Hey!
I was just wondering, how good is Benjamin Grosvner on piano? I know hes good, but how good?
Thanks
jonathan

i've heard him play diploma level pieces

he can play chopins ballade no1 (and i think he can also play the Ab major ballade as well)

ive heard he can do the Nocturne No.8 in D flat, for 12 years old, hes pretty damn good

hope he records the Liszt Sonata!

I heard his Ravel concerto (the two-hand one) in the final and thought he made very good musical sense of it. No doubts about his technique:* it's a very demanding piece.

* Of course there are pieces for which he will need a bigger stretch and more stamina.

Just checking...is this the amazing kid?

yep

Sorry, who is Benjamin Grosvenor? Anyway he sounds really good from what he can play!!

He's the 12 year old who won the keyboard section of last years bbc young musician of the year competition.You can hear him play a scarlatti sonata on the website here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/youngmusician/competi..._benjamin.shtml

and heres a link to his website

http://www.benjamingrosvenor.co.uk

My only nagging reservation about Benjamin Grosvenor is whether he would have won the keyboard final if the judges were sat behind a screen; I can't help but feel that age would influence their decision, however much they feel it doesn't. Personally, I thought that he wasn't the best player there; as lots of people say, he's good for a 12-year-old - undoubtedly, but that's not the point of the competition....

In his spare time, all he does is practise. I dont think I would like to do that, however good pianist you can get. What do you think?

An interesting programme about the Juilliard on a few weeks ago revealed that they advise their students to practise for no more than 5 hours a day - any more and the laws of diminishing returns kick in, the muscles become more tired and worn increasing the risk on injury, etc. They have to make sure their students don't practise too much

Off topic: one reservation I have about his schooling is with regard to physical exercise - he doesn't partake in any exercise as they're concerned, rightly so, about his hands. Other musicians manage though - Leila Josefowicz playing volleyball in boxing gloves, for example - or he could just spend half an hour on an exercise bike twice a week. I was quite suprised he was actually allowed to not do any as it's a legal requirement - even those being taught at home have to do some.

in my eyes, whoever thinks Ben Grosvenor ISNT the best, i personally say they're insane (not that anyone actually has said that i dont think) but look at him, he's the kind of person who could boost classical music popularity!! young and gifted, like Mozart!!!

this was something i found contradictory in the program "Imagine..." Juillard said that max practice should be 5 -6 hours a day, yet on the same program, in a separate interview, Grosvener claims to practice 8 hours a day, which, if you believe Juillard, is detrimental to his development. he is also exempt from PE and many other lessons in school as well. i suppose it's a safe gamble - he will undoubtedly make a great concert pianist. but he's missed out on a lot too if you think about it.

Wowza! He's good.

It isn't healthy just practicing all the time for both the mind and the body. While Beethoven wasn't fat, just look at what so much music did to him. He isolated himself, was incredibly hard to work with and had a very short temper.