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Personally, I think her Chopin Etudes are fine. But I mean, I would rather listen to larger-scale pieces than Chopin Etudes... Such as the Sonatas, Scherzi, Ballades, Polonaise-Fantasie, etc. etc. etc. And I feel that her playing of larger-scale pieces is rather shallow. It's hard to explain in text, but compare her Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 1 to the great (and sadly underrated) John Ogdon's performance.
But in the end, it may just be personal taste. So if we need to agree to disagree, that's perfectly fine with me.
We don't necessarily disagree completely. I enjoy her performances of the shorter works. I do go back to watch her etude videos and also go back for some nocturnes and waltzes but never for a concerto or a sonata really. It wasn't a conscious decision that I made and I can certainly see your point.
But I mean, I would rather listen to larger-scale pieces than Chopin Etudes...
That's the only statement that I disagree with. I think Chopin's small-scale works, especially his etudes, are on par with his large-scale works (if not indeed sometimes greater), and I have no preference for the longer pieces. Of course, there is always the issue of overplaying, but that affects small- and large-scale alike.
Lisitsa and Yuja compared to Martha? Let s hear their Bach partitas and judge!
Gavrilyuk, in my opinion, blows both VL and YW out of the water. And recently i was listening to somepieces by Lang lang and Gavrilyuk, same repertoire. And the winner was Alexander again. More and more, fame means nothing. I think Yuja is becoming the female version of lang lang. Hopefully she ll stay away from that. As for technique, i think Hamelin and Volods are out of this world. Yuja s version of Volodos ' Turkis march i heard recently was pretty sloppy in some sections. Anyway it not that what bothers me of her playing. Anyway , she s still what , in her early 20s?
Pogo, i d compare Richter to Horowitz any day of the week!! In Beethoven and Bach , i don t think Volodya would last two rounds!
Yang is really, really popular among the Asian community, I can tell you that. More so than Li Yundi or Lang Lang (obviously).
What do you base this statement on or is just idle speculation?
Originally Posted by slerk
Valentina is also really down to earth. I was reading earlier here that she stayed with a forum member for practicing, and things like that..
How is this relevant to discussing how great a pianist is? Stayed with a forum member....who cares?
Originally Posted by slerk
But I think to be a great pianist who sells well to the public, you need another touch of personality. Argerich had that; almost as if she played "hard to get" with fans. You could also be popular by being extremely down to earth and friendly.
Lisitsa and Wang are IMO nowhere near that category of being a world class pianist who will be remembered as one of the greats. You place far too much emphasis on personality.
If Argerich lives another 20 years and keeps on playing it's probably true that some pianist will surpass her technical skill(or maybe some already have) at one point. I don't see the slightest relevance in discussing something like this. Does anyone expect her to be able to play as well technically when she's 90 as she did when she was younger?
At such a high level of technical skill, I think it's irrelevant to compare technical prowess. Argerich, Hamelin, Kissin, Katsaris, etc. all have supreme technical ability.
Every performer, particularly instrumentalists and singers, must eventually cope with the limitations brought on by age. (The only exceptions I can think of are those who died tragically young, like Lipatti and Kapell, and Nathan Milstein whose technique at his last concert at 82 was undiminished.)
Pianists are luckier than singers. Piano technique is basically in the brain, so as long as their fingers retain their strength and ccordination, they can continue well into old age. Vocal chords are not as durable and break down at a younger age. Argerich is 70 - that's not old as pianists go. If she's lost anything technically, and from what I can tell she hasn't, she's gained in musical perception.
Yang is really, really popular among the Asian community, I can tell you that. More so than Li Yundi or Lang Lang (obviously).
What do you base this statement on or is just idle speculation?
Exactly my thought. What basis?
Originally Posted by pianoloverus
Originally Posted by slerk
Valentina is also really down to earth. I was reading earlier here that she stayed with a forum member for practicing, and things like that..
How is this relevant to discussing how great a pianist is? Stayed with a forum member....who cares?
Exactly! We listen to performances NOT because the pianist has done some good deeds!
Originally Posted by pianoloverus
Originally Posted by slerk
But I think to be a great pianist who sells well to the public, you need another touch of personality. Argerich had that; almost as if she played "hard to get" with fans. You could also be popular by being extremely down to earth and friendly.
