By Igor Toronyi-Lalic, John Allison, Michael Kennedy and Ivan Hewett
Note down all the most obvious choices – for conductors: Karajan, Ashkenazy and Levine; for piano, Kissin and Lang Lang – and throw everything you have by them away. There are exceptions (Karajan’s opera) but by and large these strutting maestros have bought space in your brains by being shrewd, not musical – though the two can go together (Bernstein).
Karajan, Ashkenazy, Kissin, Lang Lang, Maazel, Mrs Mills and Richard Clayderman. Forget you ever knew these people.