Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner How does Krystian Zimerman Make Piano Look So Easy?

Hi everyone,

As many of you know (and should know), Krystian Zimerman is hands down one of the finest pianists alive today, and is one of my personal favorites to listen to. He has also been my main inspiration for pursuing a higher skill level in classical piano. However, there is always something that's been bothering me every time I see him play. How does he make every piece he plays look so easy, when at times just the sheet music itself is enough to make your head spin? It's as if it's nothing more than just a simple game for him. Is it because of his incredible virtuosity? Or is it the way his hands move across the piano? Someone please explain to me how he does what he does, and if possible, if he's doing something efficient of any sort that us amateurs seem to be missing out on. Also, if you have other examples of pianists who do this (like Horowitz), please feel free to talk about them as well

If you want to see him playing, check this video of his interpretation of Chopin's 4th Ballade. It's an incredible listen as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe-GrRQz8pk

piano and its keyboard ancestors have been part of european culture (or those derived from it like the americas or the 'westernized' portions of asia or africa) for long enough, producing a fat roster of virtuosi, that we can pretty safely guess that some individuals were virtually born to play the instrument. a fair number of them in fact first experienced music while they were still embryos/foetuses. these individuals can play a composition after hearing it once, or after reading through the score and mentally reproducing it without even having a piano in front of them. one of s.richter's first jobs as a working pianist was improvising piano reductions from opera scores to rehearse the singers. many of the famous pianists were playing at a high adult level of proficiency as children, so if they can play with relaxed confidence and near perfection as adults, it's almost their version of 'normal'.

I think almost all the best pianists make playing look easy, especially if you only watch their hands. Some of the greatest(and I agree that Zimerman is among those) make playing look especially easy. You can learn quite a bit by watching YT videos of the playing of these pianists since many of them have close up of their hands. One thing I've noticed is that every movement of their hands seems perfectly designed to achieve what their trying to do.

Wish we could see him perform in the US.

That's not likely to happen, is it? In 2009, he announced publicly that he, for several reasons, would not return to perform in the USA.

Regards,

Apart from having a superlative, refined technique such as few (if any) of us have, Zimerman has learned what so many teachers try to teach us: relaxation! You can't make it look easy if you are tense.

Regards,

This guy makes it look like a piece of cake, especially in the coda:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nNW-BwVFPI

BTW, if you listen to that coda while watching, you'd think he was playing it fairly sedately, like he was out for a stroll in the park, or maybe just checking out his piano's regulation before going out to a black tie (with tails) dinner.

Have another listen, without the video......

well in his chopin ballades videos, he does take multiple cuts sadly. so that could be some of the relaxation, but I think also he simply knows the piece and its ins and outs as well as possible, so as long as his technique does not fail him, why should he be tense?

Gerald Klickstein, writing in his excellent book, "The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance and Wellness", lists "Habits of Excellence" that musicians should cultivate.

At the top of the list is the habit of cultivating ease in everything you do during practice. Why do the pros make playing look easy? They practice to make things easy.

In addition to genetics, facility, mental prowess, a strong work ethic, excellent teachers and maybe a bit of professional luck at some point in his past, I believe Zimerman does this as well.

I like when he leans back (and appears) to use arm weight. 😀

He always has great thumb position.



Daniel Kharitonov has wonderful technical ease, too.

Among the recent generations of the competition crop Alexander Lubyantsev despite his occasional struggle face, has stunningly efficient technique:









And since were on guys with ponytails:



There's a reason why his Ravel and Liszt are top shelf.

I love Lubyantsev. Isn't he the one who said he would pose naked to get people to hire him as a pianist? I always say "Lurch plays the piano" whenever I see him. But his Mephisto Waltz #1 is the one I use for help when I need it when practicing that piece.

Delighted to see this thread; I've always said exactly this about Zimerman. He has a supreme command of the instrument, and an impeccable air of relaxed confidence when he plays. It's not in any way lazy or inherently laid back playing, but he's rather like Don Bradman when he was batting - he seems to have a lot of time to do what he needs to do; it never feels rushed.

I find it interesting to compare Zimerman with Argerich; both have outstanding technical skill, both are solidly reliable, and both are renowned Chopin interpreters whose interpretations are often quite similar. The style of playing, though, is strikingly different; with Argerich there is a sense of difficulty that is overcome by exceptional skill - she doesn't make it sound easy. With Zimerman, there is much less sense of difficulty being overcome. Neither approach is better or worse, and both are equally fine pianists at the pinnacle of their profession in my view, but the contrast is interesting.

Michelangeli is an interesting case in terms of relaxation. My sense, and obviously this is just my personal perception from videos and partly based on accounts of his playing and practice habits, is that there is never any doubt that he will get through every piece and do a fine job with the most efficient technique you could imagine - but *he* doubts it. He doesn't exactly look nervous, but always mildly concerned, even while giving himself the most ferocious technical challenges to overcome by playing so cleanly, so quickly, so evenly, and which he always does overcome. It's as though he has the most doubts of anyone in the room, with the least reason for it.

I think the difference between Argerich and Zimerman is the respective ways in which they get carried away. Argerich creates the difficulty she needs to overcome because her tempi get away from her as she is swept up in the music forcing her to rely on her technique to save her. Zimerman gets carried away by the sound he is making which often makes him slow down and remain completely in control. His 4th Ballade is so slow but he pulls it off because of the miracles of nuanced sounds he creates. I love Argerich and I wouldn't argue that she might be the world's greatest living pianist (I don't agree but I see the arguments in her favor). However, I think Zimerman is the superior musician. For me what makes her playing breathtaking is her ability to completely lose control and in his case his ability to remain completely in control but to do so much that you can't say he is playing it safe. I believe that Yundi Li falls into the Zimerman school and i think he is extremely underrated.

I would add that there are times when Argerich's approach leads to epic fails (a video of one of her Hungarian Rhapsodies comes to mind, a truly awful performance). Zimerman never lets me down.

I have great respect for Zimerman and have quite a few disc of his which I've enjoyed immensely. Speaking about pianists playing as if child's play, watch how Boris Berezovsky plays Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. This is not an easy piece yet for him it looks like it's completely effortless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hld8ATb668k

Ahh, yes. That's another pianist I fleetingly though of adding. I figured most would know of him though. Incredible technique indeed.

I think Zimerman plays the piano almost totally with his mind, instead of with his body.

Makes all the difference, in terms of easiness.

Plus, nobody can see it, which adds to the effect of effortlessness.

That sounds like Professor Harold Hill's "Think" system of playing an instrument!