An item Thursday (7/5) on the Limelight magazine (Australia) website features, “The most influential legendary pianists, as voted by modern day masters of the instrument.” The ten include (in reverse order): Artur Schnabel (1882-1951); Wilhelm Kempff; Alfred Brendel (b. 1931); Glenn Gould (1932-1982); Alfred Cortot (1877-1962); Emil Gilels (1916-1985); Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982); Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997); Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989); and Sergei Rachmaninov (1973-1943). Says pianist Ingold Wanger on Horowitz, “Horowitz combined high-class pianism with a unique taste in music and interpretation. What made him unique was his ability to chisel his feelings and moods out of the structures and harmonic material of the score. … In a way, Horowitz is the product of a time that produced so many great pianists. I believe the way of thinking and our life has changed since then. Now musicians can go on the Internet and hear almost every recording of any piece; back then they were forced to think for themselves. … It was not necessarily about who can play the fastest or any other competitive aspect, it was more about the music.”
Posted July 6, 2012
