Who is your favourite alive pianist?

[ade16]

No need to apologise!
Anyway I'd be interested to know what you thought about Lisitsa? Her style seems to appeal to the younger generation...

I'll get back to you on that when I have tracked down a few more recordings, clips etc You tube,
iTunes and so on... I don't feel familiar enough yet with her performances to comment.   

[outin]

I'll get back to you on that when I have tracked down a few more recordings, clips etc You tube,
iTunes and so on... I don't feel familiar enough yet with her performances to comment.   

That's wise

I'll risk annoying dear R4 and comment on my part... Her playing is interesting to watch sometimes, but for me there must be something lacking because I don't really care for listening to her... Although I must say that I have heard no real recordings with proper sound, only the Youtube videos.

[maestro94]

different for different composers, can't be only one. mine are garrick ohlsson, daniil, trifonov, alexander korsantia, daniel barenboim, yuja wang, yulianna avdeeva.

[g_s_223]

Zimerman
Uchida
Sokolov
...

I like this selection. Also would add Marc-André Hamelin, Paul Lewis, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Mikhail Pletnev, Simon Trepčeski, Ivo Pogerelich.

[thepianist09]

I prefer different players for different pieces of music. For example:

Beethoven - Daniel Barenboim (many would say Brendel but I find him too heavy-handed)
Brahms - (My favourite is Gilels/Katchen but sadly they is not alive) - Radu Lupu
Chopin - (My favourite is Rubenstein but sadly he is not alive) - alive would be Valentina Listisa
Liszt - Evgeny Kissin
Mozart - Vladimir Horowitz
Rachmaninov - Nikolai Lugansky
Schubert - Krystian Zimerman
Schumman - Alive would have to be Finghin Collins but to be honest I don't like his playing

There are many other pianists I love listening too as well, but most of them have sadly passed on.

[maestro57]

^ True! Different favourites for different composers.

But, if I had to pick one (I'm gonna have to name two) for an overall, general favourite...

1) Vladimir Ashkenazy
1) Maurizio Pollini

[j_joe_townley]

Valentina lisitsa is my favorite female pianist.  However, Yuja Wang is the most attractive female pianist!

If it's looks you're after check her out:

https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=anna+fedorova&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9Hd8UZS1OpH2igLxtYGQBA&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQsAQ&biw=1166&bih=659#imgrc=KUi14HH0400PEM%3A%3B8FC8kN8eTtrcBM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fpayload.cargocollective.com%252F1%252F0%252F22583%252F396524%252F32.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcargocollective.com%252Fnaira%252FAnna-Fedorova%3B600%3B400

And she can play too!

[gvans]

My own current favorites:

Andras Schiff -- plays Bach, Beethoven, and Bartok with lancinating clarity, and also lectures with extraordinary style and knowledge.

Olga Kern -- fine technique, finesse, and wardrobe. Also mother to a superb 13 yo pianist.

Emmanuel Ax -- chamber music recordings, and Brahms.

[stephenv]

Carol Rosenberger, esp. when she plays French impressionists..Debussy, Ravel. and others

[piano6888]

Lisitsa, Barenboim, Lang Lang, Say, Seta, and more.  There are other ones that I like but those are the prominent ones

[worov]

Angela Hewitt, Nelson Freire, Steven Osborne, Stephen Hough.

[cometear]

I'd most definately say Lang Lang because of his enlightening attitude. The others are just too "overused" if I may say.

[steinway43]

My favorite pianist is Evgeny Kissin

Mine as well, though I also love Argerich, Pariah, and sometimes Pogorelich.

I'm not sure what it is about Kissin's touch but I have to say he's the reason I learned Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrouchka. I heard Gilel's recording many years ago, when I was young, and the piece did nothing for me. Years later I bought Kissin's recording and WOW, for some reason it came to life. It's beautiful. It's luminous and it sings. I fell in love with the piece thanks to his reading of it.

Thank you, Evgeny.

[ubon2010]

who is the pianist that gives you inspiration?  Who will make you want to attend his/her concert?

I admire all virtuosos, but to me the most compelling is Japanese pianist 辻井伸行 Nobuyuki  ("Nobu") Tsujii.  Nobu has inspired me personally to return to the piano after a hiatus of decades.  No less than Peter Dixon, the principal cellist of the BBC Philharmonic, describes him as "devastatingly brilliant".   Yes, Tsujii was born completely blind, and no, that's not the only reason for my admiration of him.

I was in the Royal Festival Hall in May 2012 when Nobu debuted in London with an astonishing performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 with conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been there.

See for yourself.  Nobu will appear in the 2013 BBC Proms on July 16, and his performance will be shown on BBC television as well as heard on BBC 3 radio.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2013/july-16/14560

[michaeljames]

I am shocked no one has named Alessio Bax yet.  I adore Alessio Bax and he is my favorite pianist.

Daniil Trifonov is also right up there.

Lugansky and Ashkenazy are also right up there.

Don't personally care for Valentina.  Love some Agerich, but not always.

Dead: Rubenstein is my favorite of all time.

[steinway43]

ubon2010, Nobu is indeed excellent. I'm listening to him play Chopin right now. I guess I stopped listening to new people a while back.

[ubon2010]

ubon2010, Nobu is indeed excellent. I'm listening to him play Chopin right now. I guess I stopped listening to new people a while back.

Steinway43 - many thanks.  You just made my day (Mother's Day in the U.S.)!  I always feel like a proud parent at Nobu's concerts :-) I have met him several times backstage.  He deserves all his success.

[steinway43]

Indeed he does deserve his success. He is exceptionally gifted.

[ubon2010]

Indeed he does deserve his success. He is exceptionally gifted.

Exceptionally gifted in such an extraordinary way.
I know there are purists who view Nobuyuki Tsujii with a wariness, but to my humble ears he is a world-class virtuoso even disregarding his handicap.  You have to see him perform live to appreciate the depth of his brilliance.
By coincidence, a recent performance of his with the BBC Philharmonic can be listened to on BBC3 radio (on the Internet) as of now (May 13, 2013) for 7 days https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01scxtv
take a listen to concert master Julian Gregory speaking about him at time-mark 21:00.

[teran]

Prooobably Andras Schiff.

Pretty cool guy.

[gvans]

I agree with your respect for Andras Schiff.

Does no one else love Hélène Grimaud here? Her interpretation of the Liszt B minor Sonata is, IMO, exquisite. Not a flashy tempo, a truly poetic reading, golden tones. Beautiful.

I wear a wolfish grin saying I'm fond of the fetching Hélène. And yes, I do support her efforts to bring wolves back to the Eastern U.S. The deer, without them, breed like rabbits, lovely, pesky rabbits that eat everything, including tree bark, they can. My home state of Minnesota brought them back, Yellowstone brought them back, and both ecosystems have benefited.

à votre santé, Hélène!

[bmn3]

Howard Shelley. Brilliant pianist.

[kj77]

1. Valentine Lisitsa (energy)
2. Stephen Hough (facility)
3. Christine Croshaw (beauty)

3. is new to me but her recordings are superb www.christinecroshaw.com

[temptar]

On the classical plane, I like Evgeny Kissin and Leif Ove Andsnes.

But from the point of pinnacle moments in piano, Keith Jarrett is a long way up there for Koln Part I.

[senanserat]

Harry Potter does magic on the piano.


But really it has to be Lang Lang *smirks*  What ya'gonna do 'bout it punk?

[h_chopin148]

Harry Potter does magic on the piano.

You are now one of my favorite people on Piano Street.  And Hermione plays piano in the Deathly Hallows movie part 1. She plays Fur Elise and tries to teach Ron lol. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Why the heck hasn't anyone mentioned Sergio Tiempo?!   

He's freaking BADASS. 

He plays NO games, man, I like him because I think his playing is really wild. 

Oh, listen to his Gaspard de la Nuit.  His Scarbo is sooooooooooo good!

[senanserat]

I will like to mention Marasy as well.

Not classical pianist but honestly he is good as cookies.

[lucianeldred]

Glenn Gould and Friedrich Gulda are the only two who have really inspired my playing, though they're both dead so I'll say Andre Previn and Martha Argerich.

[wwalrus]

Evgeny Kissin, Yuja Wang, Zimmerman, Argerich.

I hate Lisitsa, I think her interpretations are uninteresting and stale.

[awesom_o]

Obviously, my girlfriend!

[nufan]

A favourite pianist? I don't even have a single favorite given one composer. Argerich, Kissin, Pollini, Zimmerman, Trifonov, Barenboim, Pogorelich, Schiff, Brendel, Sokolov etc. are all astonishing.

@rachmaninoff_forever: Check out Vlado Perlemuter playing Ravel, I've never heard anything close (he's dead though).

[karenvcruz]

In the olden times, when they were alive, my answers would have bern Philippe Entremint and Van Cliburn.

Most recently, after taking a more serious stance at piano, I realized we had a very good pianist in the form of Cecile Licad, who is Filipino. 

Then, when I was studying Pathetique, I encountered Freddy Kempf and thought he was great... then I saw this strange sounding name called Evegny Kissin. The first time I watched him on youtube playing Chopin Minute Waltz, I wasn't too impressed because I was bothered by the hair. (no offense, he just reminded me of Art Garfunkel). Then I watched more youtubes on him playing Bach's Siciliano, Lizst pieces, and the video on The gift of Music, and I really started to admire him. 

and then ... out of curiosity and because she would often be mentioned in pianostreet, I watched a 4hands concerto of Bach played by Algerich, Levine, Kissin and Pletnev ... and from then on, I was wowed by Algerich...

