Piano Forum



Rhapsody in Blue – A Piece of American History at 100!
The centennial celebration of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has taken place with a bang and noise around the world. The renowned work of American classical music has become synonymous with the jazz age in America over the past century. Piano Street provides a quick overview of the acclaimed composition, including recommended performances and additional resources for reading and listening from global media outlets and radio. Read more >>

Topic: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great  (Read 1480 times)

Offline fftransform

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 605
Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
on: August 20, 2021, 07:56:17 AM
We all have favorites, but probably we also all have some "big names" that we don't really like.  But I'm more interested in pianists who you didn't like for a long time, but then found a recording(s) that won you over.  For me, the Richter Miroirs (the 1965 Prague one) and Kissin's Pictures at an Exhibition come to mind, I used to think both were very dry.  Ok, Richter is still pretty dry usually, but it showed me the genius everyone always talks about.  His Shosty p&f performances are also unparalleled in some of them.

Feel free to also list people who you don't like but are open to reevaluating.  For example, I've never been impressed with Yuja (beyond her awesome technique), but I remember hearing more recent stuff that was much more colorful and mature, sound-wise.  If someone knows some interesting recent interps of hers I'd check them out.

Offline lelle

  • PS Gold Member
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2210
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #1 on: August 22, 2021, 09:54:29 PM
Ohhh that's a tricky question. I generally don't consider pianists great if most of their playing feels "eeeeh" and then there's one recording that is good :P Pianists I think are great generally have many recordings I like and few I don't like.

Richter is a bit of a special case because he has many recordings I love a great deal, but he also has many recordings that are not to my taste (generally feeling too fast and mechanical).

Offline anacrusis

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 800
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #2 on: August 29, 2021, 09:39:47 PM
Khatia Buniatishvili's playing is not always my cup of tea, but there are many things to like in this interpretation:



Beautifully orchestrated, emotional, just great.

Offline lostinidlewonder

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 7498
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #3 on: August 30, 2021, 02:31:40 AM
"At the age of 26, while on tour in Venice, he read in the papers about a flood disaster back in his native Hungary. He hightailed it to Vienna to give concerts in aid of the victims. They were a huge success, raising so much money that his was the biggest private donation to the relief fund."

The greatest pianist ever!!! No need to even mention the name.
"The biggest risk in life is to take no risk at all."
www.pianovision.com

Offline jacobson747

  • PS Silver Member
  • Newbie
  • ***
  • Posts: 23
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #4 on: August 30, 2021, 03:23:55 AM
"At the age of 26, while on tour in Venice, he read in the papers about a flood disaster back in his native Hungary. He hightailed it to Vienna to give concerts in aid of the victims. They were a huge success, raising so much money that his was the biggest private donation to the relief fund."

The greatest pianist ever!!! No need to even mention the name.

Franz Liszt?  Liszt's charitable performances convinced you that he is a great philanthropist and therefore a great pianist?  Interesting!

For me, I heard a recording of the Beethoven Diabelli variations and Bach Goldberg variations by a pianist I knew to be famous but never heard play.  His name - Igor Levit.  I knew from these 2 recordings that he is in fact a great pianist - one of the greatest living today.  In some ways, maybe the greatest living. His recording of the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven only further confirmed this for me.  My only wish - Slow down a little a small number of movements of the 32 sonata set.  That's it. 

Offline lostinidlewonder

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 7498
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #5 on: August 30, 2021, 05:09:31 AM
I mean, it's only a small part of it all but this kind of selflessness is something you don't see much of in super stars. Perhaps the fact that royalty would change official plans to go listen to him play? I have no idea which royal member would change anything to listen to a pianist these days :) Greatness can be measured in many ways I guess.
"The biggest risk in life is to take no risk at all."
www.pianovision.com

Offline ivorycherry

  • PS Silver Member
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 170
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #6 on: August 30, 2021, 01:43:29 PM
Pogorelich Playing Chopin scherzo 3 really really impressed me(I’m not one to judge who’s great or not).

Offline fftransform

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 605
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #7 on: August 30, 2021, 07:12:49 PM
Anyone here convinced that Trifonov is some sort of genius? I've yet to be impressed by . . . anything of theirs tbh.  What's their best?

Offline anacrusis

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 800
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #8 on: September 01, 2021, 05:12:48 PM
Trifonov is not my cup of tea as a musician. I'm also surprised that Richter recording won you over on Miroirs, his Noctuelles is rather fast and... brusque? Which is not the right character for some night moths to me :P

Offline fftransform

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 605
Re: Performances that Convinced you a Pianist is Great
Reply #9 on: September 01, 2021, 06:58:13 PM
Trifonov is not my cup of tea as a musician. I'm also surprised that Richter recording won you over on Miroirs, his Noctuelles is rather fast and... brusque? Which is not the right character for some night moths to me :P

I'm not a big fan of that choice either - though the technical execution of the concept is still awesome.  Did you listen to the Alborada from that recital?  It starts at 14:00, the timestamps are messed up on that upload.
For more information about this topic, click search below!
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert