Virtuosity is the highest standard of musical technique and performance, a skill only truly attained by a handful of exceptionally talented musicians. Below, the BBC Music Magazine team look back on some of the greatest virtuosos from over the centuries, and choose the musical magicians we wish we’d seen play.
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The best virtuosos of all time
Organist Virgil Fox (1912-80)
The American organist Virgil Fox had it all – charisma, showmanship, exceptional technique, great musicianship and a seemingly inexhaustible love of touring. Granted, his interpretations weren’t always to everyone’s taste, but his Bach playing was meticulous and his performance of the ‘grand’ repertoire never less than exhilarating. Oliver Condy, former editor
Pianist Earl Wild (1915-2010)
I had the privilege of interviewing the US pianist Earl Wild late on in his life but, alas, never had the chance to see him play live. I was first made aware of his brilliance when a friend recommended his thrilling performances of the four Rachmaninov piano concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein, recorded in 1965 – they remain my favourite recordings to this day.
Wild was an exceptionally gifted pianist: at the age of three he was already playing selected melodies from opera overtures. He had some great teachers, too, including Paul Dogureau (who had learned from Ravel) and Egon Petri, a pupil of Busoni.
Blessed with a peerless technique, his repertoire was wide-ranging, taking in everything from Bach to jazz, plus his own masterful transcriptions and other compositions. It was, perhaps, that sense of spontaneity that goes with playing jazz that made his live performances of classical music so fresh and exciting? I’ll simply have to take others’ word for it. Jeremy Pound, deputy editor
Pianist Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Liszt may loom large in the modern imagination as the great piano whizz of his age, but if I had a time machine to take me back to the Romantic era, it’s Chopin I would really like to hear.
By all accounts, his own playing was all about beautiful sound, the singing voice, intimacy and eloquence. To hear him play his own remarkable piano works must have been quite something.
Fellow pianist-composer Robert Schumann noted down what his feelings on it were: ‘It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams, to see how his vision communicated itself through his playing and how, at the end of each piece, he had the sad habit of running one finger over the length of the plaintive keyboard, as though to tear himself forcibly away from his dream.’
Rebecca Franks, former managing editor
More of the greatest virtuosos we wish we’d heard
Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007)
Anyone who saw Rostropovich in action was incredibly lucky. He could breathe new fire into the most familiar repertoire and inspired some of the 20th century’s greatest composers to write new works. Just imagine being at a Shostakovich or Prokofiev premiere.
Rostropovich’s large, sculpted hands were a perfect fit for the cello. He was also, famously, gifted with a brilliant memory, which he trained hard. result: he was able to memorise music instantly, and could perform everything (including new works) without the music. He famously learned Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 from memory in just three days.
Michael Beek, reviews editor
Pianist Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Anyone with a hand span of over an octave, giving them the ability to reach eye-watering intervals, is always going to be worth a watch. Rachmaninov’s 13-note spread marked him out in the piano world, but perhaps what made him a legend were his clear, crisp textures, incredible technique and voicing.
He also had an awe-inspiring memory, and was reportedly able to hear a piece of music as large-scale as a symphony, and play it the next day.
Both precise and drivingly propulsive, Rachmaninov’s playing style somewhat resembled that of his compatriot and contemporary Prokofiev. The difference is perhaps that, where Prokofiev’s style could be almost motoric, Rachmaninov’s was more like an tidal wave of emotion.
His tonal quality was also little short of spellbinding. Listen to Rachmaninov performing the opening bars of his own G flat major Prelude: it’s simple, almost limpid music, yet you can sense the presence of some extraordinary emotional and lyrical talent. Few other pianists could phrase the repeated chord pattern in the right hand with such suppleness, all while bringing intense focus to the left-hand melody.
Freya Parr, former editorial assistant
Violinist Ginette Neveu (1919-1949)
It’s difficult to say exactly how big an impact the French violinist Ginette Neveu might have had on the 20th century classical landscape, had she lived long enough, As it was, she died, tragically, at the age of just 30, in a plane crash (the tragedy also took the life of the French boxer Marcel Cerdan, Edith Piaf‘s lover). In the short career she was able to enjoy, Neveu nonetheless emerged as one of the 20th century’s greatest violinists of the 20th century, standing out for her deep musicality, technical excelence and perhaps above all, her passionate interpretations.
Neveu came from a musical background: the great-niece of the organist and composer Charles-Marie Widor, she learned from a variety of illustrious music teachers including George Enescu, Nadia Boulanger and Carl Flesch. She made her public debut at the age of seven, and at 15 won the prestigious Henryk Wieniawski Competition, pushing a certain David Oistrakh into second place.
I am entranced by Ginette Neveu’s passionate, idiomatic performance of my very favourite violin concerto, the Sibelius. Have a listen below.
Alongside the Sibelius, Ginette Neveu can be heard at her best in French repertoire, including Poulenc’s Violin Sonata and the lyrical Poème by Ernest Chausson. The story goes that, when Neveu’s body was recovered after the crash, she was still clutching her beloved Stradivarius in her arms.
Steve Wright, multi-platform content provider