Mei-Ting Sun

[Cadenza_Ad_Libitum]

Seriously, what does everybody think about him? I have seen that unlike Yundi Li and his counterpart Lang Lang, he does not seem to get as much comment here. What do you think about his recordings in his site www.meiting.com? I think he's pretty good, but my music perspective might be different from yours, so I need your opinion.

I think his Feux Follets is nice, fast and clean, though he can be a bit bombastic occassionally. His Ballade Op. 23 has marvelous wrong notes, and the Presto con fuoco part is dazzling without much use of pedal. I haven't any other Tannhauser version, so I can't really say that he plays well. His Bartok Etudes are fine.

What do you think?

[DarkWind]

His Bartok Etudes and the Prokofiev Concerto are ok, but the rest I rather dislike. Too technical and show-offy, and I rarely heard any music. Talk about arrogance too. I hate how he drops the fact that he learned Gaspard de la Nuit at the age of 14. And that he learned Ravel's Toccata in a short time. The toccata is also awful, way too fast, no music. The Hammerklavier, is mediocre. A bit too heavy for my tastes. Oh well, these are just my opinions, remember that, and don't go off on a flame.

[sharon_f]

Well, if you weren't aware of it, Mei-Ting just won the National Chopin Competition (https://www.chopin.org) which qualifies him to compete in the International Chopin Competion in Warsaw in the fall. And the jury for the national included names like Augustin Anievas, Susan Starr, Kevin Kenner and Ruth Slenczynska. Not shabby at all.

[Glissando]

MT's extremely good.
Some of the recordings on his personal site aren't of the best, but check out his recordings on https://whitekeys.com . They're fantastic.

[DarkWind]

I'll admit, those at White Keys are a hundred times better than the ones at his website. Hopefully he plays nowadays like this. Much more mature.

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

It annoys me that he mentions the difficulty of every piece in the descriptions, usually saying something like, "This is one of the most difficult pieces in the repetoire." I listened to many of his recordings, and they are some of the least musical recordings I have heard in my life. I am not a fan.

[allchopin]

You guys sure have some spine-tingling expectations 

[steinwayguy]

Well, if you weren't aware of it, Mei-Ting just won the National Chopin Competition (https://www.chopin.org) which qualifies him to compete in the International Chopin Competion in Warsaw in the fall. And the jury for the national included names like Augustin Anievas, Susan Starr, Kevin Kenner and Ruth Slenczynska. Not shabby at all.

And he didn't deserve it.

(Politics...)


The recordings I listened to on his website- Hammerklavier and Scarlatti- were both painfully mediocre.

[anda]

personally, i think he's interpretations aren't yet even - i mean, there are things that i absolutely love (brahms - paganini variations: some are absolutely amazing! and that's just one example i remember of right now), and there are things i dislike (but then again, maybe it's just a matter of taste). but you have to take in consideration the fact that he's still young (what do you want from him? a 50 years old radu lupu?) and, based only on what i listened with my own years, i'd say he has more potential to become "a true pianist" than lang lang. imho.

[rohansahai]

Hammerklavier was bad, Rach preludes seem to imitate richter (especially op. 23-4, 5, 7) but okay.
Technique is very good, but the interpretations are pretty dry.

[BoliverAllmon]

I think this thread has some jealousy in it.

[chromatickler]

only sum?

[alhimia]

Anyone heard his 3rd sonata of Scriabin? What do you think of it? I haven't heard it yet...
I'm very curious, since it is one of my favorite pieces of Scriabin, unfortunately I can't download it at www.whitekeys.com

[bravuraoctaves]

I think his interpretations are very good. I would listen to him over many big names.

[DMHM]

Gotta concur with boliverallmon. Even though there's personal taste involved it doesn't mean you can insult the very fine artists without being in the least way qualified to do so, while you yourself couldn't play your way through a paper bag. Talk about arrogance huh?

[Glissando]

And he didn't deserve it.

What do you know about it?
Did you attend the competition?
Have you listened to all of the competitors play?
Are you on the judging panel of any important competitions?
Are you in anyway qualified to give your opinion on this subject?
Let me guess. The answer is NO.

Grow up.

[DMHM]

What do you know about it?
Did you attend the competition?
Have you listened to all of the competitors play?
Are you on the judging panel of any important competitions?
Are you in anyway qualified to give your opinion on this subject?
Let me guess. The answer is NO.

Grow up.

And don't only grow up, but grow brains too and use 'em. Add some affinity with music there too.

[pianodude]

I had only heard his Chopin Etude Op. 10 # 12 posted in the Piano Society website. To me, his performance of that piece is definitely not an amature performance, like many of others' posted in that website. I do not understand why he even posted his performance there.

[maxy]

Boy... there is some jealousy in the air...

Some very nasty comments around here...

Why such harshness? 

If you don't like what he is doing, have at least some respect for the work done. 

[steinwayguy]

What do you know about it?
Did you attend the competition?
Have you listened to all of the competitors play?
Are you on the judging panel of any important competitions?
Are you in anyway qualified to give your opinion on this subject?
Let me guess. The answer is NO.

Grow up.

Hey, great guess. No, actually, it wasn't. Yeah, I did hear them play. Yeah I did talk to one of them. Yeah, he told me exactly what the judges said.

Eat it.

[steinwaymodeld]

It annoys me that he mentions the difficulty of every piece in the descriptions, usually saying something like, "This is one of the most difficult pieces in the repetoire." I listened to many of his recordings, and they are some of the least musical recordings I have heard in my life. I am not a fan.

From someone who use Sorabji as a part of his alias.

I found your comment hilariously ironic.

[steinwaymodeld]

Hey, great guess. No, actually, it wasn't. Yeah, I did hear them play. Yeah I did talk to one of them. Yeah, he told me exactly what the judges said.

Eat it.

Politics are everywhere.
U can use that statement against every pianist/artist/person on the face of earth.
Your piece of opinion is simply immature and holds no value.

[robert]

Another aspect, or rather explaination to the statement that they sound dry, is that the sound is pretty dry. He does not like to add reverb (or other effects) to his recordings but only use the acoustics of the hall where the recording was made.
Using my former studio experience, I tried to convince him by making some tricks with effects to bring out the almost hidden string resonance in his recordings but he gentle turned my suggestions down after listening to them ;-).

[SteinwayTony]

Hey, great guess. No, actually, it wasn't. Yeah, I did hear them play. Yeah I did talk to one of them. Yeah, he told me exactly what the judges said.

Eat it.

Let me just add that you're doing a horrible job at concealing your jealousy.

[BoliverAllmon]

Let me just add that you're doing a horrible job at concealing your jealousy.

but continue to try please. it is making my day go better.

boliver

[Glissando]

Hey, great guess. No, actually, it wasn't. Yeah, I did hear them play. Yeah I did talk to one of them. Yeah, he told me exactly what the judges said.

Eat it.

Uuhh huuuh. Suuure you did.
And I'm sure that contestant you claim to have talked to, even though he just lost an important competition, was being extremely objective in his remarks.
And I'm sure the judges go around giving their personal opinions about how the winner didn't deserve to win to the other contestants & the general populace.
I mean, man, your story is SO unbelievably believable.


Thank you very much, but eat your words yourself. 

[Motrax]

Back on topic... I find his Rach prelude 23-4 to be very good. I haven't taken the time to listen to much else besides his Rachmaninoff preludes, but they were certainly better than another of other attempts on the market nowadays. I haven't heard the Richter versions for comparison, but to say that a pianist copies old recordings is generally pretty naive. I freely admit to listening to recordings and taking ideas from them, but when I play, the interperetation is what I feel - if I feel a piece similarly to someone else, so be it. And although I don't want to speak for Mr. Sun, the likelihood of him, or anyone else, stealing an interperetation is too low to throw around in any reasonable discussion.

[rohansahai]

Back on topic... I find his Rach prelude 23-4 to be very good. I haven't taken the time to listen to much else besides his Rachmaninoff preludes, but they were certainly better than another of other attempts on the market nowadays. I haven't heard the Richter versions for comparison, but to say that a pianist copies old recordings is generally pretty naive. I freely admit to listening to recordings and taking ideas from them, but when I play, the interperetation is what I feel - if I feel a piece similarly to someone else, so be it. And although I don't want to speak for Mr. Sun, the likelihood of him, or anyone else, stealing an interperetation is too low to throw around in any reasonable discussion.

Have you heard Richter playing tha prelude? if you have, i guess you would've noticed the way each and every dynamic is just copy-pasted.
By the way, musicians ARE supposed to be jealous by birth, nature, genetics, EVERYTHING !! But since i'm not one, i guess i'll make my point : There are many many better pianists around than Mei-Ting.
P.S. I have a software which can make attempts to convert an mp3 recording to MIDI format (not very accurately but it can do a fair job), and its job with meiting's recordings were almost perfect !

[BoliverAllmon]

Have you heard Richter playing tha prelude? if you have, i guess you would've noticed the way each and every dynamic is just copy-pasted.
By the way, musicians ARE supposed to be jealous by birth, nature, genetics, EVERYTHING !! But since i'm not one, i guess i'll make my point : There are many many better pianists around than Mei-Ting.
P.S. I have a software which can make attempts to convert an mp3 recording to MIDI format (not very accurately but it can do a fair job), and its job with meiting's recordings were almost perfect !

and what would that indicate about converting the mp3?

[thracozaag]

Have you heard Richter playing tha prelude? if you have, i guess you would've noticed the way each and every dynamic is just copy-pasted.
By the way, musicians ARE supposed to be jealous by birth, nature, genetics, EVERYTHING !! But since i'm not one, i guess i'll make my point : There are many many better pianists around than Mei-Ting.
P.S. I have a software which can make attempts to convert an mp3 recording to MIDI format (not very accurately but it can do a fair job), and its job with meiting's recordings were almost perfect !

  Wow, just when I think I haven't reached the nadir of reading things on pianoforums....

koji (STSD)

[ChampY]

I am not a part of the argument but to answer "BoliverAllmon", if you convert something into midi format, you would know every single aspect of someone's playing (other than musical interpretation, which is very subjective). So you can hear and compare the dynamic of each note that has been played in the recording. You can SEE it in number. Like... very very loud might be 113, very soft might be 64.

[ChampY]

Have you heard Richter playing tha prelude? if you have, i guess you would've noticed the way each and every dynamic is just copy-pasted.
By the way, musicians ARE supposed to be jealous by birth, nature, genetics, EVERYTHING !! But since i'm not one, i guess i'll make my point : There are many many better pianists around than Mei-Ting.
P.S. I have a software which can make attempts to convert an mp3 recording to MIDI format (not very accurately but it can do a fair job), and its job with meiting's recordings were almost perfect !

By the way, what is the name of the software you are talking about?? I want to find one but I can't.

[steinwaymodeld]

I used this sentence before, but i think i will use it again.


Ignorance is bliss, congratulate on being the happiest person on earth.

I recommend u to join this website: www.dasdc.net
I think u will finally get back to your own kind, and have a gay-old time.

[rob47]

I think Mei Tings Rach preludes are insanely good. His op. 23 no. 9 is untoucheable.  I tell all my friends he's the future of piano.

Rob

[rohansahai]

By the way, what is the name of the software you are talking about?? I want to find one but I can't

The name of the software is Akhoff Composer.

Quote from: rohansahai on March 24, 2005, 11:40:03 PM

Have you heard Richter playing tha prelude? if you have, i guess you would've noticed the way each and every dynamic is just copy-pasted.
By the way, musicians ARE supposed to be jealous by birth, nature, genetics, EVERYTHING !! But since i'm not one, i guess i'll make my point : There are many many better pianists around than Mei-Ting.
P.S. I have a software which can make attempts to convert an mp3 recording to MIDI format (not very accurately but it can do a fair job), and its job with meiting's recordings were almost perfect !

Whoa, what's this? Detective Dipshit at work? So lemme get this straight: Just because you can't play your way through a piece of used toiletpaper meiting's recordings are fake? You've got the brain of a 4 year-old boy who I'm sure, was glad to be rid of it.  So before you start "using" this brain you might wanna do some homework first. And when your IQ reaches 50, I advise you to sell.

In trying to be really sarcastic, you've accidentally made yourself pretty incomprehensible. By saying "copy pasted" i never meant that they are actually copy-pasted using computer tricks....what i mean is that his tempo, the articulations, and his entire picture of this piece exactly matches Richter's, but still does not have the poise of his playing. He's apparently tried to copy his style, on this occasion... or maybe influenced a little bit too much in this piece.
When we listen to any pianist playing, after a sufficient number of pieces, we tend to get an exact image of his style, and his entire approach to piano playing. For instance, you can impulsively identify or make fairly accurate guesses to the identity of the pianist when some unknown recording of his is played, simply judging by his approach and style. However in Mei-Ting's case.. i've listened to his rach preludes (all of them), the hammerklavier, the bartok sonata and some of the other pieces, and I find them as a jumbled up set of pretty average interpretations. There is no personal element in his playing and that is the reason why despite his phenomenal technique, I do not really like his playing......it does not move me, it does not hum itself in my brain after i switch off the recordings.

I think Mei Tings Rach preludes are insanely good. His op. 23 no. 9 is untoucheable.  I tell all my friends he's the future of piano.

Rob

EXACTLY !! You have unconsciously made my point ! When you think of great renderings of these great works (the rach preludes): Richter, Ashkenazy etc., you first think about their D major, G major, G minor, G sharp minor and the other preludes. However in Mei-Ting's case, you tend to remember his op. 23 no. 9 (which i agree, is untouchable). simply shows that it is his technique which is most impressive.
Anyway, its just my opinion, you always have the right to disagree !!!

[SteinwayTony]

Whoa, what's this? Detective Dipshit at work? So lemme get this straight: Just because you can't play your way through a piece of used toiletpaper meiting's recordings are fake? You've got the brain of a 4 year-old boy who I'm sure, was glad to be rid of it.  So before you start "using" this brain you might wanna do some homework first. And when your IQ reaches 50, I advise you to sell.

You need to calm down.  I've reported your post to the adminstrator.  Trust me: not a great way to start a membership on a forum.

[mikeyg]

wow, i thought i was bad...

[thracozaag]

Anyway, its just my opinion, you always have the right to disagree !!!

  Indeed; and I do.

koji (STSD)

[bernhard]

Everything I have heard so far by Meiting has been superb. I was particularly impressed by his Scarlatti and Feux Follets. I can certainly imagine him being even better live.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[DarkWind]

To throw in more of my comments:

There are a few recordings of his which I do not like at all, like his Feux Follets or the Ravel Toccata. And you have to admit that:

"Ah, Gaspard de la Nuit, which of us pianists has not played this piece? Don't answer that, it's only rhetorical. Anyway, enjoy a 14-year-old's rendition of the piece."

...is pretty egotistcal, when there is so much better things he could write about this piece, like the fact that it was made to be harder than Islamey, among other things. But his recording of the Tannhauser Overture, Bartok Etudes and Sonata, and a few other recordings, are very good. And I like the recordings at white keys too.

Edit: On second thought, his Ravel Toccata isn't too bad. Just so many wrong notes, and near the beginning, the first time he uses the pedal, the pedal comes in a bit too early. Oh well, for the missed notes, I guess it is understandable. This is an insane piece.

[thracozaag]

To throw in more of my comments:

There are a few recordings of his which I do not like at all, like his Feux Follets or the Ravel Toccata. And you have to admit that:

"Ah, Gaspard de la Nuit, which of us pianists has not played this piece? Don't answer that, it's only rhetorical. Anyway, enjoy a 14-year-old's rendition of the piece."

...is pretty egotistcal, when there is so much better things he could write about this piece, like the fact that it was made to be harder than Islamey, among other things. But his recording of the Tannhauser Overture, Bartok Etudes and Sonata, and a few other recordings, are very good. And I like the recordings at white keys too.

 
  You realize, of course, that he's being facetious.

koji (STSD)

[Glissando]

And regardless, the fact remains that he learned it when he was 14.

[brsmpianist]

To throw in one more opinion, I think that his recordings are generally very good,.. definitely technique-wise, but he also has nice ideas musically too.  I would be interested to hear him live.

btw, his Feux Follets is the fastest ive ever heard this piece played, both live or on recordings - if hes really playing everything and not leaving any notes out, then wow lol

[BoliverAllmon]

To throw in one more opinion, I think that his recordings are generally very good,.. definitely technique-wise, but he also has nice ideas musically too.  I would be interested to hear him live.

btw, his Feux Follets is the fastest ive ever heard this piece played, both live or on recordings - if hes really playing everything and not leaving any notes out, then wow lol

I don't think he is a faker on that piece. If I am not mistaken he played that for the piano e-competition and won.

boliver

[Glissando]

I can certainly imagine him being even better live.

I imagine so- I'd like to attend one of his concerts someday.
He has quite a few concerts around the US coming up, you can see his schedule here:
https://www.meiting.com/index.php?location=https://meiting.com/appearances.php
and here:
https://chopin.org/concert_tour.html
SteinwayGuy- he's going to perform in Raleigh- you going to go?

[tibidi]

Similar accusation had been made to Yundi Li. Some had written before that Yundi Li had always made his recordings in studio whereas Lang Lang recorded his live in concert halls and that you should not judge a pianist’s playing from his recordings, you must judge him in concert halls. If one can really fake one’s playing, you think some of Lang Lang’s CDs that were recorded in studio should have been criticized so much by some respectable critics? Lol.

[steinwaymodeld]

Similar accusation had been made to Yundi Li. Some had written before that Yundi Li had always made his recordings in studio whereas Lang Lang recorded his live in concert halls and that you should not judge a pianist’s playing from his recordings, you must judge him in concert halls. If one can really fake one’s playing, you think some of Lang Lang’s CDs that were recorded in studio should have been criticized so much by some respectable critics? Lol.

u gotta stop talking to the voice in your head

[anda]

one thought: i've seen just about all important pianists of the 20th century (horowitz, richter, gilels, argerich, rubinstein, and so on) named in the thread "overrated pianists". so, i'm not shocked to see so divergent opinions about mei ting (who isn't yet as well-known as these)

but you'll have to agree - there's something abut him, if he can raise such passionate disputes over his playing

[anda]

oh, and after reading through the whole thread, i still keep my opinion: we haven't heard the best from this pianist yet.

[tibidi]

u gotta stop talking to the voice in your head

Look, who had written the follwing:

[...And I know that there are a lot of Li's fan here. ANd he did made some excellent CDs, but studio recording can be deceiving, If u can, try to get some live performance, u will be dissapointed...]

Have I talked to the voice in my head? You yourself had implied it is deceiving to record in studio.


Go to the following page to read it once more for yourself.

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=38c5f0a43196999cceb6b218d393e32c&topic=5463.50


You are not the only one who had written a lot of nonsense about Yundi Li. It’s amazing that these people have  never felt bad about all the lies they had given to the public.

Regarding recordings made in studio, fans of Lang Lang always like to remind you that their idol recorded his playing live in concert halls whereas Yundi Li had recorded his in studio as if it's very grand to record live in concert halls. Some even lied that Yundi made a mass in concert halls. Amazing! If that is true, there shouldn't be music critics who had written that Yundi had played even better and faster in concert halls due to magnetism of audiences. So, stop boasting about Lang Lang recording his Cds in concert halls, I am sick and tire of reading about it for the past few years.