Why Zimerman is Overrated: A Pianistic Profile

[@calvintsang9908]

Most of the performances by Zimerman we listen to are studio recordings, which the focus is to be ‘perfect’ with just about the right level of emotion. And that’s why his Chopin recording is considered ‘textbook’. But when you go to his live concert you get something else, which is his unique, individualistic playing, expressing his feelings at that very moment.

[@W0lfman0]

These are his live recordings, aren't they? If there was a response curve for expression, his would be completely flat.

[@calvintsang9908]

@@W0lfman0the clips of Zimerman performing Chopin Ballades shown in this video are in a studio setting. The concert hall was used for its acoustic properties rather than audience presence.

[@Spoutnik]

"If I stop practice for one day, I notice it in my playing; if I stop two days, my friends notice it; if I stop three days, the public notices it." Hans von Bulow, September 1877. Sir Georg Solti added: "four days, and the critics notice it."

[@inraid]

Some listeners can notice it right away! ;-)

[@inraid]

Add this: "If I practice too much listeners will notice I play like a machine".

[@purpleowl2075]

I would have thought the critics notice it after a minute 😉

[@Mohabpiano]

Wow Solti really thinks them critics deaf

[@andresgunther]

"You are hopeless. With that outdated 19th century approach in your playing and technique you never will become a pianist. I'm only glad you choose organ as your primary instrument- go ahead with that, and please don't keep taking up a valuable spot in my long waiting list of piano students!" These were the words of my last piano teacher at the conservatory in 1979- because I refused to comply with that clinical standard. And sadly, young contestants who don't comply with it don't make it to first place in any piano contest- even "miracle girls" like Kate Liu and Aimi Kobayashi had to conform with a low tier "consolation price" place, as I call it. And mentioning Tiffany Poon outside her fan circle is a sure free ticket to get trolled.

[@ThatClassicalFella]

That teacher was a criminal! Probably ruined generations with that.

[@NasserHM]

I really appreciate discussions like this as they help us learn more about his work in comparison to others. Thank you for adding this level of depth to our understanding of music. 👏🏼 Keep them coming

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Appreciate you! More to come

[@stevenyafet]

​@@ThatClassicalFellamost excellent indeed! Is GG next? GG shines in a feature role here. But pls the Bernstein contra GG episode is so hackneyed, leave it out. One thing GG and Anton Kuerti got right was to disable the pedal. Of course the piano is quite difficult that way and they went off course. Pedal is for emergency use like Velasquez adding filigree to his studio artists' work before passing it off as his own. Bring back Samuil Feinberg!! Although he succumbed ultimately to pursuit of perfection also. Which may be the real problem in the relationship of humans with the piano.

[@micaelabonetti949]

​@@stevenyafetIf Dr Mephisto posts about GG, I'm afraid it will immediately be war! My personal opinion will make myself accused of...having "blood on hands"... Hopefully Mephisto will come to rescue me!

[@zzmike]

I think you made your case very well. Zimerman reminds me the way I used to play them (the Ballades) when a teenage boy . . . when 'hitting every note in time' I saw as ~paramount~.

[@amedeofabris1268]

Complete fidelity to the score is actually not bad, the problem is that pianists like Askenazy, Pollini and Zimerman are not true to the score at all they just ignore indications that are too "exagerated" in their opinion, if you actually read the score is so much more musical and nuanced than the way they play. It seems that people started assuming that playing with little interpretation was closes to only what was written in the score, when in the score there is already so much more

[@levim.3505]

I don't wanna assume anything about your education or your own skills on the keyboard, you have some valid points in this video. But there is a reason why almost all of the top pianists look up to pianists like Michelangeli, Lipatti and also Zimerman. At the end of the day, simplicity reigns.

[@scherrer4715]

There are many important pianists who didn't like Michelangeli: I remember Horowitz, Rubinstein, Richter criticizing him. Michelangeli and Zimmerman's simplicity is not simplicity, because it is too polished.

