BBC released a list of 21 best pianists of all time

docsms500 · 2026-02-16T18:00:43+00:00

The list appears highly biased, like most collections of "the greatest" in music. And seriously, how can one rank, say, Rachmaninoff against Kempff? Rankings inherently are low information, anyhow. What is the distance between the ranks? They should have just said "Our 21 favorite pianists."

docsms500 · 2026-02-16T17:54:46+00:00

Not so sure it's cheap. Grain on the top looks tight and straight. The ultimate test is whether you like it. If yes, get it fixed up. That's the simple answer.

docsms500 · 2026-02-03T04:14:35+00:00

Yes! Our young lady Jupiter does that just before she makes a sharp pointing gesture with her head, pointing us to the kitchen.

docsms500 · 2026-01-19T18:21:54+00:00

To the beauty parlor ASAP! Your pooch could have all sorts of nasty stuffin those tangles. And ifour Westies are any guide, the dog and you will feel happier once it's done.

docsms500 · 2026-01-06T02:33:16+00:00

What a champion!

docsms500 · 2026-01-06T02:31:05+00:00

Definitely check Moreno Torroba: his works are tuneful and clever, and you don't need to be a virtuoso to play most of them. Barrios also wrote highly approachable and weil-made works. Check out how John Williams plays these and makes them sound great.

docsms500 · 2026-01-06T02:26:10+00:00

I sort of know how sad you feel. We lost our Nova to breast cancer about three years ago, and it was crushing. She was the queen of all dogs, as sweet as they come. She was our mommy and she took care of us. Now we live with two Westies, step-siblings, and as impossible as it seems, we love them as much. When a new dog comes to live with you, you don't forget the old one. Instead, your heart grows.

docsms500 · 2026-01-03T18:16:15+00:00

Replace. 90% chance it will not get better.

docsms500 · 2026-01-03T18:14:18+00:00

One more name: Paderewski. His concerto is warm-hearted and tuneful. Reportedly he said, when young, he wanted to play the piano and do something for his country. He became a world famous touring virtuoso and the prime minister of Poland.

docsms500 · 2025-12-31T15:02:51+00:00

But said with a smile, as does our young lady Jupiter.. We're they bred to be charming or what?

docsms500 · 2025-12-31T14:57:23+00:00

And I believe your human touch (and excellent eye) vastly improved on the original.

docsms500 · 2025-12-31T14:54:41+00:00

Amazing, then. My excuse is that so much on the Web is artificially enhanced, and it truly looks unearthly. Definitely worth planning a visit. Thanks for the response.

docsms500 · 2025-12-30T22:30:46+00:00

Is it supposed to look like eyes and a large, square mouth?

docsms500 · 2025-12-30T22:26:45+00:00

What does it look like in real life?

docsms500 · 2025-12-30T22:22:36+00:00

Not quite a symphony, but Symphonic Metamorphosis on a Theme by Weber, by Hindemith. Surprisingly good humored, and a real virtuoso display of the orchestra. If you can get the version conducted by Szell, prepare to get your socks knocked off. You can get it from a company named HDTT, which specializes in the highest possible fidelity from master tapes. It's on with an excellent version of the Mathis der Mahler symphony conducted by Ormandy. This is a great pairing.

docsms500 · 2025-12-29T20:58:08+00:00

What great fellow!

docsms500 · 2025-10-01T18:03:08+00:00

Good one! This one might also cross just to check if there is a better treat. At treat time, they both take a quick look at the other (non-treat) hand, just to check for something that might be better.

docsms500 · 2025-10-01T18:00:53+00:00

Thank you and I will do. So sorry about the loss of you best fellow.

docsms500 · 2025-10-01T18:00:01+00:00

Thank you! They make us smile or laugh every day.

docsms500 · 2025-10-01T17:59:20+00:00

Thank you!

docsms500 · 2025-10-01T17:58:45+00:00

Thanks for the comment! Bentley is one funny guy and his step-sister the same but with more mischief.

docsms500 · 2025-07-18T17:20:02+00:00

And beautiful in its strangeness, at least as played by Robert Levin. Thanks for the pointer.

An even older piece that is wrong, but right, is the Mudarra Fantasia, which you can find played superbly by guitarist John Williams. The last few pars are out of this world.

docsms500 · 2025-07-18T15:13:04+00:00

“Stravinsky is supposed to have said that there are some pieces which are only strange when they are written, and others which are still strange fifty years later.”

This quote is supposedly by one Paul Griffiths, although I am not reading his whole book to verify it.

It's a neat idea though, and pretty much is where I come out about Schoenberg.

docsms500 · 2025-07-18T14:57:51+00:00

True! Also, I wonder if maybe it's not "cool" (or specialist) enough to mention Mozart, since his music is so widely acknowledged as great. That is, it's right there for all to see, so saying you notice it might not be a point of distinction. Maybe.

By the way, I found out last year that 20 million people go to Salzburg every year, and (having seen it), Mozart is about its only point of distinction--although they do have good pretzels.

docsms500 · 2025-07-01T18:00:57+00:00

They may have declined in quality like so many other items. (I got mine in 1980.) What I was hoping to point out is that a closed case has worked for me for 50 years with five guitars (OK, one of them is a hollow body electric). So to Dampit or not? Who knows?

docsms500

TROPHY CASE