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Supposedly this is the piece that brought Pogo down in 1980. Did Argerich say he was a genius or unique? She said it in French so the translation has been spun through the years.
I don't think Argerich would leave the jury in protest had she thought Pogorelich was just "unique". His performances at the ICC were absolutely extraordinary in my opinion and I presume that Martha felt the same way.
As far as "the piece that brought Pogo down" - I don't think there was one. I think it was collectively how he presented himself. His unorthodox playing, his hair, the chair, his seemingly snobby attitude, the gum chewing, etc.. none of that phases me. In fact, I love it. But for whatever reason the jury just couldn't see past it I guess. A shame if you ask me.
I found myself in agreement with my teacher when we discussed Pogorelich's playing some weeks ago - some sort of manual abilities are there for sure, but his artistry is fake and cheap. On top of that I find him more or less an arrogant narcissist. I can't remember last time I heard a record of his without having an urge to turn it off soon, and I can't remember seeing an interview with him where I haven't felt the same. He plays a somewhat central role in a movie I saw on competitions recently, and my god, it's just hilarious to watch this entire movie full of humble musicians and human beings who like everyone else have had more and less successful competitions and one douchebag that totally thinks that it was his right to win the Chopin competition. His narcissism comes out rather well in his playing. Also, I find it really annoying that he started this false tradition of making Scarbo into a Prokofiev Toccata with no respect for dynamics, details and articulations from the composer. And rarely a dynamic below forte, for a piece that's, to a great extent, in the p - ppp area.
How could the performance of one prelude be of any significance in terms of the result for the Chopin competition? I also don't see anything very unusual about that particular performance except for the horrendous sound quality.
Pogo is a hit-and-miss musician for me. Most of his recent stuff is miss, unfortunately. His tempi are horrendously dragged out to the point where the music loses all direction and momentum (and this is coming from someone who likes most of Leonard Bernstein's late recordings). Some of the worse selections available on youtube include the 50-minute reading of the Liszt sonata, the 10 minute recording of Ravel's Ondine, 16-minute performance of Mephisto Waltz no. 1 (and he is reading from the score in this performance).
But before he went completely crazy musically, he recorded a lot of absolutely brilliant stuff. His Beethoven 111 for DG is brilliant, I love his Chopin preludes, his earlier recordings of Gaspard and his Pictures at an Exhibition for DG.
Pogo is a hit-and-miss musician for me. Most of his recent stuff is miss, unfortunately. His tempi are horrendously dragged out to the point where the music loses all direction and momentum (and this is coming from someone who likes most of Leonard Bernstein's late recordings). Some of the worse selections available on youtube include the 50-minute reading of the Liszt sonata, the 10 minute recording of Ravel's Ondine, 16-minute performance of Mephisto Waltz no. 1 (and he is reading from the score in this performance).
But before he went completely crazy musically, he recorded a lot of absolutely brilliant stuff. His Beethoven 111 for DG is brilliant, I love his Chopin preludes, his earlier recordings of Gaspard and his Pictures at an Exhibition for DG.
I agree with most if not all of this. His playing has gone down hill for me. But I do think he still has a lot of good recordings out there. All of his ICC footage, and a few of his albums from the early 80's are worth buying in my opinion.
His preludes album is.. dare I say.. a perfect album? (for me at least)
I didn't know if there was a "piece" that brought him down, but I think he was truly "unstoppable" and on his way to being one of the legends on par with the legends that came a generation and a couple generations before him. It breaks my heart so much what has happened to him and his playing recently.
Pogo's early Gaspard would be my hands down favorite if Samson Francois had never existed. His Chopin Third Sonata is my absolute favorite. His recent recordings and performances, though, are utter garbage.
I don't know what it is about the Japan 1983 recording but there is a certain intensity in him that is hard to describe. The closeups of his face at times show him so immersed in the music it's spellbinding. It's like it's the last time he'll ever play the piano or something. The stage is so bare too - like it's the last concert of the world. The performance has a few slip ups and the audio/video quality is poor, but it's my favourite of his just because of the intensity of his demeanor. Very haunting. Maybe it's only me, but it has a weird effect on me.
I love Ego Pickelrelish' Gaspard, and find it inspiring. At the same time, I don't think he evokes the meaning behind the poetry at all. But, it is still thrilling playing.
Ivo hit too many wrong notes for me to overlook during his performances in 1980. It's just that simple. Since then I have admired much of what he has done.
If narcissism were a legitimate criterion in finding for or against a pianist, our ranks would be thin, indeed.
The contrast of his early DG recordings and the latest youtube debacles is certainly the most extreme drop-off in quality from a musician I've ever heard.
Having just now listened to the recording, I would say there is simply too much percussive pounding at too many points in the Prelude. Although I'm sure he saw it as giving full vent to the passionate aspect of the piece, for me his approach actually diminshes the full potential of passionate expression. It comes across more like Bartok than Chopin in this performance, and I certainly wouldn't have given a prize based on this.
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