. . . For example, I always think of Artur Rubinstein when I play Chopin's works.
I always think of Artur Rubinstein whenever I play. He was the rarest of all the rarest musicians in that literally
everything he had ever played (at least on his discs), he convinces me authoritatively, consistently and yet intimately. From Beethoven to Villa-lobos.
Alfred Brendel is superb in Liszt, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. Not bad at all in Chopin (albeit extremely rare), Schumann and Moussorgsky either!
Leslie Howard rules in Liszt. The only thing Brendel falls short of Howard is the amount of output on disc of this composer. Oh how I long for Brendel on Liszt's:
- complete
Etudes- complete
Hugarian Rhapsodies- complete
Annees de pelerinage IIIonly to mention the least!
Ashkenazy is good on the
Gaspard de la nuit by Ravel and part of Liszt's
Etudes d'execution transcendante (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11). Other recordings aren't too impressive, especially Chopin and Beethoven.
Julius Katchen was splendid on Brahms. What a pity on his early death.

Wilhelm Kempff was a Beethoven authority who deserved his name. Not bad on Schumann either.
The French female pianist Cecile Ousset is outstanding in Ravel.
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli has a beautifully mellow tone on Debussy - on Preludes I, II and Images I, II.
And did you know that the veteran (70 this year) Chinese pianist Fou Tsong plays some very fine Chopin, Debussy and Mozart?