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FWIW and just sayin'. Past or present. Superficial, yeah. And subjective, too.

Samson François and Martha Argerich.

Who appeals to you, even from photos?

I had a crush on this pianist when I was, er, a bit younger than I am now.......and how could anyone resist someone as attractive as her playing Twinkle Twinkle like this?



Incidentally, she was one of the youngest ever winners of the Van Cliburn Competition.

Wondering what happened to her? Time to search YouTube.

She made her home in London, and was making recordings for EMI and Decca, and performing regularly here in Europe until fairly recently - Ravel, Debussy, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, and of course Villa-Lobos. I believe hers was the first complete recording of the Villa-Lobos piano concertos.



One of her more recent recordings is of Saint-Saëns chamber music:


At 71, she still looks glamorous......

I'd say, especially a young Evgeny Kissin

Polina Osetinskaya. This piano also sounds great.

IMO all competitions and auditions should be done blindly, behind a curtain. It’s about the music!

I agree with Deborah. The premise of this thread seems rather tasteless to me.

Regards,

Both tasteless and pointless.

I'd say myself when I was at my peak a few months ago.

I think a musical performance has also a physical component. That is certainly more the case in jazz, vocals, pop and probably less in classical solo piano. Nonetheless, the physical presence and outlook does add something. I would consider the term attractive in its largest meaning of someone that has a physical presence that adds something to the musical performance. A good example is Listz himself, his physical presence and outlook certainly played a large role in his success in addition to his pianistic virtuosity. Just like each person has different musical taste, we are all more or less sensitive to a certain behavior, look, attitude, in a positive or negative sense.

I can certainly remember attending the early concerts of Ivo Pogorelich, when he was (apparently) a style icon for a certain female sector of the audience. There was certainly a large number of young women in his audiences which I never saw with any other pianist, male or female. The same also applied to Joshua Bell's concerts. And both were (are) very aware of their physical attractiveness.

Those who deny that attractiveness (in the widest sense of the word) has any part to play in classical concerts only need to look at fairly recent history (remember Eileen Joyce, who changed into a different glamorous dress with a different color for each different work in her concerts?).....and how they themselves would dress when they perform.

FWIW, when I perform, I don't have makeup or perfume on , and wear a cheap shirt, maybe with a fleece (made from recycled plastic of course) on top if it's winter. No fancy tails or bow tie or even any tie (not least because I don't own any), in fact no suit. I just look like any Tom, Dick or Harry who's just walked in off the street and taken his raincoat off (it always rains here). And there's no spotlight on me in the hall, at my request (- I don't need to use music, as I perform entirely from memory).

I want my audience to concentrate on the message (Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Bartók......), not the messenger, who (it must be admitted) would never be considered for the cover of Vogue, not even in his wildest dreams...... . It also makes me look more approachable, like one of the audience members, to encourage people to ask me questions afterwards about classical music and its composers and the piano (and hopefully, how to start or restart playing). And not least, to show everyone that classical music is for everyone to enjoy, not an elite art form for the learned......

Listening to a recording - even a perfect recording, perfectly reproduced - is never the same for me as being in the hall and watching a performer deal physically and emotionally with the music. I’ve always responded to their physical cues at some level, whether the performer was Anna Russell or Beatrice Rana. I’m not sure what “attractive” means, but I’ve never not paid attention to a performer’s demeanor, expressions, and movements.

Umm, I believe the OP requested attractive pianists, and not complaints and lengthy debates on whether there should be such a topic.

To get us back on track...Hélène Grimaud

How ‘bout Lola? JK

Agree. It's a music competition, not a pageant competition.

However, for concerts or recitals, appearance--be it attractiveness or unattractiveness--does factor into the audience's response, especially for solo performances. It's a basic human response and it's very, very hard to turn off.


Agree that when comparing listening vs. live, live wins out. But the difference between listening to a recording and personally witnessing the music being performed must be more than just the human (performer) element. If you sit far enough back in a large concert hall, the physical cues given by the performers become nearly impossible to detect. In a smaller venue, or closer up, yes, the physical cues are up close and personal and add to the total experience.

Funny story - my spouse is a very good autoharp player. Many years ago we went to the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Festival Contest in PA - it's a big deal in the autoharp world. The judges were in a separate building, and a sound system was used to pipe the music in - they could not see the contestants, so a blind judging. The autoharp world is pretty small, everyone knows everyone else, so this was seen as a way of making things fair. Of course, repertoire choice clearly identified some of the competitors, but still, it was a good effort.

I sat through 32 contestants in the first round, then the semi-final and finals. I love just about all music, so it kept my interest...

Sam

I found out from a very early age (ten, in fact) that someone playing the piano very well for you, close up - such that you can almost feel the wind in your hair, and the power from the hands in fff - is a visceral experience that can elevate the actual musical experience to a level that's not just inspiring, but also life-changing. Watching my teacher play near-virtuosic rep for me on our little home upright, with me standing beside her watching and listening intently was a wondrous experience that made me the pianist I eventually became, against all odds (bad genes, unsympathetic home environment with no other source of music, indifferent parents etc, etc).

Which is why I try to do something similar in my recitals, to inspire my (predominantly) non-musical audiences: the nearest seats are just three feet from the piano, and I've noticed that the same people come early to occupy those.

I've long envied the special (& very cheap) 'student seats' placed on the platform just a few feet in front of and behind the concert grand in London's Royal Festival Hall when popular pianists like Maurizio Pollini are performing, and you can hear his grunting when he is going full pelt, and also see him panting with the effort (OK, he's also a heavy smoker....) when he is pummelling the grand into submission in Stravinsky's Petrushka, and the sweat forming on his brow and dripping down on the piano........but I digress.

Suffice to say, watching and listening to a great pianist close enough that you can 'feel' his presence and almost experience his physical effort or his Innigkeit, whether in ppp or fff, adagio or prestissimo, is a completely different and inspiring experience compared to watching and listening on a YT video, or without sight of the performer. Even if said virtuoso isn't particularly attractive in appearance........

Absolutely. Almost all of the live music performances I attend are in small venues where you can 'feel' the music and see the details of the instrument being played (I try to sit where I can see the keyboard and watch the pianist's hands, of course).

The attractiveness of the performer might make a first impression, but after the music starts, the magic takes over.

There's a little commercial component here...you gotta look good for the album cover. Singers probably have the edge in the looks (and glamour) department. Grimaud has the best wardrobe...gawjus!