The transition period to new times is due to the urgent need of society for art that reflects friendly communication and freedom from falsehood. The need for household art is increasing. On the one hand, the democratization of art revived musical life. But against the background of this revival, the phenomenon of transitional culture is clearly expressed - the acceptance of pop culture as a unique phenomenon, and the unique works of classics being accepted as stereotype art. The educational function of music and its highly artistic purpose were replaced by an entertainment function and an orientation towards the tastes of the listener. The Philharmonic system has also completely lost the need for educational activities. The focus on box office and profit, which are proportional to success among the sometimes undeveloped listener, gives rise to the development of the tastes of the population in the wrong direction. Facilities mass media, which have an educational function, completely alienate us from the traditions of academic music. It’s becoming less and less common to find TV programs promoting propaganda in the general stream. historical portraits composers, announcements of performances or simply the broadcast of a film-opera. Performances of the best pianists are broadcast on some channels from 1.00-3.00 am. What audience are these broadcasts intended for? Of the 47 analogue television channels, 1 is dedicated to promoting culture to the masses. The avant-garde reflection of reality is very far from the ideological content of the academic repertoire, and the artistic height of the classical repertoire sets the bar too high for modern everyday life. In this regard, there is a very large gap in the understanding of art, in the trends of its development and meaning. Mira Evtich said best about the situation in modern performance: “Excellent pianists play all over the world very quickly and very loudly, they are all titled and deserved, but they have no personal charisma, no original personal quality.” Also noteworthy are the words of M. Pletnev: “I haven’t heard representatives of the old Russian school for a long time. I hear a school that can be called “post-Russian” or “post-Soviet”. It arose from the need to obtain first places in various competitions. Athletic game. I'm not a fan of this game. But to get it, you need to take it with just such a game. I see that people who play more meaningfully get nothing. Careers are made by those who play loudly and quickly...” The time of sports and competition led to the emergence of similar performers. The professional level of the performer does not go beyond correct and clean playing. Performers are increasingly less likely to invest their interpretive “I” into their performance. The path of a pianist to the concert stage lies through competitive competition. Only sports-oriented pianists win. Because of this art culture follows the path of spiritual decline. Statistics show a drop in occupancy concert halls. Professionally oriented people of art in Russia generally do not have financial opportunity attend concert performances. They are increasingly turning to recordings, Radio Orpheus or the Internet. Issues of performance and interpretation gradually remain in the 20th century. The concept of “virtuoso” changes its noble meaning of “a musician, a master of his craft, stunning the hall.” Increasingly, a master of technique is called a virtuoso, distinguished by brilliant fluency and ease of execution of difficult passages, octaves and other technically difficult places.
Piano performance itself has ceased to have a sole educational and educational function, and is no longer a reflection of the spiritual mood of the people. The piano ceases to be the central instrument, and the Klaviraband is replaced by prefabricated concerts or recordings. Sound recording, which appeared at the end of the 19th century, on the one hand gave a massive impetus to the development of piano art, supplanted the genre of home music playing, limiting the listener to the low quality of transmission of piano works. At the beginning of the 21st century, the piano is being replaced by electronic small-sized synthesizers, and the public is attending solo piano concerts less and less, preferring bright symphony concerts or festivals where you can hear in one evening a large number of a variety of music in different performances. Is it possible that in the future the piano will become a grand piano? museum exhibit, and piano playing will disappear completely?
To preserve the performing arts and revive it is necessary to work closely with bold, large-scale ideas and the desire to implement them. Original, original thinking determines the movement and new ways of developing art. You need to educate your audience and force them to rise above their artistic level. In educating students, it is important to instill the skill of cognition and independent expansion of their horizons. Contemporary performance is represented by many pianists. We most often learn their names after the Tchaikovsky competition. This competition brought fame to such pianists as
Van Cliburn, Vladimir Ashkenazi, Eliso Virsaladze, Vladimir Krainev, Mikhail Pletnev, Grigory Sokolov, Boris Berezovsky, Denis Matsuev and many others. International competitions and festivals contribute to the globalization of piano art. Piano schools gradually cease to have the same identified features as in the 20th century. Asian pianists come to study in Russia, Russians go to train and advance to the West, and then return to give concerts in Russia. The style of contemporary performance reflects the philosophy of pluralism. The multiplicity of interpretations, performing directions, and construction of programs today are equivalent and acceptable. On the one hand, this provides a way for tasteless and illiterate amateurs, but at the same time it is a chance for professionals to preserve the performing arts and look for new ways of development. This path was seen by Glen Gould in the 20th century. Experimenting with recording sometimes even opposite interpretations on the same day (for example, Beethoven's Sonata op.57 "Appasionata"), he proves his reform about the correctness of any interpretation, provided it is justified and convincing. Modern directions piano art can be defined as expressive And fine art. Thus, in piano works, performers of the “expressive direction” express the composer’s idea through the prism of their spiritual world, their relationship to the work, searching for it in the historical and philosophical panorama. And pianists of the “fine direction” show us the idea of the work, its meaning in the context of their personal professional capabilities, drawing an image with sounds. Contemporary performance can usually be characterized by pianists creative principles which have already been established, and the future consists of young pianists who are still on the threshold of great achievements.
