# Female pianists you regard like a storied pianist



## Lukecash12

By storied pianist, I mean a pianist you might refer to as a V.S.O.P. (very superior older pianist). That meaning that you regard the pianist as a vital part of music history, whose mastery of music renders appraisal inept.

Sounds like a grand standard, but there are several pianists who meet up to this standard. It's probably because they regarded music to be a lifestyle, as opposed to music being a technical challenge conquered with time and intuition. Out of these storied pianists, there are actually quite a few women.

So let's start with these women:

Nadia Boulanger.
Joanna Graudan.
Alica DeLarrocha.
Maria Yudina.
Eunice Norton.
Ginette Doyen.
Marcelle Meyer.
Maria Grinberg.


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## itywltmt

I would add Clara Haskil and Marguerite Long to the list.


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## Sid James

Here in Australia, we had *Miriam Hyde *(1913-2005), who was a composer, pianist, music educator & even poet! I'm not sure whether she recorded that much, but she did give many recitals both here & abroad. During her studies in London in the 1930's, she was accompanied by the likes of Malcolm Sargent at the helm. I have heard her play her own piano concertos on disc, and she was no slouch of a pianist, I can tell you! She contributed a lot to the post-war music scene in this country, and you can read about her more fully in the links below.

Miriam Hyde on Wikipedia & at Australian Music Centre.


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## tdc

Two of the big female names that jump into my head right away are Argerich, and Hewitt, yet , apparently they haven't quite reached this level in your view?


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## Lukecash12

I'm okay with whatever submission you have. Just curious as to the female pianists that people like. You could say that what I pointed out as notable to me, was a pianist who kept maturing over a long period of time, and contributed to music history.


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## Meaghan

Well, of course I haven't _heard_ her, but I definitely consider Clara Schumann an "important" pianist.


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## clavichorder

I agree with Marcelle Meyer and Ginette Doyen. Both play top notch Chabrier with a lot of personality.


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## Sid James

Another one I know is *Harriet Cohen* (1895-1967), a British pianist who played a lot of new music from that country during her time. I have her playing Hubert Bath's _Cornish Rhapsody_, with the composer conducting, and she also premiered William Walton's _Sinfonia Concertante_ (other composers she played were Bliss, Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Shostakovich, Kabalevsky). The entry on her at Wikipedia relates her colourful life, including her forty year relationship with the composer Arnold Bax, visiting the USSR to play British music in the 1930's, and surviving two assasination attempts upon a 1939 trip to Palestine (she was a big supporter of a Jewish homeland). HERE is a photo of Cohen with Bax.


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## Weston

For myself, I wouldn't include *Argerich*, if only because of how disappointed I was in her setting of the Schumann piano concerto. She may be great with Prokofiev, but not with Schumann.

I don't know how she will be perceived historically or how she is currently perceived even, but I find *Mitsuko Uchida* awe inspiring. She very nearly makes me like Mozart and her other activities with the Marlboro Music Festival seem like quite a commitment to music to me. Someday I must see if her interpretations can make me appreciate the Second Viennese School. I guess she couldn't be considered "older" yet.


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## joen_cph

*Yudina *and *Argerich* the best me think;

*Grinberg* is sometimes good, sometimes too mechanically forceful in her playing, lacking nuances,
*Haskil *often fine, sometimes lacking a bit of temper (but not when collaborating with Markevich, for instance).

*Annie Fischer *hasn´t been mentioned yet; she recorded a lot, Beethoven and Mozart especially. Her "Appassionata" for instance is one of the best around.

*Edith Farnadi *made some incredible records (the exuberant, gypsy-style Tschaikovsky 2nd Cto/Scherchen you´ll never forget, in case you haven´t heard it, likewise the Bartok Concerti 2+3/Scherchen etc.), but of a very varying quality, the "Annees de Pelerinage" for instance is often much too hurried and seems off-minded.

Haven´t heard enough *Elly Ney *, *Gina Bachauer *and *Monique Haas *to say much.

*Meyer* made some good Rameau and Maurice Emmanuel records.

* Ania Dorfman * can sometimes be very interesting, a lot of technical brilliance and sense of line / moving forward, but can also lack depth.

Oh yes, and *Yvonne Loriod *for Messiaen; the earlier the record, the better.

There´s a whole bunch of Russian, Caucasian and East-European female pianists that deserves further exploration but often recorded little. *Tatiana Nikolayeva *is quite known and recorded a lot, including relatively contemporary works, often very fine. *Victoria Postnikova *made excellent Janacek records on Erato, for example. Others include *Maria Mdiwani *(fine Prokofiev 3 Cto, ), *Tamara Licheli *(fine Azarashvili quintet on you-t), *Eva Bernathova *(fine Janacek, fine Franck Quintet), for instance.

Some that I personally often find somewhat disappointing are *Tureck*, *Hewitt*,* Landowska *, but many would disagree.

*Anne Øland*: what I´ve heard were disasters, both technically and as regards content ("Appassionata", Nielsen).


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## Sid James

& Turkish pianist *Idil Biret*, her recording on Naxos of the three Boulez sonatas (done live at Radio France, it won a coveted _[Diapason D'or_ award) is seldom far away from my CD player. Her passion and fire has opened up this quite challenging repertoire for me to a high degree...


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## itywltmt

tdc said:


> Two of the big female names that jump into my head right away are Argerich, and Hewitt, yet , apparently they haven't quite reached this level in your view?


In my mind, "storied" implied from a past era...

I tend to agree with some of the replies about Argerich., I find some of her early work (for solo piano in particular) to be far better and fresher than her later work.

As for Angela Hweitt, I think (in time) she may make the list. What we need to hear from her, IMHO, is more "diversity" in her repertoire. She's done lots of Bach, the complete Ravel, but hasn't ventured much off of that path. I'd like to hear her try bolder things - I think she has the technique and the musicianship to do so...


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## Aramis

Halina Czerny-Stefańska (1922 - 2001) is certainly important link in tree of great chopinists, her recordings are included on first ever (I think) complete Chopin music release in history of phonography. Here is she playing with her husband Chopin's rondo for two pianos:


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## kv466

Having seen her perform live since 1996 and then following her youtube performances, I strongly feel Valentina Lisista will be in these rankings when her time comes...she's the only pianist male or female alive whose Chopin Etudes performances I not only respect but actually like very much.


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## Meaghan

joen_cph said:


> *Annie Fischer *hasn´t been mentioned yet; she recorded a lot, Beethoven and Mozart especially. Her "Appassionata" for instance is one of the best around.


She was my introduction to the Mozart concertos and I still love her recordings of them.


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## Taneyev

Aramis said:


> Halina Czerny-Stefańska (1922 - 2001) is certainly important link in tree of great chopinists, her recordings are included on first ever (I think) complete Chopin music release in history of phonography. Here is she playing with her husband Chopin's rondo for two pianos:


You mean that she's Chopin's wife and both are playing a rondo?


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## Air

My most cherished female pianists are, in no particular order: Yudina, Argerich, Haskil, Fischer, Uchida, Meyer, and Landowska.

No one has mentioned Guiomar Novaes either, and this is a bit of a surprise - she was one of the most nuanced, subtle poets ever to grace the piano, excepting maybe only Clara Haskil. The epitome of femininity on the keyboard one could say. But I tend to like the more daring girls - Yudina with her unconventional tempos, Argerich with her heroic vigor and speeding passion, and Fischer - who can outplay even Richter in terms of intensity when it comes to Beethoven's 32nd sonata. 

Another example of a "titanic" female pianist - whom in many ways can be considered a "19th century Argerich", was Teresa Carreño, also from the South American continent, in particular Venezuela. She was known for being not just tempestuous in the concert hall but also at home and throughout her four marriages (one to the famous Eugene d'Albert, a concert pianist himself). But she was one of those "heroic pianists" who went directly against the stereotypes of her gender - playing the big concertos and blazing through the virtuosic passages with energy and ferocity. She, along with Clara Schumann, led the way for many great female pianists to come.

Another dark horse is Rosa Tamarkina, a Soviet pianist who played a stunning Taneyev Piano Quintet.


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## Gab

I agree with some answers, I would definitely say Martha Argerich.. I had the chance to see her playing live, it was such a wonderful concert.. She has a feeling only few other player have.


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## Vesteralen

:angel:


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## jdavid

_The esteemed Austrian pianist, Ingrid Haebler, came to the piano as a little girl, begining her musical training with her mother, and making her public debut in Salzburg at the age of 11. She then pursued her studies with Scholz at the Salzburg Mozarteum (1940-1942; 1948-1949) and with Weingarten (1943-1947) and Hauser (1952-1953) at the Vienna Academy of Music. She also attended the master-classes of Nikita Magaloff at the Geneva Conservatory (1950-1951; Prix de Virtuosite, 1951) and of the French pianist Marguerite Long at the Paris Conservatory (1953). In 1952 she was co-winner of the 2nd prize at the Geneva Competition (no 1st prize was awarded), and in 1954 she took 1st prize in both the Munich Competition and the Geneva Schubert Competition. She won the Harriet Cohen Beethoven Medal in 1957.

*Ingrid Haebler *then appeared with many of the leading orchestras of the day and at the principal festivals. In 1959 she made her USA debut as soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as a recitalist and chamber music player. As a duo recitalist, she often performed with the violinist Henryk Szeryng._

The recordings of the complete Beethoven Sonatas with *Henryk Szeryng* are greatly prized by Beethovenists, violinists and pianist. The collaboration is superb and memorable and these sonatas are the backbone of the violin recital repertoire. They are available in two volumes - the sound is magnificent.


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## Praeludium

This !






This is just amazing. Such a powerful interpretation. It's very clear and full of life and fire..


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## Vaneyes

In the past few decades, de Larrocha, Uchida, and Argerich stand out for me.

A recent Uchida article...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/50eb01f4-f3fc-11e0-b221-00144feab49a.html#axzz1bBUwEfdV


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## kv466

I'm starting to vibe on Lise de la Salle. Not only is she a sweet, little French bunny but from the stuff I've heard her play she has a super nice touch and approach to the Chopin concertos and many others works I've heard her tackle.










She's playing Avery Fisher Hall 11/13/11 @ 3:00...Rach 2...I'm trying to make it out.


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## Vaneyes

kv466 said:


> I'm starting to vibe on Lise de la Salle. Not only is she a sweet, little French bunny but from the stuff I've heard her play she has a super nice touch and approach to the Chopin concertos and many others works I've heard her tackle.
> 
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> 
> 
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> She's playing Avery Fisher Hall 11/13/11 @ 3:00...Rach 2...I'm trying to make it out.


Examining that nose further....


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## moody

My post on this subject was lost along with a number of others of recent vintage.
Elly Ney and Gina Bachauer have been mentioned ,two real giants in the world of pianists.
Elly Ney was born in Dusseldorf in 1882 and died in 1968. Her teachers included Leschitizky and von Sauer. I have a CD of her performance live in 1955 of Brahms Concerto No. 2 with the Leipzig Gewandhause Orch, under Konwitschny plus Beethoven's "Appassionata" from 1952 in Berlin. They are big !
Then in 1961 at the age of 79 she recorded the Beethoven concerti with Willem van Hoogstraten her long term companion and ex-husband. They are fascinating and are on the Colosseum label with other recordings. Unfortunately she was a great supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party which got her banned from public performances for some while after the war.
I was introduced to Gina Bachauer by my uncle in Chelsea when I was twelve and then,to her great amusement, by a friend in Dallas about thirty years later. I think I attended every concert she gave in London. She was born in Greece and studied with Cortot and Rachmaninoff. As Harold C. Schonberg put it :"....She developed into an out and out romantic with a virtuoso approach to the keyboard ; she is, like Horowitz, a throwback. "Her Liszt B Minor sonata is outstanding and her Brahms, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff first class. I rember attending her Beethoven concerti cycle with Dorati and the L.S.O in London's Festival Hall. When she died I stayed up all night playing her records.
I see no mention of the Hungarian Lili Kraus, I can't imagine why not . A great Mozart, Schubert , Schumann, Beethoven and Bartok performer, she studied with Bartok, Kodaly and Schnabel. She was captured by the Japanese in WW11 and spent some time in a prison camp.A great favourite in Australia, the UK and the USA she recorded all the Mozart concerti with Stephen Simon and the Vienna Festivao Orch. for CBS in 1973 ( not issued in the UK---disgraceful ) They should be reissued on CD.
Others include Magda Tagliaferro, Myra Hess and Jeanne-Marie Darre.
Remember the question was about pianists who were a vital part of musical history and not who might be a bunny, I don't think bunnies come into things really.


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## PetrB

kv466 said:


> Having seen her perform live since 1996 and then following her youtube performances, I strongly feel Valentina Lisista will be in these rankings when her time comes...she's the only pianist male or female alive whose Chopin Etudes performances I not only respect but actually like very much.


Spit opinion, world wide. I'm in the other half. Her Chopin is dreadful


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## Lukecash12

moody said:


> My post on this subject was lost along with a number of others of recent vintage.
> Elly Ney and Gina Bachauer have been mentioned ,two real giants in the world of pianists.
> Elly Ney was born in Dusseldorf in 1882 and died in 1968. Her teachers included Leschitizky and von Sauer. I have a CD of her performance live in 1955 of Brahms Concerto No. 2 with the Leipzig Gewandhause Orch, under Konwitschny plus Beethoven's "Appassionata" from 1952 in Berlin. They are big !
> Then in 1961 at the age of 79 she recorded the Beethoven concerti with Willem van Hoogstraten her long term companion and ex-husband. They are fascinating and are on the Colosseum label with other recordings. Unfortunately she was a great supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party which got her banned from public performances for some while after the war.
> I was introduced to Gina Bachauer by my uncle in Chelsea when I was twelve and then,to her great amusement, by a friend in Dallas about thirty years later. I think I attended every concert she gave in London. She was born in Greece and studied with Cortot and Rachmaninoff. As Harold C. Schonberg put it :"....She developed into an out and out romantic with a virtuoso approach to the keyboard ; she is, like Horowitz, a throwback. "Her Liszt B Minor sonata is outstanding and her Brahms, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff first class. I rember attending her Beethoven concerti cycle with Dorati and the L.S.O in London's Festival Hall. When she died I stayed up all night playing her records.
> I see no mention of the Hungarian Lili Kraus, I can't imagine why not . A great Mozart, Schubert , Schumann, Beethoven and Bartok performer, she studied with Bartok, Kodaly and Schnabel. She was captured by the Japanese in WW11 and spent some time in a prison camp.A great favourite in Australia, the UK and the USA she recorded all the Mozart concerti with Stephen Simon and the Vienna Festivao Orch. for CBS in 1973 ( not issued in the UK---disgraceful ) They should be reissued on CD.
> Others include Magda Tagliaferro, Myra Hess and Jeanne-Marie Darre.
> Remember the question was about pianists who were a vital part of musical history and not who might be a bunny, I don't think bunnies come into things really.


That's exactly the type of post I was hoping for.


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## moody

Lukecash12 said:


> That's exactly the type of post I was hoping for.


Thanks, but there were not enough answers were there --don't understand why not>


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## Lukecash12

Of course, there are several other great posts here that really got what I was going after, and I appreciate those as well.


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## halftone

kv466 is almost right on the money; Valentina Lisitsa's time is now, not coming. Anyone viewing her youtube rendition of Liszt's "Totentanz" or "Hungarian Rhapsody No.2" cannot help but be completely captivated by her combination of dynamicism and sensitivity. Despite Ms Lisitsa's grueling 12-14 hours per day of practice, she found the time to respond to one of my emails.
I have her DVD of 24 Chopin etudes which I enjoy once or twice a month and seem to find in it something new each time. If some of the forum members have not yet experienced her playing, they are in for a treat.

I only wish that I had been aware, like kv466, of Valentina since 1996.


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## Il_Penseroso

Don't like the title "Females pianists you regard as ..." I'm not one of the feminists, but when I'm going to say Guiomar Novaes (just a name came to mind at the moment) was one the most superb pianists ever lived, I don't mean her sexuality but just the quality of playing, same as the male pianists.


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## moody

Il_Penseroso said:


> Don't like the title "Females pianists you regard as ..." I'm not one of the feminists, but when I'm going to say Guiomar Novaes (just a name came to mind at the moment) was one the most superb pianists ever lived, I don't mean her sexuality but just the quality of playing, same as the male pianists.


Don't start, there's nothing wrong with this title ! The OP was specifying female pianists rather than pianists in general for a reason no doubt.


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## Il_Penseroso

moody said:


> Don't start, there's nothing wrong with this title ! The OP was specifying female pianists rather than pianists in general for a reason no doubt.


Didn't start anything. Just my personal opinion, nothing more nothing less! If any of my posts seems to be a start of something challengable, then dear moderators, feel free to remove and I'll surely deserve that


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## Adair

Ginette Doyen (I treasure her Westminster recordings), Irma Kolassi, Kathleen Long (her Scarlatti on the London label in particular!), Kabi Lartei (for her recording of the Hindemith _Ludus Tonalis_), Nadia Reisenberg (wonderful Haydn), Germaine Thyssens-Valentine, Maria Yudina, Elly Ney, Annie Fischer, Guiomar Novaes, Ingrid Haebler, and of course Marcelle Meyer.

I wish that the Doyen recordings would be rediscovered. She deserves to be better known. It is frustrating that the deep and rich Westminster catalog has never been truly brought back on cd except for some aborted efforts by DG and some Japanese labels. So much important music there waiting to be unearthed.


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## Adair

Oops! I meant Lubka Kolessa! ( Irma Kolassi was a great singer, not a pianist. Yikes. ) Kolessa's Schumann is superb.


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## Jos

Don't know if this lady fits into the OP's definition, but I've been listening to this a lot lately.
Alice Ader playing Scarlatti. Recommended.


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## brucknerian

Not sure if she's widely regarded as "storied", but Mitsuko Uchida was my introduction to Debussy. No one will ever play Etude No. 12 quite the way she did, for me at least.


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## Pat Fairlea

Agree with the general praise for Mitsuko Uchida. But can I put in a word for Christina Ortiz? Great repertoire, technical brilliance and a real warmth to her interpretations. Lovely smile, too. Even though that counts for nowt!


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## Gordontrek

Not sure I understand the question. But two of my favorite pianists are Martha Argerich and Mitsuko Uchida. I had the pleasure of hearing Uchida play live with the Chicago Symphony, where she did two Mozart piano concerti, nos. 17 and 27. 
Would these two qualify for the list? If I understood "grand pianists" correctly I wouldn't hesitate to include them.


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## Bulldog

Rosalyn Tureck is my no. 1 pick, all because of her Bach.


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## KenOC

I pick Yuja Wang for her attributes.


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## Lukecash12

KenOC said:


> I pick Yuja Wang for her attributes.


What do you mean when you say "attributes"? :lol:


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## KenOC

Attributes. I mean, you know...attributes.


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## StlukesguildOhio

Naming only those I am really familiar with I would have to include:

Marcelle Meyer
Angela Hewitt
Martha Argerich
Alicia de Larrocha
Mitsuko Uchida
Maria Joao Pires
Rosalyn Tureck


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## Morimur

*Marina Yakhlakova*


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## dgee

Did anyone mention Monique Haas? Superb in Debussy and Ravel


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## Morimur

dgee said:


> Did anyone mention Monique Haas? Superb in Debussy and Ravel


You mean this thread isn't about attractive female pianists?


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## chesapeake bay

I would add Dubravka Tomsic, she was a student of Arthur Rubinstein and plays some very fine Beethoven. You can find her work on the point classics website


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## Steatopygous

I'm in accord with nearly all the pianists listed here. Some marvellous artists.
But I don't understand the reservations expressed (early in the thread, years ago) about Argerich.
I don't always like her recordings best (that wopuldn't apply to any pianist), but Alexander Ross was right when he said: Argerich "reigns supreme over the feudalistic world of virtuoso pianists. Rivals become mere fans around her, lingering at the door of her dressing room and then skulking away."

