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I played the piano just a little bit before I was fourteen, but I didn’t have any repertoire. So everything that I learned, everything that I can do now, I learned between the age of fourteen and now...
See? You can start the piano at 14 and still become a concert artist!! He says he only knew a little bit beforehand; he was probably just a beginner then!!--
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One of my first pieces was Liszt’s Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, because I loved it so much.
Thank you for sharing vlhorowitz. I always enjoy reading these interviews. Wunder was one of my personal favorites in the Chopin competition because he played with such deep emotion....
Only in men's imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art as of life. -Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
His performance of the concerto in the competition raised high hopes, but his first CD (for DG) was a bit of a disappointment: rather prettified and lacking in drive and verve, as if he was thinking of the consumptive and sickly Chopin only able to play the slow sections of his Ballades.....
His performance of the concerto in the competition raised high hopes, but his first CD (for DG) was a bit of a disappointment: rather prettified and lacking in drive and verve, as if he was thinking of the consumptive and sickly Chopin only able to play the slow sections of his Ballades.....
I'm assuming this is your personal review although you state it more as if it was a fact. The first half dozen reviews I read on a google search were close to unanimously rave. Wouldn't it be quite surprising if the same pieces that got his such favorable reviews in the Chopin Competition were played poorly a short time later?
Thank you all for reading. He's quite a phenomenal talent. I was really surprised to hear him say that Op. 25 No. 6 was the most difficult etude for his hand.
There is enough clarity, speed, and contrast in both hands - based on the two Youtube videos of him playing it, that I thought he was one of the rare cases of people who don't struggle much with this etude.
Thanks to EH, I've been exploring more of Wunder's work. Last night, I found this video of Wunder playing the Gmin Ballade. His PFC is the most virtuosic pianism I've witnessed. It's certainly too presto and too fuoco for *every* mood, but it's not often my mouth goes uncommanded. And although it may not be fit for everyday moods, it certainly fits many of my moods!
I look forward to much more Wunder through the years.
edit: actually Sam Rose found the video, for those keeping score
Last edited by hawgdriver; 02/13/1201:50 AM.
Only in men's imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art as of life. -Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
Yes, that's certainly what he meant. It's a typo. Maybe he shouldn't have abbreviated it st all without first mentioning presto con fuoco, but we all get lazy sometimes (and he did use the words presto and fuoco in the following sentence).
Last edited by Sam Rose; 02/13/1204:15 AM.
Playing since age 21 (September 2010) and loving it more every day. "You can play better than BachMach2." - Mark_C Currently Butchering: Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# Minor My Piano Diary: http://www.youtube.com/sirsardonic ♪ > $
His performance of the concerto in the competition raised high hopes, but his first CD (for DG) was a bit of a disappointment: rather prettified and lacking in drive and verve, as if he was thinking of the consumptive and sickly Chopin only able to play the slow sections of his Ballades.....
I'm assuming this is your personal review although you state it more as if it was a fact. The first half dozen reviews I read on a google search were close to unanimously rave. Wouldn't it be quite surprising if the same pieces that got his such favorable reviews in the Chopin Competition were played poorly a short time later?
It isn't only my opinion - after I bought the CD (purely on the basis of his Chopin competition concerto playing, and the fact that the public - though not the jury - thought he should have won) and wished I hadn't, I read the review in BBC Music Magazine which was pretty scathing, and mirrored my own opinion. I think the Gramophone review was more positive. But you should listen to it and judge for yourself......
uncommanded. And although it may not be fit for everyday moods, it certainly fits many of my moods! 
