Stephen Hough Plays Brahms First Piano Concerto Pt. 4

British pianist Stephen Hough (1961-) is interviewed live by Charles Hazlewood on BBC Television immediately following a performance of Brahms' First Piano Concerto with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivan Fischer.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Stephen
• Hough
• British
• pianist
• Brahms
• First
• Piano
• Concerto
• Budapest
• Festival
• Orchestra
• Ivan
• Fischer
• BBC
• Proms
• Hazlewood

[parazsdavid]

Hough is a shape-shifting reptilian chitauri. He doesn't blink.

[OrangeSodaKing]

@parazsdavid OMG!!!!! YOU'RE RIGHT, HAHAHA! :D

[TheHamsterface]

At 2:00, Charles says that 'it is very clear to me that there is something very Hungarian about this music'. What does he mean? What is the link between this concerto and Hungary? Stephen's answer seem to agree-'yes it did go through my mind when...'

So what is the link, apart from a Hungarian Orchestra playing here?

Thanks

[TheHamsterface]

What is the link

[Mgglawrence]

@parazsdavid

Hough could be blinking away furiously when the camera is just on the interviewer!

[d1agos]

hi is best man

[Schamschi]

And finally, about Hazlewood "educating" the audience, unfortunately the exact opposite is the case when it comes to the particular question regarding "technique", because he makes people (e.g. you) believe that there are indeed pieces that are only about technique, and Brahms' 1st piano concerto is special in that there is more to it than just technique (and frankly I'm surprised that Hough didn't point THAT out)

[Schamschi]

is the only one who can play the ending of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody Nr. 2 without "cheating" (or so he says)). Yeah, this should satisfy you, a pianist who properly fulfills his function as a technical show-off, without any musical depth (because this clearly is not the purpose of this piece). Well, have a good day.

[Schamschi]

the "function" of the pianist is not to show off his technique, because this has nothing to do with music, not with Brahms, nor with Liszt. If you want music, you listen to Brahms, Liszt, etc., and if you want someone who has made it their primary aim to demonstrate their gigantic technical abilities, you might want to check out Richard Kastle, who might just be the pianist for you. (In case you don't know him, he is a pathetic loser who thinks he is the best pianist in the world because he

[Schamschi]

Er, WTF?!? You'd put Liszt 1 in another "class" than Brahms 2? Then define what a "class" is. Yes, they are different pieces, but the "role" of the pianist is the same, the role of the pianist is a pianist, plain and simple, a performer, and not some kind of circus artist or something like that, both in Liszt AND in Brahms. Apparently you don't know much about Liszt (or music in general), because Liszt himself expressed his dislike for flashy showpieces. And even if a piece is rather bombastic,

[howdilydoodily]

Your original comment unfortunately reveals YOUR ignorance. Others responded with positive connotations of such questions, so then you proceed to reveal your pretension.

I mean, you're preaching to the choir. Dude, we're ALL watching Brahms 1. We ALL know there's more to the work than technique. So ask yourself, what is the interviewer's purpose in asking this question? There are many who aren't musicians who learn from Hough's responses. Educating a diverse audience is difficult.