This is a follow-up and illustration to my previous posting.
As the attached clip amply demonstrates, Khatia Buniatishvili, shown here to perform with the eminent conductor Zubin Mehta, has no conception of musical phrasing, no subtlety of expression, not much idea of tempo discipline, no understanding that the piano is neither a percussive instrument nor a pop one, and no discernible link with the culture that begat this music.
Yet she’s a major star in the international concert firmament, and the same clip provides a compelling reason, actually two of them, for that lofty status: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqXvrVX6lU4
Can you figure out what they are? If you can, you’ll understand why I regard vulgarity as the dominant feature of modernity.
Vulgarity, yes. A regression to the primitive. A Civilisation in the throes of decay.
The smirk on her face brings Mrs Mills to mind, and what lies beneath recalls the recent documentary on the rise of the continents. The outfit in the second clip is directly inspired by Dame Shirley Bassey’s ‘naked under her clothes’ period. If you want to ‘enjoy’ really percussive piano playing try listening to that ‘Banger’ Barenboim fellow.
Appreciation of the finer points of music is a Russian thing.
I don’t think it has anything to do with ethnicity. A cultural thing, really.
She’s an eyeful, for sure, and very theatrical, but this clip isn’t representative of her best playing. I’ve heard much, much better from her than this.