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Whatever happened to......? · The Piano Maven with Jed Distler

0:06
This is Jed Disler, and welcome to The Piano
0:09
Maven, your friendly podcast guide to piano recordings.
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Actually, this episode is not going to be so
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much about recordings as it will be about pianists.
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But I will put in some links to recordings in
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our episode description where you will also see
0:27
a link where you can subscribe to this podcast
0:31
via my Piano Maven sub stack page. And I really
0:36
do hope you consider taking out a subscription
0:38
because that will keep us having this podcast
0:42
going and be in production. Ever see these fan
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magazines about celebrities when they have articles
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that are on the topic of whatever happened to,
0:55
meaning somebody who was once... kind of super
0:59
famous, but then faded from the scene. This happens
1:03
a lot in classical music, when a certain performer
1:07
starts to get a lot of attention, either after
1:11
winning a competition, or else they have a strong
1:14
publicity machine behind them. But then after
1:17
a certain period of time, you don't hear about
1:20
this performer anymore. Or more accurately, these
1:24
performers are nowhere near so publicized as
1:29
they were in the earlier part of their career.
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So I thought I could pick 12 pianists who might
1:36
be good subjects for a Whatever Happened To article
1:41
in People magazine. Well, maybe not People magazine,
1:44
maybe in some piano magazine or gramophone. I
1:50
don't know. But I put this list together of pianists
1:54
who did get a lot of attention back in the proverbial
1:58
day, and you never hear about them anymore. So
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let's begin with number one on my list, the Belarusian
2:06
pianist Leonid Kuzmin. In the late 1990s or mid
2:13
to late 1990s, he recorded quite a bit for the
2:18
Russian compact disc label. Do you remember that
2:21
label? It had blue background. I think it was
2:26
white print in a blue masthead or something like
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that. Anyway, his discs were getting reviewed
2:34
quite a bit. And one of his American sponsors
2:38
was the musicologist and writer Joseph Macklis.
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And Joseph Macklis wrote this bestselling textbook
2:46
called The Enjoyment of Music. And he made piles
2:49
of money on that book. And Joe Macklis would
2:53
often host concerts or parties in this penthouse
2:57
apartment on East 57th Street, I think it was,
3:01
because I went to a bunch of those parties. And
3:04
I think he kept this apartment specifically for
3:07
these social events. Anyway, Kuzmin was a real
3:12
virtuoso who reveled in flashy repertoire. And
3:16
a lot of critics thought he was talented, but
3:19
musically he was green as grass. And that was
3:23
true in certain ways, but he certainly could
3:27
get around the keyboard. Some critics also called
3:31
him a pianist with all fingers and no brain,
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which was understandable, but not quite fair.
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But I've enjoyed some of the recordings. Some
3:41
of them are outrageously glib. But I've been
3:45
looking all over the Internet, and I cannot find
3:48
the whereabouts of Kuzmin anywhere. Did he keep
3:53
up his career, but with a much lower profile
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than he had in the 90s? Or did he give up playing?
4:00
Is he alive? Is he dead? I really would like
4:03
to know what happened to Leonid Kuzmin. If you
4:07
know, then please let me know. Let all of us
4:11
know. Unfortunately, in regard to the second
4:15
pianist on this list, what happened to the 1989
4:20
Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist, Alexei
4:25
Sultanov? turned out to be a long and drawn -out
4:28
tragedy. At the age of 19, he won the Clyburn
4:33
competition, and he quickly became a superstar
4:36
overnight. He got a flood of engagements, and
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he had this kind of daredevil style of playing
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that critics love to hate. And after several
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helter -skelter years on the platform, Sultanov
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tried to focus himself more. And in 1995, he
4:58
shared second prize at the Warsaw Chopin competition.
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There wasn't a first prize given in that year.
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And he would record here and there. And he had
5:08
a particularly faithful following in Japan where
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he made some CDs that were not published outside
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that country. quickly put an end to his career,
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although he heroically fought to survive and
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to heal for several years before death finally
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overtook him in 2005. A very sad end to a meteoric
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yet kind of troubled career. The third pianist
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on my list is the Greek pianist Dimitris Sigouris.
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In 1982, when he was 13, he started to get tons
5:57
of attention. I remember very vividly when he
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made this big splash playing the Rachmaninoff
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Third Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra
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and Rostropovich was conducting. This was at
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Carnegie Hall. And I remember in November 1982,
6:16
he gave this super long concert in New York.
