# A thread for up and coming pianist stars!



## clavichorder

So, this is for you to post young pianists the world over who you believe to be up and coming, even if not in the biggest way possible, just whose work you admire and eagerly await to see what more they will do.

Two young hot shots I have my eye on are Lucas Debargue and Daniil Trifonov. It's amazing that so many generations after the source of the music, these young men each have something very original and interesting to offer of the highest quality. 

Trifonov has quickly become established as a star, bringing out a new clarity in the demonic technical wizardry of composers like Liszt and Prokofiev. When I heard his Prokofiev 3rd sonata, I developed a new love for the piece. And his renditions of the Liszt transcendental etudes and the B minor sonata do just the same. So far he seems most at home in this kind of repertoire which he is bringing a new element into that I hadn't yet experienced in any other pianist. But he's never a slouch in anything he does. I found his style a little less suitable for much of the Medtner I've heard, thinking it a little too flashy, but still highly interesting. 

Now, Debargue is newer to the stage yet, after his wild success in the Tchaikovsky competition, winning 4th prize and the critics award. I've read a few of the articles on him and he seems to be self taught to an amazing degree, for the level he has achieved. There is something about Debargue's playing that is incredibly intense and refined. For the competition he notably played Beethoven's 7th sonata, Medtner's 1st sonata, and Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit. The Beethoven stands up the the best, the Medtner was as accessible and exciting to listen to as the Beethoven despite being Medtner who is notoriously not heart on sleeve, and the Gaspard de la Nuit was otherworldly and ferocious. Both highly daring and discerning in his choice of repertoire, and very uniquely intense in how he plays it.


----------



## DavidA

The young man who I can see becoming a really great pianist us Benjamin Grosvenor. He plays with an astonishingly mature way.


----------



## Pugg

​*Joseph Moog *

I discovered this young pianist recently, seen him in live performance and I must say:
I am stunned.


----------



## KenOC

Quite impressed with Stewart Goodyear. His excellent Beethoven sonata cycle can be had at us.7digital.com for almost nothing. Or at Amazon for 5X the price.


----------



## Musicophile

+1 on Grosvenor. 

I have yet to hear more to make up my mind about the latest Chopin competition winner, Song-Jin Cho.


----------



## cna

Lukas Geniušas, Danii Trifonov, and Seong-Jin Cho - All three of them constantly participated in competitions until their recent winning 1st or 2nd prize in a major competition.
I saw a news clip on Lucas Debargue on Youtube because you mentioned him. I'm very much stunned that he hasn't had a proper training. Most of people winning a prize in a major competition have started playing the piano at age of 4 or 5. Debargue must have a great and special talent. Someone in the clip mentioned he plays 'every note with intensity'. I think it shows his great concentration when playing music. I now can see that clarity and transparency is very important when playing the piano regardless of the style. I think I will keep my eye on him. Seong-Jin Cho is also believed to have great concentration. He played Chopin's concerto no.1 in the competition first of all the 10 finalists and won the 1st (gold) Prize. Apparently, Zimerman praised his performance in the final. Richard-Hamelin who won the 2nd prize is also great. I heard he lost the gold by a narrow margin. BTW I'm not sure if there's a female pianist receiving much attention at present.


----------



## Animal the Drummer

cna said:


> Lukas Geniušas, Danii Trifonov, and Seong-Jin Cho - All three of them constantly participated in competitions until their recent winning 1st or 2nd prize in a major competition.
> I saw a news clip on Lucas Debargue on Youtube because you mentioned him. I'm very much stunned that he hasn't had a proper training. Most of people winning a prize in a major competition have started playing the piano at age of 4 or 5. Debargue must have a great and special talent. Someone in the clip mentioned he plays 'every note with intensity'. I think it shows his great concentration when playing music. I now can see that clarity and transparency is very important when playing the piano regardless of the style. I think I will keep my eye on him. Seong-Jin Cho is also believed to have great concentration. He played Chopin's concerto no.1 in the competition first of all the 10 finalists and won the 1st (gold) Prize. Apparently, Zimerman praised his performance in the final. Richard-Hamelin who won the 2nd prize is also great. I heard he lost the gold by a narrow margin. BTW I'm not sure if there's a female pianist receiving much attention at present.


I heard Seong-Jin Cho play Chopin no.1 live in Birmingham with the Philharmonia under Ashkenazy recently and it was very much a young man's performance, some stunning playing alongside some rather more questionable musical choices. I enjoyed it, but my overall impression was of a somewhat less musically mature Warsaw winner than some of his predecessors have been at that age.

As for females, keep an eye open for Anna Dybuleva, the Russian winner of this year's Leeds competition. A number of commentators seem to have felt that she didn't deserve to win, preferring the Korean girl who came second, but for my money the decision was the right one. Dybuleva played the Brahms B flat and was in command of it, rather than it commanding her, all the way through. Many more experienced soloists would not be able to claim as much with that horrifyingly difficult piece.


----------



## Guest

+1 for Tifonov. Two others that I enjoy immensely are Igor Levit and Yevgeny Sudbin. I have tickets to see Trifonov and Levit this year--can hardly wait! (I saw Sudbin about 2 years ago--he was magnificent.)


----------



## herblison

Another marvelous young artist is Claire Huangci, a U.S. born pianist who was one of the runners-up
in a recent Van Cliburn competition. Her recently released CD of Scarlatti sonatas is wonderful.
I look forward to hearing her in live performance sometime this year.


----------



## Judith

I saw one recently at the Leeds Town Hall performing Beethoven 5th piano concerto (Emperor). He was called Aristo Sham. He was very young but amazing.


----------



## Pugg

Kontrapunctus said:


> +1 for Tifonov. Two others that I enjoy immensely are Igor Levit and Yevgeny Sudbin. I have tickets to see Trifonov and Levit this year--can hardly wait! (I saw Sudbin about 2 years ago--he was magnificent.)


This morning on my local radio Levit played the Piano concerto 3 Beethoven :tiphat:


----------



## Blancrocher

Speaking of Levit, I just thought I'd mention a recent, rather weird recital of the Goldberg Variations he did in NYC. People seem to have liked it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/a...classical-music-and-performance-art.html?_r=0


----------

