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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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Michelle R thanks for sharing this lovely recording! My last teacher, Daniel Schene, with whom I studied in St. Louis for several years, had been a student of György Sebök in Bloomington, Indiana. Although Prof. Schene had had other great teachers (Rebecca Penneys and Enrica Cavallo-Gulli among them), Sebök was the one of whom he conveyed the most words of wisdom to me, by far. He was ever-present in our lessons. There is a wonderful little book by Barbara Alex ("György Sebök - Words from a Master"), available at http://www.carpediembooks.com/books/, which contains a veritable treasure trove of quotes by him regarding many different aspects of music and piano playing, as well as an Introduction by Ms. Alex containing a brief overview of Sebök's life and personal memories of his work with her and with other students.
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Alexander Weymann Mr. Sebok is mentioned quite often in Jeremy Denk's autobiography that came out about a year ago. Have you read it? I'll get the book you suggested!
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Alexander Weymann Thanks for the book recommendation. Some of my teacher's teachers were students of György Sebök, so we're probably related distantly through piano teachers!
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Michelle R sounds like second cousins to me!
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Gail Starr it's on my bookshelf, and I have started it but not finished yet - not because I didn't like it (I do like it a lot), but because I'm terrible about finishing books. I just took it out again and will read it to the end this time!
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Alexander Weymann Looks like it is not for sale anywhere except AbeBooks...and they want $204.00 for it, LOL! I'll see if our local university can get it for me. I couldn't purchase on the CarpeDiem site for some strange reason, either.
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Alexander Weymann You are too busy to finish books, Alex!
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Alexander Weymann Yes, I think we must be at least second cousins! (Rebecca Penneys was my teacher's principal teacher at Eastman, so there's another point of intersection.) So, what I'm hearing is that based on my teacher's pedigree I should eventually be at least half as good as you are now.
I'll take that!! -
Gail Starr
that's too bad! I always go straight to the publisher's website when recommending a book and providing a link, but I did look at Amazon, too, and was surprised to see only one copy offered are roughly 150.-. I guess I was lucky to get mine at a small fraction of that price a decade or so ago. Hope you'll find it at your university, as you say - it is a lovely book, except for the author's annoying habit of presenting many of the quotes in weird, fanciful fonts and spacings. -
Michelle R that is super interesting! How remarkable.
I like your arithmetic - ours is a good and proud pedigree. I'm sure you'll grow into a wonderful artist at the piano; we all have heard the evidence that you're well on your way. -
Alexander Weymann Thank you, Alex. The encouragement from all our Tonebase friends is super helpful, too!
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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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Gail Thiele Agree. Mikhail Pletnev is a musician who brings wonderfully unexpected ideas -- the opening to Beethoven's fourth concerto, for example, is completely unlike anyone else's I've ever heard.
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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
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Nigel Rogers Yes! Horowitz greatly admired Friedman and Friedman's way with the Mazurkas clearly influenced Horowitz.
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Nigel Rogers Jeremy Denk talks about Friedman in his book, Every Good Boy Does Fine--which is a terrific book, by the way. Denk's exuberant love for music is completely infectious. (If only one could 'catch' talent and insight as easily as a virus....)
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Vicky Brandt Yes I loved the Denk book and his whole approach which has so much insight into the music and its structure and as you say showing where the music leads (I felt the same thing in listening to Bernstein talking about structure). His videos where he plays and analyses some of his favourite preludes and fugues from WTC throw light at a detailed level just how extraordinary each piece is, and his playing dances exuberantly. Perhaps he's a pianist more should listen to, too, although (speaking from UK) I don't know how well known he is in the States now. https://www.youtube.com/live/7nMPRuvVi20?si=3jKszCFxcZQoioxn
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Nigel Rogers I think Denk is better known in the US for being an engaging writer and for having won a MacArthur 'genius' grant. He seems to be like Moravec and Sebok in caring more about music itself than about fame (which I applaud). And not all his performances have been flawless--there's a recording of his recital of Bach partitas at Oxford in autumn 2023 in which he flubs the final gigue, which is something you wouldn't really see Sokolov or such doing. Yet I treasure his performances for the way I see him thinking through the music, for his imaginative resources, and his sheer joy in beauty. I wish that our recording culture hadn't made it so difficult for audiences to realize just how rare and hard-won perfection [sic] is...
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Nigel Rogers I think a problem of the recording culture is that it has made surface perfection an obligatory requirement which has led to few daring to be more adventurous or exploratory of the music.. I think that's what I meant when I wrote that however good one thinks Friedman is, one could never 'get away with' trying to play like him (even if one could manage it!) nowadays.
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Sorry the Friedman Nocturne Op 55 is this one: https://youtu.be/Wqp4JpvNxaw?si=vEmqQ50S461zUjH3 apologies, Nigel
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Nigel Rogers Such freedom of tempo and dynamics, but always meticulously shaped with the longer line in view. Reminds me of Maria Joao Pires in that regard (her imaginative freedom).
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Gail Thiele A tip: it's Pletnev with an e in the second syllable, rather than an o. (Nev, rather than nov.)
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