[@ThatClassicalFella]

I wouldn't put Lipatti or Michelangeli in the same category as Zimerman. Lipatti has plenty of warmth

[@scherrer4715]

@@ThatClassicalFella Lipatti knows expression, emotion and contrast, his simplicity is not the same as Zimmerman's mechanical simplicity. How can they put them in the same category, these people don't know how to listen to the piano.

[@micaelabonetti949]

​@@scherrer4715 Exactly my feeling. (About your first comment)

[@levim.3505]

​@ It's funny that you accuse me of not knowing how to listen to the piano (as if you found the one and only true way on top of all things), when you don't even know how to spell half of the pianists' names youre referring to😁

[@JonathanGeffnerPianist]

Very interesting analysis. You make your case convincingly.

[@Durer]

The rise of the international-competition-as-a-potential-pathway-to-a-performance-career in the post-war era is certainly part of the problem. I recently listened to Pogolorich playing the Nocturne Op. 55/2 from a long-ago performance. It was magical, deeply communicative and every note beautiful. But he ignored almost all the composer's dynamic markings. In that moment, I understood both why he was eliminated in an early round of the Chopin International Competition and why Argerich resigned from the jury in protest. Every good musician knows how to use agogics and rubato. There are, however, minimalists and maximalists in the use of perfectly legitimate time-related expressive devices. The minimalists have a lesser tolerance and the maximalists seem to only feel the broadest gestures. Both can produce great and satisfying performances if the listener is open to exploring what the performer is saying as opposed to wishing the performer would say something else. If you're looking forward to filet mignon and your waiter brings you a wonderful piece of chocolate cake instead, you are bound to be disappointed. It's not necessarily the cake's fault.

[@purpleowl2075]

I agree with you - competitions have turned music from an art, into a hyper-capitalist nightmare. I can't help but wince at the NYT's recent review of Yuja Wang's conducting while playing, where they remark at the offset, that she is always a "safe bet". I love Yuja and her technical prowess is unparalleled, but I think she is a perfect example of someone self-commodifying herself, to appease hyper-capitalist stakeholders.

[@scherrer4715]

@@Durer But unlike Pogo, historical pianists achieve this depth without going against the score.

[@lordsoulis]

Your opinion is noted, thank you. What is your favorite Brahms 1 concerto performance?

[@inraid]

Bruno Leonardo Gelber's 1960s recording with the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Franz Paul Decker has been regarded as a reference performance since the day it was first released: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5ymfoZnmrl2m9k I have also heard great performances by Malcuzynski, Katchen and Kehrer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3qxk2SiiseeaLM kzbin.info/www/bejne/fminhmCgd8ZsfZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6iQp4yXgMd2itE Enjoy!

[@trevorpsy]

@@inraid Gelber owns that concerto.

[@lordsoulis]

@ thanks :-)

[@micaelabonetti949]

​So happy you mention Bruno Leonardo Gelber, so underrated and completely fallen into oblivion​! Listened to him several times live and it was each time a life time concert. And such amazing presence on stage, so beautiful to watch at, not only his hands but his hole body language. Love him immensely!@@inraid

[@ThatClassicalFella]

It's a tough one, and depends on my mood. Helene Grimaud or Radu Lupu for modern recordings, Fleisher/Szell or Katchen/Monteux for old recordings

[@Rowaa-1989]

Great analyzing

[@vladdegs]

I don’t agree either. He’s a very fine pianist, no doubt about it. And the pianists he’s compared against aren’t up to much in my opinion. Pointless video really.

[@W0lfman0]

I don't agree or disagree, I just have never warmed up to Zimerman. So smooth, no hooks, it just slips into the ether and is forgotten. Don't know why, never analyzed the reason like this video. One thing I noticed seeing the Ballade Coda with his hands so up close, his hand position seems very stiff, and I wonder if he has just a little bit of tightness in his wrists after his performances.

[@jamesbow5916]

I was skeptical before listening to this video, but you have proven your point.

[@ustadspencertracy7195]

Keep in mind that Zimerman’s case-or modern pianists in general- is not higher technicality at the cost of musical expression; it is the inability of playing “unevenly” besides the even, which is within the definition of technique.

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Well said!