6:20
It was his solo debut. But also on this solo
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debut, the violinist Eric Friedman had a guest
6:28
shot. And he joined Dimitri Sigouris to play
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the Franck Sonata. I think this program was like
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three hours. And basically, the 13 -year -old
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pianist played fast and loud. A few months before
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he died, Arthur Rubinstein got to hear Sigurus.
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in private at Rubinstein's home. And he wrote
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or was quoted in saying that, I thank God for
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keeping me alive so that I would be able to hear
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with my own ears Sugoris play. He is the best
7:05
pianist I have ever heard, including myself.
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And then Rubinstein took off his gold watch and
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he put it in Sugoris's wrist as if... passing
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on the torch, I imagine. And then two months
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after their meeting, Rubinstein died. Anyway,
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Sigouris, as a teenager, went on to record several
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releases for EMI. His debut disc coupled the
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Brahms Paganini variations and the Schumann symphonic
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etudes. And there was an all -list disc. There
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was a Rachmaninoff third with the Berlin Philharmonic.
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I think there may have been one other disc. I
7:44
honestly can't remember. And then basically this
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pianist disappeared from the limelight. Although
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if you look at his website, he did go on to have
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a busy and quite respectable career as an adult
7:58
performing and recording worldwide. But he never
8:03
quite got the same attention as an adult that
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he got as a teenager. The fourth pianist on my
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list is Max Levinson. I don't know if anyone
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remembers when he started to get all this press
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attention in the late 1990s when he recorded
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two solo piano discs for a label called Encoded
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Music. And his career was launched when he won
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first prize at the Dublin International Piano
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Competition. Back then, I remember there were
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some publicists who were really pushing me to
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review these discs. And these discs were quite
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excellent. They still are. One had Schumann's
8:49
Papillon, Brahms' Variations on an Original Theme,
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the six little pieces Op. 19 by Schoenberg, and
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Leon Kirschner's Five Pieces for Piano. And the
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other disc was an all -Bartok release. Both of
9:05
these discs were exceptionally well recorded.
9:09
And I still enjoy these discs because Max Levinson
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was clearly a pianist who channeled his considerable
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virtuosity toward musical ends. Now... I don't
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think he disappeared so much as that I personally
9:25
lost track of him. Yet Max Levinson performs
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and teaches and has a very fulfilling musical
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life. He's chair of the piano department at the
9:36
Boston Conservatory, and he's also a faculty
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member at the New England Conservatory. So he
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is really doing... quite well and performing
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and teaching. And I'm not really sure what's
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happening with him in terms of recordings, but
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certainly he's not getting the attention that
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he got when those two solo CDs were released
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in the 90s. Another pianist, this is the fifth
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one on my list, who got lots of attention when
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she recorded several discs for Decca in the early
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2000s. is Naida Cole. I actually first heard
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her on a disc of highlights from the 1997 Van
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Cliburn competition, and then I reviewed her
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Decca releases for classicstoday .com. I liked
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her first disc a lot. It had wonderful performances
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of Foray's Ballade, Op. 19 in the solo piano
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version, and some really terrific Chabrier. although
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I found her Ravel Gaspard de Lannoy uneven, rather
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cold in some ways. And her second release had
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a very good, if, again, I use the word cold,
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performance of Ravel's miroir. I mean, it's...
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absolutely rock solid technically. And then there
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was a very direct and uncluttered and really
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scintillating Liszt sonata on this disc, and
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I hadn't thought about it in years. And before
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I started to record this episode, I listened
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to it again, and I really, really liked it a
11:19
lot. I think it deserves to be reissued. But
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what happened to Naida Cole? I'll tell you what
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happened to her. In 2007, she gave up her piano
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career to become a doctor, believe it or not.
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And she is assistant professor in the Department
11:37
of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University
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of Chicago. Now, speaking of the Clyburn competition
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and the sixth pianist on this list. André -Michel
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Schub got a lot of attention when he won the
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1981 Clyburn Gold Medal. He made three solo albums
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for Vox on their Vox Cum Laude label. I guess
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that was a step up from regular Vox, you know.
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It's kind of like Economy Plus, you know. The
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debut disc. had Brahms' Handel Variations and
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the Liszt Paganini Etudes. It was a very fine
12:16
disc, actually. There was a second solo release
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with two Beethoven sonatas, and there was a third
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disc that had the Schubert Wanderer Fantasy,
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the Chopin F minor fantasy, and Mendelssohn's
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Fantasy in F sharp minor, which was a work that
12:33
wasn't recorded all that much at that time. So
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after the initial fuss and publicity machine
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died down after André Michel Choub won the Clyburn.
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Basically, he's had a very stable musical life
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as a soloist and as an exemplary chamber music
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player. I don't think he ever became a superstar
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on the level that people expected, but he's been
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active on a world -class level for decades. probably
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it's healthier to have this kind of busy, non
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-pressured, and artistically fulfilling life.
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And I can speak from experience because I think
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I have a similar kind of musical life and more
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power to André -Michel Schub. The seventh pianist
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on my list is Friedrich Chu. If I was assembling
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this list purely on the basis of recorded output
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and a pianist's profile in terms of of his or
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her association with a label and how that label
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promotes that pianist and also critical consensus,
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then I would put Frederick Chu on this list as
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a... definite whatever happened to candidate.
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But the fact is, is that Frederick Chu is as
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active as he has ever been. He's in demand as
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a performer, as a teacher and a jury member.
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And he is still playing fabulously at full capacity.
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He's been very involved with bringing innovative
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ways to incorporate technology into teaching.
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The thing is, is that he rarely records anymore.
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But back in the 1990s, he entered into a relationship
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with Harmonia Mundi that yielded some fantastic
14:32
releases, and they were all exceptionally well
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recorded. There was a complete Chopin -Mazurka
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cycle. There was an excellent disc of Schubert
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songs transcribed by Liszt. There were some fabulous
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Ravel. He did a wonderful miroir. Speaking of
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miroir, his is one of the best in the catalog.
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And he also made what I think is the best overall
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survey on disc of Prokofiev's complete solo piano
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music. Again, this is someone who, just because
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he is less visible on disc than he was 30 years
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ago, that doesn't mean he's not making a living
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or not having a diverse and productive and busy
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and fulfilling musical life. Far from it. Now,
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if... I was doing this podcast in the year 2000
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rather than 2025. We'd certainly be able to do
15:28
an article about whatever happened to Ivo Pogorelich.
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Now, we do know what happened to him because
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he's back on the scene. But you know the story.
15:40
You know about how he was controversially eliminated
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from the 1980 Chopin competition and how Martha
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Arkerich resigned in protest from the jury. She
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called him a genius and all that. And then Pogorelich
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went on to become the most talked about. possibly
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polarizing pianist of his generation. And I've
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talked about Pogorelich a lot on this podcast.
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Remember I did an episode in the first season
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about his amazing May 1990 Carnegie Hall concert?
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That's the stuff of legends. Anyway, after his
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wife and mentor Alisa Kezaradze died in 1996,
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Pogorelich basically dropped out of sight. And
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I never will forget when he made a comeback in
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2006 to give his first New York concert in 10
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years. It was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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I wasn't at the concert, but... Very soon after
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the concert, I heard a bootleg recording, which
16:46
I don't have anymore in my collection, but I
16:50
vividly remember a good friend of mine bringing
16:53
it over. And, oh my God, I was in shock. Anthony
16:59
Tomasini's scathing review in the New York Times
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was mercilessly accurate. And the playing was
17:08
just totally incoherent and weird and formless.
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And basically, Pogorelich has been off the cliff
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ever since, artistically speaking, reaching the
17:20
point of no return. And his two solo CDs for
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Sony Classical, released in 2019 and 2022, are
17:30
equally perverse and really, really strange.
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The next pianist on this list of whatever happened
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to dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, fill in the blank,
17:43
is the French pianist François -René Duchable.
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When he first came on the scene in the 1970s,
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he got a lot of support and encouragement from
17:54
Arthur Rubinstein, and he made many recordings
17:57
for Erato and EMI. And then in 2003, he made
18:03
an announcement that he was giving up concerts
18:06
and he was going to retreat from the international
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concert limelight by hiring a helicopter to drop
18:14
a piano into Lake La Colmiane near Nice in France.
