The piano

[kernelbogey]

‘The piano - an ungrateful instrument, which only one composer, Chopin, has fully succeeded in mastering; and two others, Debussy and Schumann have come on intimate terms with.’
- Sibelius, quoted this morning on Through the Night by Jonathan Swain.

We all have a relationship with the piano, whether with the piano repertoire, with composers for the piano, or our own instrument.

[visualnickmos]

‘The piano - an ungrateful instrument, which only one composer, Chopin, has fully succeeded in mastering; and two others, Debussy and Schumann have come on intimate terms with.’
- Sibelius, quoted this morning on Through the Night by Jonathan Swain.

We all have a relationship with the piano, whether with the piano repertoire, with composers for the piano, or our own instrument.

And yet, he wrote a fair bit for solo piano..... but not a composer with whom one associates as being a master of that craft.

[Mandryka]

The first time I began to see why there is so much praise for modern piano was when I heard Piotr Anderszewski play one, about three or four years ago. The Diabelli Variations, he used a Steinway. It was then that I heard what a sweet and powerful bass response the instrument can have in the right hands.

Other famous piano players I’ve heard in concert - Sokolov, Richter, Pletnev, Nikolayeva, Pollini, Zimerman, Aimard, Tilbury and others - just didn’t come close.

In truth I’m not much interested in 19th century music any more. The pianists who do contemporary music seem mostly dire to me - good chops of course but not good at timbre. There is one exception: Sabine Liebner.

As far as music goes, there isn’t much composed music for piano written over the past 21 years that I like - maybe there are exceptions by Alvin Curran, Mark Andre, and Michael Finnissy. The last towering figure to write piano music IMO was Karkheinz Stockhausen.

[ahinton]

And yet, he wrote a fair bit for solo piano..... but not a composer with whom one associates as being a master of that craft.

Indeed - though his observation about Chopin, Schumann and Debussy seems remarkably narrow-minded for someone of his immense gifts; what of Liszt, Alkan, Busoni, Albeniz, Granados, Godowsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Medtner?...

[antongould]

And yet, he wrote a fair bit for solo piano..... but not a composer with whom one associates as being a master of that craft.

I like his Sonatine No. 2 For Piano In E Major, Op. 67 ........

[Richard Barrett]

As far as music goes, there isn’t much composed music for piano written over the past 21 years that I like - maybe there are exceptions by Alvin Curran, Mark Andre, and Michael Finnissy. The last towering figure to write piano music IMO was Karlheinz Stockhausen.

21st century piano music... that's an interesting thought. I agree about Stockhausen of course, and about Finnissy too although I'm not very well up on the latter's post-2000 piano music and what I do know doesn't excite me as much as his spikier and less allusive piano music from earlier on. I would mention also Sciarrino, although he's written hardly anything for piano since 2000. Mark R Taylor (b 1961), who has a recent CD out on Another Timbre, is IMO writing some of the most original and powerful piano music of the present time.

[ahinton]

about Finnissy too although I'm not very well up on the latter's post-2000 piano music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nUsal3F4ow includes one of his more recent works, in case you have yet to come across it.

[kernelbogey]

And yet, he wrote a fair bit for solo piano..... but not a composer with whom one associates as being a master of that craft.

This is what Jonathan was introducing:

29/4/2021 02:13 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
6 Impromptus, Op 5
Juhani Lagerspetz (piano)

Jonathan has a knack for an interesting quote, and I thought this one made a useful 'Discuss...' kind of thread topic.

[Serial_Apologist]

21st century piano music... that's an interesting thought. I agree about Stockhausen of course, and about Finnissy too although I'm not very well up on the latter's post-2000 piano music and what I do know doesn't excite me as much as his spikier and less allusive piano music from earlier on. I would mention also Sciarrino, although he's written hardly anything for piano since 2000. Mark R Taylor (b 1961), who has a recent CD out on Another Timbre, is IMO writing some of the most original and powerful piano music of the present time.

I think we should include the late British jazz and free improvising pianist Keith Tippett, who, though he did not compose solo music for the piano per se, added a lot in terms of timbre and sonorities to the instrument's possibilities, even conventionally by massed accumulation of clustering techniques in the extreme registers when not resorting to adding objects, such as resonating pebbles placed on the strings, playing on the strings in the manner of a zither, using such auxiliaries as penny whistles and his own vocalisings, or sustain to enable access for other instrumentalists to exploit natural reverb by playing their instruments inside the belly of the instrument.

[Joseph K]

Patrick Ozzard-Low's second piano sonata is quite good.

[Mandryka]

I’d quite like to experience History of Photography in concert, I bet it comes across very well, on record it is too challenging sound wise for me to enjoy. I hadn’t realised it earlier but the recordings I like - Folklore and English Country Dances - are all pre 2000.

(By the way, I just noticed that Ian Pace has just released a Ferneyhough recording.)

[Joseph K]

(By the way, I just noticed that Ian Pace has just released a Ferneyhough recording.)

Indeed and very fine it is too (I would have posted about it here at the time I received it in the post, but my posting privileges at the time were restricted...)

[Richard Barrett]

I think we should include the late British jazz and free improvising pianist Keith Tippett

And for that matter Howard Riley, Alex Hawkins and Veryan Weston from the UK, and then Fred van Hove, Eve Risser, Marilyn Crispell, Irene Schweizer, Alex von Schlippenbach, Cecil Taylor, Craig Taborn, Borah Bergman and so on and so on, all of whose work is closer to my heart than any contemporary composer of notes for the piano.

[Edgy 2]

Indeed - though his observation about Chopin, Schumann and Debussy seems remarkably narrow-minded for someone of his immense gifts; what of Liszt, Alkan, Busoni, Albeniz, Granados, Godowsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Medtner?...

Indeed

[Bryn]

I’d quite like to experience History of Photography in concert, I bet it comes across very well, on record it is too challenging sound wise for me to enjoy. I hadn’t realised it earlier but the recordings I like - Folklore and English Country Dances - are all pre 2000.

(By the way, I just noticed that Ian Pace has just released a Ferneyhough recording.)

"English Country Tunes", surely? "Dances" tends to undermine the pun, slightly.