[@bw2082]

Zimmerman leaves me cold

[@eternalslumber2k6]

Brrr

[@AL-pu7ux]

His Schubert Impromptus are sublime and set the bar for me at least.

[@giacomolaurenti7348]

I think what emerges from this video is your preference towards early 20th century piano tecnique in general...modern tecnique is different but calling it cold, robotic or souless does not give it justice, it's a matter of taste and i would avoid making it sound like a fact. Also stating that young pianist are basing their tecnique/interpretation on Zimerman style feels like a stretch, the way piano is played changes during time, young pianists play it differtly from pianist from 100 years ago, and pianists of the 19th/20th century played it differently from Chopin.

[@walterprossnitz3471]

Modern technique is not cold or soulless. But like some modern artists, Zimmerman's approach, especially to rhythm, would appear to keep in within a very narrow range of possibilities. And unfortunately, when he does venture outside of this zone, he tends to sound contrived - like a conductor I worked with about whom a colleague said "When he does a ritardando, you kind of wish he wouldn't:-)

[@andrewagave9857]

He did reiterate several times that this video is, indeed, based on his own personal opinions/preferences. I think it was a fair criticism. I used to really like Zimmerman, but after a while he got boring to me. This video helped me understand why.

[@HeinzLengersdorfPianist]

Great Video, very good examples … Zimerman has no human abysses in his piano playing, his expression is always kind of „happy“ and healthy, let’s say like James Last is interpretating Chopins complete works…..I feel nearly the same when I listen to Pollini or Hamelin…

[@micaelabonetti949]

Me too, and I could add many well known names... Recently attended a pair of concerts where I wished I could immediately escape!

[@HeinzLengersdorfPianist]

@@micaelabonetti949… agree…

[@rudolfgolezpianist4322]

Not just Chopin! This is the curse of early success and the demand for the highest standards in modern commerce!

[@Janeahmon]

Thank you so much for this video; I have been waiting for this type of intricate video for a long time. On a positive note, I love his touch and it is very unique and definitely not overly soft as many pianists today, especially as seen in his historic Chopin balalde recordings. My favourite recording of his is the Liszt B minor sonata with his voicing and Chopin concerto 1 where he plays the climax of thefirst movement so beautifully, but definitely his ballades feel emotionless and way too robotic and dynamically weak compared to old pianists. I'm so glad you included Horowitz and Hofmann, two of my all time favourite Chopin pianists, and their amazing recordings of the ballades. His recordings, for me and many others, are the first interpretations that I heard of many composers especially the Chopin, and is what teachers based them off of, just perfect technical and sounds. Another example is Anna Fedorova, who always appears first when you look up Rachmoninoff Concertos and for some reason has the most amount of views, when there are so many more powerful emotionally rich recordings. It is unfortunate for that fact that the most simple recordings that appeal to purists are so much more popular than these innovative old-style ones which have so much more musical integriy, willingness to take risks, dyanmivs, voicing, and feeling. "Perfect" is a toxic standard and wrong notes are absolutely okay and do not detract from the music much, which modern pianism makes it out to. Zimmerman is definitely one of the most overrated pianists and I'm glad someone pointed that out.

[@MiguelAngelPinedoMansill-rv9pd]

I do not agree at all. I think that Zimerman was born with a gift for playing the piano and especially Chopin. Bravo Zimerman!!!!

[@dennisjardine5416]

The worst thing is when your first encounter with this music is with Zimmerman. It tends to engrain in you that this is the CORRECT way the music is to sound and be played. Thanks to the internet, these days one would have a plethora of examples from which to inform one's concepts.

[@TunesOfTheEarth]

I agree that Zimmerman's Beethoven is his best work. His studio recordings of chopin leave me pretry cold. But the beethoven concerti with Bernstein are wonderful and gold standard.

[@damianoferro]

Do you feel the same about Michelangeli? The similarities are many. I personally adore both but I can understand your perspective.

[@TunesOfTheEarth]

And pollini. Though I find some of Michelangeli's performances exciting.

