Berlin agency signs pianist, 17

Berlin agency signs pianist, 17

main

norman lebrecht

March 04, 2019

A kid who won the junior section of the Tchaikovsky Competition at 13 has been signed by Opus3 Artists Berlin for western Europe and North America.

Alexander Malofeev, now 17, is a Gergiev protégé.

Comments

  • Garry Humphreys says:

    A young goat? Looks like a boy to me … !

  • Ariel Dragge says:

    Terrible posture, visible at 05:25 and many other times. Not only painful to look at, but almost a guarantee for severe orthopedic problems later.

    It *is* possible to be a virtuoso without a humped back and other ape-like contortions; in that regard full marks to Yuja despite her dress idiosyncrasies. Other positive examples are Barenboim and Argerich.

    The teaching of proper body- and internal energy mechanics for instrumentalists would appear to be uncharted territory these days.

    • Bruce says:

      Trifonov is shaped like a question-mark when he plays. I wonder if young pianists copy that…

      But yeah, he’s really asking for trouble down the road with that back-of-the-neck thing.

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      You obviously haven’t seen Trifonov in performance. His facial contortions are also unbearable.

      • Harrumph says:

        The “Oh-the-Agony” school of playing.

      • Bruce says:

        If you’re talking to me, Sue — actually I have. He played with my orchestra shortly after winning the Tchaikovsky. (Prokofiev #3 — very fast). He was just on the cusp of being famous, so we could afford him — much too expensive for us now 🙂

        From my seat in the orchestra I could see his posture but not his face.

      • Nick says:

        Trifonov IS an unbearable musician!

    • Jack says:

      He should have studied with you, though I don’t see your name on many marquees.

    • Parker says:

      Three words to describe Malofeev: Fast. Loud. Brainless.

  • Caravaggio says:

    Adorable. Hope his inner circle protect and develop his talent and let him mature musically and personally as normally and organically as possible.

  • May says:

    why has “steinway” been blacked out on the keyboard lid?

  • Harrumph says:

    Of course he’s extremely talented and there’s no denying that. It’s likely that his playing will shed its few affectations as he matures. And, as others have noted, it’s to be hoped that his posture improves, though bad habits ingrained at such a young age often remain lifelong afflictions.

  • Nick says:

    Nice boy, no new ideas, just plays piano like hundreds other Russians and non-Russians, Koreans, Chinese, etc., but lucky to have political connections to the top of pyramid: Gergiev-Putin! Career is guaranteed. Some criticized posture….his is not as bad as Trifonov’s. More or less acceptable!

  • esfir ross says:

    Most time the posture’s fine and a lot of technical freedom but emotionally cold, detouched. What about Glenn Gould posture. Another boring wunderkind.

  • esfir ross says:

    I like Ivan Bessonov-piano protégé from St.Petersburg but without Georgiev back-up not household name. I have high expectation for IB gift in music

  • Yuri says:

    I don’t understand why people would listen to Malofeev. one can just listen to a robot. They sound the same

  • MOST READ TODAY: