Thread: Great Living Pianists

Originally Posted by moody

I find it bizarre that a pianist becomes great by recording a lot of Liszt---he's got a long way to go.

Yes, if it were that simple you would be right. He didn't simply record a lot of Liszt, the quality of Howard's entire cycle is great. Also, he's still alive, people like Busoni or Kraus are a bit challenged in that regard.

I think being a great pianist goes further then just fantastic playing. People like Hamelin or (the sadly deceased) John Ogdon are/were also actively popularizing forgotten composers, or at least attempting to. Argerich is justly famous for her interpretations.

Originally Posted by mensch

Yes, if it were that simple you would be right. He didn't simply record a lot of Liszt, the quality of Howard's entire cycle is great.

I disagree with this. I think that the quality of the cycle overall is very average - from bad to good, but very rarely great. I respect the man as much as any pianist and he has done a great service to Liszt, but I don't think he is a great pianist.

I think it would be wrong to nominate pianists that you haven't heard live. Can we scrap all those?

Now that's just dumb. Do I also have to remove Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau from my list of "great" singers because I've never heard them perform live?

Originally Posted by Rasa

I think it would be wrong to nominate pianists that you haven't heard live. Can we scrap all those?

No. Rubes get to have their say.

Originally Posted by opus55

Brendel.. but he retired, right?

He has retired for sure; he may have passed away by now.

(Side note: I am studying with a student of Brendel! It is an amazing feeling, to be Brendel's grand-student!)

^ Nevermind, he is still alive. But I think that he has retired.

Among the living pianists that I have the most... and most played recordings I would count:

Alfred Brendel
Claudio Arrau
Murray Perahia
Maurizio Pollini
Angela Hewitt
András Schiff
Van Cliburn
Martha Argerich
Stephen Hough
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Krystian Zimmerman
Stephen Kovacevich
Grigori Sokolov
Mitsuko Uchida
Pascal Rogé
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Radu Lupu

It really comes down to the repertoire being performed/recorded. And in many instances, my first choice for a given composer or work is not one of these living pianists but rather one of the "greats" of the past:

Glenn Gould
Georges Cziffra
Walter Gieseking
Emil Gilels
Vladimir Horowitz
Friedrich Gulda
Wilhelm Kempff
Alicia de Larrocha
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Sviatoslav Richter
Rosalyn Tureck
Earl Wild
Arthur Rubinstein
Artur Schnabel
Rudolf Serkin
Vladimir Sofronitsky
Solomon
Alexis Weissenberg
Dinu Lipatti
Leon Fleisher... etc...

^ That was a very good list.

Originally Posted by CarterJohnsonPiano

^ That was a very good list.

But not significantly selective.

Originally Posted by Hilltroll72

But not significantly selective.

No, rather, it was fairly exhaustive. But it will be a good reference for others to choose from.

Among the deceased, these haven´t been mentioned though:

Maria Yudina
William Kapell
Ernst Levy
Ignaz Friedman
Bruce Hungerford
Jean Doyen
Tatiana Nikoleyeva
Beveridge Webster
Samuil Feinberg

Among the living, thinkers like:
Ivan Moravec
Anton Kuerti

Originally Posted by Rasa

I think it would be wrong to nominate pianists that you haven't heard live. Can we scrap all those?

I don't know who you are aiming this at,but if it's me these were examples and I never did get to see some of them. but the question is about pianists of today.
I 'm not sure there are any great ones,but as has been said Argerich may well qualify.

Originally Posted by CarterJohnsonPiano

^ That was a very good list.

Yes we live on blooming lists here,we have lists for every occasion and some non-occasions.

Originally Posted by StlukesguildOhio

I think it would be wrong to nominate pianists that you haven't heard live. Can we scrap all those?

Now that's just dumb. Do I also have to remove Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau from my list of "great" singers because I've never heard them perform live?

Absolutely. Judging the quality of a preformer you haven't heard life is out of the question.

And for the love of god, learn to use quotes.

Originally Posted by Rasa

Absolutely. Judging the quality of a preformer you haven't heard life is out of the question.

And for the love of god, learn to use quotes.

Well,I think you are wrong--it would be preferable but in many cases impossible,ie I think Rachmaninoff was a wonderful pianist but only from recordings and piano rolls.