PIANOMANIA POLL: Who do you regard as the greatest Liszt player of our time?

In the recently concluded Pianomania Poll, we had asked "Who do you regard as the greatest Liszt player of our time?" In the three months which we ran the poll, a respectable 159 votes were cast. Thank you for your support in the Bicentenary Year of Frenz Liszt (1811-1886), and here are the results:

There was an early run for the late Georges (or György) Cziffra, but it was Vladimir Horowitz and Martha Argerich who went neck and neck to the very end. While it wasn't as close as the Singapore Presidential Election, there were several changes in leads before Volodya crossed the finish line ahead of Martha.

#1: VLADIMIR HOROWITZ - 52 votes (32%)

#2: MARTHA ARGERICH - 46 votes (28%)

#3: GYÖRGY CZIFFRA - 29 votes (18%)

Of the above, Cziffra recorded the most Liszt, including the complete Transcendental Études, 15 Hungarian Rhapsodies, the concertos and many transcriptions. Horowitz's complete Liszt recordings on RCA/Sony Classical (dating from the 1930s to his last week in 1989) have just been reissued on 4 CDs. Argerich's fame as a Lisztian lies on a handful of recordings - the Sonata in B minor, Piano Concerto No.1 and Hungarian Rhapsody No.6. Not bad for a highly selective Lisztian.

#4: CLAUDIO ARRAU - 25 votes (15%)

#5: JORGE BOLET - 20 votes (12%)

#6: ALFRED BRENDEL - 17 votes (10%)

Three undoubtedly great Lisztians who recorded Liszt extensively amongst other things, which may be found in boxsets reissued on the Decca/Philips labels.

#7: EARL WILD, LESLIE HOWARD, MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN & STEPHEN HOUGH - 11 votes (6%)

Bunched up in 7th place are four pianists who have made their name in high virtuosity on the keyboard. Earl Wild was performing and recording Liszt at a time when it was unfashionable to do so. Leslie Howard has recorded the complete piano works of Liszt, amounting to some 100 CDs on the Hyperion label. Marc-André Hamelin and Stephen Hough have both recorded substantial Liszt recitals for various labels, most recently also on Hyperion.

#8: LAZAR BERMAN - 8 votes (5%)
#9: LOUIS LORTIE - 4 votes (2%)

Bringing up the rear are the Russian Lazar Berman, who has great recordings of Années de Pelerinage and the piano concertos on Deutsche Grammophon, and the Canadian Louis Lortie, probably the most underrated Lisztian of them all. Do check his complete works for piano and orchestra and his stunning Années de Pelerinage on the Chandos label.

Thank you, and watch out for the next Pianomania Poll: Which do you regard to be the best label for piano recordings?

PIANOMANIA POLL: What do you regard as Franz Liszt's greatest work for piano?

The results of the Pianomania Poll are in! Thanks to you, we had a healthy 221 votes cast over the last 4 months.

We had asked "What do you regard as Franz Liszt's greatest work for the piano?" And the Lisztomaniacs have voted overwhelmingly for the Sonata in B minor, S.178 with 110 votes (49%). In distant second place were the 12 Transcendental Études with 46 votes (20%) and tied for 3rd place were Totentanz and the Grosses Konzertsolo with 39 votes (17%).

The complete scores were as follows:

1. Sonata in B minor: 110 (49%)

2. Transcendental Études: 46 (20%)

3. Totentanz: 39 (17%)

3. Grosses Konzertsolo: 39 (17%)

4. Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude: 38 (17%)

4. Hungarian Rhapsodies: 38 (17%)

5. Mephisto Waltz No.1: 37 (16%)

6. Piano Concerto No.2: 33 (14%)

7. La Vallee d'Obermann: 28 (12%)

8. Dante Sonata: 27 (12%)

9. Piano Concerto No.1: 22 (9%)

Thanks a million! Do watch out for our next Pianomania Poll, on great Lisztians!

WHICH IS THE GREATEST PIANO CONCERTO OF THEM ALL?

Thank you for taking part in the PianoMania Poll on "Which is the greatest piano concerto of them all?

