Great Performances: Alexei Sultanov, Classical Pianist by Will Stanton

I wish that I could share with audiences a lifetime of great classical performances on the concert piano.  But then, as the adage states, “If wishes were fishes, we would all cast nets.”  Ironically, and perhaps even tragically in light of my own desires and emotions, I was gifted with sufficient musical understanding to be a pianist; however, I never have possessed the pianistic athletic ability.  Succinctly said, my hands are crap.  Performing the astonishing physical feats necessary to play classical piano requires a special genetic gift.  In my trying to explain to the uninitiated this irony and my frustration regarding my condition, I often quote the short poem by Robert Frost, “Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, And I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.”

I realize that envy is an undesirable trait, yet I admit to a lifetime of envy upon viewing those persons who do possess the qualities that I wished to possess.  I recall seeing on YouTube the fifteen-year-old Swiss pianist Kristian Cvetkovic performing the most virtuosic piano works such as Franz Liszt's devilishly hard “Mephisto Waltz No.1.”  Those beautiful hands just flowed over the keyboard with the greatest of ease, strength, and endurance.  Kristian, who speaks several languages and was a pen-pal early in his career, mentioned in passing, “I don't seem to have a problem with technique.”  To me, that was rather like Microsoft's Bill Gates stating, “I don't seem to have a problem with money.”

It seems, however, that throughout my life when I have envied some person, something happens to dramatically remind me that such persons are not immortal gods, that some unseen fate can befall them; and it may be just as well I was not living in their shoes.  Such is the case with the genius pianist Alexei Sultanov.

Alexei, Age 11

 Alexei was born in 1969 to musician-parents in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  Even as a tiny child, it soon became abundantly clear that Alexei was gifted with deep intellect, great musical talent, and a physical, pianistic skill that is very rare.  He began his studies in Tashkent and quickly came to the attention of music pedagogues.  His first performance with orchestra was at age seven.  I have a recording of his playing a Haydn concerto when he was ten and a recording at eleven playing the very difficult Chopin Revolutionary Étude with astonishing speed and great power.  He soon began studies in Moscow, which lead to his acceptance in their famous conservatory.  By age thirteen, Alexei's progress was so remarkable that he performed in an international piano competition in Prague.

Then by age nineteen, his teachers felt that Alexei was of high enough technical expertise and musical understanding to participate in the arduous Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, one of thirty pianists chosen from around the world.  His three extensive recital performances astounded the audience and, apparently, the judges; for, from the six finalists, he won the gold medal, the youngest pianist to ever face such a demanding challenge and win. 

Alexei approached his playing, both musically and technically, with fresh yet valid interpretations.  Denise Mullins, who was the Cliburn Foundation's artistic administrator in 1989, stated in an interview, "He took things to the absolute edge of the cliff, and it was very exciting to hear.  He wasn't afraid to take a chance on stage, and there aren't a lot of pianists who do that.”  His fingers never seemed to lose accuracy, power, or speed.  The fact that Alexei's fingers were so strong and enduring that he snapped a pair of strings during his performance of the “Mephisto Waltz No.1” does make one wonder where such physical gifts come from, especially considering the fact that he was only five feet three.

(See video of another performance of this work at age 19, St. Petersburg:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZH3XQ_cflg )

For Alexei's first-place win at the Van Cliburn competition, he was presented with cash awards, a recital at Carnegie Hall, a recording contract, and sponsored tours throughout the United States and Europe with free management valued at over a million dollars.

Alexei then went on to shine in 1995 at the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition.  Then, at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, some judges awarded him top marks, but other judges apparently deliberately sabotaged his win by falsely assigning low enough scores to prevent his win.  Naturally, Alexei was bitter about the political unfairness of the event.  Viewers can judge for themselves by watching several videos of Alexei on YouTube.

(See the remarkable video of Chopin Sonata No. 3, 4th movement:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2TvpQP4RSE )

I had a chance to hear Alexei's performance in Boulder and to suffer yet another moment of unabashed envy.  Alexei certainly lived up to his reputation, pleasing the audience and amazing them with his pianistic pyrotechnics.  While in Boulder, he stayed with a wealthy patron of young musicians.  She kept a Steinway in her home's music room were Alexei could practice while he was there.  I once pretended to play her Steinway when visiting her home.

Alexei, Age 16

The all too frequent curse that accompanies my envy struck yet again.  Apparently unknown to Alexei and others, he soon after suffered a minor stroke.  Then in 2001, he felt ill and dizzy, slipped in the bathroom, struck his head, and exacerbated an already fragile injury.  Then in February, he awoke to find that he could not speak.  He immediately was taken to a doctor, who discovered severe internal bleeding in his brain.  Alexei slipped into a coma.  The doctors rushed Alexei into emergency surgery.  As they struggled to save his life, they witnessed on the brain-scanner a continuing series of five massive strokes that destroyed most of the brain's capacity to communicate with the body or to receive input from the body.  Ironically, the cognitive portions of the brain remained intact so that, when Alexei awakened a few days later, he became fully aware of his tragic incapacity.  He no longer could speak nor play the piano.  The musical genius that astonished audiences with a blaze of superhuman technical feats was extinguished forever, depriving us of perhaps another half-century of pleasure.

(See the video of the very demanding, beautifully played Liszt piano sonata in b-minor, 31 min.:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWBonbvcjAs )

Over the next months, Alexei struggled to gain enough control of one hand to pick out the melodic lines of the Rachmaninov Third Piano Concerto, the concerto claimed to be the most difficult written and one of many with which Alexei once stunned audiences and judges alike.

In November, 2004, Alexei Sultanov was made a U.S. Citizen.  To celebrate, he peformed with one hand "America the Beautiful" at the ceremony.  That was his final appearance and his final performance in public.  He died June 30, 2005 at the age of thirty-five.

  

I still watch my downloaded videos of Alexei.  No matter how many times that I watch and listen, I am moved by the sheer beauty of his playing and astonished by his superlative technique.  (Watch the video of his playing the Tchaikovsky 1^st piano concerto, 3^rd movement:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaqQRye3gUI )

Yet, that mind and those hands are gone now; they no longer exist.  Here I am, lamenting those clumsy “feet” attached to my arms instead of the dexterous hands I wish I had.  Yet, at the same time, I'm still bumbling about at nearly twice Alexei's age when he died.  I envied his ability to perform, but I don't envy his tragic end.

 

Alexei During Piano Competition

© 25 January, 2014    

About the Author  

I have had a life-long fascination with people and their life stories.  I also realize that, although my own life has not brought me particular fame or fortune, I too have had some noteworthy experiences and, at times, unusual ones.  Since I joined this Story Time group, I have derived pleasure and satisfaction participating in the group.  I do put some thought and effort into my stories, and I hope that you find them interesting.