IYO, Who was/is the best piano player you have heard?

[ROYC75]

Anthony Burger - Hands down!

Talent wise, there was nothing this guy couldn't play, in any style. Had severe burns on his hands as a toddler to grow up with the talent he had was truly remarkable.

So sad, he passed away too quick, here is a video for some of the younger crowd.

[The Franchise]

TheREALSNR

[seclark]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

TheREALSNR

i'd like his take.
sec

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by seclark

i'd like his take.
sec

Tough to say.

If you are talking about pure virtuosic ability, I don't think anybody can touch Yuja Wang right now. A few years ago she toured with the world's best orchestras in which she ALTERNATED between the Prokofiev 2nd, Rachmaninoff 3rd, and Bartok 2nd, which in my opinion are numbers 1, 2, and 3 in terms of the most difficult standard rep piano concertos ever composed. Until I caught her in concert with the Boston Symphony playing Prokofiev 2 in 2014, I had never witnessed that work in person. Holy ****ing shit. Worth the money to see it live. She nailed it, and that was coming fresh off her European tour, where she was (again, I say this) ALTERNATING between those three concertos between stops in various cities.

Just check out 6:00 - 10:00 of this video, which covers most of the 1st movement cadenza. And I'd be lying to you if I said that at least Prokofiev gives the player a break in the rest of the concerto. He doesn't.



I think I have to second Pawnmower when he talks about just how damn good Glenn Gould was. The world isn't going to see another pianist like him for a long time-- a guy whose interpretive genius and creativity WAS a part of his ability. Listen to anybody else play a piece by ANY composer. Can you guess who's doing it without looking? Nearly anybody who has ever listened to a Glenn Gould recording can identify him just by his style and sound. We have yet to see another performing artist accomplish something like that in the entire history of audio recording, in my opinion. MAYBE Vladimir Horowitz could do that, but that depends on what you would be hearing him play.

I think Marc-Andre Hamelin is the best all-around player, and he makes a strong case as the greatest pianist to ever live. Not only can he perform the insanely difficult virtuosic works in such a way that makes you drop your jaw, but he's also a goddamn genius in understanding HOW music is put together. I don't think there's anybody out there more successful than him at just taking any written piece of music, no matter what it is, learning it, and performing it better than a few recording artists who spend entire years milking out performances and concertizing that one specific composer, style, or even specific work. He's not a usual big-name label deal pianist who comes out with a CD once every 3-4 years of the stuff from your average professional. He comes out every 1-2 years with recordings from MULTIPLE worldwide labels of all kinds of eclectic, hard-to-interpret, hard-to-play works. He's just the best at everything.

Oh, and he's also one of those reerunedly smart people. He's practically a savant. The greatest musical experience I've ever witnessed in person was going to Toronto in the summer one year. He did a series of 7 recitals (one each day) that covered all of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas. I managed to get tickets to see him play Op. 31 No. 3 and Hammerklavier on the same friggin concert.

Oh, and did I mention he did them memorized? And they were both the best performances, recorded or otherwise, that I've ever heard of those two pieces?

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

TheREALSNR

I don't do as much performing as I did 5-10 years ago. I'm still active with it, but I've really let my practice habits go down the tubes.

That being said, I'm looking at some of the responses people have given, and I can say for certain that yes, I could blow the doors off of close to half of these jokers in my sleep.

Get some better music tastes, people. You have no ****ing clue what greatness is.

[scho63]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

I don't do as much performing as I did 5-10 years ago. I'm still active with it, but I've really let my practice habits go down the tubes.

Get some better music tastes, people. You have no ****ing clue what greatness is.

Damn you are really down with the cause!

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Get some better music tastes, people. You have no ****ing clue what greatness is.