Grigory Sokolov, Mikhail Pletnev, Boris Berezovsky, Evgeny Kissin, Ivo Pogorelich, Marta Agrerich, Alfred Brendel, Eliso Virsaladze are pianists whose names are at the top of our time. Their performing principles have already developed during their creative careers and basically they continue the best traditions of pianism that developed in the 20th century. The instructions of the best teachers and live performances of pianists such as S. Richter, E. Gilels, Vl. Horowitz, Ar. Rubinstein are still fresh in their memory... Our century provides us with amazing opportunity also listen to their recordings. We can evaluate their technical capabilities, compare interpretations, and trace the evolution of the performers’ creativity at any time convenient for us. But we will never have access to that Magic world creations, that sacred aura of colorful sound, that power of influence on the listener, that message of energy that can once and for all shape the performer’s worldview, cultivate his taste and direct his creativity in a direction that will keep the artistic bar high. Alas. Forecasts of these figures for piano performance are not always comforting, but through their activities they are trying to preserve and convey what has been collected grain by grain throughout the history of piano performance. Holding festivals, inviting world stars of piano art, affordable prices when purchasing concert tickets, grants to support young talents - these are the first steps towards stopping the irreversible process of disappearance of piano performance. We are given hope for the future by young talents, the search for which is continuous. One of the pianists who recently conquered the whole world is Daniil Trifonov. A brilliant young pianist with an established musical position. His musical talent is combined with a fiery heart and attitude towards music. “First of all, music must enter my heart, only then do I start working on a piece.” - says Daniel. His performing style can be considered a worthy continuation of the Russian piano school. His desire, which can be heard in any interpretation, is to get closer to the composer’s idea, correlating it with the era and time. For example, the First Piano Concerto of P.I. Tchaikovsky's performance is full of breath and very melodic. And the performance of the concerto for F. Chopin No. 1 is in the best traditions of the first winners of the Chopin Competition - L. Oborin and J. Zack. filled with male sentimentality and sincerity. Captures the hearts of listeners from the first sound - Alexander Lubyantsev. The pianist, who has also passed a large number of competitions, amazes with his interpretations. Despite not always positive reviews of his performance, we can say that he is following the right way– does not copy existing interpretations, but pushes the boundaries in search of its own individual style and in constructing new readings of works. For him, works are an inexhaustible source for search, and his motto is “he who walks the road will master the road.” His performance cannot leave anyone indifferent. There are no empty spaces on Lubyantsev's keyboards. Interpretation is the second life of music and such a great performer for it will definitely inspire new life in performing arts. Concerts leave an unforgettable impression
Miroslava Kultysheva. The performing style of this pianist is very romantic, touching, and delicate, just like the image of the pianist himself. The lack of bright expressiveness and a touch of sadness gives his performance an ethereal quality and does not impose his opinion and interpretation on the listener. There is room for the listener's imagination and imagination. This leaves some understatement, which leaves the impression that the pianist will “open up” and “show” something else. But it's such an exotic, fancy style. His performances of works by M. Ravel “Reflections” or “Gaspard at Night” are especially successful. The performance of S. Rachmaninov's Concerto No. 2 is filled with sincerity, and its sound fills the entire hall with the aura of a sacred performance. His repertoire includes less classical works. The pianist speaks about this in one of his interviews:
“Viennese classics caused me significant difficulties precisely because of their greater organization and classicism, when compared with the music of romanticism. Since childhood, I have gravitated towards the romantic repertoire, playing a lot of romantic music. I can’t judge how I played, but in any case, my inner inclination and need manifested itself in this choice.” His approach to the work, the search for the author’s intention, the study of the musical theoretical basis, teaching activity influences performing evolution. His perfect execution acquires depth and philosophy. Perhaps in the future this trait will be reflected in the repertoire of this pianist, and we will hear in his performance wonderful interpretations of classical examples of academic music. The above pianists, as well as Nikita Mdoyants, Vadim Kholodenko, Andrey Gugnin, Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev, are our future. These are pianists with a bright personality and their own vision of the performing arts. Many of these pianists represent the “composing virtuoso” type of performer so popular in the second half of the 19th century. The versatility of their talent expands their reading of works and adds a creative dimension to their activities. For an encore they perform own compositions, they compose their own cadenzas for concerts, write reviews of the performances of their colleagues, promote rarely performed repertoire, and perform academic music on a par with modern music. The method of expanding musical specialization with the restoration of performing traditions and an objective awareness of modernity gives hope that the art of pianism is, as in the time of A. Rubinstein, at dawn and it has another century and a half of brilliant history before the next renewal.
