Best Pianist of all Time

[Nathanael]

I was wondering who everyone thought was the "best piano player of all time"(duh, thread header).

This isn't limited to acoustics, it can be a synth or keyboard player as well.

My personal favorite so far is Bill Evans.

[Nate]

Gosh this is hard.... I'll get back to you on this one. :D

[Basszilla]

Jordan Rudess

[CanadianChick]

definitely Murray Perahia. I've had tickets for three concerts, once when I used to live in Austria and he was coming to the Musikverein. . . then I ended up in the hospital the night of the concert and gave my ticket away for free. :mad: Then I got tickets when he came to Vancouver in 1996, I was so excited, took time off work, booked a hotel, etc. . . then he got sick and cancelled the whole tour. BUT THEN: we both made it safe and sound to Vancouver in 1997. Horrah! Best classical concert I've ever been to. Three cheers for Murray!
. . . . that was the long answer. . .

[Garypez]

All classical pianist in the world know that Franz Liszt was the best of all time pianist.
The man that write Murray Peraya Dont have Idea of that he is saying..

he forgott Rachmanninov and Horowits


The best pianist in alive is Krystian Zimerman, after Evgeny Kissin , After another 20 then Murray Peraya.

[special k]

perahia is good...but all time?

i agree about lizst. as far as rachmaninov and horowitz go....don't forget about non-classical pianists. interestingly, both (rach. and horowitz) were big fans of art tatum, the legendary jazz pianist. his technique and innovation were legendary....i have read that rachmaninov called tatum "the greatest pianist" (classical and what not), and that horowitz said that he would give anything to have the facility of Tatum's left hand.

[PianoMan]

I agree with Lizst - my personal favorite composer. Seriously, the guy was winning huge international contests by the time he was 18-19. Besides that, his work is some of the most deviously complex, challenging, and beautiful stuff i've ever heard, let alone played.

[Matt4JC]

Wolfgang Amadaeus Mozart.

I'm positive he is not the best pianist of all time, but my personal favorite is Keith Green. Especially good considering how well he sung while he did his incredible piano playing.

[JBanana]

I put my vote in for Lizst.

[J.W4Christ]

Chopin for classical
Jordan Rudess for keyboard/synth

[Vespertine]

I have to say that Chopin has wrote and played some of the most difficult music ever written and so at a glance he would be my vote for best pianist of all time

[j2_da_k]

Mozart is considered the father of modern music, so I would say him. :)

[TheFuture]

hmm... this is REALLY hard... For classical I love Chopin and Beethoven.

[dve326]

Gosh this is hard.... I'll get back to you on this one. :D

ditto

[TheFuture]

hmm... I'm now liking mozart and liszt

[~FreT~]

J.S. Bach...?

Edit: No, Chopin. Maybe. Yeah I guess.

Edit: Yes! Chopin. Yes.

[luvinjesus]

Elton John.... (just kidding)

Without a doubt Mozart. SIMPLY. Without a dobut. Mozart.

[teejman]

For classical, I'm torn between J.S. Bach, and Mozart.

as for modern jazz, I'd say Jaimie cullum

[dalavr]

Ben Folds.

[seventoglory]

Bach, that dude could shred like nobodies business. :o <-----me listening to the goldberg variations.

[jengoesup]

Well, aren't these mostly composers? So aren't you measuring most of them based on the music they composed instead of their skill as a piano player? I mean, if that's what you're doing then fine: but I wouldn't be surprised if there are players out there who have better technical or musical ability than any of the great classical composers ever had, or if they even had better musical interpretations :)

*edit* And for the record, I saw Cyrus Chesnut last night...he's a pretty fine pianist/improvisationalist.

[seventoglory]

Nah, Ill stick with bach. Not only did he have a technical mastery of the instrument. He greatly advanced it with his tempering system making the piano what it is today. The baroque era was the highlight of keyboard/piano music in history IMO.

[leiarose]

Well, aren't these mostly composers? So aren't you measuring most of them based on the music they composed instead of their skill as a piano player?
Exactly.

Rubenstein is up there.

[Decency]

Modern Day pianist would be the late Anthony Burger -RIP-

[rossini7]

I agree that Liszt is likely the best all time classical pianist. I also agree that people are judging someone's composing, not their ability to play piano. Chopin, although an absolutely amazing composer, was too weak/sickly to even correctly play his pieces (by his own admission). I love Nat King Cole and he was an amazing pianist and is certainly worthy of note, especially as he did vocals too. In all of the King Cole Trio songs, it is he who did the piano. He had such clean playing and speed and improvisational skills, he was really quite an amazing performer. Although maybe not the best all time, he is certainly one of the best jazz pianists and my favorite.

[Rainer.]

Bill Evans, Thelonius Monk, Oscar Peterson, Lyle Mays, Count Basie, Duke Ellington...

[Mattlock]

Ben Folds and Dave Brubeck

[RK_lover]

Me!!! lolz:rofl:..........

Uh, I'd say that Bach is my favorite of the great composers....

And what about the 5 year olds who can play the classics?

[timber]

oscar peterson, perhaps...

[Artisan]

Beethoven and Chopin are my favorite composers. And I love Yundi Li's and Evgeny Kissin's interpretations of their music. I have also heard Beethoven's Tempest sonata performed by Spencer Myer, and I really liked it.

[E-rock]

All classical pianist in the world know that Franz Liszt was the best of all time pianist.


i would agree becuase i love his work but he didnt even write his own music. he stole it all off of gypsies which would make me look towards motzart...however, my favorite of today is tim rice-oxley. i think i spelled his name remotely close =)

[Rainer.]

I would also like to add Leonard Bernstein to my list.


Though Bill Evans is still tops.

[Mattlock]

Dave Brubeck

[MrCrabby]

i would agree becuase i love his work but he didnt even write his own music. he stole it all off of gypsies which would make me look towards motzart...however, my favorite of today is tim rice-oxley. i think i spelled his name remotely close =)
?

Looks like you need to read up on your music history. Franz Liszt was an incredibly prolific and original composer. Many (if not all) composers use folk melodies as motives for their works. Smetana, Bartok, Copland...yeah. Liszt also wrote realizations and orchestrations for previously composed works by people like Beethoven and Schubert. In fact, nowadays, Liszt's versions are typically what you hear performed, Schubert's Erlkönig, for example.

[play/crk\th/sky]

Well...this is really tough.
For classic - Mozart, Bach.
For keyboard/synth - Jeff Frankenstein
For awesome - Ben Folds, period.

[metropolis4]

Liszt is just unbelievable... watch this one: Van Cliburn plays Hungarian Rhapsody #12 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAqA2E5D0lI&feature=related) things start to just get insane around 8:30

Edit: Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, anyone?
Opus Clavicembalisticum (http://www.opusclavicembalisticum.blogspot.com/) Yes this is real. The entire piece is 4 hours long and is considered by many to be the single most difficult piece of music ever written for any instrument. It has only been performed publicly a few times and most of those have been criticized for watering it down a lot.