Josef Hofmann plays Chopin-Liszt, "The Maiden's Wish"

[LazlosPlane]

Studied with a student of his.  Believe me, means nothing. I suck. Just like to say it.

[sexilicious2010]

Loves This :)) x

[maddpianist]

Simply unapproachable fingerwork. Many modern pianists have great speed, but I've heard none with such distinct clarity and beauty of touch.

[ken4zen]

I agree, compare this with Rachmaninoff playing this. Rachmaninoff is inimitable, with his version the piece ceases to be individual notes, and becomes instead emotional dialogue. Hoffman's is stolid in comparison, not stellar. But then again, that's what inimitable means.

"He was the most fascinating pianist of them all since Busoni(1866-1824). He had the secret of the golden, living tone which comes from the heart," lauded Arthur Rubinstein.

[marliben]

And yet Rachmaninoff considered Hofmann's playing superior to his own.

[mgk0308]

@marliben I think it is, interpratively...but Rachmaninoff had a better technique.



[pianiplunker]

I usually prefere Rachmaninov's interpretations to Hofmann's but I have to give it to Hofmann in this recording. The 2 polish songs rachmaninov recorded were his last recordings and he sounds heavy compared to his other recordings. (he was suffering from bruised fingertips) Still, Rachmaninov in his worst days sounds better than 99.99% of other pianists.

[pianiplunker]

This is prime Hofmann, it's a somewhat banal piece of music (IMHO) but Hofmann brings out the charm and lightness splendidly(not to mention the cuts that Rachmaninov made).

[paulostroff99]

pianiplunker-But not better than Hofmann-IMHO nobody ever did except in the odd piece. Hofmann and the piano were as one. He was to the piano what Emanuel Feuermann was to the cello. Artur Rubinstein said that Feuermann was the best cellist ever. Who better to judge it than the man that played trios and duets with him and/or Heifetz.

[bboymango]

damn, bruised fingertips?

that sounds inntense

[paulostroff99]

Superb! Bravo! TY.

[weikko79]

Compare this to Rachmaninoff. What a difference! I like both interpretations though.

[paulostroff99]

Superb! Bravo! TY.

[aardvaark069]

There is another Hofmann performance of this that is so full of tonal refinement and delicacy that it makes this one sound as if it was played by an ape! and that is a nearly impossible thing to imagine!

[weikko79]

Really? It seems hard to believe that two performances by the same artist would be as different as all that.

[aardvaark069]

it's true though. These two performances are in the Marston series of CD's. You should get them and listen. Listen to the in concert performance of Chopin Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise if you really want to find out what hofmann was all about. It's just an opinion though.

[joeyjojo4]

Boring is when dilatents (such as so often post here to inflate their own egos) use phrases like, "anti-romantics," or, "traditional agogics."

This is typical of those who want to appear smarter, and more informed than they really are. Pity.

As far as the playing...it is first rate and virtuosic.

[SCHneiDen777]

joeyjojo4; I'm so glad somebody said that! "fake aristocrats".

PS Josef Hofmann was an amazing man. anybody who says different has to resurrect Josef so they can say to his face (and his fingers) that he is "anti-romantic" etc.

[smithsherman]

Hofmann along with Gieseking,Schnabel,Fischer & others represent the 1st generation to quit the traditional style,& adopt a more

"objective" style.Which is Y this version is  boring compared to Paderewski & the previous generation.Crypt's revisionist version is more satisfying than this.

[smithsherman]

What is so typical of this 1st generation of "anti-romantics" is that they inevitably

instinctually fall back on "traditional agogics" at certain moments.2:34-3:09 is where it happens here.

[pianopera]

BORING? You simply haven't understood *anything* of great pianoplaying if you give it that qualification. The sound, colours, the toucher and the pedalling are just too subtle for your ears. And those are the only "objective" things in this performance - because definitions like "Romantic", "anti-Romantic", "traditional" have no fixed meaning, they vary in time. Today's "objectivists" are much more "objective" than 75 years ago.

[smithsherman]

Yes Gridley...BORING!I haven't felt "anything'

of this piano playing,so I give it this qualification.Like Pletnev there's sumptuous gorgeous sound and technique and a desert of vapidity behind it....oh well.

[pianopera]

Too bad you don't hear the differences between Hofmann and Pletnev.

This is not a profound piece; I like the pianistic qualities here more than anything else. Oh well...you always have Marcel to listen to!

[smithsherman]

Too Bad you don't hear the differences Leonhardt and Baroque Music.Everything that is played well becomes "profound".Oh well,You've always got Ralph Kirkpatrick to listen to.

[pianopera]

Well, Leonhardt is much better than your Chamber Barrel Organs...

[smithsherman]

Not Hardly.He sounds like a mechanical Mausoleum and they sound human.

[pianopera]

A twisted mind is a joy forever...

[suzettegm]

Let's ask the maiden..Any left?

[pianopera]

That's "The Musician's Wish" ;-)