Get a load of this thing they say in their e-mail blurb about an upcoming "Keyboard Virtuosos" series:

....It’s not to be missed, with the distinctive Murray Perahia and the inquisitive Jeremy Denk, the charismatic Piotr Anderszewski and profound Maurizio Pollini, and last but not least, the pyrotechnic Yuja Wang.

I wonder how many hours of committee meetings it took for them to come up with those. Or maybe they just entrusted it to some intern who's an English major....

Question is, which of those artists is most annoyed with his/her adjective? I'm guessing Murray and Yuja. Denk's is all right; Pollini's is the best.

-J

Well said!
And Pollini is probably thinking that somehow they confused him with Schnabel or somebody.

I don't know, I'd be pretty pleased with being described as "pyrotechnic"!

Me too... But I bet that if we really were pyrotechnic concert artists, we wouldn't be.

-J

Absolutely!

If you're pyrotechnic, you want to be thought of as....uh......profound!

Better profound than prolost! I mean, obviously deep is not deep enough. It is so... ummm... ordinary...

WOW,

I'm Greek but I can honestly say that this is the best, most awesome, pyrotechnic, with elaborate meanings and distinctive language email blurb ever!

Well done Carnegie Hall people! Very well done!

Miss Wang certainly set off some firewworks at the Hollywood Bowl last year.

Y'know, I was so into laughing at the adjectives that something sort of escaped my notice at first: Pollini is playing in New York this season (yeah, the same Pollini who for a few minutes according to the 'breaking news' on our site last spring was no longer with us). Anyway I immediately went and got tickets for it.

So, stupid adjectives or no stupid adjectives, their e-mail worked.

Last time I heard the pyrotechnic Pollini play in London, he was profound in Beethoven's Op.111, inquisitive in Nono, charismatic in Chopin and distinctive in Stockhausen.

I think that's everything covered...

Sounds like a used car salesman trying to distract you from noticing the brakes don't work...

I will say, however, that from what I have heard, Yuja Wang is spectacular. I posted in a recently closed thread (on an entirely unrelated and offensive subject) that I wish she took requests..

Does that mean Yuja Wang will spontaneously combust on stage?

Or that Jeremy Denk will start randomly asking questions?

...or that Piotr Anderszewski will win an election...

It means the alliterative Lang Lang, the hirsute Garrick Ohlsson, and the unpronounceable Leif Ove Andsnes will be disconsolate at not being mentioned in the same company as these distinguished other artists. Meanwhile, unreliable Yundi Li will be deeply saddened at not even being invited to appear at illustrious and legendary Carnegie Hall.

Cut it out, you guys are killing me!

I mean it!!

If I don't post for the next few days, it means I died laughing.

Very useful when writing an article about the Carnegie Hall

i liked it.

6 months later, finally today's the day.

Program

CHOPIN Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45
CHOPIN Ballade in F Major, Op. 38
CHOPIN Ballade in A-flat Major, Op. 47
CHOPIN Four Mazurkas, Op. 33
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39
DEBUSSY Préludes, Book I

Enjoy!! Though he is not among the few pianists closest to my heart, I nevertheless have deep respect and admiration for him and would never miss the chance to hear him play. I attended two of his recitals in Switzerland in recent years, in Basel with Beethoven/Chopin and in Lucerne with Chopin & Boulez 2nd sonata. In Lucerne we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam and were a couple of minutes late, so we had to watch the first half of his recital, the Chopin 24 Préludes, from the little movie theater they have outside for people with poor time management skills like us...what painful experience not to be in the hall. But the Boulez sonata was simply awesome (and btw, believe me, that page turner was a hero, too ). Boulez was present, and Pollini, after the recital, in a wonderfully modest gesture, called him up on stage, first stood next to him in the applause, and then -- went a couple of steps back to leave Boulez in the front. What a wonderful gesture! My girlfriend at that time had him sign 8 or 9 CDs after the recital, and he was very patient and smiling when she handed over the pile of CDs to him

In German, there is the word "altersmilde" of which I don't know a translation. It roughly means people getting less fierce at higher age, conveying a feeling of being reconciled with the whole universe, no more tensions, etc... I got that impression a bit with Brendel at the last recital of his that I saw. With Pollini, my impression is quite the opposite, at age 70 he seems to have quite some fierce energy...after the Basel program I thought he would give some slow/quiet encore, but instead he played a number of etudes (including 10/4 and 10/12) and Prélude 24...very memorable!

... or, perhaps, a psychology major! (double- )

Cheers!

Many people are happy to see Pollini back on stage after a year of many cancellations. I am seeing his Beethoven recital in May at CH.


Speaking of superlatives, Mitsuko Uchida gave probably one of the most exquisite Waldszenen ever, juxtaposed to Schoenberg's Op 19; at Carnegie Hall earlier this week .

Mark, please tell us about the recital!! How was it? He is an unbelievable pianist and musician!

Thanks for asking, OSK! We're talking about it in detail on another thread. This is my main post on it but there's lots more there.