Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Sensational review of pianist Paul Lewis in NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/a...es-his-philharmonic-debut.html?ref=music

I will certainly want to listen to some of his YouTube videos after a review like this. Anyone heard him live or on recordings?

He can be heard frequently on BBC Radio 3 in concert and on recordings.

I have to say that my opinion of him took a nose dive after hearing the way he simplified some passages of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy (and not just the octave section). Even his teacher Alfred Brendel didn't simplify quite as much.

Brendel and apparently Lewis are generally considered important Schubert pianists. I think most people are far more concerned with how much music they make then whether they simplify some passages.

Just on the basis of the Lewis' Beethoven recordings I have heard - which impress me as being remarkably unfussy, direct, and un-pretentious - Mr. Lewis has been on my "must see" list for some time.

(I just live too far away from the concert loop)

If he can do justice to the Brahms first, why would he need to simplify the Wanderer Fantasy?

It begs the question - is he playing all the notes in the Brahms?

The missing notes in the Schubert are pretty obvious to anyone who has played it, or know the music well, but in the Brahms, I'd think that it's quite easy to leave out a few notes in some of the thick chords, or play some octaves as single notes, without it being obvious - especially when you have the orchestra to underpin (or mask ) you.

That is the problem when you've heard someone simplify a piece - does he do the same with other pieces, when it suits him? Maybe even most other pieces?

I've been listening to another UK pianist Barry Douglas, on his new CD which couples the Wanderer with D960 (where, unlike Lewis and Brendel, he plays the first movement repeat). There's absolutely no fudging there - and he doesn't even try to make things easier for himself by making an unmarked 'rhetorical' rit, as many other pianists do, for those octaves.

When you have pianists like Douglas who can play all the notes as the composer wrote them (and with great flair and panache), why would you settle for someone who (seemingly) can't?

That's right, who needs interpretations from those slouches Horowitz and Rubinstein, geez.

Alternatively, one could ask...if the pianist has something beautiful or important to say about a piece why would one care if they left out a few notes or simplified some passages?

Many people revere Cortot's recordings although many of them were error filled...perhaps even more "serious" than some simplification.

I was in attendance at his performance of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, on April 11th, with the New York Philharmonic. In the program notes, Lewis stated "I am going to have to be thinking very seriously about the sound I make from the piano; I will have to try to step up to this Orchestra's sound."

Unfortunately, although he did play beautifully, he failed to meet his objectives. He lacked the power this piece demands and could not match the Philharmonic's strength.

You (deliberately?) misunderstand my post, like a few others here.

BTW, English is my fourth language, but I do try to understand what people mean in their posts, before replying - unlike some people here.

There's a huge difference between playing wrong notes in the heat of the moment in concert (or even in studio recordings, like Cortot, Schnabel, Horowitz et al), and deliberately simplifying passages that one cannot play as written, or cannot be bothered to practise properly to play them, because the pianist thinks that people won't notice. And the likes of Horowitz altering Liszt, Rachmaninov et al to produce a more impressive effect isn't the same as Brendel and Lewis and one or two others simplifying difficult sections in order to be able to play them.

Do you get it now?

The reviewer from the NY Times didn't agree with you and gave he performance a sensational review(including saying Lewis did keep up with the orchestra).

Some of his simplifications are way too far though, e.g. his laughable facilitations in the dante sonata and his abject removal of the third hand arpeggios from the Norma fantasy. So much for the composer "coming first". And yes, as Rach would say, Brendel's playing is incredibly "musical".

Haven't heard much of Lewis's playing, though the article has piqued my interest. Any recommendations on recordings?

Thank-you. I did see the review. I wasn't discussing "keeping up"; I was critical of his "strength".

I had never heard about Lewis' simplifications until this thread--I haven't heard his Wanderer--but I listen to him frequently (even saw him once), and I can vouch that he's the real deal. Brendel reigns in my book, but compare Lewis' current Beethoven to Brendel's early Beethoven, and I'll take Lewis every time. His playing demonstrates incredible nuance and a masterly (though not flashy) technique. There's no doubt in my mind that he, perhaps with Till Fellner and a few others, leads the next generation of pianists specializing in the Austro-German repertoire.

I would start with the Beethoven sonatas, but the Beethoven concertos and Schubert sonatas are also solid in my book.

It's hard for me to believe that in this day and age, with the level of technical development of most conservatory freshmen, a seasoned concert performer would plan to play something simplified. What performances or recordings exactly are we talking about and what is the proof? Are we sure it isn't just a live performance where the pianist had a memory lapse and was able to carry through with fewer notes until arriving at a different section, and then someone posted the performance to youtube, or something?

Paul Lewis's simplified Wanderer is on a fairly recent CD release. It is a studio recording - buy it and enjoy simplified Schubert!

I don't know whether Brendel's simplified Wanderer is still available in USA - it is available via Amazon in the UK as a download, and another version on DVD.

I read some reviews of the Lewis Wanderer recording by knowledgeable people. No mention of simplifications.

My favorite Beethoven sonata recordings have always been Kempff's and Gilels' -- until I got Lewis' set. He brings peerless technique, great dynamic range and well-conceived musicality to every one of these, along with a freshness and liveliness that isn't always there in other great recordings. I also like his concerto recordings. If you only buy one set of complete sonatas, Lewis' set is highly recommended.

You should beg, borrow or steal that Harmonia Mundi recording and listen for yourself.

How many of those critics have played the piece? Or even know it well? Are you sure they really are 'knowledgeable'?

I have a BBC broadcast recording of Lewis playing it from over a decade ago. He played some of the octaves as single notes then. On his new studio recording, he did the same plus omit the LH arpeggios in a short section prior to that: he's the only concert pianist I've ever heard who does that, though there are others (including his teacher Brendel, of course) who've omitted some of those octaves - including Elisabeth Leonskaya (who once partnered Richter in Grieg's arrangements for two pianos of Mozart sonatas: Richter would have thrown a fit if he ever heard her simplify Schubert.......).

P.S. I think I've seen one review that mentioned those simplifications - it was probably in one of these three: Gramophone or International Record Review or BBC Music Magazine. See if you can look them up.

I have heard Paul Lewis in the Brahms 1st with the Bournemouth Symphony orchestra. Wonderful performance and didn't lack power. Re "strength": normally it is the soloist who in rehearsal sets his/her own interpretation down and the orchestra who adjusts accordingly. In other words, a conductor would up the power/muscularity for a powerful solo interpretation and similarly scale down the orchestral sound for a performer who takes a more intimate view. It seems Paul Lewis heard the orchestra and decided to adjust his interpretation, successfully according to that review.

I have his Beethoven sonata set, recorded live, and he does have an intriguing mix of romantic and classical approach: clear and precise, yet not lacking in feeling. Well worth listening to.