- To create a 'classical piano hub' for classical piano lovers to listen to, learn and enjoy fantastic music. - To offer my commentary, criticism and teachings to educate and inspire classical piano lovers to deepen their understanding and enjoyment of classical piano music. - To build a respectable and wholesome community where healthy discussion about classical piano music can thrive.
Why I made this channel?
I have noticed that young pianists have a limited understanding of piano repertoire. I am piano teacher and I started to share fantastic clips of pieces to my students and I noticed that they became increasingly inspired to listen to classical piano music. As someone who has studied piano my whole life, I have a great wealth of knowledge of great piano clips, along with a detailed understanding of what makes them sounds great. I want to further my reach and share this knowledge to all with interest!
Argerich called him a genius. Other judges didn’t agree. One even dropped out because he progressed too far. And then this is what you post as an example? The left hand is atrocious even from the opening bars, and he makes several errors which are likely not audible to the casual listener as they are blended errors, but will be very obvious to pianophiles (and especially the judges). There are plenty of reasons why he didn’t win the Chopin Competition. His playing was a mixed bag. That’s the problem with him. He’s all over the place. Magnificent with one piece and somewhere very strange with next one. For example, his professional recording of the Op 48 #1 nocturne is so bad I can’t even listen to it. His studio recordings of the preludes are actually very good overall. I think he may even make the top dozen best sets of recorded preludes. But he is inconsistent.
I heard him play at the Montreal International Music Competition held at the VIncent d'Indy Music School just a few months before the Chopin Competition. I was electrified by his performance. Someone below said the it's no wonder that his playing may have been unpalatable for such a "buttoned-up" milieu as that of the competition's jury. That precisely is the problem. If your artistic horizons are not sufficiently wide to allow you to discern one of the most original artists in a generation, even if his performance is not exactly your cup of tea, what are you doing on a jury appraising the performance of artists one third your age? I am not implying that Pogorelić deserved the win the first prize, but I also find it scandalous that such a brilliant and unique artist was not allowed to pass to the final round. After all, he could have won second prize, or even third. I find Pogorelic's explanation about the Soviet Bloc having agreed to award the prize to Dang Thai Son, the North Vietmanese pianist, highly unlikely. There was no chance of political control over a body of jurors largely made up of world-renowned pianists having nothing to do with the Soviet Bloc. Many western jurors gave Dang Thai Son very high marks. His win was legit. It is highly unprofessional for Pogorelić to suggest otherwise.
Thanks for this video, it's a very original and interesting way of presenting the material, great stuff! Regarding Pogorelich, I guess he's like a rare cheese, you either like him or you don't 🙂
It's a real disgrace that the competition refused to be transparent about what happened. Nothing is sacred in the face of political power - not even Chopin.
Some people say he's too mechanical, too clean. Somehow too perfect. But how can that be a bad thing? To me, it's as if he has no ego. He plays the pieces the way they want to be played. He's like a clear glass. I like temperamental musicians too, but Zimerman is something special.
This man is a genius so full of love and who asks for so much so we must give it to him because he has a huge heart... The enthusiasm of the public who loves and understands IP, their admiration for this great musician sweeps away all the hatred of creative professionals, specialists, dubious musicians, failed and jealous artists who have been spitting on him for so many years..The concerts are full and IP annoy you This fabulous artist has received so much hatred from so many jealous imbeciles who have a dry heart and pretend hold the truth about what music should be just on this section of YT there are so many...When I read this outpouring of hatred and venomous criticism from people who obviously know music but who talk about Chopin as if they had met him yesterday I want to laugh..I went to an IP concert in Aix en Provence in 2019 it was magical to see an artist so humble and so generous with so much humanity in his great shyness. ..The room was full and the audience was moved and admiring to celebrate the return of this singular artist who has suffered so much since the death of his only love and who has received so much criticism from his detractors who do not have an ounce of his immense talent... Pogorelic is alive the public loves him and follows him with a standing ovation and that is the most important... The music is alive and yet so many living dead on this page and in the world talk about it and want to hear it appropriate...Like this moron who claims that Chopin, who encouraged performers to have their own vision of his work, would change their mind when listening to IP...Poor insignificant cockroach !
