Top 5 greatest pianists living today

[scarbo87]

Well ppl, this question I don't think will really help any
of us...but just out of my curiousity (and most other people's) I think it would be interesting to try to list the
5 most popular pianists alive today-as a type of ego-exhibition ..and see how our opinions differ. Well, here's my take :

1.) Martha Argerich
2.) Evgeny Kissin
3.) Alfred Brendel
4.) Maurizio Pollini
5 ) Van Cliburn

now your turn

[pianiststrongbad]

Argerich
Pollini
Zimmerman
Kissin
(I have no favourite fifth that is alive today)... Though I admire Olga Kern

[allchopin]

Not Kissin
Not Cliburn
Definitely Zimmerman
Definitely Argerich
Pollini
Volodos
Sgouros

[donjuan]

Vladimir Ashkenazy should fit in somewhere, as well as Mikhail Pletnev and Jeno Jando.

brilliant masters of the art!

[monk]

Herbie Hancock
Keith Jarrett
Maria Joao Pires
Brad Mehldau
Martha Argerich

[Max]

Pollini
Pletnev
Hamelin
Argerich
Zimerman

[ted]

I have difficulty in picking five but I agree with Monk about Jarrett, whoever else I would pick. His unique and important contribution was that through his fame in jazz and classical playing he made free improvisation a legitimate and serious medium of musical expression again - a wonderful legacy.  

Being of a creative disposition myself I would tend to select players of originality and breadth of musicianship rather than very famous concert artists who do little aside from interpretation. David Thomas Roberts is a particularly remarkable original voice in piano music and piano playing, but others do exist . I heard one on the car radio - an astonishing improviser called Chucho Valdez and I haven't heard him since. I would also consider players such as Scott Kirby and Frank French. Both these are accomplished classical players and composers who chose a musical path within ragtime and Latin idioms. And what about people like Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck ?

Actually I find it an impossibly difficult question. I would definitely include Jarrett and Roberts but after that ....?  

[thracozaag]

Well ppl, this question I don't think will really help any
of us...but just out of my curiousity (and most other people's) I think it would be interesting to try to list the
5 most popular pianists alive today-as a type of ego-exhibition ..and see how our opinions differ. Well, here's my take :

1.) Martha Argerich
2.) Evgeny Kissin
3.) Alfred Brendel
4.) Maurizio Pollini
5 ) Van Cliburn

now your turn

 Good lord, yes...my opinions differ QUITE greatly:

(in no particular order)

Haaken Austbo
Cyprien Katsaris
Grigory Sokolov
Chuan Qin
Anton Kuerti

 The two most talented pianists I've interacted with are MT and MAH.

koji (STSD)

[shasta]

Alicia de Larrocha
Pollini
Ashkenazy
Argerich
tie: Uchida and Moravec

[scarbo87]

sorry...I think my question was misunderstood..I did not mean
to ask who are your top 5 FAVORITE pianists, I meant I wanted
to see who, in your opinion, are the most well-known pianists amongst audeinces today. But as long as ppl have already posted....I might as well say  my 5 favorite pianists are

Pletnev
Santiago Rodriguez
Argerich
Dong-Hyek Lim
Pogorelich

[Dave_2004_G]

It's quite interesting that you mention Grigory Sokolov, Koji.  I saw him at symphony hall in Birmingham and he was brilliant - hands down the best recital I've been to.  He played the op.111 Beethoven sonata among others - wonderful stuff.

I don't think I can really pick 5, but one thing is certain - Kissin wouldn't feature.

Dave

[thracozaag]

sorry...I think my question was misunderstood..I did not mean
to ask who are your top 5 FAVORITE pianists, I meant I wanted
to see who, in your opinion, are the most well-known pianists amongst audeinces today. But as long as ppl have already posted....I might as well say  my 5 favorite pianists are

Pletnev
Santiago Rodriguez
Argerich
Dong-Hyek Lim
Pogorelich

 You're right  I did misunderstand; my apologies...the new list would be:

JLO, I mean Lang-lang
Yundi Li
Argerich
Kissin
Cliburn

koji (STSD)

[janice]

Alicia de Larrocha

Alicia de Larrocha should be somewhat old now, does anyone know her age or know what she looks like now?  I saw her in cpncert like 20 years ago, and she looked 40ish or 50ish then.

[allchopin]

You know, all you have to do is a simple Google search (hell you could use Im feeling lucky) on her age...
Shes 81.

Most popular to date would be tesh, lang lang, clayderman, yundi li, yanni.

[thracozaag]

Alicia de Larrocha should be somewhat old now, does anyone know her age or know what she looks like now?  I saw her in cpncert like 20 years ago, and she looked 40ish or 50ish then.

 She officially retired last year from the concert scene.

koji (STSD)

[Will Millar]

1) Evgeny Kissin
2) Louis Lortie
3) Vladimir Ashkenazy
4) Mei-ting Sun
5) Yundi Li

Will

[Motrax]

It's too hard to list 5 pianists who are better than any other, so I'll just give my opinions about a few who've already been mentioned.

Olga Kern is one of the most incredible pianists alive. Her recordings are wonderful, but she has stage presence like no other performer I've seen. Your attention is riveted to the music from the moment she touches the first note 'till the moment she finishes the last.

Why do you mention Rodriguez, out of curiosity, Scarbo? Any specific recording or concert?

Argerich is definitely not on my list of the best pianists, nor is she even on my list of good ones. Her recording of Rach 3 (don't know which year) is unforgivably bad, as are her overdramatized recordings of Bach's works. Even her recording of Chopin's second sonata is not particularly noteworthy. The second and fourth movements are done well, but the march is played too fast. She plays with passion, indeed, but she is passionate in all the wrong places.  

For those who haven't heard, Van Cliburn came back to the concert scene this year after a 20ish year break, and messed up pretty badly. Though he once once a wonderful pianist, I'd say he's well past his prime now.

Yundi Li is quite a wonderful pianist. Though he has impeccable technique, this does not overshadow his very expressive playing. A top-tier musician by my standards.

But it's all opinion anyway, so whatever.  

[scarbo87]

Motrax-
I think Santiago Rodriguez is one of the greatest and most underrated pianists alive today.  His Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto with Mcrae easily
surpasses 90% of the other versions. He plays with a very fast, poetic
type of style. His Chopin second concerto is a brilliant accomplishement...
he empasizes the element of Contrast of tempi..this makes the concerto
as if it is heard for the first time. His liszt concerto I think is played with
exactly the right temperment...

(on a side note..I saw him a few months ago and met him.....and I was
shocked to see what a happy,upbeat person he was. So energetic and
contenet...I mean, when you listen to the way he plays, with such a dark
and passionate flair, I was expetcing more of a Russian, introverted arrogant type of artist.)

I would highly reccomend his recordings of the Rach3 and Chopin2
to anyone who has not heard of him
-Scarbo

[scarbo87]

One more pianist whom I think by no means is highly unique.....but
still deserves MUCH more attention for what he does than the amount
he gets :


www.rufuschoi.com

[thracozaag]

One more pianist whom I think by no means is highly unique.....but
still deserves MUCH more attention for what he does than the amount
he gets :


www.rufuschoi.com

 RUFUUUUUSSSSS!!!
"yo what up"...LOL.

koji (STSD)

[Motrax]

Ok ok ok, now I just have to say this like the little kid I am.

Santiago Rodriguez's office is right across from the office of the professor who's giving me piano lessons! And he popped his head in the room and said "hi!" And then one time he was complaining to Larissa Dedova about how his air conditioner didn't work! So celebrities need air conditioning too! Isn't that incredible! Wowowowow.  

His recording of Rachmaninoff's first sonata is also rather stunning in it's ferocity. But that playing style characteristic of Russians is also strikingly similar in the styles of many Spanishish (Mexican, Cuban, most South American, etc) pianists.

[scarbo87]

Okay i don't really get the last 2 posts.......

[shasta]

I thought the question was "Top 5 Greatest Pianists Living Today"...

Alicia de Larrocha is great and alive  

[Will Millar]

Also desreves a mention - but not classical

The Genius of TOM LEHRER

[Motrax]

One very obscure pianist who deserves much more credit than he is given is Rafael Orozco. I do not know much about him or his work, other than the few recordings Amazon sells, though that's not for lack of trying. His recordings of Rachmaninoff's concertos (and the Pagannini Rhapsody) are simply unmatched from a pianistic point of view (the orchestra could be a lot better, and also a little more in-tune). He plays with all the technical assurance and clarity of Ashkenazy or even Hamelin, but his expression is absolutely pristine. He plays every note with a purpose, and there is a certain subtlety to his music which makes his fortissimos and sforzandos sing as well as the more lyrical passages. You can hear for yourself - it's a good CD set, and relatively inexpensive:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000004167/qid=1082408439/sr=1-13/ref=sr_1_13/103-5347196-9262249?v=glance&s=classical

But, unfortunately, I don't even know if he's alive any more. I've spent a long time searching for any mention of him without much success. Even the company which released his recordings couldn't help with his current whereabouts.

[bernhard]

One very obscure pianist who deserves much more credit than he is given is Rafael Orozco. I do not know much about him or his work, other than the few recordings Amazon sells, though that's not for lack of trying.

I don’t know much about Orozco either, except that he was born in Spain, and in 1966 won first prize at the Leeds International Competition (the most important piano competition in the UK – other winners include Andras Schiff and Murray Perahia). Have  a look here for a very interesting list of names and results:

https://www.leedspiano.com/2003/geninfo.html


Have you seen the “Music lovers” by Ken Russel? A biographyof Tchaikovsky with Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky and Glenda Jackson as his wife? Chamberlain actually plays the first concerto, although in the soundtrack, his playing was replaced by none other than Rafael Orozco!