[@damianoferro]

@TunesOfTheEarth pollini has much worse tone compared to Zimmerman and Michelangeli. Ice cold, I find him physically painful to listen to

[@ralphziigersson3472]

Excellent video. The playing of Moravec, Francois and Sherkasky acutally gave me goose bumps.. And I agree with you. I´ve always found Zimermans playing sterile and neurotic, soulless but extremely well planned out. On the other hand, I witnessed a performance of the Ravel G major concerto where he actually had tears in his eyes while playing the second movement...

[@ryushev2000]

you say that zimerman is "too perfect" and lacks a personal style. you dont realise that that precisely is his style, and it is why so many people like him, because it was NEW at the time. now you look at it, take his playstyle for granted and say it isnt a style to begin with. also check out his rach 1, he brings out expression out of many places in that piece that most other pianists fail to extract

[@Mohabpiano]

Nice discussion. If Zimmerman is a great master, Sokolov is the sage of piano. I think a comparison with contemporary pianists would have been more fair, rather than comparing him to his predecessors

[@Michachel]

nah I think his perfect technique is beneficial in some chopin pieces but I see what you mean for the brahms. His note accuracy adds to the interpretation, and I feel like wrong notes severely detract from the feeling of a performance imo. Also u were totally reaching with that 4th ballade recording it was very expressive

[@SidewaysThinking]

I find Zimerman's Schubert sonata 21, especially the beginning with its pacing and pauses, superior even to Richter's and Hoffman's. This is Zimerman's crowning highpoint.

[@zeteny8092]

Finally someone who is not afraid to speak out against this Zimerman fanatic youtube fanbase

[@Durer]

Your midi needs a better edition of Ballade 4 (and perhaps a more attentive teacher.) Please tell it that the first chord of bar 200 is F-sharp MAJOR, not f-sharp minor. Good grief!

[@purpleowl2075]

I always welcome KZbinrs, who help me see an interpreter's work in a different way and I think you've done a good job of justifying your analysis - for Samson Françoise's interpretation, however, I think it ended up that way, because he was always drunk 😅

[@inraid]

You mean he was always "inspired"? 😀

[@purpleowl2075]

@@inraid Exactly 😉

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Appreciate you! I think the fact that he was drunk adds more to the magic hahaha

[@timtimtimm]

I love Zimermann. I mean, ultimately there's a place and time for any kind of performance style for me, but when getting to know a new piece i love listening to Zimerman's take on it, because he as the soloist seems to disappear behind the notes somewhat (it's exactly what many people in the comments and you too are arguing) and leaves me with the notes in all their objective relations, interactions, and symmetries. I, quite frankly, don't always care how Chopin wanted his pieces to be played.

[@nihilistlemon1995]

Ehhh i don't fully agree with the comparison on the ballades until the 4th. Yeah Zimerman's 4th is def not one of my favorite. And i also don't get the hype of the Brahms Concertos recording especially since DG sound engineers have done a piss poor job to make Zimerman tone sound like the bad decca piano recordings in the 60s or 70s . I get you are using Zimerman as an example as a symptom of score literacy perpetuated by today's piano competition that is plaguing the piano world right now. But some of Zimerman slower parts and masterful pedaling legit moved me. Now i don't chose to be moved since we don't have free will to do so. But he managed to so for example with the slow intro of the first ballade. Now again i am far from a Zimerman fanboy. His Chopin concerto album is a snooze for me. His Ravel recording with Boulez is the most souless perfect thing i have ever heard, which i think you could have use as an example for note perfect coldness.

[@Thund12o]

I agree.. but the live versions are better trust me!

[@NN-rn1oz]

Zimerman's ballades video sounded so perfect I thought it must have been edited. The chair swap confirmed it.

[@paulfasang8637]

Thank you for the interesting Video. I Must say, that i prefer Zimermans playing to all all your given comparisons. 😅 I understand, that every listener looks for something Else in Interpretations, however for me the noble restraint combined with his super healthy opulent sound is a joy by itself and in my opinion unmatched.

[@inraid]

If you prefer Zimerman to other pianists you need a new pair of ears and fresh stuffing between them.

[@nihilistlemon1995]

​@inraid we don't chose what we like. We like what we like and insulting someone else's taste is not gonna make you more brave or badass

[@ThatClassicalFella]

I respect that!

