i liken virtuosity as the ability to thrill an audience…that sensation that what the performer is doing is an acrobatic feat. the feeling you get when you watch cziffra play the galop.
it is possible, i believe, to perform artistically without virtuosity, in that there is no acrobatic element. no “omg how is that possible”. practically any “slow piece” probably qualifies, though in some cases the tonal control is so expert (as in horowitz) that there’s an element of physical virtuosity in there as well.
That being said, i call any great pianist in general a virtuoso, and people like cortot though people like to claim that he is technically imperfect, he’s a virtuoso in my terminology. so basically i agree with your statement.
for me great technique means sounding good, while great music means feeling good.
As I mentioned earlier today I’ve been all over late Brahms since Sokolov’s fall program so I’m delighted to see that, and I’ve always enjoyed her Scriabin. Furthermore hearing her in untranscribed Bach and Ravel/Berg/Mompou there will be fun. Best of all: no Liebestod.
Baldassare Galuppi– C major Sonata, first movement Bach – C minor Toccata Brahms – Intermezzo in A minor Op. 116 no. 2 Chopin – Mazurka Op. 67 no. 4 Brahms – Intermezzo in E minor, Op. 119 No. 2 Chopin – Mazurka Op. 30 no. 4 Brahms – Intermezzo in C sharp minor Op. 117, No. 3 Chopin – Mazurka Op. 68 no. 3 Brahms – Romance in F major, Op. 118 no. 5
–INTERMISSION–
Scriabin – Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp major Op.30 Ravel – Une Barque sur L’Ocean Berg – Piano Sonata Federico Mompou – Secreto Scriabin – Sonata No. 5
glad she left the Bach… also curious how her scrib 5 will have matured now that her sound a little more complex and a hair thicker. Brahms and Chopin tho… ? I bet the berg good as well. Hope she recs then like last program, studio work not representative with this peniz.
Yeah, exactly. I still think of Wang as an “entertainment” type of pianist (mind you, like Horowitz for instance) so Brahms might seem like an odd pairing, but there’s also a good amount of whole grain musicianship in her which serves her well in this kind of repertoire. I’m rather more suspicious about the Chopin Mazurkas I have to say. And Bach/Ravel are complete jokers in the deck - I have no clue what she’ll do with them.