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Motrax]

Orozco also plays Rach 3 in the Shine when it's supposed to be David Helfgott playing. But he still gets so little recognition.

[allchopin]

Why are there so many great pianists?  I learn a new name every other day I log on- they just keep coming.  I guess we don't have to worry about this world running out of great artists.

[scarbo87]

Another very obscure, mysterious pianist is the American
Leonard Pennario.........NE one know what has become of him?

[paris]

IVO POGORELIĆ

[paris]

POGORELIC i wanted to say

[cziffra777]

1. Grigory Sokolov
2. Martha Argerich
3. Alexis Weissenberg
4. Naida Cole
5. Van Cliburn

[Daevren]

If we are talking classical:

Zimerman
Argerich
Sokolov
Pletnev
Hamelin
Ashkenazy


Damn, that is 6...

[JK]

Leif ove Andsnes,
Ashkenazy,
Pollini,
Brendel,
Kissin,

those not included that just as easily could be,

Volodos,
Paul Lewis,
Thibaudet,
Argerich (for her early recordings mainly, not her biggest fan I'm afraid!).

and many others that i can't think of and to whom i apologise.

[thracozaag]

1. Grigory Sokolov
2. Martha Argerich
3. Alexis Weissenberg
4. Naida Cole
5. Van Cliburn

Naida's definitely the best looking of that group, heh.

koji (STSD)

[JK]

i forgot,

Andreas Schiff,
Murray Pehria,
Danieal Barremboim,

among others....

[chopinsetude]

Vladimir Achkenazy IS EASILY #1, Holy Cow!!!!!

2) Schiff
3) Cliburn
4) Kissin
5) Pollini

[daan_treur]

I would say these five are the best living today:

Hamelin
Volodos
Sokolov
Berezovsky
Moravec

[Motrax]

Tragedy among tragedies, Rafael Orozco died in 1996. So I guess he can't be included in this topic...  

[DarkWind]

Vladimir Achkenazy IS EASILY #1, Holy Cow!!!!!

Not really, his recordings of the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos are horrid, in my opinion, when compared with the tons of other great recordings compared to it.


Also, the lack of Hamelin in this thread is disturbing.

[chopinsetude]

Not really, his recordings of the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos are horrid, in my opinion, when compared with the tons of other great recordings compared to it.


Also, the lack of Hamelin in this thread is disturbing.

Most people think Rachmaninov's own recordings of his concertos are horrid as well - especially after hearing some of today's rock star pianists.  Nobody ever did a rach concerto better than Richter as everyone in this forum will admit without hesitation.  But I think it's open to interpretation.  Ashkenazy plays a slooow Rach 3 but not because he cannot play it fast.  Again, interpretation.  He is the president of the International Rachmaninov Society - not because he can't play Rach well.  That is an elected position.  

(everyone is entitled to my own opinion  )

[dinosaurtales]

whoo boy!  It's a good thing Ed isn't here, or the list would be :

Argerich
Argerich
Argerich
Argerich
Argerich

I have no Big Five myself, but I am curious to know why some of you have listed Cliburn - He's sort of a hero of mine from back in the old days, but he doesn't perform much anymore - why is he on your lists?

[chopinsetude]

but I am curious to know why some of you have listed Cliburn - He's sort of a hero of mine from back in the old days, but he doesn't perform much anymore - why is he on your lists?

Cliburn is on tour as we speak.  He is playing Oct 18th at the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. He is playing the old staple 1st concerto...

[vis]

(I have no favourite fifth that is alive today)... Though I admire Olga Kern

*high five* another Kern admirer.

Azhkenazy
Kissin
Kern
Clyburn
...Biret. Is she alive?
and pletnev of course

that's six. Scratch biret.

[brewtality]

Marc- Andre Hamelin
Alfred Brendel
Byron Janis (even tho he can't play well anymore)
Arcadi Volodos
Comme_le_vent  

[mosis]

It blows my mind that but one person has mentioned Marc-Andre Hamelin. He's Liszt in the flesh. Haven't you all seen his performance of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody? And that cadenza? Absolutely ridiculous.

[brewtality]

It blows my mind that but one person has mentioned Marc-Andre Hamelin. He's Liszt in the flesh. Haven't you all seen his performance of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody? And that cadenza? Absolutely ridiculous.

his temperament is different from liszt but i'd say that in terms of technique, liszt couldn't have been any better than him. btw that cadenza is insane innit. i love it

[sharon_f]

Argerich
Hamelin
Ashkenazy
Brendel
Pollini

[The-Piano-Man]

Chris Martin
Alicia Keys
Billy Joel
James Valentine
I don't know who else...

I just know the piano artists really...

[DarkWind]

Chris Martin
Alicia Keys
Billy Joel
James Valentine
I don't know who else...

I just know the piano artists really...

Ahahahahahahahahaha...