Your favourite pianists that aren't the old stalwarts

[mandryka]

I have enjoyed Jonathan Biss playing Beethoven

I haven't heard his Beethoven, but I wanted to say that he's good in Kreisleriana. A distinctive touch, rich and smooth, like purple satin. He can do dreamy and he can do bouncy - the latter nicely percussive without losing any richness of timbre. And he communicates some pretty disturbing emotions

 

[Pete Green]

Pavel Kolesnikov - another brilliant Russian Pianist

 

[mandryka]

Pavel Kolesnikov - another brilliant Russian Pianist

I quite enjoyed the Chopin mazurkas. And indeed the live op 58 sonata .

 

[rough edges]

Zlata Chochieva playing the Chopin Etudes (complete) on Piano Classics is sublime. Top shelf Chopin; unconditionally recommended…

 

[Tantris]

I've just been listening to Mihaela Ursuleasa, a pianist I had not heard before, in a recording of Brahms' Drei Intermezzi, op. 117 - gosh, this is very good. Sadly, I find that she died at the age of 33 in 2012.

 

[mandryka]

I've just been listening to Mihaela Ursuleasa, a pianist I had not heard before, in a recording of Brahms' Drei Intermezzi, op. 117 - gosh, this is very good. Sadly, I find that she died at the age of 33 in 2012.

Thanks for reminding me of this excellent pianist, who died so tragically when still in her prime.

 

[marshanp]

Werner Haas - his Debussy and Ravel on Phillips CD twofers are definitive for me, and have been ever since I first heard them. So much so that when I eventually heard the much-adulated Gieseking in the same repertoire I couldn't understand what the fuss was about.

Many of my favourite pianists are, I suspect, teachers who record rarely. For example:

Sophia Lisovskaya for Scriabin. Wow! But just the one recording on BIS...

Ian Hobson, for anything he chooses to play. His Godowsky/Schubert disc on Zephyr is fantastic.

For Faure, Sally Pinkas (Musica Omnia). I don't need anybody else.

 

[artoly]

Not sure if already mentioned and a different genre, but definitely not 'old stalwart' and I'm enjoying it now:
Duo Jatekok, Christoph Doom Schneider - Duo Jatekok plays Rammstein (2022)

I have also enjoyed playing by Bruce Katz for some blues and sometimes jazz piano.

I'll enjoy trying out some of the other suggestions above and will probably be better educated for it.

 

[artoly]

OK, now listening to the first name mentioned 'Beatrice Rana'. Beautiful and also making me see haw far off-topic my last post might be

 

[mandryka]

Anatol Ugorski died yesterday - great independently minded pianist, whose Davidsbündlertanze is a major achievement

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kAuURlyVzTkzayGnHJSUCcLMvQuqrefvU

 

[Alex S]

Boris Giltburg

 

[Alex S]

Yevgeny Sudbin

 

[jandl100]

When I was living in Switzerland, and buying LPs, I bought several on the luna label featuring a Swiss pianist, Michael Studer, in standard repertoire (Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, etc) - his interpretations are outstanding, in my view, and deserve a wider audience. I don't know if they have ever made it to CD.

In Messiaen, I think both Peter Hill and Anatol Ugorski are outstanding in the Catalogue d'Oiseaux, with interpretations that are quite different from each other.

Noriko Kawai, particularly for her recording of Dillon's The Book of Elements.

In Scriabin, Evelyne Dubourg's recordings on the Tudor label are excellent and a match for the better known pianists.

He's much better known, but I'll also mention John Ogdon's recording of Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum as the work is quite obscure. Fredrik Ullén's recordings of Sorabji's Transcendental Etudes are also very much worth listening to.

There are several others whose focus is more on contemporary music, and I may mention some of them when I have more time.

Thanks for the heads up on Michael Studer.
Claves released a 6 CD set of his recordings.
I'm listening to his Bach Partita #1, and it is, indeed, remarkable.
I look forward to exploring the rest of the set.

To quote from PrestoMusic...
"Michael Studer is a remarkable pianist who, although he studied in Paris and Vienna, is not well-known outside his native Switzerland. Since 2000, he has suffered from a hearing disability which tragically caused premature retirement, and CLAVES have gathered together his best recordings, made between 1971 and 1999, into this handsome 6-disc tribute. For the unbeatable price of just one CD, here is a unique chance to discover a rare talent, placed genunely and directly at the service of each composer in turn."

 

[Cheese]

Thanks for the heads up on Michael Studer.
Claves released a 6 CD set of his recordings.
I'm listening to his Bach Partita #1, and it is, indeed, remarkable.
I look forward to exploring the rest of the set.

To quote from PrestoMusic...
"Michael Studer is a remarkable pianist who, although he studied in Paris and Vienna, is not well-known outside his native Switzerland. Since 2000, he has suffered from a hearing disability which tragically caused premature retirement, and CLAVES have gathered together his best recordings, made between 1971 and 1999, into this handsome 6-disc tribute. For the unbeatable price of just one CD, here is a unique chance to discover a rare talent, placed genunely and directly at the service of each composer in turn."

When I was living in Switzerland, and buying LPs, I bought several on the luna label featuring a Swiss pianist, Michael Studer, in standard repertoire (Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, etc) - his interpretations are outstanding, in my view, and deserve a wider audience. I don't know if they have ever made it to CD.

Thanks for the heads up too I have now listened to his 'box set' on Spotify. He was indeed a truly outstanding player, very versatile, it remains a favourite and gets a regular listen. Everything is beautiful, from Bach to Ravel.

He reminds me Andras Schiff somewhat, an equally versatile pianist, with his charming sound, reserved character and artistically competent playing of Bach music, decades before the baroquista invasion.

I live in Switzerland and over the years I did see some of his vinyls here and there, the 50's style sleeves often looked worn out and half forgotten even when new. The sleeve photos were abysmal, and I guess so were the sales. A pity, really, for this great artist.

 

[hoodaudrey]

As for me, I quite like Lang Lang's excellent piano playing technique, which brings a special charm, creating modernity and dynamism to classical piano music. Each of his performances is a mesmerizing experience, combining passion and technical excellence. Lang Lang not only respects the classical piano heritage but also brings a new, creative approach that makes a strong impression on music fans, including me.