To develop the apparatus, it is not enough to play many hours of exercises. It is necessary to save energy for the rest of the work.
There is a well-known temptation to do what you know and what works best. Be able to resist this, otherwise you will not succeed.
Note that eliminating one technique gap helps eliminate all other gaps. Know yours weak sides and attack them decisively.
Those who, after playing the exercises in the morning for half an hour or even an hour, think that they are finished with the technique, are mistaken.
I’m not even entirely sure whether I should start my daily routine with exercise. The “treatment” of the device becomes more effective when the exercises are intelligently distributed throughout the working day.
Stop learning from time to time work of art and return to overcoming certain technical difficulties - you will achieve success faster and with less effort.
When learning technical exercises, keep the following tips in mind:
1. The seating height should ensure horizontal position hands.
2. Exercises are played without a pedal.
3. Don't strain your hand. When tired, rest or change the type of exercise.
4. When working at a slow forte or piano tempo, place your finger deep into the key.
5. Think not only about the finger strike, but also about the lift. Knowing how to take your hand off the keyboard is just as important as how to put it down. The first skill is a condition for the second.
In order to achieve ease of performance, it is useful to exaggerate the clarity of articulation at the beginning of the work. The intensity of the sound decreases as the tempo gradually increases.
6. Control your thumb and second fingers and do not tilt your hand towards your little finger so that the latter retains the ability to strike on its own.
7. Continuously control the flexibility of your hand. It should be free from shoulder to wrist. Don't play with raised, stiff shoulders.
8. Work by gradually speeding up the movement, but often returning to a slow pace.
9. Count! In exercises, strong beats are fulcrum points and starting points for the fingers to run up. Emphasize! The clarity of the rhythm contributes to the clarity of the fingers.
10. Play the exercises expressively! Listen to yourself!
Reflecting the essence of our work, these instructions will give the conscientious musician something to think about and, without a doubt, will help him master the secret of great pianists - the ability to work!
In conclusion, I would like to once again appeal to all pianists good will who wish to benefit from this work. There is no single and comprehensive method to learn the art of pianism.
They often say: technology is the work of imagination. There is some truth in this. You can, for example, compose wonderful technical formulas yourself, based on the works you study. These countless little finds have their own meaning. But they are dangerous if the pianist thinks of replacing exercises or traditional etudes with them.
The study of a work is not limited only to technical tasks. Sonority, style, beauty of phrases, fullness of sound, chords, nobility of rhythm, balance of parts - these are the goals that a pianist should set for himself, wanting to reproduce the author's intention. To do this, the performer must be freed from technical worries.
He will achieve this freedom by continuous study of the formulas contained in the studies of great piano masters. No matter how necessary Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” or Chopin’s etudes are for the formation of a virtuoso and musician - these are the pinnacles of piano literature - they will not replace Czerny’s “School of Finger Fluency” and “School of the Virtuoso”.
In order to achieve mastery, you need to work hard, you need a lot of patience. Do not forget also about modesty and respect for traditions.
I obeyed these simple truths, I put them into practice.
Marguerite Long, from the preface to “The School of Exercise”
Richard Clayderman is a French pianist, musician and arranger who gained the greatest popularity thanks to his classical and popular works, which brought him fame as one of greatest musicians modernity. During his career, Richard wrote more than 1,300 compositions that sold more than 150 million copies; 267 of them received gold status in several countries, and another 70 received platinum status. Such incredible success brought Clayderman's name into the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most successful pianist peace.