[@willgraham8878]

Why don't you people just accept the naturally wide range of Soul and Spirit manifesting through music.

[@micaelabonetti949]

But we do! In this case the subject proposed to our reflexion by Dr Mephisto is a precise one, easily polemic, therefore the diversity of opinions, sometimes very strong, almost a battle (!) , is I would say normal.

[@Tobiasz97]

Close your eyes and listen closely to Zimerman's codas and tell me that he sounds robotic. (except for his ballade no 1 I think he really does lol, considering how beautifully he played everything in the piece besides the coda). Maybe this effect on Zimerman comes from his economical and minimalistic movement of his hands and body? When you play the other examples I feel that they have fabulous moments to admire but also end up doing something funny and strange eventually (Froncois was actually good).

[@Thund12o]

I would recommend a live recital of the ballads 1982 on yt, if you think the codas get done dirty in the studio versions.

[@inraid]

Zimerman is a highly polished mechanical metronomic playing machine. He is what Lipatti would have become had he lived longer.

[@oink8520]

Wow what a dumb take. First of all, why tf are you so angry that Zimerman has good technique? You mentioned throughout your whole video with some good examples of how Zimerman has good technique but is not expressive and I’m just wondering HOW? His dynamics and shaping are incredible, yet you are angry becasue he doesn’t make mistakes and has flawless technique. Have you even heard of his Rachmaninov concerto 2 second movement?? Go listen to that and tell me he’s not expressive. You’re completely allowed to not like Zimmerman and that is a perfectly fine opinion but why the bullshit evidence and explanation. In fact who are you even? Are you a pianist, and adjudicator, or even a piano teacher?

[@DoomrodKilgard]

Who made you inspector general? How would knowing his status as an "adjudicator" validate his opinions for you? Agree or disagree based on your own evaluation of his arguments--not his status--and move on!

[@nihilistlemon1995]

I disagree with the video too but attacking someone's opinion based on credentials makes you a bit like a jackass. If you are only allowed to like something ( which we can't chose btw. You either like something or you don't) because a pro pianist said so, it would be an incredibly boring world.

[@Luis.]

Objectively speaking, his dynamics and shaping are incredible, but from an artistic point of view, the way he does it is boring and predictable. But to each their own I guess.

[@Pablo-gl9dj]

Where is your analysis of his playing and the nuances in his interpretations which make him so unforgettable. It won't be easy because Zimerman has little to no personality to wed to his note spinning

[@ThatClassicalFella]

I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that my brain literally scrubbed out the memory of his recording of Rach 2 because it was unbearable. Your comment unfortunately reminded me of its existence, I should have used it as an example in the video. I've never heard a concerto where the sound of the piano completely drowns out the orchestra! Rach 2 is the perfect synthesis of both entities yet in that terrible recording the orchestra is almost non-existent. I'm not angry that he has good technique, I'm angry that he doesn't use that technique to express or produce a better sound. Who I am doesn't matter!

[@Thund12o]

I never liked zimermans studio albums but his live version carry much more depht than the studio recording, mostly due to aiming for overally perfect versions, therefor i think that the live version the true natrual are great.

[@zugzwang2007]

The only point on which I would differ from this is that I don't find the Zimerman treatment is any better for Beethoven or Schubert. It is equally antiseptic, antipathetic and percussive. What's to like? Just in passing, the very beautiful Cherkassky extract exemplified the way he absorbed details from Hofmann (probably having been present at the 1938 recital). They are the only two pianists I have heard bring out the dissonant inner voice at the top of the left hand at 21'39-40 , or play the last three chords (22'24) at half tempo.

[@micaelabonetti949]

@@zugzwang2007 100% agree on Beethoven and Schubert. They sound deprived of life, brrrr, perfect but not alive.

[@inraid]

Please post some videos about the Truly Great (TM) pianists: Friedman, Rosenthal, Zecchi, Tamarkina, Cziffra, Anda, Feinberg, Ginzburg, Zak, Sofronitsky, Flier, Petrov, Maryla Jonas, Ernst Levy, von Karolyi, Natan Brand, Joseph Villa, Esteban Sanchez, Jean Rodolphe Kars, Rafael Orozco, Gustavo Diaz Jerez. Thanks!

