“Who are pianists that you think more people should know about?”
“Who are pianists that you think more people should know about?”
Optional: Post a video of their playing so that we can hear!
154 replies
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I have to put in a good word for my all-time favorite pianist, Constance Keene (1921-2005). She did not record an awful lot but what she has out there is just impossibly beautiful, moving & breathtaking.
Here is what Rubinstein himself said about her recording of the Rachmaninoff Preludes [which is my all-time favorite classical record ]:
"I cannot imagine anybody, including Rachmaninoff himself, playing the preludes more beautifully. I was flabbergasted by the fantastic sweep, color, tone and last but not least, the incredible technique. "
Well said, Artur! She did not have a big stage career, but was well known to the pianists of her generation.. She taught at the Manhattan School and I noticed she was the teacher of Tonebase's own Magdalena Stern-Bazcewska (lucky lady!). Among her other students was Peter Nero,, who himself is a fantastic player with an incredible technique, though you'd never know it from his heavily-orchestrated pop music hit records. I have an amazing 1950's recording of him playing a jazz version of Cole Porter's "It's Alright with Me", with his left hand playing the running riff from Appasionata Mvt. III as an accompaniment. I've always wondered whether he worked with Ms. Keene on any of that kind of stuff.
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I would add two names, Seta Tanyel and Anton Yashkin. In exploring Moszkowski’s music, I came across Seta Tanyel’s recording and her beautiful and engaging playing. I heard Anton Yashkin in YouTube recordings of the last Tchaikovsky competition. He won the 9th Liszt competition prior to that. His playing was both technically flawless but also sonorous and beautiful without becoming too emotional. Enjoy!
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I would like to introduce Simon Barere and Alexei Sultanov. Incredible technique and tragic life stories. The Barere 1934/36 HMV recordings are brilliant.
Sultanov's Mephisto Waltz No 1 By Liszt (Live recording at St Petersburg 1989) is also outstanding. Please check them out.
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This may also be a good space to remember the great André Watts who died yesterday (07/12/23).
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Oh, no! What a tragedy. A great loss.
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Although not strictly a pianist, I really adore the piano works by Leoš Janáček and I think he's criminally underrated! A sound which definitely paved the way for modern composers like Steve Reich and Max Richter.
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Gyorgy Sebok - my teacher encouraged me to find recordings of him to watch the way he played. Perhaps others already know of him, but he is new to me (and my son). I particularly enjoyed watching some of the master class clips I found.
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Grace Fong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPRCeHr8mbI
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I would like to submit 2. 1) William Kapell https://www.thepianofiles.com/william-kapell-at-100/ and Pletnov
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Ignaz Friedman a Polish Pianist from the early 20th Century whose performances of the Mazurkas are unforgettable and whose performance of this NOcturne Op 55 No 2 is indescribably beautiful - every entry of the repetitive melody minutely different, a wonderful integration and expressivity of the decoration which never gets in the way, the music always propelled forward and a melodic strength and personality which shines through. But it goes beyond personal expression 'I'm being emotional here,folks' to greater heights something more universal. Interesting how, although one admires it beyond limit, no one could dare to try to play like this now for fear of the 'purists' criticism or for being accused of imitation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMBlacGenp4