# Favorite Pianists who might miss notes



## hiroica (Aug 31, 2015)

I was watching a YouTube video of Ivo Pogorelich play at the Chopin competition and one of the comments on the video said how Ivo’s wrong notes sounded better than many pianists right notes. I got me thinking about what other pianists are some of people’s favorites that might fit this bill (ie pianists who are brilliant, not because of their level of technical competence, but in spite of it…btw you may or may not like Ivo, but I think you can understand what I’m getting at). Being technically excellent and being capable of communicating transcendent emotional music are linked to some extent, but if you had to list some of your favorite pianists in spite of their technical ability, with emotion, passion, and some other magic quality of je ne said quoi counting for the most, who (to quote Elgar’s ghost) would you say butters your parsnips the most ? I mean maybe this is the same as asking who you’re favorite pianists are, maybe not. I personally love and appreciate technical accuracy and perfection, but I think I sometime appreciate even more when someone has a little roughness around the edges, but is nonetheless brilliant


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

A lot of favorite symphonic and chamber recordings have wrong notes or wrong part volumes that just sound better, and I often likewise think of how easy it is to improve upon composers' works, always hearing different paths a work could've gone. Interesting topic! I enjoy Schiff's style too ie.


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## 59540 (May 16, 2021)

Artur Schnabel.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Recordings are misleading. Many musicians are terrified of letting out recordings with wrong notes, so much so that they'll do take after take until they get it perfectly right. But live recordings are wholly different matter which is why some artists even suppress their release. But there are still plenty out there. In most cases only really alert and knowledgeable listeners would notice anything amiss. The passion and fire of the performance comes through, wrong notes be damned. Two of my favorites are the Beethoven piano sonatas with Schnabel - there are enough wrong notes for a whole new sonata. His musicianship and vision are not impaired one bit. The other is a cd with two performances of the Tchaikovsky 1st concerto. The Horowitz/Szell from 1953 is white-hot and the most electrifying reading I know. Loaded with wrong notes. The Rubinstein/Rodzinski from 1946 is more accurate from the pianist but not without flaws and is just as stunning. In general I don't like to listen to recordings with wrong notes (there are many): knowing that wrong note is coming up is really irritating.

Then there are the studio recordings that should have been fixed and could have been done easily. The famous Earl Wild/Horenstein set of Rachmaninoff concertos has a mistake by the solo pianist on the opening solo chord of the 2nd concerto. Did he have a memory slip or a slip of the fingers? Nonetheless, there's an extra note in the chord. Maybe they thought on LP with surface noise and such that no one would ever notice. But on CD, to an attentive ear, it's plain as day.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)




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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Wilhelm Kempff! I remember someone saying (Idil Biret perhaps?) he practiced very little for a concert pianist. He was not a lazy man as he also composed and taught music in addition to his very long performing career. This makes me think that his lack of practice was intentional.

To quote Tamás Vásáry:



> There is something about perfection and artistry which is contradictory.


I think Kempff also thought like Tamás on this and embraced his flaws. I don`t wholly agree with the quote but I think it has a trace of truth in it.

Other favourite pianists who did not fear mistakes:

-Rudolf Serkin
-Julius Katchen
-Shura Cherkassky
-Sir Clifford Curzon


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

mbhaub said:


> Recordings are misleading. Many musicians are terrified of letting out recordings with wrong notes, so much so that they'll do take after take until they get it perfectly right. But live recordings are wholly different matter which is why some artists even suppress their release. But there are still plenty out there. In most cases only really alert and knowledgeable listeners would notice anything amiss. The passion and fire of the performance comes through, wrong notes be damned. Two of my favorites are the Beethoven piano sonatas with Schnabel - there are enough wrong notes for a whole new sonata. His musicianship and vision are not impaired one bit. The other is a cd with two performances of the Tchaikovsky 1st concerto. The Horowitz/Szell from 1953 is white-hot and the most electrifying reading I know. Loaded with wrong notes. The Rubinstein/Rodzinski from 1946 is more accurate from the pianist but not without flaws and is just as stunning. In general I don't like to listen to recordings with wrong notes (there are many): knowing that wrong note is coming up is really irritating.
> 
> Then there are the studio recordings that should have been fixed and could have been done easily. *The famous Earl Wild/Horenstein set of Rachmaninoff concertos has a mistake by the solo pianist on the opening solo chord of the 2nd concerto. Did he have a memory slip or a slip of the fingers? Nonetheless, there's an extra note in the chord. *Maybe they thought on LP with surface noise and such that no one would ever notice. But on CD, to an attentive ear, it's plain as day.


Perhaps that's just a "wild way" to give the finger to people who obsess over listening for wrong notes?


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Schnabel, Edwin Fischer, Alfred Cortot


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Schnabel, Edwin Fischer, Alfred Cortot


*Favorite Pianists who might miss notes*

In other words, may we name any of our favorite pianists in this thread and still be accurate? Or is there some "favorite pianist" out there who is simply "perfect"?

Perhaps we should simply name our favorite pianists who _never _miss a note! It seems that might prove more of a value here. However, I have no nominee.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Listen to this; it's disaster 




http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151102001046


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

hammeredklavier said:


> Listen to this; it's disaster
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nothing wrong there. Yundi Li was just trying to play the Chopin Second Concerto while the orchestra insisted in playing the First. It happens all the time. Doesn't it?


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

SONNET CLV said:


> Nothing wrong there. Yundi Li was just trying to play the Chopin Second Concerto while the orchestra insisted in playing the First. It happens all the time. Doesn't it?


Not all the time...




Look at these top-rated comments:
"Now let's see the same thing where the pianist starts out with Rachmaninov 2 & the orchestra was ready to play something else. We get to see the orchestra sweat."
"Even under normal circumstances, the opening solo of the Mozart D minor concerto brings tears to my eyes. Under these circumstances, it becomes virtually unbearable.."


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Many of Cortot’s recordings have wrong notes by the fistful that would never be allowed for release in any modern recording - and the swooning rubato is a very acquired taste - but the music-making has such elemental fire and passion that it sweeps aside these concerns for me. As a pianist myself, it’s sometimes overlooked just how hard it is to play piano accurately in virtuosic repertoire - those who can play at tempo and get all their fingers in the precise inch-long spots at the right time earn very high respect. And even the best have their moments. Richter’s famous 1958 Pictures at an Exhibition, for instance, is very far from note-perfect.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

SONNET CLV said:


> *Favorite Pianists who might miss notes*
> 
> In other words, may we name any of our favorite pianists in this thread and still be accurate? Or is there some "favorite pianist" out there who is simply "perfect"?
> 
> Perhaps we should simply name our favorite pianists who _never _miss a note! It seems that might prove more of a value here. However, I have no nominee.


I'm not understanding your response. All three of the pianists I mentioned were infamous for missed notes.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

dissident said:


> Artur Schnabel.


Beat me to it.

Sjhshdhcic


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## VoiceFromTheEther (Aug 6, 2021)

In the 19th century it was considered normal to misplay many notes because of doing a flashy and complicated take on the music. Anton Rubinstein was world-famous despite being perhaps less precise than any notable pianist today.


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