At what age do great pianists play their best?

[rovis77]

This question just popped into my mind during a little practice session at the piano. At what age does a pianist play at their best?. Can you still play very technically demanding repertoire such as La Campanella, Feux Follets, Chopin etudes, etc in your 70s-80s?

[lostinidlewonder]

It seems to me such questioning can only act as a source for demoralisation.

The answer of course depends on the individual (need we only focus on great pianists?). I teach a mid 90 year old who can still play quite fine, on the other hand I've had much younger students quit piano because of their health.

[essence]

I am a young 71 year old. I don't find too much decay in my technique, but maybe put more emphasis on interpretation rather than speed, and not everything is at top speed - which benefits the music.

Others may disagree.

I ran through Chopin Scherzo no 2 yesterday, haven't played it for ? 40 years, with a week of practice I would be happier than I was when I was 18. It would certainly breathe better.

It may be different for great, or even competent, pianists, who are on a different level to me.

[brogers70]

The answer may depend on what you mean by "playing their best." If the age of their best playing is the age at which they can get through Campanella the fastest while hitting all the correct notes then you'll get a different age than if you consider the age of their best playing to be the age at which their rendition of a bit of Brahms makes you grateful to be alive.

[adodd81802]

I would think absolute peak raw ability for anything that requires the body or the brain is usually for people in their 20s. I focus on the term raw mechanical ability, not just the piano, or music, but really any activity in general. As this declines over time, I think it’s replaced with experience, understanding and interpretation.

I also think the margin of decline however really is only noticeable at the highest level and so as you approach 40s, 50s, while you may no longer be able to compete at the top of your peak, you could still continue to play and improve at the piano and I’d say very few pieces would be out of your skill set until you’re probably in your 70s. That’s just my opinion, and I don’t say this from a physiological aspect, because I think even then your fingers could move with considerable speed, I think it’s the brain that slows down.

[dizzyfingers]