[@purpleowl2075]

I saw a good video on Caleb Hu's channel recently relating to this

[@DarwinIsInCharge]

No

[@yundichen8332]

First 2 minutes of this video are so important. The number of Zimerman, Karajan, Furtwangler etc dickriders in the comments are so funny, its unreal how they cant stand criticism of their goat. Its always the ones who are ignorant about other performers too - the number of Bernstein glazers in that one video with Carreras saying 'oh Bernstein can never be wrong!' and they dont even know who Carreras is. Insane.

[@duartevader2709]

I can't really find those people in the comments lol

[@yundichen8332]

@duartevader2709 I meant on social media generally

[@duartevader2709]

Oh ok

[@purpleowl2075]

There are Karajan ones? He was literally a N**i. Then again, people defend Wagner, so I'm not that surprised...

[@andrewagave9857]

I think this was a fair analysis. It wasn't a roast. You gave many great examples of what you admire about his technique and what pieces his technique is well-suited for. In the Beethoven example early on, if you look where his eyes are, he almost seems to be following an imaginary score and feeling almost nothing. I think his motivation might come from his "inner 5 year old" still trying to be perfect to please his father. There's no room for any abberations or risk taking. I'm just an amateur at playing piano, so I kind of feel foolish criticizing someone who has worked so hard to achieve so much that I never could. However, I do have preferences for certain recordings, and each one brings out particular aspects of Chopin's style, which is why Chopin never gets old. There's always something new to discover. Maybe having Zimmerman's robotic midi style for reference just illuminates the imperfect human qualities, which is where the beauty and greatness lies....in just about every other recording ever. Haha 😄 Great job! Thank you for this! It deepened my appreciation for Chopin and reminded me that he was a human being who experienced suffering, joy, pain, despair, love, etc. just like us modern people. We are starving for something that's not artificial. Zimmerman, although very skilled and accomplished, just doesn't deliver that. So I'd have to agree with your opinion.

[@micaelabonetti949]

@@andrewagave9857 Don't please feel foolish to dare express your opinion! We pro musicians aren't more entitled than you to criticise, in positive or in negative. And above all this: it's FOR YOU WE PLAY ! I myself since childhood urgently passionately wished EVERY HUMAN BEING to listen to the beautiful music I was learning!

[@philipau3847]

I consider Zimerman to be the apotheosis of modern pianism. He does everything much the same way: objectively, standing outside the music, refusing any fervent emotional commitments, just producing beautiful, well-organized, impersonal sounds. Any emotion or fire he conjures up feels contrived, his phrasing is airbrushed.

[@dka5631]

i tend to agree with you. All the recordings you presented was more exciting to me than Zimerman's. one of my favorite pianists of all time, Sviatoslav Richter, made tons of mistakes. but the fiery is captivating

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Yes even though Richter was all about fidelity to the score, what came out ironically was something else entirely. Richter is unmatched.

[@dwchen7532]

Good review but each to his own!

[@micaelabonetti949]

Aahhhh, unbelievable De Pachman's style! Aahhhh, crazy Samson François who plays his heart out of any composer! Aahhh, Hofmann, Cortot, Sherkassy reaching the highest spheres! You only pointed the truth about Zimmermann and his today followers. About recent competitions (some of them I listened life, as engineers can manipulate the true playing): would like to say that the majority of first prices given are incredible technique but where is personal imagination, humanity, interpretation? Like during last Rubinstein's, Geza Anda, Geneva-Kiev, even Chopin's competitions?

[@ThatClassicalFella]

You're absolutely correct! All of them streamlined to produce the same sound

[@Autism101]

All the notes are there…but where is the music making. So many “typewriter” pianists today.

[@maanimon4760]

Kinda weird. I always disliked Zimerman recordings of Chopin. Especially his highly praised recordings of chopin ballades, I always felt that something was off. Didn't really think of it more. Some recordings you like and some recordings you don't like. Not a big deal... But this video got me thinking, maybe it is a big deal after all

[@Thund12o]

Live versions > studio versions

[@diegoa2374]

I think you should really look into Kemal Gekic and Misha Dacic, if you have not done it already. They really understand how the pianists of the 19th and early 20th century played, and through them I've learned to apreciate this kind of pianism, in contrast to the boring standard of today.