Sure we do. Just depends on how you define greatness. Apples to apples. No doubt classical is the hardest to play BUT can these classical geniuses put the 'Funk, R&B, R&R, Jazz feel into these type of genres as good as a Jerry Lee, Leon Russell, Hancock,Monk, Preston, Dr. John,etc.... who knows ? As it is said about paintings and can be said about music as well, "Beauty is in the eye/ear of the beholder".

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Chiefshrink

Sure we do. Just depends on how you define greatness. Apples to apples. No doubt classical is the hardest to play BUT can these classical geniuses put the 'Funk, R&B, R&R, Jazz feel into these type of genres as good as a Jerry Lee, Leon Russell, Hancock,Monk, Preston, Dr. John,etc.... who knows ? As it is said about paintings and can be said about music as well, "Beauty is in the eye/ear of the beholder".

Jazz is a genre unto itself. I wouldn't claim any of them can play jazz as well as Thelonius Monk. Most of that, however, is due to Monk's improvisation ability. Style replication? If Marc Andre Hamelin sets his mind to it, he could absolutely replicate style. Just look at what Keith Jarrett accomplished when he "switched" to jazz midway through his career having zero experience with the genre previously. It's all about habits and intent.

And Jerry Lee Lewis? You're going to tell me a classically trained pianist couldn't replicate what Lewis did on the piano down to the tiniest style detail? Please.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" refers to preferences. What I'm talking about is greatness of expression.

And no, it's not just about classical vs. pop, either. Ben Folds could easily have been a classical recording artist. He's not as good as Hamelin or Wang, but he's undeniably great.

Being classically trained doesn't mean you can only play old dead guys. It means you possess the technique and the knowledge of potential ability to play almost anything written on a grand staff. And yes, those players CAN improvise as well. They're not exclusively dependent on sheet music to play.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Being classically trained doesn't mean you can only play old dead guys. It means you possess the technique and the knowledge of potential ability to play almost anything written on a grand staff. And yes, those players CAN improvise as well. They're not exclusively dependent on sheet music to play.

...

[srvy]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Jazz is a genre unto itself. I wouldn't claim any of them can play jazz as well as Thelonius Monk. Most of that, however, is due to Monk's improvisation ability. Style replication? If Marc Andre Hamelin sets his mind to it, he could absolutely replicate style. Just look at what Keith Jarrett accomplished when he "switched" to jazz midway through his career having zero experience with the genre previously. It's all about habits and intent.

And Jerry Lee Lewis? You're going to tell me a classically trained pianist couldn't replicate what Lewis did on the piano down to the tiniest style detail? Please.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" refers to preferences. What I'm talking about is greatness of expression.

And no, it's not just about classical vs. pop, either. Ben Folds could easily have been a classical recording artist. He's not as good as Hamelin or Wang, but he's undeniably great.

Being classically trained doesn't mean you can only play old dead guys. It means you possess the technique and the knowledge of potential ability to play almost anything written on a grand staff. And yes, those players CAN improvise as well. They're not exclusively dependent on sheet music to play.

But can they write a song or arrangement someone wants to listen to. That to me takes more musical genius than technical ability IMO.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Chiefshrink

Sure we do. Just depends on how you define greatness. Apples to apples. No doubt classical is the hardest to play BUT can these classical geniuses put the 'Funk, R&B, R&R, Jazz feel into these type of genres as good as a Jerry Lee, Leon Russell, Hancock,Monk, Preston, Dr. John,etc.... who knows ? As it is said about paintings and can be said about music as well, "Beauty is in the eye/ear of the beholder".

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

That being said, I'm looking at some of the responses people have given, and I can say for certain that yes, I could blow the doors off of close to half of these jokers in my sleep.

Me, too and it's my 3rd or 4th instrument.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Me, too and it's my 3rd or 4th instrument.

Yeah?! Well maybe so, but can you write songs that people like to listen to?!!?!

Oh, wait... nevermind.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Yeah?! Well maybe so, but how good can you write music that people like to listen to?!!?!

Oh, wait... nevermind.

[carcosa]

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