Richard Clayderman was born Philippe Pagès on December 28, 1953 in Paris, France. From the early childhood Richard studied music and learned to play the piano under the tutelage of his father, a music teacher and professional musician. By the time he graduated from school, music was for boys
and not just a hobby, but an activity in which he would like to spend his life.
Upon entering the Paris Conservatoire, Richard quickly won the love of the students and the respect of the teachers, who quickly recognized the amazing talent of the young Clayderman. His career and future as a professional musician was on the brink of death when Richard
knew about his father’s illness and the almost complete bankruptcy of the family. So, in order to support himself and pay for his studies, he got a job at a bank, and also began performing with contemporary French musicians as a session musician. Interestingly, Richard very quickly made his way into the groups of the most popular musicians of that time, although other musicians
It took years, but, as he himself recalls, at that time he was ready to play any music for which he was paid, so it was profitable for professional musicians to get a young and promising musician into their group.
In 1976, Clayderman was invited to an interview and audition for the ballad "Ballade pour Adeline"
(or just "Adeline"). Of the 20 applicants for the position of pianist, Richard was chosen, whose playing style amazed the producers with its heterogeneity: it combined lightness and strength, energy and melancholy. In just a few days of recording, the final version of "Ballade pour Adeline" appeared, the number of copies sold to date is
t 34 million records in 38 countries. Despite the fact that this work became the musician’s most striking achievement, he still has several hundred popular works, which are successful not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Asia, which is fairly protected from Western influence. In many Asian countries, the work of Richard
Clayderman is such a success that it sometimes takes up all the shelves in music stores, leaving no room for the masters classical music- Mozart, Wagner, Beethoven, etc.
Spending most of his time on tour, Richard has established himself as an extremely efficient musician - in 2006, he gave 200 concerts in 250 days, performing
Taking the weekends only to travel and set up sound in new places. During his career, he became the author of 1,300 works, which were published as solo albums, and ended up on TV and cinema screens. In total, about 100 Richard discs are available today - from his early works to his most recent work.
Is it possible to determine the number of characteristic signs of first-class piano playing. However, by selecting the ten most important traits and carefully considering each of them, the student will learn much that will give him food for thought later. Ultimately, no one is able to express in print everything that a teacher can communicate in live communication.
When studying a new composition, it is extremely important to understand its general concept; it is necessary to try to penetrate the main intention of the composer.
There are also purely technical difficulties that must be overcome gradually. But until the student is able to recreate the main idea of the composition in larger proportions, his playing will resemble a kind of musical mishmash.
There is a certain structural plan. First of all, you need to discover it, and then build a composition in that artistic manner, which is characteristic of its author.
You ask me: “How can a student form a correct idea of the work as a whole?” Undoubtedly the best way- listen to it performed by a pianist whose authority as an interpreter is beyond doubt. However, many do not have this opportunity. Quite often, the teacher himself, who teaches from morning to evening, is unable to execute the composition absolutely perfectly in all details. Nevertheless, something can be learned from a teacher who, to the best of his ability, is able to give the student general idea about the artistic values of the work. But even in those cases when it is not possible to listen to either a virtuoso pianist or a teacher, the student should not despair if he has talent.
Yes it greatest power, which, like nothing else, penetrates into all artistic secrets and reveals the truth. A talented performer seems to intuitively grasp the thoughts that overwhelmed the composer at the moment of creating the composition, and, like a true interpreter, conveys them to the audience in an adequate form.
It goes without saying that technical skill is of paramount importance for anyone who would like to become a first-class pianist. It is impossible to imagine a good performance that would not be distinguished by a clean, fluent, distinct, flexible technique. The technical capabilities of the pianist must meet artistic requirements of the performed work. There may, of course, be passages which require special work, but, generally speaking, technique is of no value unless the hands and brain are sufficiently trained to overcome the major difficulties encountered in new compositions.
