Hot New Pianists

[Brian]

he doth protest too much?

[Holden]

i was surprised to discover old(ish) news that i had missed: Yundi Li has been dropped by DG. 

in a rather sycophantic article on Lang Lang in today's London Times:

he doth protest too much?

Who cares? Both are second rate pianists though if I had to choose, Li would come out ahead of Bang Bang.

[Brian]

Alexandre Tharaud has signed an exclusive deal with Virgin Classics.

Sad news, really; that means his incredibly fruitful collaboration with harmonia mundi will be broken up, as well as his collaborations with artists like Jean-Guihen Queyras ... but, since Tharaud will still be one of the best pianists out there, I'll still be looking forward to it. His first Virgin album will be a Chopin disc in February called "Journal in Time" ... ugh, what a corny name.

[Coopmv]

Alexandre Tharaud has signed an exclusive deal with Virgin Classics.

Sad news, really; that means his incredibly fruitful collaboration with harmonia mundi will be broken up, as well as his collaborations with artists like Jean-Guihen Queyras ... but, since Tharaud will still be one of the best pianists out there, I'll still be looking forward to it. His first Virgin album will be a Chopin disc in February called "Journal in Time" ... ugh, what a corny name.

George,   Is Alexandre Tharaud a better pianist than Bang Bang?     

[Bulldog]

Who cares? Both are second rate pianists though if I had to choose, Li would come out ahead of Bang Bang.

My sentiments exactly.

[Coopmv]

My sentiments exactly.

But we all know which market DG is truly trying to target by signing Bang Bang?

[Brian]

I have only heard Tharaud's Chopin Preludes, I didn't like it very much.

The Preludes are nice, but the Waltzes are where it's really at, although the Couperin is where it's really at, although the Mompou bits are where it's really really at. And according to Jens, the Bach is ... well, you know. 

[Wanderer]

Who cares? Both are second rate pianists though if I had to choose, Li would come out ahead of Bang Bang.

Agreed. However, I'd much rather have Li record for DG than see another heinous cover of you-know-who.

George,   Is Alexandre Tharaud a better pianist than Bang Bang?     

Of course but then, every good pianist is.

But we all know which market DG is truly trying to target by signing Bang Bang?

The deaf? 

[Aeolian harp]

Yuja Wang seems to be the newest hot pianist from China. I must admit I haven't heard her yet but she's garnered very positive critical reviews. Perhaps DG has no room for three Chinese pianists on its roster and dropped Li to make room for Wang. Lang is the bigger money spinner for them, it makes commercial sense for them to keep him.

[Joe_Campbell]

She's got the chops. Check out this "warmup."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fgo7hp-Ko

[Brian]

She's got the chops. Check out this "warmup."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fgo7hp-Ko

1. Holy cow. "Chops" is one word for it. Playing that technically proficient should almost be illegal. It's almost Hamelin-esque (see: Flight of the Bumblebee).
2. She could stand to add some ice cream and fried foods to her diet.
3. The little pink cell phone on top of the piano is a nice touch.
4. I wonder how she feels music. Or if.

[Joe_Campbell]

1. Holy cow. "Chops" is one word for it. Playing that technically proficient should almost be illegal. It's almost Hamelin-esque (see: Flight of the Bumblebee).

Speaking of such, have you heard Hamelin's own Flight... etude? Check this out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qnU0H_EXG4

2. She could stand to add some ice cream and fried foods to her diet.

Absolutely not!

4. I wonder how she feels music. Or if.

Decide for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGdy4Whtrc
My first impression is: so-so.

And of course George wonders, because she wasn't born 100 years ago.

[Josquin des Prez]

She's got the chops.

In this day and age that's the minimum requirement.

[Joe_Campbell]

In this day and age that's the minimum requirement.

I agree. I don't think we'll ever see another Arrau-type. (thought he was still an excellent player)

Oh George, I saw that comment! Just in time it seems!

[Coopmv]

Yuja Wang seems to be the newest hot pianist from China. I must admit I haven't heard her yet but she's garnered very positive critical reviews. Perhaps DG has no room for three Chinese pianists on its roster and dropped Li to make room for Wang. Lang is the bigger money spinner for them, it makes commercial sense for them to keep him.

DG's goal is to sell a lot of CD's featuring these Chinese pianists in mainland China, period.  Even if a small percentage of that 1.3B+ people buy one of these CD's, it will translate into some big number.

[Brian]

Speaking of such, have you heard Hamelin's own Flight... etude? Check this out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qnU0H_EXG4Absolutely not!

That's exactly what I was referring to! 

The waltz wasn't that impressive.

[Josquin des Prez]

Pah, you guys want chops? I'll give you chops:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPeks0H3_s

[Joe_Campbell]

That's exactly what I was referring to! 

The waltz wasn't that impressive.

What's more amazing is the player is (was) a 17 year old guy!

I agree on the waltz. What's interesting is that much of her public performance history has been documented and uploaded to youtube. Interestingly, she has played this waltz before, when she was about 9...(just a guess)

Pah, you guys want chops? I'll give you chops:

As much as I can't get into the music, I am in awe of ANYONE who plays rag. The left hand jumps!

[Brian]

As much as I can't get into the music, I am in awe of ANYONE who plays rag. The left hand jumps!

Plus, Art Tatum was blind.

[Joe_Campbell]

Plus, Art Tatum was blind.

I did not know that! Amazing! Here's another blind pianist ripping through some Scriabin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgcmiStwQA