# Interview with Stephen Hough



## vlhorowitz (Mar 14, 2012)

Hi Everyone,

We're new to the forum. Here is our interview with Stephen Hough, who will be performing at Herbst Theater in San Francisco this Sunday afternoon.

Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful week !  
(A link to our other interviews can be found here as well)

http://www.examiner.com/piano-in-san-francisco/interview-with-pianist-stephen-hough


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2012)

THAT is a performance I wish I could go see. If I were anywhere in the vicinity, I would totally drag my wife off to this performance.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Hough plays really, really well. Plays many styles very nicely.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I like Hough's playing. I want to hear him play live some day.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2012)

I particularly love his recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos on Hyperion, and his recording of Brahms' Op. 34 Piano Quintet with the Takacs Quartet, also on Hyperion.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Has anybody here heard his compositions? I've been meaning to but can't find samples online.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Found this; traditional but pretty.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I heard Hough play Tchaikovsky's 1st last season, that was a treat, although I generally enjoy the orchestral part in that piece more, especially when it plays the finale's theme in the major key, with all the bombasticism.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

The Hough piece was pretty neat, it had its own something, but I think some of the sequences were a little square, if I'm to be hypercritical. Still, better than I could do.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Polednice said:


> Found this; traditional but pretty.


very rachmaninov, but pretty nice,..., and difficult!


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Hough is one of my favourite living pianists. I had the pleasure of seeing him live in Melbourne last year and it was one of the strongest recitals i've been to. He played a program of 'strange sonatas,' including...

Beethoven Op. 27 No. 2.
Hough Broken Branches (I don't remember too much about the piece, although I do remember enjoying it).
Scriabin No. 4.

Interval.

Scriabin No. 5.
Liszt B Minor.

Something I love most about Hough is his individuality. He truly plays how HE wants the piece - which is often very different than the norm. Listen to the beginning of his Rach 2, or the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata (which in concert he played much faster than usual - which I didn't like). His playing, for some, may not always be agreeable, but he always has something individual and original to say in his performances, which I for one really appreciate.

He also has a huge repertoire, giving almost as much attention to lesser known works and composers as the more known ones. 

But beyond the music - where he's one of the very best - I consider him one of the great people in the classical music world. He's a man of considerable intellect (which he wholly applies to music) and runs a fascinating blog (which I follow), and is a man of many interests. He's genuinely a nice guy who is far more open to the general public than most pianists tend to be. He's one of the pianists I would most love to meet one day - simply a great guy!

And yes, Stephen, the Liszt Sonata IS the greatest solo piano work of the Romantic era, despite what fellow TC members seem to think 

Thanks for the interview!


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## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading the interview. I'm not a huge fan of Hough but I do think he has tremendous skills. Certainly one of the better living pianists of our day.

Kevin


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