Clifford Curzon

Continuing on great British pianists ... There aren't a whole lot of videos of him but this Schubert sonata is very informative. His hands are huge and beautifully shaped. He has a wide dynamic range and his pianissimos really speak. I love the moment at 5:25 where he shapes the triplet chromatic bass line. The left hand octave diminished arpeggios in the Brahms are also impressive. Of course when it comes to a musician like this, technical matters seem beside the point. What are your thoughts? Schubert Brahms

Thanks for some of the best clips I've seen. He's a wonderful musician and it's wonderful pianism... He is among the very top in terms of use of the hands AND the sounds he gets because of this right usage. It is striking to me to see the correlation between the look of his hands and the wonderful orchestrations he delineates with complete aplomb... Thanks again for these clips! AFF

Here is Curzon playing the Trout Quintet with members of the Amadeus Quartet. I think that these videos give a very clear demonstration of the concept of "hinges." His fingers are completely active and differentiated and it is beautiful to watch. Curzon studied with Landowska. Can you hear any of her influence in his playing.

Another wonderful clip of Clifford. Look at just how well his fingers maintain their ready shape through an educated type of effort: this is the high tonus needed to keep them ready to go and, as you say, to function like levers with complete aplomb. I had no idea Curzon studied with Landowska, but the connection, now that you mention it, is obvious and very exciting. Thank you for posting this clip and this new nugget of information! AFF

Here is Curzon's Kinderszenen. Part 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpwNHifzkQ Part 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4IZ1a3TCbc Have you noticed that the first phrase "Of Foreign Lands and People" has the exact same shape as the second subject from Beethoven's Op.130 mvt.1? Compare it to 2:30 from this recording of the Busch Quartet. Here are two more Schubert performances. The F minor Moment Musical and the Ab Major Impromptu. The video is messed up so it might be a little frustrating to watch. Coincidentally Horowitz played all these pieces later in life - The Moment Musical and the Kinderszenen in Vienna and the Impromptu in the Last Romantic video.

Here is Curzon's speech on the teaching of Artur Schnabel.