Liberace's Piano Playing


"Sincerely Yours" is playing on TCM as I write. I'd like to hear an opinion about Liberace's piano playing from someone who's an expert on the instrument. To me, he sounds somewhat ragged, sometimes missing notes and slurring others together. I would rate him an accomplished dilettante, not a top-tier pianist. If you believe otherwise, please explain.

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"He plays like he dresses" is how he was evaluated by a knowledgeable musician.

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Excellent analogy. I would add that his playing is every bit as good as his acting, but that may be a bit cruel.

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Well, he didnt write many famous songs, like Fats Waller or Jelly Roll Morton, but I liked his piano playing. Remember he was an entertainer. And quite successful. His acting, well its at least as good as the crooner that stole the 1944 best actor Oscar from much more talented actors.

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You have compared Liberace's piano playing favorably to that of Waller and Morton, and his acting to that of Crosby. O Gad! Has civilization ended?

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Please reread my post. I do not compare Liberace's playing with the others I mentioned. As far as the acting, the Bing Crosby Oscar of 1944 is one of the biggest shams of all time.

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It's subjective, and there's no accounting for taste. You like Liberace's piano playing, so I'm certain you're also a good judge of acting.

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I don't play the piano, but my dad was a professional musician and he played piano (among other instruments), and I've heard a lot of classical piano in my younger years. I was always impressed with the ease of his playing complex piano arrangements. But I admittedly don't know enough so I did some intensive research (OK, I Googled).

He's been described as a concert level pianist and on par or better than other pianists of his era like Roger Williams and Ferrante and Teicher (my dad had albums of both).

This concert with the London Philharmonic shows he could play with the best of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH7zxxAWg5Q



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