MetaFilter posts tagged with pianist

The pianist Van Cliburn has died

Seekerofsplendor — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:58:41 -0800

Van Cliburn, the internationally celebrated classical pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career. has passed away in Texas today at age 78.

The Pianist

zarq — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:48:03 -0800

Yuja Wang (official site / wikipedia) is a 24-year old, Chinese virtuoso classical pianist who became an overnight sensation in 2007 when she filled in after piano legend Mar tha Arg erich, cancelled a performance with the Boston symphony. Since then, Ms. Wang has become a superstar in her own right, hailed by critics for her precise, passionate performances and lightning-fast technique. But after a recent appearance on-stage in a short red dress and high heels led to a critic's complaint about her outfit, others are now weighing in on whether it is appropriate for a female classical musician to wear revealing clothing. Picture of her outfit at the concert. Related: NYT: Virtuosos Becoming a Dime a Dozen. Anne Midgette (the Washington Post link) wrote the following for the New York Times in 2004: "The Curse Of Beauty For Serious Musicians; Young Women Find The Playing Field Is Far From Level." Ms Wang now performs in 100+ concerts worldwide each year. This was a fun performance: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Spring) with Yuja Wang, Emanuel Ax, Nelson Goerner and Julien Quentin. A recent interview in the San Francisco Classical Voice. Argerich, previously on MeFi

Music is god

the noob — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:25:17 -0800

Dancing under the gallows (SYLT) A trailer for an upcoming documentary traces the life of concert pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, the worlds oldest Holocaust survivor.

a towering, glittering icon from an era now past mumbles a barely heard farewell as he slips out the back door...

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:39:35 -0800

Perhaps it's best my grandmother didn't live to see this day: the Liberace Museum, located in the besequined showman's old stomping grounds of Las Vegas, is closing, and that would have saddened her. Maybe it's time for all of us to brush up on our early Liberace history. And let's hear the sparkling man, resplendent in gold, take Mack the Knife through some changes. Farewell, Liberace.

Mitsuko Uchida

Joe Beese — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:22:18 -0800

Three-time Gramophone Award winner, Dame of the Empire, and, by consensus, the world's greatest living performer of Mozart's keyboard works, Mitsuko Uchida also gives great piano face. Here she can be seen playing Chopin's Etude Op. 10, No. 2, discussing the Schumann Piano Concerto, and meeting a groupie.

Leo Ornstein: The Sonata on the Edge and the Chaos Beyond.

Effigy2000 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:44 -0800

Leo Ornstein is generally considered to have been one of the greatest pianists of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative and even shocking pieces made him a cause célèbre on both sides of the Atlantic. By the mid-1920s, he had walked away from his fame and soon disappeared from popular memory. And although he passed away in 2002, the internet still remembers him and his amazing legacy of work. At this website dedicated to the artist and his work, you can read all about him as well as listen to many of his scores and MP3s-on-demand. There's also readable sheet music here at the International Music Score Library Project . And there's a register of archived documents spanning Leo's career over at Yale University's website. If all of that has grabbed your attention and you find yourself thinking "you know what? I really want to learn more about this Ornstein guy", here's some more links you might find of interest. Leo Ornstein interviewed by Charles Amirkhanian on Leo's 100th Birthday. Another interview, this time between Leo and his wife, conducted by Vivian Perlis. Max Schubel and Jennifer Rinehart interview Leo. Marc-André Hamelin's performance of Suicide in an Airplane from the Hyperion Leo Ornstein: Piano Music. A video of a 2002 performance of Morning in the Woods for solo piano by Sarah Cahill.

A New Mozart?

MythMaker — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:59:56 -0800

5 Year Old Adopted South Korean Blind Piano Prodigy Yoo Ye-eun can play songs after hearing them once. Watch her perform with Britain's Got Talent's Connie Talbot in a South Korean TV show called "Star King".

On Victor Borge

disillusioned — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:39:46 -0800

A world-class comedian, Victor Borge could please a crowd with his Phonetic Punctuation or Inflationary Language bits. But he was also a brilliant pianist, as showcased when he improvised an impressive encore to a piece he had only heard and never played before, much to his apparent delight. Still better was when he'd merge the two passions, like in Page-Turner or The Minute Waltz. He entertained for more than 75 years, performing up to 60 shows even at 90 years old. He died peacefully in 2000, just two days after performing a concert in Denmark, on the blue here, before dots were all the rage. Thanks to an obscure link from jinjo the other day for turning me on to Mr. Borge.

Renato Carosone, pride of Napoli.

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:30:07 -0800

This is just too charming and endearingly goofy to miss: Renato Carosone's Tu Vuo' Fa' L'Americano (You're Acting All American). See also: O Sarracino, Torero and Maruzella.

I wish my brother George was here.

miss lynnster — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:05:54 -0800

In 1956, Time Magazine wrote, "He is the summit of sex—the pinnacle of Masculine, Feminine and Neuter. Everything that He, She or It can ever want." (Wait. Seriously???) Behold the evolution of The Liberace Show: from dapper virtuoso to sequined, wacky showman. Full b/w episode 1953 Full b/w episode 1955 Full b/w episode 1956 Youtube color clips 1969

I NEEDED THE MONEY!

miss lynnster — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:19:32 -0800

We've previously agreed that Dr. Nina Simone created some amazing music. As a person, she was openly angry and, yes, a smidgen nuts. Big surprise... she was also not the easiest interview. (Big understatement.)

Louis Gottschalk

Gyan — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:22:54 -0800

Louis Moreau Gottschalk - an unjustly forgotten American composer of classical music

Groovin' on Mount Everest

emelenjr — Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:23:55 -0800

Matt Savage is a promising young jazz pianist whose trio recently performed at the Blue Note in New York City. He's also autistic. He's also 12.

(Challenges of raising an autistic child previously discussed here.)

Pianist Looks for Justice After Losing Finger

feelinglistless — Sat, 22 Feb 2003 12:03:06 -0800

Pianist Looks for Justice After Losing Finger I'm sure there is a Cable TV movie in this somewhere. Expect dodgy accents and Prague passing itself off as Russia as usual. And Brian Dennehy as the head of customs.