Without composers, there will be much lesser or even no chance for the performers to present themselves. Ok, fine, it make sense. But it doesn’t mean composers are higher than the performers. No, they are on equal footing. The composers is an independent artist individual, the same goes to the performers. Which means composer has their own way, the performers also has their own. The composer could also be a performer and has his/her own way of playing. If the composer decided to publish his/her work, which means the composer dedicated his work to the world and other countless musicians, then naturally countless kinds of interpretations are expected. If the composer expects his/her work to be played only in his/her way, that is just ignorant, arrogant and even disrespectful in my opinion. That is like a dictator in music. If the composer really want the work to be played only in his/her own way, then don’t publish it, keep it for yourself then. You dedicate your work to other musicians, then the work doesn’t only belong to you, but also to them isn’t it? Like if I order a dish, the chef is the creator of the dish, I buy the dish or the chef give it to me as a present. Then this dish is mine now. So I eat it, I throw it away, I give it to feed the cats…how to deal with that dish is my but not the chef’s decision isn’t it? The same situation on music in my opinion. I’d love to learn different opinions. Thank you very much!
In my opinion, “competition” in Art in itself is self-contradictory. Yes, playing music needs stamina and strength, but after all, it is not sport, which has an objective standard. Every judge has their own taste and standards, which are subjective. That is why there are different opinions in the jury group I think. I guess in some others fields, unification is necessary probably. But in art , unification can be useless or even dangerous in my opinion. Playing with clarity could be a kind of beauty or a kind of ugliness, the same goes to playing with obscurity. This also goes to playing with different tempo, rhythm, timbre and so on. Another example, rules has two functions in my opinion, they are made to be followed and to be broken. Judging music with some sort of called “reasonable standards” it is sad in my opinion. I could be wrong and I would like to learn. Thank you very much!
Anche se credo che sia voluto e calcolato, il mancato riconoscimento del grande Ivo Pogorelić come sommo interprete, è stato un gravissimo errore. Fortunatamente, almeno parte del mondo si rese conto del terribile strafalcione della commissione del concorso.
It was a great musical event mistake, but politically it was the will and desire of a greater political power. The soviets and their politburo, wanted to decide a different outcome. This is why Pogo was not allowed to go on to the Final round because the jury had been pre-advised by the political powers that be, that the ONLY ACCEPTABLE FIRST PRIZE WINNER HAD TO BE DANG SON. the North vietnamese pianist, who was also a student at the moscow conservatory at the same time as Pogorelich. And Pogorelich had been advised of what this outcome was going to be. And advised not to enter the Comp so he would not be made to look bad, or as a failure as a great musical artist. He was advised to wait one more year and then enter the Tchaikovsky Competition and he would be guaranteed first prize in that illustrious competition. For reasons unknown to the rest of the media world, Pogo chose Not to abide by those recommendations in 1980 and went ahead and entered the comp.
Pletnev is my absolute favorite pianist. This is a bit sloppy relative to his other performances, but it fits his very expressive style and beautiful melodic lines.
His Ballade 2 in the Chopin competition was terrible. The presto con fuoco section was all over the place. He is ultra gifted technically but he lacks that "expressive insight" Chopin's music demands. Chopin is not Liszt, Ravel or Prokofiev; you cannot get away with pure technical prowess. That is why pianists like Lang Lang, Lisitsa or Pogorelich cannot even dream winning Chopin Competition despite the fact they are world class pianists. And go listen to Dang Thai Son, the winner of 1980 competition. He is clearly the better Chopin pianist than Pogorelich ever was.
I feel dumb for saying this, but I honestly feel that this amount of "mistakes" are the ideal amount. There's something kind of off-putting to me about a recording where there's not a single kind of mistakes or mishap.