18:21
I don't know if that actually happened. I know
18:24
that he announced that he was going to do that,
18:27
but I didn't see any news reports about that
18:30
happening. And what happened to François -René
18:34
Duchable ever since 2003? I have looked up and
18:39
down the internet, but maybe I haven't researched
18:42
it enough or done the kind of deep research that
18:46
I should be doing. So if you can fill me in on
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whatever happened to François -René Duchable,
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I would really love to know. And the final pianist
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on my whatever happened to list, actually, this
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list is less than 12 pianists. I take it back.
19:02
But the final one on this list is Sergei Edelman.
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He got a lot of attention in the 1980s. When
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he came to the U .S. in 1979, he was brought
19:16
to the attention of RCA Victor by the widow of
19:20
the pianist Alexander Braylovsky. So what happened
19:24
was, is that under the producer John Pfeiffer's
19:27
supervision, he began to make recordings for
19:31
RCA in a very unpressured way. without the goal
19:36
of releasing them, just for him to get used to
19:40
being in the studio. And there was a lot of press
19:44
attention when Orcier released his debut CD.
19:48
It had a marvelous performance of the symphonic
19:51
etudes, along with the arabesque and a wonderful
19:54
tacata. Then there was an excellent Chopin disc
19:58
with the B minor sonata. There was a coupling
20:01
of the Schubert Wanderer fantasy and Schumann's
20:04
C major fantasy. I've never heard that disc,
20:07
believe it or not. Then there was a Beethoven
20:11
disc with the Appassionata coupled with Op. 31
20:16
No. 3. And then he recorded for RCA the two Mendelssohn
20:21
concertos with Klaus -Peter Flohr conducting.
20:24
Really, really fine disc. And he also did a terrific
20:28
Strauss burlesque with Pavel Berglund conducting.
20:32
Nobody ever talks about that recording. That's
20:35
totally under the radar. But then nothing more
20:38
for RCA. basically faded from the label or they
20:42
dropped them. However, Sergei Edelman has had
20:45
a distinguished teaching career, both in the
20:48
US as well as Europe and Japan, and he has continued
20:53
to record. And there are some... excellent releases
20:56
on the Japanese Triton label. There was a terrific
21:00
Bach disc with the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue,
21:04
an Italian concerto, and he remade the Schumann
21:07
Fantasy and Symphonic Etudes for Triton. I have
21:10
not heard his remakes. He also did the Chopin
21:14
Second and Third Sonatas, also for Triton. So,
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like André -Michel Schub and Friedrich Schuh,
21:21
Sergei Edelman continues to have a busy and fulfilling
21:26
and multifaceted musical life and for me i think
21:31
that's the most important thing in the long run
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not to become a superstar after you get all this
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publicity from winning a competition or landing
21:40
a contract with a record company i think the
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best kind of musical career is when you have
21:46
a diversified musical portfolio rather than banking
21:51
on being a superstar and putting all your eggs
21:53
in one basket. I think if you just try to be
21:56
the best musician you can be and you keep up
21:59
your game and you grow over time, I think that's
22:02
the best way to do it. So in the case of most
22:06
of the pianists I've been talking about, the
22:09
whatever happened to question is answered with
22:12
a positive outcome. In the case of Alexei Sultanov,
22:17
he... crashed and burned artistically and came
22:20
to a tragic end health -wise. The Pogarellich
22:24
story, you know, come to think of it, it kind
22:27
of parallels the creative path of that comedian
22:32
Lenny Bruce. You know, Lenny Bruce started out
22:36
in the 1950s as a daring and provocative and
22:39
controversial. and highly charismatic performer
22:43
who challenged the stand -up comedy norms and
22:47
had tremendous influence, and everybody was talking
22:50
about him. And then he just wound up becoming
22:54
a bloated, ranting, obsessive, and eccentric
22:59
caricature of himself. And, of course, the drug
23:02
use didn't help. As for Leonid Kuzmin... As far
23:06
as I know, he's missing in action, unless you
23:09
tell me otherwise. And the same for Francois
23:13
-René Duchabla. What's up with him? Please fill
23:16
me in if you know, listeners. And Naida Cole
23:20
is a successful and highly respected anesthesiologist.
23:27
This is Jed Disler, and you've been listening
23:29
to The Piano Maven, your friendly podcast guide
23:32
to piano recordings. Thank you for tuning in
23:36
to this episode, and I look forward to being
23:39
with you next time.