See interesting article at 
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment...-pianist-martha-argerich-20151110-gku7xq.html


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## Animal the Drummer

By contrast I do understand those reservations. I've warmed to Argerich's playing over the years, but there have been times (and hearing her play the Schumann concerto was one of them) when I've heard too much of her and not enough of the composer in what she's played. I wish I could play the joanna one hundred thousandth as well as she can, and I'm not surprised she's an idol to her colleagues, but there are times when her personality seems to overwhelm her musicality, IMHO of course.


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## joen_cph

Regarding Argerich in the Schumann concerto, I have three different recordings by her (Harnoncourt, Vedernikov, Rabinovitch); at least the Harnoncourt one doesn´t strike me as particularly extrovert or eccentric, on the contrary it has lyrical, rather subdued flight, and it´s my favourite recording of the concerto in general. For example, she doesn´t stop or dwell on some contrasts the way many other pianists have a tendency to do, IMO. In that sense, she´s actually comparable to Haskil´s there, I think.


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## LarryShone

Two modern Pianists, Valentina Lisitsa and Ursca Babic.


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## KenOC

LarryShone said:


> Two modern Pianists, Valentina Lisitsa and Ursca Babic.


Thought you'd fool us, eh? "Ursca Babic" is nothing but an anagram of "I scrub a cab".


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## joen_cph

Got curious regarding Babic, whom I´d never heard of.

a few leads here: 
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urška_Babič
https://www.youtube.com/user/UrskaBabic


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## DavidA

In this category one could put Annie Fischer, one of the great pianists of the last century. And Argerich, of course.


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## jpar3

Argeric, Uchida, Hewitt, Lisitsa


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## jpar3

Novaes, Hess, Landowska, Bachauer


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## Kenneth Jones

At last a good list! All have particular qualities. Tureck was remarkable, as was Glenn Gould (and as were others), but the piano is not the best for Bach. Martha Argerich is frightening at times, but her Kinderszenen is my favourite among my eight recordings of that work. Again, Maria Joao Pires' Bach is best passed over, but her Mozart, Schubert, Schumann melt the heart while her Chopin Nocturnes go even further (but without sentimentality). She also has fire and authority, and her Chopin Preludes are my favourites, bar none (I have both her recordings, Erato and DGG).


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## leopardino

What about Helene Boschi? I think she has been a fine musician and a very sensitive pianist. There are many beautiful recordings of Schumann, Clara Wieck, Schubert and even of 20th century composers. Besides she was very keen on chamber music and liederistic.


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## Pugg

leopardino said:


> What about Helene Boschi? I think she has been a fine musician and a very sensitive pianist. There are many beautiful recordings of Schumann, Clara Wieck, Schubert and even of 20th century composers. Besides she was very keen on chamber music and liederistic.


Will check this out, welcome to TalkClassical by the way.


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## znapschatz

Of those listed, the only one I have heard in concert was Alicia de Larrocha. I was very impressed by her precision at the keyboard, one of the cleanest performances I have ever heard. That was sometime in the late '80s - early 90s, I believe. Such a small person! With almost no change in facial expression or pianistic histrionics, like a music machine she sat there and played her program, and when the applause was over, she stood up, gravely thanked the audience, and departed. I am glad to have had the experience.


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## DavidA

Anyone mentioned Joyce Hatto yet? I mean, to have 'recorded' all those works - from Brahms concertos to Chopin-Godowsky Studies' in a shed in her back garden was a monumental achievement! Added to that the number of distinguished critics who were fooled by 'her' recordings! :lol:


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## Pugg

Anyone mentioned Bella Davidovich yet?
She did not made a huge bunch of records but the Chopin, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev for Philips are worth having.


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## starthrower

Mary Lou Williams, and Martha A.


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## worov

Rosalyn Tureck
Alicia de Larrocha
Clara Haskil
Lili Kraus
Guiomar Novaes
Teresa Carreño
Ilse von Alpenheim
Annie d'Arco
Cristina Ortiz
Annie Fischer
Tatiana Nikolayeva
Anne Queffélec
Maria Tipo
Joanna MacGregor


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