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Does anyone else think that Ashkenazy is underrated? He has recorded more of the piano repertoire than anybody else, and had he stayed solely playing the piano instead of going into conducting, may have recorded even more.

Superb pianist, vast repertoire, little to no eqotistic interference with the music.

Still, when it comes to communication, I get a bit more from Perahia.

Underrated? I don't think so, but as he's no longer in front of the public as an active instrumental performer, he's not discussed that much. I don't know what his place in history will be.

In my youth, Ashkenazy was one of the most exciting - in the eyes of the general music-loving public - pianists to perform and to record. All most all of his recordings into the 1980s were greeted with great enthusiasm by the public and critics alike. He was considered, then, a Chopin "specialist" and his early Chopin transversal of the Etudes and the Ballades - among others - are the stuff of legend to many afficionados.

If I recall correctly, one reason that he turned to conducting from solo piano performance was physical, but I can't recall the details.

Regards,

I love his Chopin recordings.

I believe that he developed arthritis in his hands.

I'm a big fan of his Chopin and, in fact, most of his piano recordings.

I can't see him as underrated at all; he's one of the most nameable/recognizable pianists out there, even now.


Anyway, I can't stand his Chopin, but his Beethoven chamber works are at the top of my list.

I especially like the very early recordings of Ashkenazy. Listen to his recordings from the 60s such as the ballades and scherzos and you will hear a fire and passion in his playing that is not there in his recordings from the 70s and 80s.

Sadly, I don't know much of Ashkenazy. I've actually heard much more Ogdon than Ashkenazy, but I need to listen to A. a lot more. From what I've heard (some Chopin), he's really good. I'm not sure how good he is as a conductor... I need to listen to him conducting orchestras, too.

Thanks for this thread!

That's true. He last performed in public about 4 years ago (though the arthritis is something that started becoming a problem closer to 10) and since has given himself to conducting full time. He's continued to record from time to time in the studio though.
Underrated? Hardly. He's one of the most phenomenal pianists of our lifetimes and, absolutely, one of my heroes.

One of my all time heroes as well.

And I've had the chance to see him conduct because he's currently with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He gave an interview here not so long ago talking about his arthritis - but said he doesn't miss performing solo - that there is nothing more lonely that playing alone on stage. He still performs here with the orchestra on occasion and says that playing with the orchestra or in a chamber ensemble brings him far more joy that solo work ever did.

Actually, I would tend to agree with him.

Indeed - I caught the Mahler Das Lied von der Erde concert. Stunning.

Earlier in his stellar career, Ashkenazy made some recordings of Liszt: Mephisto 1, some of the TEs. Astounding, especially the A minor TE. (Were they ever transferred to CD? I only heard them on a well worn LP.)

Reportedly Ashkenazy never cared for Liszt, and it was a bit of nuisance for his record label -Decca- as they had long wanted him to record the Liszt concertos. (Those would have been spiffy, eh?)

I love Ashkenazy's recording of the Scriabin sonatas. If his 10th doesn't match the ghoulish nightmare of Horowitz, well, that is a small price to pay for a really superb set of all of the sonatas. Highly recommended.

Who was singing? That is my favourite Mahler. Any match for Wunderlich/Ludwig?

Ashkenazy is one of my all time heroes, his playing of Chopin,Schumann, Rachmaninov, Brahms, Scriabin, Ravel, Beethoven, all kinds of chambermusic, concerto's, and his conducting, a stunning Debussy, and wonderful Sibelius f.i. make him one of the most complete musicians ever.

I think he also recorded some of Liszt's transcendental etudes.

never heard a better Feux follets, ok, Richter/Sophia, but Vladimir comes close, and his Mef.Waltz isn't for the faint hearted either.

His WTC is on my ipod, my computers, CD player and stuck in the CD player of a rental car that I drove around Holland.

He is also a nice guy to boot.. But yes I enjoy him more as a pianist than as a conductor.. He brings something more special to the piano..

the WTC would have you go round the whole country several times haha

I did actually drive around! pretty darn flat!! and the way people are unfazed by rain as they bike away was memorable!! It was a rainy holiday, to say the least.. but I forgot all about that when I locked eyes with the girl with the pearl earring at the Mauritshuis. That, and the view from Delft!