No ..oooo. There are so many great the best pianist for me, may be different from others. I have never thought of who is the best, however I do have those I admirer and enjoy listening too... In the end, i respect them all because they are wonderfully gifted artists who work endlessly as musicians. Many of those who made it to this list began their musical training at a very young age which allowed them to perfect their talent early on.
This my list of the most amazing pianists of the 20th century.
Wolfgang Mozart ( 27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791 )
One of the most famous child prodigies, Mozart was playing piano at age three and by five, he had begun to compose songs which were written down by his devoted father. He went on to give concerts from a very young age.Read more...
Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827).This young German composer and pianist was famous for his talent on the piano and the fact that he continued to both play and compose after losing his hearing at the age of 26.Read more....
Fredric Chopin ( March 1810 – 17 October 1849 )
Chopin is often one of the first composers that young piano students play. He was also a child prodigy, often compared to Mozart. Steeped in the world of music from a young age, he was already playing and trying to compose at the age of six.
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Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886 )
A virtuoso pianist, this Hungarian began his career at a fairly young age, though little information is available during this period of his life. It is known that not only was he an excellent pianist, he could also play several other instruments, including the cello.Read more......
Sergei Rachmaninoff (Apr 1, 1873 - Mar 28, 1943)
Known for having the largest hands of all the most famous pianists, Rachmaninoff was able to span up to 14 notes at a time and he made use of this ability in his compositions, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 8 Preludes, and others.Read more..
Josef Hofmann (Jan 20, 1876 - Feb 16, 1957)
This young prodigy began performing piano concerts at the tender age of six and at 12, he was the first recorded musician, working with Thomas Edison to create the first musical recordings.Read more....
Alfred Cortot
(Nov 26, 1877 - June 15, 1962)
Well known for his amazing recordings and variations of the likes of Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, and many other famous composers. He also added his own variations and twists to the most common of compositions, turning them into something unique and special.Read more....
Artur Schnabel (Apr 17, 1882 - Oct 16, 1951)Austrian pianist and teacher whose performances and recordings made him a legend in his own time and a model of scholarly musicianship to all later pianists.
A legend among pianists of the twentieth century, Artur Schnabel is best known for his interpretations and editions of Beethoven's piano works, for championing the performance of Mozart's piano sonatas, and the then unknown piano works of Schubert. His compositions were, in Ernst Krenek's words, "of remarkable and unusual significance." Artur Schnabel is buried in Schwyz, Switzerland together with his wife, son Karl Ulrich, daughter-in-law Helen and grandson Read more........
Artur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982)He was a Polish pianist who is widely considered as one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th Century. He received international acclaim for his performances of Chopin and Brahms and his championing of Spanish music.
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Walter Wilhelm Gieseking.(November 5, 1895- October 26, 1956 )
Gieseking was unique in that he supposedly never practiced on a piano. Instead, he would sit for hours in complete silence, playing the songs in his mind. Mostly self-taught, the pianist would then perform the piece flawlessly.Read more...
Claudio Arrau (Feb 6, 1903 - June 9, 1991) Claudio Arrau, one of the commanding piano titans of our time, enjoyed a career which spanned both ends of the twentieth century. He played his first recital in his native Chile in 1908, while his last concerts there took place in his ninth decade, in 1984. Arrau was one of the most prolifically recorded pianists of all time, with the lion’s share of his discography dating from after World War Two, when his international reputation solidified. He made relatively few recordings before then, but that group of early Arrau recordings nevertheless constitutes an important legacy in the annals of recorded pianism, gathered complete here for the first time.Read more....
Vladimir Horowitz (Oct 1, 1903 - Nov 5, 1989)Perhaps one of the best known pianists of the 20th century, Horowitz studied under Felix Blumenfeld and Sergei Tarnowsky. He is well known for his ability to play strong pieces creatively rather than simply banging away on the keys.READ MORE...
Sviatoslav Richter (Mar 20, 1915 - Aug 1, 1997)He was a Soviet pianist. Sviatoslav Richter was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. He was well known for his vast repertoire, effortless technique and poetic phrasing.Read more..
Emil Gilels(Oct 19, 1916 - Oct 14, 1985)
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс, Emi'li Grego'rievič Gi'lelis;–) was a Soviet pianist. He was born Samuil Hilels in Odessa to a musical Jewish family; both his parents were musicians. He began studying the piano at 6 under Yakov Tkach, a stern disciplinarian who emphasized scales and studies. Gilels later credited this strict training as establishing the foundation for his technique. Gilels made public debut at the age of 12 in June 1929 with a well-received program of Beethoven, Scarlatti, Chopin and Schumann. In 1930 he entered the Odessa Conservatory where he was coached by Berta Reingbald, whom Gilels credited as a formative influence.Read more...
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
(Jan 5, 1920 - June 12, 1995)
A more recent pianist, Michelangeli honed his talent to perfection, producing recordings that were nearly perfect even when unedited. He was notorious for randomly canceling concerts and for his intense focus on the tiny details of the music, often forgetting the big picture.Read more.......
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