Russian schools pay great attention to technology. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for such a favorable reception of some Russian pianists in last years. The work of leading Russian conservatories is almost entirely under the supervision of the Imperial musical society. This system is flexible: although all students are required to take the same course of study, Special attention is given individual lessons. However, in the beginning, technology is the primary subject. In technical terms, all students are required to achieve high professional level. Nobody is an exception. Perhaps the readers of The Etude magazine will be interested in learning something about the general plan of work of the Russian imperial schools. The course of study lasts nine years. During the first five years the student acquires most of his technical skills by studying Hanon's collection of exercises, which are very widely used in conservatories. In fact, this is the only collection of strictly technical exercises used. All of them are in the key of C. The collection includes scales, arpeggios and exercises for other types of technique. At the end of the fifth year there is an exam. It consists of two parts. First, the student is examined in technique, and then he must demonstrate skill in the artistic interpretation of plays, sketches, etc. However, those who fail the first examination are not allowed to take the second. The student learns the Ganon exercises so well that he knows them by number. The examiner may ask him, for example, to play exercise 17 or 28, or 32, etc. The student immediately sits down at the piano and plays. Despite the fact that in the original all exercises are written in C major, the examiner has the right to ask to play them in any other key. The exercises are studied so thoroughly that examinees are required to play them in the required key. An exam using a metronome is also used. The student knows that he must play the exercise at a given tempo. The examiner determines the speed and the metronome turns off. A student, for example, is asked to play the E major scale at 120 metronome, eight notes per bar. If he copes with the task, he is given the appropriate grade and allowed to take the rest of the exams.
I believe that the requirement for deep technical knowledge is a pressing issue. Being able to play several pieces does not mean mastering musical professionalism. It's like a musical snuffbox with only a few tunes left. The student's understanding of technology must be comprehensive. Later, the student is given technically more difficult exercises, for example, Tauzig. Cherny is also deservedly popular. Less known are Henselt's sketches, despite his long work in Russia. At the same time, they are so beautiful that they should be placed next to such plays as Chopin's etudes.
Interpretation is impossible unless the student knows the rules that form the basis for a very important area, phrasing. Unfortunately, many publications are imperfect in this regard. Some of the phrasing marks are used incorrectly. Therefore, the only safe way is to undertake a special study of this important area musical art. In the old days, phrasing signs were used little. Bach arranged them extremely sparingly. Then there was no need for this, since each musician, while playing, could set the boundaries of the phrase himself. But knowing how to define phrases is by no means the only thing necessary. The skill of their execution is just as important. A true sense of music must be born in the artist's mind, otherwise all the knowledge of phrasing that he possesses will be useless.
The execution of phrases depends entirely on the feeling of the music, or the feeling of the interpreter, then determining the tempo requires no less musical talent. Although now in many cases the tempo of a particular composition is indicated by means of a metronome, it is necessary to take into account the interpretation of the performer himself. You cannot blindly follow metronomic instructions, although sometimes it is unsafe to deviate too much from them. The metronome does not need to be used blindly. The performer should act according to his own understanding. I don't encourage long periods of practice with a metronome. It is designed to set the tempo, and if not abused, the metronome will be a faithful assistant. But it should be used only for this purpose. The most mechanical performance imaginable occurs in those who make themselves the slave of these little musical clocks, which were never intended to be a despot, controlling every minute of practice.
Many students realize that there is a wonderful opportunity for contrast in performance. Each work is a “thing in itself”. Therefore, it must be interpreted in its own way. There are performers whose performance is always the same. It can be compared to the dishes served in some hotels. Everything that is brought to the table has the same taste. Of course, to be successful, a performer needs a strong personality, and each of his interpretations must be colored by it. But at the same time, you should constantly seek variety. Chopin's Ballade needs to be played differently from Scarlatti's Capriccio. Really, Beethoven's sonata has very little in common with Liszt's Rhapsody. Consequently, the student should strive to give the essay an original, unique appearance. Every work should stand alone. If the performer is unable to instill this feeling in his audience, he is only slightly better than any mechanical instrument.
Hoffmann has this ability to endow any piece of writing with an individual and characteristic charm that always fascinates me so much.
Called the soul of the piano. I didn't understand what this meant until I heard Anton Rubinstein. His performance seemed so wonderful to me that it defies description. His pedal control was phenomenal. In the finale of Chopin's Sonata in b minor, he achieved indescribably beautiful pedal effects. For anyone who remembers them, they will always be remembered as the greatest of the rarities that music gives.
The pedal is a lifelong learner. This is the most difficult area of higher piano education. Of course, ground rules for its use can be defined, and the student needs to study them carefully. But at the same time, these laws can be skillfully violated in the name of achieving unusual, enchanting colors.
These are a set of known principles that are within the grasp of our musical intelligence. They can be compared to the planet on which we live and about which we know so much. However, beyond these laws there is a great Universe - celestial system. It can only be penetrated with the telescopic artistic vision of a great musician. This was done by Rubinstein and some other pianists, who brought to our earthly vision divine beauty, which only they were able to feel.
