Thank you! I hope he's still in good health. I've never quite understood Pollini's reputation in some circles for "coolness." I like his straightforwardness and lack of sentimentality. He lets you dig the music on your--and its--own terms without, as it were, telling you how to feel about it, but his brilliant technique brings out everything the composer put into it. (IMHO.)
Change of pace, a movement from a simple Bach keyboard piece that never fails to lift my spirits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-GnAGwjXnM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-GnAGwjXnM Schubert's last piano sonata, composed shortly before his death. This (the first movement) takes me places: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9tofNmqNY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9tofNmqNY Beethoven's "Waldstein" piano sonata (Pollini again): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-OM70p3Jd0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-OM70p3Jd0 My father used to play this at home (or try to play it; he was a talented amateur, but this is a tough piece--he enjoyed the challenge, would practice it for hours). Emily wrote: << Thank you Judy. This is a good article on Pollini in the WSJ, April 2013. >> http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324874204578440571761520316 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324874204578440571761520316
