How Do GREAT Pianists Succeed? (And Others Don't)

[@bibipelictalks]

Check out How Much Great Pianist REALLY Practice! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYPCh2d6rbWdjrssi=6yQHfK1JKlzlEDEx

[@dangersignal]

Today is everything different than it was in the past. No real artists anymore. Just professionals.

[@kevinh5349]

Listen to the tryouts for the Van Cliburn competition. The ones eliminated in the first round vs. the ones that end up vying for the top prize. They may play the same music, but there is SOME THING that separates the first rounders from the finalists. I'll be darned if I know what it is, but it IS there. There are hundreds of virtuosos throughout the world and over the years. One of my favorites was Van Cliburn, especially in the 10 or 15 years after he won in Moscow. He could hold his own with any of them.

[@screamingpiano]

Thank you to answering this in a beautifully succinct way, totally agree with everything you said. I've watched a lot of incredible performers across many different artforms (ice skating, taiko drumming, ballet dancing) and what draws me to a performer is an absolute commitment to every tiny thing they do... from the way they breathe, stand, move... and they they pour their entire soul into it to transform it into something much bigger than themselves. They are absolute magicians of your consciousness, you can't even take your eyes away from them, they hold you till their very last moment, then they let you go and you wake up!

[@bibipelictalks]

Happy to hear! Thanks for your wonderful comment!

[@lufknuht5960]

IMHO, the biggest factor is simply TALENT, TALENT, TALENT -- not practice. There are persons who practiced very little, but hear a piece, then sit down & play it without reading music or repetitive practice. Somehow they can memorize all the notes & transfer that sonic memory into a muscular exercise routine. & they may be able to transfer that associated muscular exercise routine into a different routine (different key) which sounds much the same to those who don't have perfect pitch. Then there are drudges who practice a piece over & over & over, until they can play it -- but that one piece is all they can play. They may do that again, & then have one new piece which is all they can play -- I refer to significant pieces like a piano concerto, or some paradestück. & they may end up with tendonitis. Some people have a sense of position & could play blindfolded, others have to look at the keys. There is some kind of muscle/spacial/cerebellum/brain function which some people have & others lack. Playing the piano is not just a matter of musical appreciation, but it is largely a physical muscle control operation, with ability to memorize unconsciously an exercise, muscle-movement routine. Some can spontaneously transpose, others can not. It is like a miraculous gift. & I speak as a person who loves music, appreciates music, & has spent many hours practicing the piano. -- IMHO

[@waygoblue4729]

VERY motivational and well thought out video! I would enjoy your discussion on another aspect of great pianists, and that is their actual piano. I enjoyed your video on how many hours many pianists practice; I would be interested in what (by brand name if possible) they practiced on, what they preferred for a performance, and if the practice and performance pianos are/were the same piano. I think how well the actual instrument responds to your touch is as important in producing a truly great pianist as much as the characteristics in this video. While, as Rubenstein stated, we must make the instrument "sing", some instruments "sing" with their pianists better than others. I think it's comparable to a jockey with their horse, a professional (racecar) driver with their vehicle, and even an athlete with their physical body. Also of interest to me, is how their instruments influence(d) their life and style of music. I imagine the piano Beethoven used (wasn't it Broadwood and Sons?) affected his Classical/Romantic music as much as Scott Joplin's ragtime was influenced by the player pianos (though I read he started on a square grand owned by his mother's employer). I also wonder on this point if any pianists carried/carry their pianos with them, or do/did they have to "take what they can get" by way of what's available in whatever concert hall they are performing in? This topic would also help anyone (myself included) seeking to purchase a new instrument. When beginning (or starting our children in lessons), do we go all the way with an expensive high quality instrument that responds perfectly, or do we play it safe on cost until we see if there's aptitude? Thank you for considering this topic, but most of all, thank you for your inspirational videos! Have a great day!

[@bibipelictalks]

Thanks for your suggestion - I’ll have a look into it!

[@waygoblue4729]

@@bibipelictalks Thank you!

[@gdmoore]

What people don't realize is that most of the great pianist are borderline autistic. Including possessing a photographic memory.

[@dorfmanjones]

There were many great pianists who did not have an extramusical 'aura.' Just off the top of my head, Serkin, Solomon, Loesser, Levy, Petri all looked like accountants. No attitude, no aura, no wardrobe, no hair, no looking at the ceiling, no throwing their hands around.They let the music and their playing do the job.

[@thornsaresharp]

Why only pianists? Personally prefer a quiet stroll in the park rather than being packed into a concert hall

[@skisunfb]

IMHO, without tremendous talent and the right wiring, incl. the ability to focus during long periods of practice and performance; a prodigious memory and knack for learning quickly; facility in managing huge amounts of data; natural brain and hand flexibility; a suitable central nervous system etc, no amount of practice will allow a pianist to climb to the top, regardless of the teacher. Some pianists became great in spite of their teachers, and not because of them. Richter, Horowitz and Heifetz were not products of any school - in fact Auer said that God was Heifetz's teacher, and not he... The ability to listen to oneself very deeply and with a major "shit detector", both in terms of the quality of the sounds one is producing and the music represented by those sounds. An aspiring concert pianist has to listen to countless performances of the greats throughout history - not just study scores... as great interpretations don't happen in a vacuum... and one has to develop a big musical and cultural bandwidth out of which unique Personality emerges. If one has all of the above, plus the dedication and discipline to put in the work and make major sacrifices in life, then the only other crucial elements are that x-factor on stage, great representation, perseverance, health and luck.

[@GaryBloodgood]

Wang Lang and many many others have a long way to go before you can call them great . Money makers for sure ,Great pianists, only time will tell .

[@Azian2DaMax]

You forgot the most important trait: talent.

[@bibipelictalks]

Yes, thanks for reply!

[@usernameatusernameperiodsh2168]

There is no such thing as talent

[@djmocok]

I never quite like Lang Lang for some reason, something is off about him

[@kevinh5349]

First and foremost - the brain needs to be wired right.

[@r.i.p.volodya]

How are we defining "great" in this context? For me, yuja wang does not remotely qualify. Some of the ugliest performances I've ever heard at the piano come from wang. Just listen to her second encore after she played the Liszt 2nd piano concerto (you can see it on KZbin): I myself would have been ashamed to have played something that inelegant and uncolourful. Same goes for her performance of the Hammerklavier Sonata - I never want to hear that sonata performed like that again! She can dash off the notes - but that's ALL she can do. For me, "great" has to be saved for the likes of Friedman, Hofman, Rachmaninov and Horowitz. Each has made recordings that have never been surpassed. Unique creations, unique sound-worlds, unique personalities and performances that have gone down in history: THAT is what "great" means to me.

[@GingerIndiana]

Indeed "great" and "successful" are 2 different concepts. Ideally they both come together. But not always. Have you heard Nobuyuki Tsujii? Probably a truly great pianist of the 21st century. Same age as Y. Wang but a completely other planet on the musical level. (I also live Leif Ove Andsnes who is a little older). EDIT : I forget Krystian Zimerman of course 😊

[@lufknuht5960]

I Doono what Wang should be ashamed of. God has given her a great gift.

[@r.i.p.volodya]

Rubbish! Yes, wang can play any particular set of notes but that is true of EVERY pianist on the circuit! What makes her special? Absolutely nothing that I can hear. I defined "great" in my original comment and she doesn't come close.