Lisitsa and Wang are IMO nowhere near that category of being a world class pianist who will be remembered as one of the greats. You place far too much emphasis on personality.
If Argerich lives another 20 years and keeps on playing it's probably true that some pianist will surpass her technical skill(or maybe some already have) at one point. I don't see the slightest relevance in discussing something like this. Does anyone expect her to be able to play as well technically when she's 90 as she did when she was younger?
No one can be in tip-top shape all through life. Aging is part of life. One cannot expect Argerich (or any one else for that matter) to be at her best technical prowess when compared to her younger days. Lisitsa and Wang are newcomers who are trying their best to make their niche in this competitive piano world. Though they possess great technical skills, only time can tell if they will be able sustain their popularity. Personally, I believe they both still have room to grow to be top performers. Though their playing can be dazzling and showy, it is still very much playing that focuses on the "veneer". Nevertheless, the bottom line is that such comparison is pointless.
Argerich is a fantastic artist and really communicates something deep and profound in the music she plays. I think that as she grows older, her interpretations grow even better. Wang and Lisitisa are musical, but I feel they just don't reach as deep as Argerich and all those other old masters.
Also, is this just me, or does it seem like recently there's a lot of emphasis on looks? Like Wang with her skimpy silk dresses and Lisitsa with her blonde hair blowing all over the place?? IMHO there seems to be a lot of "looks show" going on (who can make the best faces or wear the best designer clothes) and less about the actual music.
Also, is this just me, or does it seem like recently there's a lot of emphasis on looks? Like Wang with her skimpy silk dresses and Lisitsa with her blonde hair blowing all over the place?? IMHO there seems to be a lot of "looks show" going on (who can make the best faces or wear the best designer clothes) and less about the actual music.
Seems to be a lot of that these days. Not that it didn't happen before - just look at some of Argerich's early DG covers. She wasn't wearing skimpy clothes, but her smoldering sensuality came through the camera lens.
On a related note, I stumbled on this site, which some may find amusing:
Also, is this just me, or does it seem like recently there's a lot of emphasis on looks? Like Wang with her skimpy silk dresses and Lisitsa with her blonde hair blowing all over the place?? IMHO there seems to be a lot of "looks show" going on (who can make the best faces or wear the best designer clothes) and less about the actual music.
Seems to be a lot of that these days. Not that it didn't happen before - just look at some of Argerich's early DG covers. She wasn't wearing skimpy clothes, but her smoldering sensuality came through the camera lens.
On a related note, I stumbled on this site, which some may find amusing:
Yes but that I feel is different. Argerich never put looks before music and her sensuality was just something that came from inside of her strong personality.
As I said in "the other Argerich thread" where a video was posted of Wang accompanying Harrell in Brahms: If I had been an audience member and Wang had walked on stage dressed as she is in that video, I'm enough of an old fogey to have got up and walked out in disgust.
Yuja, however, possesses technique like none I've yet witnessed. I've heard thousands of pianists and for me to say that her technique blows me away, well, it's saying something.
stores, is there a particular YouTube you could recommend? I only say this because I value your input.
As for technique, well this is hard to beat:
thanks for posting that. Great technique and posture. None of that overindulgent body movement. I love the way he bounces on the keys. That is how its done.
Focusing on looks (skimpy clothes, flowing blonde hair) seems to work against these pianists! People judge them based on how they dress and somehow have a model in mind that assigns an inverse relationship between a pianist being conscious about looks and his/her talent. That's what I perceive from several of the comments made here.
Focusing on looks (skimpy clothes, flowing blonde hair) seems to work against these pianists! People judge them based on how they dress and somehow have a model in mind that assigns an inverse relationship between a pianist being conscious about looks and his/her talent. That's what I perceive from several of the comments made here.
It seems to be more of a piano phenomenon than a violin one. People seem to be more accepting of attractive violinists for some reason. (Josefowicz, Hahn, St. John, Akiko-Meyers...)
On a bit of a tangent, I think male pianists err too far in the wrong direction - ignoring dress altogether and wearing the same drab suits all the time. The French seem to be way ahead of the curve: Thibaudet, Tharaud, and Bavouzet always look pretty sharp.
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt)
I enjoy her performances of the shorter works. I do go back to watch her etude videos and also go back for some nocturnes and waltzes but never for a concerto or a sonata really. It wasn't a conscious decision that I made and I can certainly see your point. 
