Are great pianists really judged by their worth as musicians?

Question

Great pianists have tradtionally never been famous or huge superstars for just their piano playing expertise.  liberace was huge while he was alive but after his death his name was rolled in the dirt and quickly discarded.  meanwhile, art tatum is a name known only in music circles.  liberace was a business man and advertised himself, but even he is hardly known. do you think pianists are judged by their musical worth?  if so name some.  five for fighting, vanessa, carlton, etc. don't count... they are known for their singing.

petr b · Accepted Answer

Great musicians are great musicians, regardless of what instrument they play: there is not really any other standard.

Don't mistake fame or notoriety (Lang-Lang) or a freakish technical virtuosity (Marc-Andre Hamelin, etc.) for profound musicianship (Dinu Lipatti, Alfred Brendel). I consider Dinu Lipatti and Alfred Brendel truly great pianists.

Art Tatum was highly respected by a lot of musicians from a variety of quarters. Horowitz and Stravinsky would go to hear him play. Horowitz said if Art Tatum decided to become a classical pianist, Horowitz would quit.

You can't seriously be citing Liberace as a great pianist? That's pretty revolting. Apart from the flash all you have to do is listen to know there was no real merit or creditable musicianship. 

Famous means the person or item has reached the broadest range of audience, as far as "How many people have heard of...."

This is why Pavorotti's name is known worldwide in households where people don't listen to a shred of Classical music or Opera, and the name of the superior singer and musician Placido Domingo is not.


best regards.

? · Answer

I live in a musical circle, so maybe I'm a little biased, but people like Arthur Rubinstein and Sviatoslav Richter and Vladimir Horowitz and Klara Wurst(sp?), and others, seem like superstars to me. Classical audiences may fade, but classical music will not.

Alberich · Answer

"petr b"' response is a most excellent one; you'll not receive a better in my opinion.

     Should you care to "listen to/watch" a concert pianist, one whom I believe to be the greatest of the 20th century(bearing in mind, the two below recordings/videos, are relatively "ancient" ones; I chose them because of their interpretive sensibility):

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj6_5qWZCDY

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASR8dgqIU-g

                                                                                                                  Alberich

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Are great pianists really judged by their worth as musicians?

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