Top 10 Pianists of the Century
Here I have compiled a tentative list of my favourite 10 pianists of the 20th century. The criterion used is of course, absolutely subjective; since there is no such thing as "best" and "greatest", I have ranked them in an order, which reflects, apart from pure technique, their ability to interpret my favourite composers. For instance, the now almost forgotten Swiss Cortot occupies the top spot, because I consider him the best reader of my beloved Chopin. The Chilean Arrau is also up high as the most convincing interpreter of Beethoven, whereas the world-renowned Sviatoslav Richter is outside the top five, since he was really good mostly in Schumann and Prokofiev, composers who don't touch me much. You may agree and disagree with this list - just remember, that the idea of such rankings is not to sparkle debate, but to encourage sharing.
| 1. Alfred Cortot (1877-1962) | There was never anything like him. His tone was unique, his technique breath-taking, his ability to bring the audience to the verge of hysteria - unchallanged so far. Cortot formed the most famous trio in history, with Casals and Thibaud. He taught Lipatti, Haskil and Neuhaus (the teacher of Richter and Gilels). But, above all, Cortot was the most profound interpreter of Chopin, and he played him with more understanding, more vigor and less sweetness than any other pianist. Don't miss the Etudes, the Preludes, the Nocturnes... Actually, don't miss anything by Cortot, whatever it is. |
| 2. Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) | The best-loved piano-artist of the century. He had one of the greatest techniques in history, and sometimes showed off, but with time he tampered the desire to impress and achieved unsurpassed control over the instrument. The greatest interpreter of Rachmaninov ever, he played the Third Concerto so well that the composer himself stopped playing it. Great Chopin, Wagner, and, above all - Liszt. Listen to his version of Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, it will raise your hair. |
| 3. Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) | Often slow and excessively dramatic, he would ruin Mozart, Debussy or Weber, but in most people's opinion Arrau played Beethoven better than anyone else. His heavy sound and slow tempi, his faithfulness to the score and his otherwise annoying habit not to play with the volume made Beethoven sound just right. Like most of the great pianists, he was like French wine, getting better with age. For nothing on Earth miss the sonatas! |
| 4. Evgenny Kissin (1972-) | A super child-prodigy, just like Hofmann and Arrau. He was giving recitals at the age of 7, and his grand concert in Kremlin in 1984 (he was 12 years-old!) made him a star. Meticulous and very serious, Kissin never cheats in the score (actually, a rare thing among the great pianists), but his transcendental technique makes this easy. Kissin recently emerged as a brilliant Chopinist, probably rivaling Cortot and Horowitz, but his star is still to rise, when he masters Mozart. |
| 5. Glen Gould (1932-1982) | "This nut's a genius", supposedly said of him George Szell. Gould was one of the most eccentric artists of the century, who had no respect for any auhtority whatsoever. Once he even remarked during an interview that Mozart died not too early, as most people think, but too late... Of course, his unique idea of the geometry of music lead him to destroy Mozart, and not only him. But his Bach is miraculous, to an extent that many people realized they had never heard the real Bach before Gould delivered his interpretation. His Goldberg Variations and live concerts are a must-hear. |
| 6. Arturo Michelangeli (1920-1995) | Probably the greatest improvisor of the century, and certainly the most aristocratic of them all. Many people think his technique surpassed that of Horowitz, but unfortunately most recordings don't capture this. He was supposed to be at his best after concerts, when playing for his friends. In any case, his Debussy is a revelation, and he excels in Brahms and Beethoven as well. Michelangeli left behind at least two wonderful students (Marta Argerich and Maurizio Pollini); in my opinion, however, both of them are mostly concerned with revealing the "truth" in music, whereas all their teacher cared about was beauty. And, as Keats said on his deathbed, beauty is the only real truth. |
| 7. Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) | I feel a little ashamed of leaving the great Ukranian so low in the ranking, because of all the ten pianists, Richter is the one I respect most. He entered the conservatory at 22 and gave his first concert at 27, so the piano was obviously not his parents' choice. He toured the world more than anyone else, made more recordings and had a larger repertoire than any other great pianists. He justified Einstein's remark that success is 99% hard work and 1% talent. Among his greatest contribution I consider popularizing Prokofief and Shostakovich, but he also was an incredible interpreter of Schumann. When the American audience went crazy with Gilels' performances, the maestro humbly said: "Wait until you hear Richter". I think everyone should. |
| 8. Jozef Hofmann (1876-1957) | The first true wunderkind. Even Horowitz admitted that Hofmann's technique was impossible to beat. Rachmaninov was so shattered when he heard him play, that later he dedicated his Third Concerto to him. But - what an irony - when Hoffman tried to play the concert, his hands turned out to be too small... Among his contributions to mankind are the first recordings in history (made on Thomas Edison's phonograph), and more than 25 patents. Listen to his Liszt to hear how the greatest technician of the 20th century interprets the greatest technician of the 19th. |
| 9. Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) | Still the archetype of 20th century pianist, although better known as a composer. Russia taught him to write music - and write he did, with peaks and falls, achieving both fame (mostly with his piano concertos) and humiliation (when Glazunov sabotaged the premiere of his First Symphony, conducting it drunk). The revolution of 1917 forced him to America, and there he rediscovered himself as a pianist. His most important recordings are of his own works, with Ormandy and Stokowski. The Soviets popularized heavily Prokofiev and Shostakovich at his expense, but in my opinion there can be no comparison. Just for the record - his hands were bigger than those of Liszt! |
| 10. Marc-Andre Hamelin (1961-) | Another Canadian! God save the Queen, and all of her dominions. I haven't been able to acquire many of his recordings yet, but from what I have, I think he may well be the most dazzling technician alive. His eccentricity lies in the fact that he plays only extremely difficult, and thus less popular pieces, like Busoni's concert, Godowski's transcriptions of the Chopin Etudes, Alkan, etc. He has the most disciplined sound that I know of, yet he never loses sense of the vision behind the music. Hamelin may well be climbing this otherwise meaningless ranking once I get to hear everything by him. |