pages in stead of one!!!!!!).

was this recorded live or what? why not just fix that section?

[chuckbutler]

its a stupid 'show-off' habit and makes him look like an idiot.

I don't think so.  He doesn't strike me as a show off.  Of the pianists I've seen personally in my life, and those I've listened to on record, none have impressed my like Kissin.  Interpretation is subjective; I happen to find his performances very compelling (his Rach 2 is my favorite recording of that piece).  But you can't possibly argue his command of the instrument.  He simply does not reveal any weakness in his technique.  And for those who say he's "in decline" I have to disagree...have you listenend to his recent recording of Mephisto?  Breathtaking, IMO.  I've never heard anyone play it like that.

I'm seeing him perform on Sunday.  Can't wait.

Regards,

Chuck Butler

[Waldszenen]

Kissin's extremely sudden and exaggerated volume changes are quite obnoxious.

But otherwise he's got talent, certainly.

[tibidi]

     
      Mr. Kissin is a good performer.  Some parts of his playing are not in accordance to my interpretation, but I know I can't do anything. 

I have never felt that way about Kissin's interpretation. I think we are very fortunate to have a top pianist like Kissin who is not only a virtuoso, his interpretations of any piece always  make sense too. 

[brewtality]

Kissin's rach3 is the best performance i've ever heard. His playing is so touching and profound!

[piano88]

Though kissin is not my favourite pianist, I will say that i admire him greatly. You have to remember that he is relatively young (in his thirties) yet he has been around quite a while (really since he was 12).
For a 12 year old to play the Chopin concertos in the way he did, well that is simply astounding. He was no doubt a wonderkind of the likes not seen since perhaps Arrau and no doubt a few others you can all think of.
I am of the opinion that he has an outstanding technique. And whilst I, along with many others, consider his musicianship to be the weaker of the two, you cannot say that he is void of emotion and expression. Perhaps his upbringing hampered his emotional development - this is a boy who didn't really interact with others, he just played the piano. Perhaps others may have thoughts on this.
However, I do believe him to be a very fine pianist, and I wouldn't suggest that Lang Lang is anywhere close to him in any sense(my opinion - I dislike everything about Lang Lang as some will know). I have seen kissin live on several occasions, memorable performances of Pictures at an Exhibition and the Beethoven 4th and 5th concertos stand out as being particularly inspiring.
Put it this way, you may all like to criticise him, but i'm sure those amongst you who are pianists would not turn down the chance to have the talent he does!
AD

[tibidi]

Though kissin is not my favourite pianist, I will say that i admire him greatly. You have to remember that he is relatively young (in his thirties) yet he has been around quite a while (really since he was 12).
For a 12 year old to play the Chopin concertos in the way he did, well that is simply astounding. He was no doubt a wonderkind of the likes not seen since perhaps Arrau and no doubt a few others you can all think of.
I am of the opinion that he has an outstanding technique. And whilst I, along with many others, consider his musicianship to be the weaker of the two, you cannot say that he is void of emotion and expression. Perhaps his upbringing hampered his emotional development - this is a boy who didn't really interact with others, he just played the piano. Perhaps others may have thoughts on this.
However, I do believe him to be a very fine pianist, and I wouldn't suggest that Lang Lang is anywhere close to him in any sense(my opinion - I dislike everything about Lang Lang as some will know). I have seen kissin live on several occasions, memorable performances of Pictures at an Exhibition and the Beethoven 4th and 5th concertos stand out as being particularly inspiring.
Put it this way, you may all like to criticise him, but i'm sure those amongst you who are pianists would not turn down the chance to have the talent he does!
AD

No, I don't think his musicianship is weaker. As I had written before, I rather go for Kissin's music than IVO Pogorelich, Leif Ove Andsnes, or Volodos. Kissin is a lot more passionate and musical than these three pianists in my opinion. People tend to be jealous of kissin.

What is wrong with Kissin’s upbringing? I think some people are trying to create something out of nothing. It’s Lang Lang’s upbringing which should really be criticized. It’s strange that I have never seen anybody writing about Lang Lang’s abnormal upbringing here. It’s always Kissin Kissin and Kissin.

Lang Lang went through hell in his childhood days. His father often beat him like hell when he was not happy with Lang Lang. When Lang Lang failed to gain entry to some music school, his father even told Lang Lang to either do something about his piano or else go and commit suicide. Lang Lang truly had a very abnormal childhood. I had seen a video showing teenager Lang Lang walking on stage looking very dull and walking like an old man. Although I truly dislike Lang Lang, I still think it’s rather cruel to criticize his upbringing. It’s even crueller to wrongly criticize Kissin for nothing.

The cruellest is those shameless music critics always writing a lot of nonsense about some pianists’ playing. This kind of music critics ought to be shot, hehe! 

[musicsdarkangel]

Kissin's La Campanella is so amazing technically,

BUT I HATE IT.

[mastert61]

His chopin 1st concerto in 1984 when he was 11 (or 12..) it's pretty good, except for the 2nd movement. I'd love to have seen a video of that performance.
Instead i've seen his performance of the first tchaikovsky when he was 17. I totally hate the way he moves when he plays.
His 3rd prokofiev concerto (DG recording) is the total worst I have ever heard. It seems he's not even playing seriously. And it was live, poor people there. His 2nd prokofiev concerto (live) is pretty good though.
He's not too consistent.

[tibidi]

His 3rd prokofiev concerto (DG recording) is the total worst I have ever heard. It seems he's not even playing seriously. And it was live, poor people there. His 2nd prokofiev concerto (live) is pretty good though.
He's not too consistent.

You should not just claim that his 3rd prokofiev concerto (DG recording) is the total worst you have ever heard. You need to say more and convince others such as what other 3rd prokofiev concerto you have heard and why you don't  like the one played by Kissin. 

[mastert61]

lol that's funny
okay mister

I've heard 3 versions played by Argerich, including the Abbado one. Also the Aschkenazy one from the set of 5 concertos. hmmm Also the one played by Prokofiev himself.

You listen to that recording and tell me that it's a good recording . The first concerto is fine. Like I said, he has no energy and it's just not a good recording. There's not always a way to explain a musical feeling with words.

[chuckbutler]

lol that's funny
okay mister

I've heard 3 versions played by Argerich, including the Abbado one. Also the Aschkenazy one from the set of 5 concertos. hmmm Also the one played by Prokofiev himself.

I'm a pretty big fan of Kissin, but that Prokofiev isn't my nearly my favorite recording of the piece either.  But his Rach rocks.

[tibidi]

lol that's funny
okay mister

I've heard 3 versions played by Argerich, including the Abbado one. Also the Aschkenazy one from the set of 5 concertos. hmmm Also the one played by Prokofiev himself.

You listen to that recording and tell me that it's a good recording . The first concerto is fine. Like I said, he has no energy and it's just not a good recording. There's not always a way to explain a musical feeling with words.

It will be a waste of my time to carry on any discussion here as I don't think some of you  are serious about what you wrote usually. Kissin's prokofiev is powerful and very expressive. In my opinion,  it's only second to the one played by Kappel  from what I have heard .

[linza]

No matter how great is the performer there will always be people who would say: he is horrible at this, terrible at that, lucks emotions, can't interpret my favorite peace, etc.   
I'm sure even if List played today there will be people to say:  his interpretation of Beethoven are shallow and he, while technically brilliant, is absolutely terrible at playing Brahms concerto.

Maybe we all are spending too much time pressing keys on the wrong type of keyboard....