GMG Classical Music Forum

The Music Room => General Classical Music Discussion => Topic started by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:24:57 AM

Title: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:24:57 AM
I didn't know under which forum heading this should go.

So..

I put it under the one listed as general, as it seems the place it should go, as it is a topic..... that is quite general.

I'll put more in this topic later tonight, if all goes as it should, which it might not, I suppose.

But this is simply a topic to expound upon performers whom you enjoy, whom you've just heard, whom... etc.

Well you get the idea.

I'll put a few in a second, well a bit longer.
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Mark on June 15, 2007, 11:27:33 AM
So, instrumentalists, then? ??? Or simply, 'Performers'?
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Harry on June 15, 2007, 11:28:38 AM
I once played timpani!
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:29:17 AM
Quote from: Mark on June 15, 2007, 11:27:33 AM
So, instrumentalists, then? ??? Or simply, 'Performers'?

tee hee

Both my friend. Both.
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:35:04 AM
A performer I've come to love is Weissenberg.
I love the clarity and crispness of his playing.
Succinctly Rapt.
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Que on June 15, 2007, 11:36:33 AM
Why not confine the thread to (favourite) pianists?
We can have similar threads on violinists, cellists, etc.

Q
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:47:08 AM
Quote from: Que on June 15, 2007, 11:36:33 AM
Why not confine the thread to (favourite) pianists?
We can have similar threads on violinists, cellists, etc.

Q

That is why I said other instruments as well. I think there are just simply more pianists, I could be wrong, and because of that I shall change the title of this thread.

Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Que on June 15, 2007, 11:48:39 AM
Quote from: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:47:08 AM
That is why I said other instruments as well. I think there are just simply more pianists, I could be wrong, and because of that I shall change the title of this thread.

;D
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: orbital on June 15, 2007, 11:50:21 AM
Quote from: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:35:04 AM
A performer I've come to love is Weissenberg.
I love the clarity and crispness of his playing.
Succinctly Rapt.

He has become one my favorite performers -in selected material, mainly Bach. His partitas, French Overture, d-minor Fantasy blow others I've heard in piano version, easily.

Got his Rachmaninov, which I am liking more and more. Ditto, his Scarlatti. Not every sonata suits his style, and he is not one of the  chameleon pianistsso the more lyrical ones end up suffering a bit.
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: karlhenning on June 15, 2007, 11:53:08 AM
The topic does sort of look like:

There are two kinds of performers:  trombonists, and everybody else.

8)
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:55:18 AM
Other pianists whom I've come to enjoy quite a bit, mainly because of their interesting takes on works or their, at times rather quirky behavior.

Afanassiev:Has to be the most interesting pianist I've ever come across.
Feltsman: Sort of like the above mixed with Kuerti.
Browning:His Diabelli's is how I would imagine Beethoven's himself playing it.
Sofronitsky:Plays as Scriabin. Can't really ask for more.
Richter:It's fricking Sviatoslav.
Uchida: Love the brightness of her playing. Light and Crisp.
Kuerti: Always keeps things interesting.
Lortie: Love the cleaness of his playing.

I'm not as adept at giving them proper descriptions, but I will try if you ask.

And of course, my love:
Jacqueline du Pre whose passion I have yet to see truly matched, save when I saw that video of Richter conducting Rostropovich in Prokofiev's Op. 125.
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:57:24 AM
Quote from: orbital on June 15, 2007, 11:50:21 AM
He has become one my favorite performers -in selected material, mainly Bach. His partitas, French Overture, d-minor Fantasy blow others I've heard in piano version, easily.

Got his Rachmaninov, which I am liking more and more. Ditto, his Scarlatti. Not every sonata suits his style, and he is not one of the  chameleon pianistsso the more lyrical ones end up suffering a bit.

I've just rebought his Chopin and Rachmaninov. I don't own his Bach yet, but that is one of my planned next purchases.

Scarlatti is one of those composers that is really always hit or miss with me. I have Tipo is some of the sonatas, but my preference in Scarlatti is Pogorelich. They just all seem to suit him, or rather the ones he chose, suit him perfectly.

I've heard Browning in some Scarlatti as well, and while I love Browning, I just didn't think they fit him very well.
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:57:54 AM
Quote from: karlhenning on June 15, 2007, 11:53:08 AM
The topic does sort of look like:

There are two kinds of performers:  trombonists, and everybody else.

8)

Well they are the kings of orchestra.
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: sidoze on June 15, 2007, 12:02:52 PM
Quote from: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:55:18 AM
Afanassiev:Has to be the most interesting pianist I've ever come across.