That we should respect the traditions of the past, although they are for the most part incomprehensible to us, since they can only be found in books, we nevertheless should not be captive of conventions. The fight against traditional beliefs is the law of artistic progress. All great composers and performers have erected new buildings on the ruins of the conventions they destroyed. It is immeasurably more beautiful to create than to imitate. But before we can create anything, it would be good to become familiar with the best that preceded us. This applies not only to composing, but also to piano performance. The great pianists Rubinstein and Liszt had an unusually wide range of knowledge. They studied piano literature in all its possible branches. They knew every step musical development. This is the reason for their gigantic rise as musicians. Their greatness did not lie in the empty shell of acquired technology. They knew. I wish there were more students these days who had a genuine thirst for real musical knowledge, and not just a desire to superficially show off at the piano.
It was said that some teachers especially insist that the student know the composer’s source of inspiration. It's certainly interesting and can help stimulate a feeble imagination. However, I am convinced that it would be much better for the student to rely on his own understanding of music. It is a mistake to suppose that knowledge of the fact that Schubert was inspired by any poem, or that Chopin was inspired by any legend, can ever compensate for the lack of true fundamentals of piano performance.
It is necessary to see, first of all, the main features of the musical connections in the composition. He must understand what gives this work integrity, organicity, strength and grace. He must know how to identify these elements. Some teachers tend to exaggerate the importance of auxiliary exercises and downplay the need to acquire a genuine musician's foundation. This view is wrong and leads to bad results.
Must be guided by greater motives than just playing for profit. He has a mission, and that mission is to educate the public. For the selfless student, for his own benefit, it is extremely important to carry out this educational work. For his own good, it is better to devote all his energies to plays the performance of which he feels will have a musical, educational and educational effect on the public. In this case, it is necessary to have your own opinion, but not to go too far beyond the limits of the perception of the given audience. If we take, for example, a virtuoso pianist, then the question looks a little different. A virtuoso assumes and even demands from his audience a certain musical taste, a certain level music education. Otherwise it will work in vain. For the public to enjoy the greatest in music, they need to listen good music until the beauty of the composition becomes obvious to her... Virtuosos are calling on music students around the world to contribute to the education of a huge musical audience. Don't waste your time on music that is banal or ignoble! Life is too short to spend it wandering through the empty sugar of musical garbage.
Every good piano performance has a very important spark that seems to turn every interpretation of a masterpiece into a living work art. It exists only at a certain moment and cannot be explained. For example, two pianists of the same technical ability can play the same composition. One has a boring, lifeless and rote performance, the other has something indescribably amazing. This performance seems to tremble with the fullness of life. It interests and inspires the audience. What is this important spark that breathes life into simple notes?
It can be called the intense artistic interest of the performer. This is that amazing phenomenon known as inspiration. In the process of creating a composition, the composer is certainly inspired, and if the performer experiences the same joy that the author experienced at the moment of creation, something new and unusual comes into his performance. It seems that it is awakening and gaining strength in an absolutely miraculous way. The audience understands this immediately and even sometimes forgives technical inaccuracies if the performance itself is full of inspiration. Rubinstein was a technical marvel, and yet he admitted that he made mistakes. Perhaps they were, but at the same time he recreated such ideas and musical pictures that could compensate for a million mistakes. When Rubinstein was too precise, his performance lost some of its delightful charm. I remember how once at one of the concerts he played “Islamey” by Balakirev. Something distracted his attention and, obviously, he completely forgot the composition, but continued to improvise in the manner of Balakirev’s play. After about four minutes he remembered the rest of the part and played to the end. This greatly annoyed him, and he played the next number in the program with utmost precision, but, oddly enough, his performance lost the wonderful charm of the moment in which his memory failed. Rubinstein was truly incomparable, perhaps even because he was full of human impulses, and his execution was far from machine perfection.
It is necessary to play all the notes, and, if possible, in a manner and style close to the composer, but the student's aspiration should in no way be limited to this. Every single note in a composition is important, but there is something that is just as important as the notes, and that is the soul. Ultimately, the all-important living spark is the soul. The soul is the source of that highest expression in music that cannot be expressed by dynamic designations. The soul intuitively feels the need for crescendi and diminuendi. The very duration of the pause or each note depends on its essence. The artist’s soul dictates to him how long to maintain this pause. If a student turns to rigid rules and is completely dependent on them, his performance will be soulless.
Performance also requires a lot of deep thought, not just mastery of the keyboard. The student should not think that the goal has been achieved if all the notes have been played. In reality, this is just the beginning. You need to make the work a part of yourself. Each note should awaken in the performer some kind of musical awareness true artistic mission.
Great pianists past and present are truly the clearest example for admiration and imitation. Everyone who is interested in and has been interested in playing music on the piano has always tried to copy best features great pianists: how they perform the work, how they were able to feel the mystery of each note and sometimes it seems that it is incredible and some kind of magic, but everything comes with experience: if yesterday it seemed unrealistic, then today a person himself can perform the most complex sonatas and fugues.
The piano is one of the most famous musical instruments, permeating a variety of genres of music, and with its help, many of the most moving and emotional compositions in history were created. And the people who play it are considered giants of the music world. But who are these greatest pianists? When choosing the best, many questions arise: should it be based on technical ability, reputation, breadth of repertoire, or ability to improvise? There is also the question of whether it is worth considering those pianists who played in past centuries, because then there was no recording equipment, and we cannot hear their performances and compare them with modern ones. But during this period there was great amount incredible talents and if they became world famous long before the media, then it is quite justifiable to pay respect to them. Taking all these factors into account, here is a list of the 7 best pianists of the past and present.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
The most famous Polish composer Frederic Chopin was one of the greatest virtuosos and pianist of his time.
The vast majority of his works were created for solo piano, and although there are no recordings of his playing, one of his contemporaries wrote: “Chopin is the creator of the piano and composer school. In truth, nothing can compare with the ease and sweetness with which the composer began to play the piano, moreover, nothing can compare with his work full of originality, peculiarity and grace."
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Competing with Chopin for the crown of greatest virtuoso of the 19th century was Franz Liszt, a Hungarian composer, teacher and pianist.
Among his most famous works are the insanely complex piano sonata in B minor Années de pèlerinage and the waltz Mephisto Waltz. In addition, his fame as a performer became a legend, even the word Lisztomania was coined. During an eight-year period of touring Europe in the early 1840s, Liszt gave more than 1,000 performances, although at the relatively young age of 35 he abandoned his career as a pianist and concentrated entirely on composing.
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Rachmaninoff's style was perhaps quite controversial for the time in which he lived, as he sought to maintain the romanticism of the 19th century.
Many people remember him for his ability stretch your hand 13 notes(octave plus five notes) and even by glancing briefly at the etudes and concertos that he wrote, one can verify the authenticity of this fact. Fortunately, recordings of this brilliant pianist's performances have survived, starting with his Prelude in C sharp major, recorded in 1919.
Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
This Polish-American pianist is often cited as the best Chopin performer of all time.
At the age of two he was diagnosed absolute pitch, and when he was 13 he debuted with Berlinsky Philharmonic Orchestra. His teacher was Karl Heinrich Barth, who in turn studied with Liszt, so he can safely be considered part of the great pianistic tradition. Rubinstein's talent, combining elements of romanticism with more modern technical aspects, turned him into one of the best pianists of his time.
Svyatoslav Richter (1915 - 1997)
In the fight for the title of best pianist of the 20th century, Richter is part of the powerful Russian performers that appeared in the mid-20th century. He showed great commitment to the composers in his performances, describing his role as a "performer" rather than an interpreter.
Richter was not a big fan of the recording process, but his best live performances survive, including 1986 in Amsterdam, 1960 in New York and 1963 in Leipzig. He held himself to high standards and realized that at the Italian Bach concert, played the wrong note, insisted on the need to refuse to print the work on a CD.
Vladimir Ashkenazy (1937 -)
Ashkenazi is one of the leaders in the world of classical music. Born in Russia, he currently holds Icelandic and Swiss citizenship, and continues to perform as a pianist and conductor around the world.
In 1962 he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 1963 he left the USSR and lived in London. His extensive catalog of recordings includes all the piano works of Rachmaninov and Chopin, Beethoven sonatas, Mozart piano concertos, as well as works by Scriabin, Prokofiev and Brahms.
Martha Argerich (1941-)
Argentine pianist Martha Argerich amazed the whole world with her phenomenal talent when, at the age of 24, she won the international competition named after Chopin.
She is now recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the second half of the 20th century and is famous for her passionate playing and technical abilities, as well as performances of works by Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.
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