My Top 10 classical music pianists

[AnotherSpin]

The recording that has literaly made me fall in love with her was Rachmaninov 3rd piano concert from this album (..)

 

This is my favorite Rachmaninov 3rd, and I have at least 20 of different recordings of this concerto, from maestro himself to some current versions.

[AnotherSpin]

I don't think I'd be able to choose 10 pianists, maybe my favourite pianist for a particular musical piece.

 

I listen more to Moravec than any other pianist but my grandfather was a huge fan of Arrau and I grew up listening to some of his recordings. I love his take on Chopin's PCs, his solo Liszt. I also enjoy Michelangeli's Debussy, Beethoven PC5 or Schumann's PC. Hough's Rachmaninov PCs set, Kocsis anything Rach (I love Rach), Jando playing Liszt solo, Sudbin's Scriabin...

 

R

+1 for Sudbin

[AnotherSpin]

And by this criteria, surely Sviatoslav Richter is the greatest. He was at home playing Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt. He does have a characteristic hypnotic sound, but he has other tricks up his sleeve. He is loyal to the intent of the composer, but sometimes departs quite markedly from what others are doing. And, many of his recordings are either the definitive version, or close to it.

 

Richter was very interesting figure. As one of the best examples, of not the very best, of how NOT to interpret great music. Just because he never played Mozart or Beethoven, or Bach, he was playing himself, Svyatoslav Richter. Imho, of course.

[christopher3393]

No Lang Lang?

[sphinxsix]

No Lang Lang?

Who is this guy No Lang Lang.?

[accwai]

No Lang Lang?

 

Lame. Yuja Wang is *so* much more awesome

[astrotoy]

Lame. Yuja Wang is *so* much more awesome

 

Especially in person.

[astrotoy]

Lang Lang is a special pianist. Unfortunately his public persona is too much like Liberace, which detracts from his artistry. We saw him in a concert in Hong Kong, where he performed in a basketball arena - with orchestra all miked. The worst place to do a concert. It was big enough to meet the demand to see him.

 

Yuja Wang we heard first with the SF Symphony as she was a protege of Michael Tilson-Thomas and still performs there regularly. An awesome technical talent, she played the most difficult pieces with ease (Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff concerti). She is maturing as an artist to a broader repertoire. Some find that her extreme costumes when playing can be distracting. Google her images and you can see what I am talking about.

 

As China becomes more westernized, with Lang Lang, Yuja Wang and Yundi as role models, there are a very large number of young Chinese who are learning piano (and other western instruments.) We're already seeing some amazing talents emerging, and I predict that we will see many, many more. If you look at the enrollments at Julliard, the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music and many other top conservatories around the world, the number of Asian students is impressive.

 

A few other outstanding pianists we've heard live that I neglected in my first post.

 

We heard Yefim Bronfman last year, part of a series where he played all of the Prokofiev piano sonatas. Truly a bear of a man, he is a gifted artist.

 

Arcadi Volodos we heard first a decade or more ago in an all Liszt concert. He did like Horowitz (I believe his idol) some arrangements where he made the already impossibly difficult Liszt pieces even more difficult. A spectacular pianist.

 

Heard Vladimir Ashkenazy in his prime - in 1985. Since then, in the last decade or so, we've only hear him conduct quite regularly - the Philharmonia Orchestra - in London.

 

Heard Daniel Barenboim last year, part of a series of concerts where he played the new "Barenboim" piano doing the Schubert sonatas. Unfortunately our tickets were way back in Royal Festival Hall - terrible sonics from that distance - very difficult to hear the subtleties of his playing. Never got to hear him in his prime.

 

Larry

[Musicophile]

No Lang Lang?

I've previously written about Lang Lang: https://musicophilesblog.com/2015/11/08/hype-vs-hype-lang-lang-vs-benjamin-grosvenor/

 

You'll find that my opinion isn't very positive.

[lfs]

Besides many of the names already mentioned, Géza Anda would also make my list.

[semente]

Lame. Yuja Wang is *so* much more awesome

I've listened to her play live.

[christopher3393]

I've listened to her play live.

 

What were your impressions? My own novice response has been mixed: extraordinary skills, but some pieces seem to be played in order to spotlight these skills. She is interesting to watch on video.

[semente]

What were your impressions? My own novice response has been mixed: extraordinary skills, but some pieces seem to be played in order to spotlight these skills. She is interesting to watch on video.

 

My opinion is similar to yours: I found her spectacular in a show off kind of way but not really moving.

I think she played one of Prokofiev's PCs and Tchaikovsky's.

 

R

[christopher3393]

I would like to suggest Nelson Freire.

 

"In the age when overt showmanship reaps big rewards and grabs lots of attention, the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire offers a gentle reminder that decorous piano playing and interpretive depth have an irresistible power all their own.”---The New York Times

[Musicophile]

I would like to suggest Nelson Freire.

 

"In the age when overt showmanship reaps big rewards and grabs lots of attention, the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire offers a gentle reminder that decorous piano playing and interpretive depth have an irresistible power all their own.”---The New York Times

 

He's excellent. His Brahms concertos with Chailly are among the best modern recordings of these works.

[Keith_W]

I would like to suggest Nelson Freire.

 

"In the age when overt showmanship reaps big rewards and grabs lots of attention, the Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire offers a gentle reminder that decorous piano playing and interpretive depth have an irresistible power all their own.”---The New York Times

 

Yes, I agree. I walked into a shop once and the proprietor had him on. I stopped, heard the dulcet tones, and asked - "is that Nelson Freire?". Shopkeeper was surprised. I was right!

[Musicophile]

My opinion is similar to yours: I found her spectacular in a show off kind of way but not really moving.

I think she played one of Prokofiev's PCs and Tchaikovsky's.

 

R

 

Same here. I'm not yet convinced of what I've heard from her so far.

 

Yundi Li (I think he has dropped the Li by now) is to me the most interesting of the young Chinese generation.

 

That said, thanks to Lang Lang et al, China is finally really getting interested in Western classical music.

[semente]

I've not listened to Yundi Li live or recorded.

I listened to Sa Chen live, whose playing was more engaging than Yuja Wang's, and went on to buy the CD that they made from that week's sessions.

 

I've not had the opportunity to listen to many "famous" pianists live.

My tiny list consists just 4 names: Aimard (didn't enjoy his mannerisms), Lupo, Pires and Pizarro.

But luckily I have been listening to live recitals on a near-weekly basis of lesser know but solid performers for the past couple of years...

 

R

[Musicophile]

I've not listened to Yundi Li live or recorded.

I listened to Sa Chen live, whose playing was more engaging than Yuja Wang's, and went on to buy the CD that they made from that week's sessions.

 

I've not had the opportunity to listen to many "famous" pianists live.

My tiny list consists just 4 names: Aimard (didn't enjoy his mannerisms), Lupo, Pires and Pizarro.

But luckily I have been listening to live recitals on a near-weekly basis of lesser know but solid performers for the past couple of years...

 

R

 

I suggest you give this album a try: not the best version of the Scherzi ever, but better and more interesting than anything I've ever heard from Lang Lang.

 

http://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/chopin-scherzi-impromtus-yundi-li/0002894794191

[Iain]

What criteria did you use to make your list? For me, the criteria should be:

 

- not a specialist. e.g. some people specialize in Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, or Chopin.

- is versatile with different composers

- does not impose too much of their own personality or eccentricities into the interpretation, such that music by different composers sound more like the pianist than the composer

- has interpretations that are consistently judged to be either the pinnacle or close to it

 

...

I don't have a problem of your list of criteria for bog standard 19th c. piano works, but moving into 20th c. composers the difficulties of performing piano works of Ravel or Debussy such as the Gaspard, or Preludes (both books), requires a specialist. Using that criteria, my preferences are:

• Vincent Larderet
  
• Abdel Rahman El Bacha
  

... for Ravel

 

• Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
  

... for Debussy.

 

These are all 21 c. pianists who generally have better techniques and better recording sound quality, because all of their recordings have been made within the past 10 years.

 

And by this criteria, surely Sviatoslav Richter is the greatest. He was at home playing Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Chopin, Schubert, and Liszt. He does have a characteristic hypnotic sound, but he has other tricks up his sleeve. He is loyal to the intent of the composer, but sometimes departs quite markedly from what others are doing. And, many of his recordings are either the definitive version, or close to it.

 

...

BTW, I'm looking for recent recording of Liszt and Satie. Any recommendations for pianists who play these works on recent recordings?

[Musicophile]

I don't have a problem of your list of criteria for bog standard 19th c. piano works, but moving into 20th c. composers the difficulties of performing piano works of Ravel or Debussy such as the Gaspard, or Preludes (both books), requires a specialist. Using that criteria, my preferences are:

• Vincent Larderet
  
• Abdel Rahman El Bacha
  

... for Ravel

 

• Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
  

... for Debussy.

 

These are all 21 c. pianists who generally have better techniques and better recording sound quality, because all of their recordings have been made within the past 10 years.

 

 

BTW, I'm looking for recent recording of Liszt and Satie. Any recommendations for pianists who play these works on recent recordings?

 

+1 on Bavouzet for Debussy. (https://musicophilesblog.com/2015/07/26/321/).

 

For Liszt, the very recent Trifonov recording of the Etudes Transcedentales got good reviews. I have it on my "to do" list.

[Snowmonkey]

Speaking of up and coming Chinese pianists, I am most impressed by Han Chen. I picked up his album of Liszt Opera Transcriptions on spec a few months ago and I find myself coming back to it again and again.

[Jud]

As many already know, I think if Gould had done nothing but the first Goldberg recording, I would feel he deserved a place on my list just for that. The moment I first heard it, it just sounded completely right to me, the way this music should - must - be played. Of course I recognize others have very different reactions.

 

Glad others mentioned Goode's Beethoven, as I was going to, and I too feel Grosvenor is an up and coming young talent. I like Sudbin as well.

 

Someone else I'm interested in is David Fray.

 

Levit is an interesting case. His talent is undeniable, and I think his Beethoven is excellent. His Bach felt mechanical to me, however, so I'm taking a wait and see attitude.

[EuroChamp]

If you're interested, I just published a new post on my blog:

 

https://musicophilesblog.com/2016/10/18/musicophiles-top-10-all-time-favorite-classical-pianists/

 

Of course I read your blog. Finally I tried to make my own top 10 list, what - in fact - is not easy and highly subjective.

 

Top 10 in random order:

Alfred Brendel

Artur Schnabel

Claudio Arrau

Daniil Trifonov

Martha Argerich

Glenn Gould

Murray Perahia

Wilhelm Kempff

Sviatoslav Richter

Vladimir Horowitz

 

And I rate these names on top too. But only 10 where allowed:

Yevgeny Sudbin

Kristian Bezuidenhout

Michael Korstick

Emil Gilels

Peter Rösel

Ronald Brautigam

Mitsuko Uchida

[Musicophile]

Of course I read your blog. Finally I tried to make my own top 10 list, what - in fact - is not easy and highly subjective.

 

It's tricky, isn't it? I probably should have made it a top 15 or 20. Nice list by the way!