[sirpazhan]

Valentina lisitsa is my favorite female pianist.  However, Yuja Wang is the most attractive female pianist!

lola astanova is pretty attractive..  in a beauty pagent,, pretty sure she'll get more votes than yuja wang.

[bronnestam]

lola astanova is pretty attractive..  in a beauty pagent,, pretty sure she'll get more votes than yuja wang.

Oh, so now this thread is about good-looking chicks at the piano again. 

Personally I am more interested in how they perform.

[mr_drm]

Garrick Ohlsson
And Murray Perahia

[emill]

There are degrees of dead?  Quite dead, very dead, long dead, a little bit dead? 

Would you venture to say that a pianist who is a little bit dead would also qualify to be somewhat alive???

[emill]

Me. 

My favorites:  YOU!!!    and Enzo  !

[daniel196]

Sokolov and Hamelin are simply outstanding. I saw both of them live and the sound they produce is out of this world.

[ahinton]

Anyone for Jonathan Powell?...

Best,

Alistair

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Thibaudet, Katsaris, Volodos (in no particular order).

[knutmarius]

Leif Ove Andsnes is one of my favorites, but I may be "colored" by living in the same town as him

[thalbergmad]

Anyone for Jonathan Powell?...

Best,

Alistair

He would certainly be in my top 3, if he ever became plink free.

Thal

[ahinton]

He would certainly be in my top 3, if he ever became plink free.

Pardonnez-moi, mains qu'est-ce que c'est "plink free", s'il vous plaît?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Music without plinks, obviously.

If he wants to cement his place as one of the greats, he is not going to do it by playing 4 hour long plinkers.

Thal

[prestoconfuocco]

Hamelin, Hamelin, Hamelin.

[ahinton]

Music without plinks, obviously.

Not "obviously" to all those who do not iknow what "plinks" are.

If he wants to cement his place as one of the greats, he is not going to do it by playing 4 hour long plinkers.

Ah - so are you dropping us a clue that "plinks" and "plinkers" are those who write pieces that play for as long as that? If so, there must be very, very few of them!

For the record, Jonathan Powell's repertoire, spanning as it does the music of Beethoven and Chopin, Brahms (he's to perform Brahms's Second Concerto very soon), Albéniz and Granados, Liszt, Alkan, Rachmaninov, Medtner and Scriabin as well as plenty of other composers, is as wide-ranging as it is (in some areas) especially unusual and enterprising - so where are all your "plinks" here?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

For the record, Jonathan Powell's repertoire, spanning as it does the music of Beethoven and Chopin, Brahms (he's to perform Brahms's Second Concerto very soon), Albéniz and Granados, Liszt, Alkan, Rachmaninov, Medtner and Scriabin

Barrett, Berio, Ferneyhough, Finnissy, Hinton, Lachenmann, Messiaen, Nancarrow, Scelsi, Sorabji, Xenakis................

Enough plinks there for an entire conference.

Thal
 

[ahinton]

Barrett, Berio, Ferneyhough, Finnissy, Hinton, Lachenmann, Messiaen, Nancarrow, Scelsi, Sorabji, Xenakis................

Enough plinks there for an entire conference.

But it's entirely unclear what would be discussed at such a conference because, yet again, you omit to define what would presumably be its subject matter, namely "plinks" and their providers. Your arbitrarily chosen alphabetical list of 11 composers does nothing to define it; indeed, it doesn't define anything. Not only that, it doesn't tell us anything at all beyond your ability to make an arbitrary list of composers active during the last century. These composers' dates of birth range across 67 years, from 1892 to 1959. They come from a variety of national backgrounds, being respectively Welsh, Italian, English, English, Scottish, German, French, American, Italian, Parsi/English and Greek. Five of them are still active and the other six have died. More importantly, though, the music of each is very different from that of the others - and these differences are far grater than any that you could name from the 19th century.

Trying to read between the lines of your "plinkered" vision here, the only characteristic that I can deduce from what you might mean by a "plinker" is some who composes atonal music and, if I am correct about that, the appearance of my own name on your list is wholly inappropriate, since I have written none at all other than a handful of very early and long since discarded pieces.

But the most dubious aspect of your non-argument here is not even any of that but the notion of valuing or otherwise favouring a pianist solely, or at least principally, on the grounds of the repertoire than he/she performs - and even Jonathan Powell, who has indeed played the work of most of the composers on your list, also plays the music of many others to whose names I have already drawn attention. If favouring a pianist on the grounds of his/her chosen repertoire is to be a guiding priority for you, would that not then oblige you to deprecate Yonty Solomon (OK, he is sadly no longer a living pianist) on the grounds that he played so much Schumann so often?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

and even Jonathan Powell, who has indeed played the work of most of the composers on your list, also plays the music of many others to whose names I have already drawn attention.

He has played works of all of the composers on my list since I got the list from his repertoire.

Plinkingly,

Thal