In the vein of my last post What is a musician supposed to look like?, I’ll tell you here an other story, but this time the story didn’t take place in a neutral environment but in a dressing room after a recital of mine, a long time ago (actually, at the very beginning of my career). I remember until today this old man who came to tell me how much he loved my playing, but he pursued with a very very strange question : “Are you going to move more when playing? You should show your passion by moving much more than you do, you know, like these pianists I see on TV.” This question might seem insignificant but it’s definitely not. The old man’s observation has often been sounding in my ears while thinking about my playing, and made me think a lot about my “style” as a pianist and what was really important while performing. It was a kind of butterfly effect: an insignificant question led to a complete theory about the kind of pianist I want to be.
I heard them play for the first time when I was fifteen: It has been a revelation. Sure, it was a recording. I wanted to hear them live, but Oistrakh left us in 1974, so a long time before I was born! Before this famous sonata for violin and piano, I did not like Brahms.
This video of Alexei Sultanov performing Chopin’s Grande Valse Brillante at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1995 is a real treat for the eyes and ears.
Today, I propose you to watch and listen to Ligeti’s poème symphonique for 100 metronomes. Enjoy! Many thanks to Ionarts for the transcription into English:
I have often talked here about the illustrious French composer Pierre Boulez, but without really going into details. So, today I’m sharing with you my favorite work by Boulez: Sur Incises for 3 pianos, 3 harps, 3 percussionists.
Samson François is one of the pianists from the past I especially like. He remains a constant in my musical landscape. He fascinates me, very classy, even if sometimes it is too much… Finally, a quote from Marguerite Long about Samson François: “When he plays well, no one plays better than him!”
Today, I invite you to (re)discover a short film directed by the Danish filmmaker Benjamin Holmsteen, “A Piano Tale”. Two pianists (a classical one and a jazz one) confront each other. First presented at the Venice International Film Festival in 2002, I found myself particularly touched by this film.
Let’s take a breather today. The following video shows a sketch where the American-Danish musician and humorist Victor Borge with his stooge Leonid Hambro go into a four hands performance of Liszt’s second Hungarian Rhapsody. The Clown Prince of Denmark as he was nicknamed in his adoptive country (the USA), was a very famous entertainer [...]
For pleasure’s sake, and having dealt with jazz in my last post, I’ve been thinking about sharing with you this video of the Jacques Loussier Trio, revisiting the final movement of Bach‘s Fifth Brandenbourg Concerto.
Samson François is one of the pianists from the past I especially like. He remains a constant in my musical landscape. He fascinates me, very classy, even if sometimes it is too much… Finally, a quote from Marguerite Long about Samson François: “When he plays well, no one plays better than him!”