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Will do! Thanks for that

[@VirtualPianoAcademy]

I agree. With Zimerman I always know what I am going to hear so basically it´s boring Similarly that with Kisin.

[@inraid]

Except Kissin has balls while Zimerman does not.

[@richpeeps515]

Zimmerman is not at all boring. He consistently delivers the "wow factor" in his playing for anything that he undertakes.

[@Thund12o]

I think his recitals/live versions are the best

[@VirtualPianoAcademy]

@ It´s a matter of taste. I prefer Volodos or Matsuev. Take care!

[@VirtualPianoAcademy]

@ As I already said, a matter of taste. I think that he does not take any risk. I wish you the best!

[@ИванДобромыслов-б4с]

I think, all this criticism can be applied for younger Zimmerman (It’true, his Brahms 2 while being perfectly solid really lacks nuances), but since 90s his playing started containing much more music (it’s obvious when comparing his interpretations through years, like his Brahms 1) - for example, the mentioned recording of Chopin’s ballades and scherzos. That’s true, there is no element of improvisation, but every single piece is precisely thought through (there is not a single note without meaning) and though solid, each sounding like a complete story being told. I’d also like to mention his exceptional talent for voicing - something that makes his Chopin truly alive (especially second scherzo, first ballade and the third sonata). Yet, I completely agree that it’s a question of personal taste, so (while being a Zimmermie) I think this opinion has got no less rights to be then the opposite one

[@GeorgeWashington-qh3bp]

Cheap youtube penny chaser . Trying to express " scandal" opinion , searching durt under the nails.

[@dorfmanjones]

The level of romantic pianism today (in the 2020's) is in advance of these players. Listen to Grovesnor and Rana, Kantarow or Vondracek (Rachmaninoff) or Lettberg (Scriabin) and you'll get everything you require in interpretative individuality, tone, and technical perfection. There are more marvels like Ollafson.

[@purpleowl2075]

I wouldn't say Kantorow is technically perfect (not that that's bad), though he tries to be

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Love all these pianists, especially Rana I think she's quite daring for a 21st century pianist

[@micaelabonetti949]

@@ThatClassicalFella Beatrice, sei una rara avis: ti adoro!

[@williwam7275]

this was a waste of 30 minutes of my life

[@jorgegutierreztellez3663]

Agree!

[@jorgegutierreztellez3663]

Agree!

[@bilbobaggins4403]

Are Horowitz and Richter your favorites?

[@ThatClassicalFella]

Yes, amongst many others of that era

[@iloveballadeno1]

​@@ThatClassicalFella Do you like Pogorelich?

[@JohnGavin-hz9bc]

Seems to me that Zimmerman is very influenced by Michelangeli, but he’s not quite in the same league. For me, an underlying simplicity and selflessness is preferred to self indulgent mannerisms. My favorite golden age pianist is Rachmaninov - he was the most straightforward of all of them.

[@purpleowl2075]

Same with Pollini, who became a cold pianist after being tutored by Michelangeli - it is over-practicing the measures, that brings out about these robotic, metronomic results and takes the spontaneity out of the piece

[@josephchan767]

How dare you! Also... First!

[@edche4571]

11:40 is exactly how i felt lol

[@ThatClassicalFella]

😂😂

[@lockjiang]

finally someone said something that's sat in my chest for like forever

[@sungpo-yu4662]

If he is too perfect thus cold, where do you put Pollini? It‘s known as modern style.

[@inraid]

I put Pawllini in the butcher category, alongside Serkin, Backhaus, Brendull, Arrauthritis, Boringboim.

[@jimkost2002]

@@inraid😂😂 Pawlini!😂 Arrauthritis!😂 Boringboim!😂 Brendull!😂 Couldn’t agree more! But don’t agree on Zimermam! But I am no fanboy! But all these young pianists want to be Michelangeli without the nobility or depth….. Wait….. I just described Pollini, their idol….. Love Moravec!