This is one of very few pianists I go out of my way to avoid. He plays everything in the same listless, colourless, rhythmless manner. And believe me, I love slow playing (I'm the guy who adores Pogorelich's 43 minute Chopin 3rd sonata). If ever there were a pianist who deserves the description of PLODDING, here he is.
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: karlhenning on June 15, 2007, 12:04:51 PM
Quote from: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 11:57:54 AM
Well they are the kings of orchestra.

Well, if that be so, they are frequently absent from the realm . . . perhaps like Richard Lionheart, they are held captive by some evil piccolo player?

(And you didn't realize that it was a piccolo player who intercepted the Lionheart on his way back from the Crusade!)
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 12:05:23 PM
Quote from: sidoze on June 15, 2007, 12:02:52 PM
This is one of very few pianists I go out of my way to avoid. He plays everything in the same listless, colourless, rhythmless manner. And believe me, I love slow playing (I'm the guy who adores Pogorelich's 43 minute Chopin 3rd sonata). If ever there were a pianist who deserves the description of PLODDING, here he is.

I know. He's nearly a crackpot the way he plays. His Schubert. I mean that is just nuts.
;D
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 12:06:14 PM
Quote from: karlhenning on June 15, 2007, 12:04:51 PM
Well, if that be so, they are frequently absent from the realm . . . perhaps like Richard Lionheart, they are held captive by some evil piccolo player?

(And you didn't realize that it was a piccolo player who intercepted the Lionheart on his way back from the Crusade!)

Well I was thinking more like in chess, my friend.
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 15, 2007, 12:20:27 PM
Enescu, is on the violin what du Pre is for me on the cello: Passion Incarnate.

I also enjoy Menuhin when he was a youngster. There are some fantastic Bach recordings of he and Enescu.

There is not much more that one can ask for.
Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Larry Rinkel on June 15, 2007, 03:39:02 PM
Quote from: Harry on June 15, 2007, 11:28:38 AM
I once played timpani!

Who won?
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Greta on June 16, 2007, 06:33:58 AM
Trombone? Christian Lindberg! Such an amazing player. One of the best known classical trombonists right now, that has had a large amount of concertos written for him.

Trumpet: There are some jazzists that do classical equally well here, favs are Arturo Sandoval, Wynton Marsalis, and Allen Vizzutti (who is unreal techinically, he played with our college group once at a conference)

Piano: Yefim Bronfman is a great fav of mine, also like Argerich, Glenn Gould of course  ;D

Violin: I can't pick, so many! Um...Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Cho-Liang Lin, Leila Josefowicz I like for contemporary stuff

Cello: Yo-Yo Ma and Rostropovich top favs. Janos Starker and Anssi Kartunnen I also like on recordings I've heard.

Saxophone (like for classical sax concertos): John Harle, Eugene Rousseau, Dale Underwood, Arno Bornkamp

That's about all I can think of for famous soloists right now...

You know what would also be a neat list? Who are your favorite orchestral principals?  :D

I always forget names etc, but here's a few off the top of my head from some favorite orchestras -

Clarinet:
Mark van der Wiel, Philharmonia
Michelle Zukovsky, LA Phil

Oboe/English Horn:
Lothar Koch, of the Karajan/Berlin era
Carolyn Hove, LA Phil
Anne Leek, Houston Symphony

Trumpet:
Tim Morrison, Boston Pops, fmr. principal
Maurice Murphy, retiring from LSO
James Wilt, fmr. Houston Symphony, now LAP
Malcolm McNab, plays prin. for film in LA

Horn:
Dale Clevenger, Chicago SO
Barry Tuckwell, fmr. LSO
Dennis Brain, past prin., Philharmonia
Jonathan Goodall, BBC Phil



Title: Re: Pianists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: Philoctetes on June 16, 2007, 04:40:31 PM
Quote from: orbital on June 15, 2007, 11:50:21 AM
He has become one my favorite performers -in selected material, mainly Bach. His partitas, French Overture, d-minor Fantasy blow others I've heard in piano version, easily.

Got his Rachmaninov, which I am liking more and more. Ditto, his Scarlatti. Not every sonata suits his style, and he is not one of the  chameleon pianistsso the more lyrical ones end up suffering a bit.

I've been looking for his Bach Fantasy. What disc is that on?
Title: Re: Trombonists and Others Who Play Instruments
Post by: jochanaan on June 16, 2007, 08:46:43 PM
Oboists:

Marcel Tabuteau (Philadelphia Orchestra principal during Stokowski and early Ormandy years)
John de Lancie (PO principal after Tabuteau)
Ray Still (longtime Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal)
John Mack (Cleveland Orchestra principal during Szell years and after)
Richard Woodhams (Philadelphia principal, current longtime)

Clarinetists:

Harold Wright (longtime Boston Symphony principal)

Flutists:

William Kincaid (longtime Philadelphia principal)
Jean-Pierre Rampal (of course!)
Eugenia Zukerman