Question

[Robert B. Edwardsen]

I agree with Mary:
Kissen is not a brat, proved by the fact that after every concert I have been to he
is willing to stay backstage and shake hands with concert goers (yes he actually
lets the general public touch his hands!) and sign programs, not his own CD's that
people have to buy before he signs them (I've seen Pollini do that)

unthinking, just look at the repertoire he is playing,

and a true artist, Richard Goode commented after hearing Kissen play the Chopin
Preludes he heard voices he had never heard before, a man whose' opinion I value
more highly than a newspaper reporter.

Kissen might very well be the best pianist under the age of 40.  You should all go
give him a listen before you condemn him.

Rob Edwardsen


Mary Smith wrote:

> I will jump in the fray briefly to respond to Stephen's
> comments...what I know about Kissin, and what I've heard, he is not a
> spoiled brat or unthinking, but may just be a true artist...
>
> >Having been involved with piano performance from both sides of the fence (i.e.
> >pianist and technician) - and these remarks apply equally to both
> >historical and
> >modern pianos - it is ultimately the responsibility of the pianist to adapt as
> >required to meet the characteristics of whatever instrument is
> >presented. There
> >is no excuse for banging fff with rough and ugly tone. While many pianists can
> >make some pianos sound good, it is possible to make any piano sound
> >bad, and, by
> >recognizing its limitations, the true artist is capable of making any piano
> >sound good. In my experience there is no shortage of spoiled-brat un-thinking
> >superstar pianists, however there is a serious shortage of true artists. Go
> >think.
> >
> >Stephen
> >
> >Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
> >464 Winchester Drive
> >Waterloo, Ontario
> >Canada N2T 1K5
> >tel:519-885-2228
> >mailto: birketts@wright.aps.uoguelph.ca