Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner October 19th - Valentina Lisitsa at 92Y

For anyone interested in reading the full review, here it is.

Once again reinforcing the impression I have that Lisitsa fans in general are relatively naive when it comes to the world of classical piano.

ArkivMusic lists 85 recordings of it as a standalone piece, separate from complete versions of the Paganini etudes. Add in the complete sets and it's an even higher number. So, no, the popularity of it is not remotely close to being due to Lisitsa.

Tommasini, poor soul, must be envious of Lisitsa.

</sarcasm off>

Thanks for the mention that Kern is playing some Alkan (it will be some of the op. 35 etudes, although they don't say which ones). It is still quite unusual to have a fairly well-known pianist like her playing his music in concert. I think that's great, and hope to see it happening more often.

I have a sort of funny story about Valentina's Saturday Night recital. I was meeting some friends for a very early dinner on the Upper East Side before ambling over to the 92nd St Y.

I got on the uptown 4 train out in Brooklyn, pulled out my kindle and started reading. At some point in very lower Manhattan I saw some people get on and sit right next to me. I didn't look up, but I noticed a woman wearing bright orange skirt, and a young kid (maybe 5-6 years old) wearing orange pants. "Wow, that's a lot of orange for one family" I thought to myself without looking up. Anyway, somewhere around Grand Central I looked over and Orange Skirt Lady was none other than Valentina Lisitsa. This must have been around 5PM. I guess they had been out sightseeing, and were probably heading back up to their hotel to have dinner and get ready for the evening. Without staring, I tried to verify my first impression. Enormous Piano Hands: check. Closely cropped Piano Fingernails: check. Then her still-standing husband said something in russian (Ukrainian, I know): check. Then she responded in her fairly distinctive voice: check.

I decided not to say anything to her. She probably wondered why the creepy guy with kindle kept giving sidelong glances at her. I don't know, I feel a little bit of regret not at least acknowledging that I knew who she was and wished her good luck. Or to break a finger, or whatever superstitious thing I should say. The fact is though, even if it were any another recognizable classical musician sitting next to me on the subway, I probably still wouldn't say anything.

I realize it's not like she's like an A-list film or TV star. Maybe she would have appreciated that some random dude on the subway recognized her and was in fact on his way to her recital. But the other part of me felt like it might be intrusive on her personal space with her family in a place where personal space is a precious commodity.

What would you have done?

Also, are there any A-List classical music celebrities? I feel like the general population would have recognized Leonard Bernstein, but that's probably it. Gustavo Dudamel?

Great story, Tim! She's very down to earth, which is something I've always liked about her. We probably would never have seen Horowitz in that subterranean tunnel for the masses!

Tommasini was a bit hard on Valentina, IMHO ... she deserves more respect. I think the "unevenness" in the nocturnes was just a matter of her interpretation, not a reflection of technical prowess. Many have noted (my self included) that Chopin nocturnes are probably not her strong card to begin with.

I would have smiled and simply said that "I'm looking forward to you recital tonight."

Opera singers usually gather the most face recognition.

Lisitsa would definitely have appreciated you showing that you recognized her and would be attending her concert.

When I saw her in the Yamaha/Bösendorfer showroom in London last year practising for her RAH concert, she asked the small audience (who sat themselves at a respectful distance) to come right up to sit almost beside her while she was playing. And she chatted to everyone afterwards.

Hey, bennevis - are you referring to the Chappells showroom? I was there, too! Unless she was there more than once, but I certainly remember her telling people to come and sit closer if they wanted. She seemed very gracious and not at all self-important or anything.

You weren't the guy who told me who she was when I came in and sat down by the door, were you? I wanted to respond that I knew and that was why I'd popped in, but I thought I'd just shut up and listen instead.

As for her playing, I find it a mixed bag. She has a very strong technique and a beautiful touch, but some of her interpretations I find a bit brusque while others she seems to nail.



If you're defining celebrity as someone most people would recognise, then I'd say no, there aren't, unless you include singers (Pavarotti springing immediately to mind).

Maybe Nigel Kennedy in the past, or at a push Lang Lang. But generally, I don't feel like there are any classical music superstars whose fame transcends genres.

Yes, it was Chappells. No, it wasn't me - I got there a bit late, because it was a last-minute decision. And I was glad I did go, as she treated us to the whole RAH concert and then some....

I was pretty impressed by her playing as well as by her unstuffy demeanour - she told me that she'd rented a flat in London which had a Bechstein piano, on which she'd be doing most of her practicing for the forthcoming concert. And that the Bösendorfer Imperial she'd be playing on had to make the long journey by road from Hannover and due to arrive only on the day of the concert. When I told her that I'd heard pianists including Lang Lang, Evgeny Kissin, András Schiff and Maria João Pires give solo recitals in the RAH before, she asked me what the acoustics were like, worried that the piano wouldn't arrive at the RAH in time for her to get used to it and the vast space of the RAH.

Like almost every pianist, her playing won't be to everyone's taste in everything she plays, but what isn't in question is her technical facility and musicianship. BTW, Peter Donohoe included her in his '50 Great Pianists' in his series of programmes for BBC Radio 3's Piano Season last year.

You're right, classical superstars are insignificant among the hoi polloi. But I suppose that the latest 'pop sensations' (like 'One Direction' - is that correct?) don't figure in the classical enthusiast's consciousness either. Just that there are far, far, far more of the hoi polloi than there are of us......

I agree. I'm very interested to hear that. Yeol Eum Son plays Le Festin d'Esope now, and multiple Cliburn characters have Alkan in their repertoire.

I think her musicianship is very much in question.

Maybe you are not quite clear about a critic's job? It is not about some kind of "respect" for simply being able to play the notes.

Who by - just you? And Tomasina (or whatever he/she's called)?

You can include me in that group.

Me too. I know it's not really a good thing to compare artists, but try listening to Rubinstein or Cherkassky play the D Flat Nocturne, then Lisitsa.

Also, compare her La Campanella to, oh I don't know, maybe de Larrocha, who convinces me that La Campanella IS a fine concert etude that is satisfying enough musically for its purposes, and quite thrilling.

At the risk of piling on, you can add me to the group.

And me.

Me too.

But, I do admire a lot of what she does - just the sheer repertoire she keeps all the time, I wish I could do that. And the ease she plays with. I always struggle with everything in the beginning..

Wow!!

And I thought this thread was for Lisitsa's fan club....

Monday morning quarterbacking...

I think I'll ask Frank Baxter to add another forum to Piano World. We can call it, "The Gong Show".