[@keithhill9901]

Supremely boring!!!

[@inraid]

Zimerman is a strict literalist just like Dinu Constipatti! ;-)

[@trevorpsy]

This is why I prefer woman doing Chopin. In each of these comparisons, I didn't like either of them. I wanted something in the middle. Something that someone like Martha Argerich would do, or perhaps Yulianna Avedeeva. Discipline folded into expression, but not with expression calling attention to itself.

[@purpleowl2075]

I agree, female Chopinists are underrated, both generally and on a competition-level.

[@trevorpsy]

@@purpleowl2075 Absolutely! The fact that Yulianna won surprised me.

[@ThatClassicalFella]

I respect that! What ruins the voicing for me is the tone of his piano though. It always sounds too heavy even when it shouldn't be

[@richpeeps515]

I am a faithful Zimmerman fan, he consistently gives flawless interpretations of the romantic masters, and virtually anything that he undertakes. Your critique or analysis of his interpretations are subjective at best because no 2 pianists should be expected to sound the same. Chopin was very discriminating when it came to how he wanted his music to sound like and I will also say, the comparisons that you use to say that one is better or more effective than the other, I believe Chopin would disagree entirely with you. Chopin would chide and even rebuke anyone who operates outside of what the composer regarded as faithful to what he wrote, not what the pianist thinks it should sound like.

[@walterprossnitz3471]

Very interesting arguments... yours and Gould's I have to agree with almost everything - except that the excerpt from Beethoven 3 is also boring and the Schubert Impromptu is devoid of any charm. Schubert war ein Wiener! The examples in the Ballades are almost painful... I figured you would come with Hofmann in the 4th. But come on, that's not fair! No one in the universe can come close to that!

[@inraid]

So many big name pianists are/were grossly overrated: Arrau, Backhaus, Serkin, Brendull, Perahia, Boringboim, Bolet, Casadesus, Gieseking, Kempff, Lipatti, Haskil, La Wang, Lang van Bang. Please expose them all! 😀 Thanks!

[@nihilistlemon1995]

Terms like overrated are dumb since it just means you don't like something most people like. And the majority taste is not less valid than yours.

[@purpleowl2075]

I think Yuja Wang and Lang Lang have excellent technique - I believe the modern classical music industry is unfortunately marketing them in a bad way though.

[@levim.3505]

​@@purpleowl2075 Exactly. Lang Lang's recording of Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy at Carnegie is still unmatched to me. He chose to go full sell-out, and to be honest, I can't even blame him.

[@purpleowl2075]

@ I completely agree with you on both points.

[@alanbarnett6993]

Did you ever hear Serkin live? If not, you have no idea what his pianism was really like. His studio recordings are nothing like his live performances. His performance of Beethoven Op 111 was my favorite performance of any piece I've heard in 60 years of attending concerts.

[@jonah0426]

Really? ‘Zimmerman is bad for Chopin’? More than 99% of pianists can’t play Chopin as good as him. Plus why are you criticising him when you most likely can’t even play half as good as him?

[@nihilistlemon1995]

I disagree with the video too but attacking someone's opinion based on credentials makes you a bit like a jackass. If you are only allowed to like something ( which we can't chose btw. You either like something or you don't) because a pro pianist said so, it would be an incredibly boring world. Also learn to spell his name.

[@jonah0426]

@@nihilistlemon1995 So your goal is to criticise me for attacking his opinion? But ironically you offended me by calling me ‘jackass’. My tone might be a bit off but he is indeed going to far to put ‘Zimmerman is Bad’ on the thumbnail. Imagine judging people for not respecting others when you can’t even show respect to others yourself.

[@nihilistlemon1995]

@@jonah0426 one day you may learn to spell your favorite musicians, which is pretty ironic i should say. For the first and last time it is Zimerman

[@paulhersch4787]

As good as he. Try the Horowitz Toscanini Brahms #2

[@jonah0426]

@@nihilistlemon1995 Bro can’t argue so he chose to pick on people’s spelling 🤣

[@poo_daa]

EXACTLY!