KatLondon wrote:
He looks!
And that made me look - at the video.
Liszt was a piano virtuoso, so it's not a surprise that his compositions would showcase a pianist's technique. Liszt was also - from what I've read - prone to "theatrics", and I find your observation to be interesting because as voyeurs of masterful piano recitals we sometimes are placed in a position where we have to determine whether or not the exaggerated movements of a pianist are disingenuous.
Admittedly, I am biased in my admiration of Glenn Gould because he was a fellow Canuck, but his technique seemed to be greatly affected by theatrics. The man seemed to enter a trance-like state when he played and he often hummed loudly along with the music, which of course added an extra element of drama to his performances. Was this an air, or was he truly overcome by the music? Someone more familiar with Gould would undoubtedly have a definitive answer, but I've always thought he was rather genuine and his performance eccentricities the side-effect of genius. It's difficult - for me - to watch, for example, the performance below without getting caught up in the emotional maelstrom that Gould appears to be experiencing.