We had a record 548 voters over four months, and some rather surprising results. One suspects some pranksters at work, when over 250 entries were registered in early December 2010, which skewed the poll in favour of Messiaen's Turangalila (269 votes), Mozart's Piano Concerto No.24 (258 votes) and Busoni's Piano Concerto (248 votes). There were also several freaky results for Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 (127 votes), Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.2 (125 votes) and Mozart's Piano Concerto No.20 (113 votes).

One suspects these to be the work of the Futurerama Fan Club, Yvonne Loriod Admiration Society, Action for Amadeus and Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Front.

By factoring out the lunatic fringe of pollsters, we arrive at a true reflection of the serious votes. The greatest piano concertos were as follows:

1. RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.3 (78 votes)

2. BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1 (69 votes)

3. RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.2 (56 votes)

4. TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No.1 (47 votes)

5. BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.2 (45 votes)

Bringing up the rear, but not too far behind were Beethoven's Fifth and Fourth Piano Concertos (43 and 38 votes respectively) , Chopin's First Piano Concerto (33 votes) and Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto (32 votes).

Thank you for voting in the PianoMania Poll.

Watch out for the next poll:

What do you regard as Franz Liszt's greatest work for the piano?

WHICH YOUNG PIANIST DO YOU REGARD AS THE FUTURE OF THE CLASSICAL PIANO? Results of Pianomania Poll

The results of the most recent Pianomania Poll are out, drawn from 97 entries over the past four months. The names of young pianists were drawn from lists of recent competition winners and concert listings, representing talents from different parts of the globe. The piano has become a universally popular instrument and the greatest pianists of the future can come from any part of the world today. 

No.1 

YUJA WANG (China) 

42 votes, 43%

Was there any doubt that this Chinese female phenom of the piano would top this list? Her two recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon label were simply superb, and her Singapore recital proved beyond any doubt that all the hype about her were for real.

No.2 

SERGIO TIEMPO (Venezuela) 

24 votes, 25% 

 A very visible presence thanks to his recordings on EMI Classics and frequent appearances at Martha Argerich's Lugano Festival. Is Venezuela and El Sistema the way to the future of music? Better believe it!

NO.3 

RACHEL CHEUNG (Hongkong) 

21 votes, 21% 

The 19-year-old is going places, having won 5th prize at the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, and more recently a semi-final appearance at the Chopin Competition. Further prizes in major competitions are expected.

NO.4: LISE DE LA SALLE (France), 

BENJAMIN GROSVENOR (UK), 

ZHANG HAOZHEN (China) (11 votes, 11%)

De la Salle is already established as a concert and recording artist, a very special talent. Young Grosvenor impressed greatly with his recital at the Singapore International Piano Festival, while Zhang's win at thr 2009 Van Cliburn has won him many concert opportunities. The latter's Singapore recital in 2011 will be keenly awaited.

NO.5: NOBUYUKI TSUJII (Japan), 

EDUARD KUNZ (Russia) 9 votes, 9 % 

No.6: JOHN CHEN (New Zealand) 8 votes, 8%

Tsujii was a big winner at the 2009 Cliburn, a triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Kunz and Chen, past winners of piano competitions, are gradually establishing their concert careers.

Thanks for the votes, and look out for the next Pianomania Poll: WHICH IS THE GREATEST PIANO CONCERTO OF THEM ALL?

WHAT DO YOU REGARD AS THE GREATEST PIECE IF PIANO MUSIC EVER COMPOSED? / Results of Pianomania Poll

THANK YOU for your votes in the first Pianomania Poll of 2010. There was a very respectable 174 entries over six months, and here are the results:

NO.1: BACH'S The Well-Tempered Clavier
(63 votes, 36%)

Johann Sebastian Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues in two volumes, in effect 96 separate piano pieces, gets the top vote. From childlike movements (the first Prelude) to the most daunting of fugues, this is the ultimate statement of artistic expression. Never mind if it were meant to be merely keyboard exercises of counterpoint. Bach was a genius through and true. His Goldberg Variations (4th position) and The Art of Fugue polled 17% and 10% respectively.

NO.2: LISZT'S Sonata in B minor

(38 votes, 21%)

Frequently derided as a showman and charlatan, this is Liszt's singular great single movement work, combining technical devilry with sublime expression. Other Romantic works that scored were Rachmaninov's Préludes (10%), Schubert's Sonata in B flat major D.960 (8%), Schumann's Fantasy in C Op.17 (5%) and Kreisleriana (4%).

NO.3: CHOPIN'S 24 Préludes Op.28 (32 votes, 17%)

24 short pieces, some barely lasting a minute are part of this wonderful mosaic, which finds some of Frédéric Chopin's easiest and most fiendish music. A roller-coaster of a ride that takes one to the expressive heart of the ultimate Romantic.

NO.5: BEETHOVEN'S Hammerklavier Sonata Op.106

(27 votes, 15%)

Pollsters have deemed this as Beethoven's greatest piano work, coming ahead of his ultimate Sonata No.32 Op.111 (9%) and Diabelli Variations (6%). Must have been that monstrous fugue that made the difference.

NO.6: RZEWSKI'S The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

(20 votes, 11%)

A surprise entry with a good 11% is American Frederic Rzewski's 1976 cult classic, comprising 36 variations on a Chilean socialist anthem. Well ahead of other 20th century classics, including Messiaen's Vingt Regards (5%), Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum (4%) and Charles Ives Concord Sonata (under 1%).

DO WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT PIANOMANIA POLL!

PIANOMANIA Poll: Which International Piano Competition Will Most Further The Career Of Its Winner?

PIANOMANIA POLL RESULTS:

WHICH INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION WILL MOST FURTHER THE CAREER OF ITS WINNER?

Thank you for your response. This poll ran for almost 6 months and there were 117 entries in total. Here are the results:

1ST PLACE: CHOPIN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION (WARSAW), 54% of votes

Taking place once in 5 years, the Chopin of Warsaw (forget the other Chopin competitions) has consistently produced great performers, from Maurizio Pollini (1960), Martha Argerich (1965), Garrick Ohlsson (1970), Krystian Zimerman (1980), and most recently Rafal Blechacz (2005). Even “losers” did not do too shabbily: Vladimir Ashkenazy (1955) and Ivo Pogorelich (1980). The 2010 edition will feature a staggering 335 pianists in the opening elimination round. What will the piano be without Chopin?

2ND PLACE: VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION (FORT WORTH, Texas), 35% of votes

This is the big one in the American continents. Every pianist who wants to break into the American circuit will need to do well in this. Its visibility is all-embracing, just check out its website. In Texas everything has to be big, even if the careers of its winners do not always match up. Its last truly great winner was Radu Lupu, and that was in 1966. Perception wise, the other American competitions have some way to go: Gina Bachauer (Salt Lake City) and Cleveland polled 5% & 2% respectively.

3RD PLACE: TCHAIKOVSKY INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION (MOSCOW), 28% of votes

A surprise given that this once-great competition has gone into decline. Its reputation probably lies in its past legacy: Van Cliburn (1958), Vladimir Ashkenazy & John Ogdon (1962), Grigori Sokolov (1966), Andrei Gavrilov (1974) and Mikhail Pletnev (1978). The last competition in 2007 did not produce a 1st prize winner. With Valery Gergiev and Richard Rodzinski at the helm of the next edition, its fortunes may soon change.

4TH PLACE: LEEDS INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION, 20% of votes

In the United Kingdom, Dame Fanny Waterman’s (left) empire still looks strong. Its recent advances to keep up with current technology are also laudable. However, can anyone name the last 5 winners of the Leeds? Again, its past legacy of winners like Radu Lupu (1969), Murray Perahia (1972), Dmitri Alexeev (1975) and Artur Pizarro (1990) looks comparably rosy. The Queen Elisabeth (Brussels) and London competitions trail considerably with 9% and 5% respectively.

TOP IN AUSTRALASIA:

All the competitions in Asia and Australia, while tops in their respective nations, do not loom high in the international standings. Sydney (Australia) and Arthur Rubinstein (Israel) are tied at 5%. Both are already well established competitions. The newbies from Hong Kong, Hamamatsu (Japan) and the China International made up the numbers at 4%, 2% & 1%.

Thanks again for your input, and watch out for the next Pianomania Poll!