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Pollini, Zimerman, Pariah, and Volodos are my absolute favorites to listen to.

Aw, thanks, Deborah!

Not to be silly, but we probably shouldn't spell him this way (pariah=outcast). I agree that he (Perahia) is wonderful.

While we're concerning ourselves with spelling (a very worthwhile concern, IMHO), it's pianists, not painists, that we're surveying. My favorite painist the the Grand Marquis (the Marquis de Sade). My favorite pianist is Murray Perahia.

Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter and Radu Lupu. Richter for Chopin etc and Lupu for Beethoven. His Beethoven concertos are just amazing.

Oh yes I really like Radu Lupu's Brahms recordings

Oops!!! I'm usually very careful about spelling his name correctly. How embarrassing!

Don't worry, at least you didn't spell his name as 'Piranha' .

Are we talking composer/original or just pianist that we've heard?! As i'd like to say chopin, but also horowitz and kissin.

It really depends on the piece, or the composer at least, for me. I did not have much love for Schumann before I heard concerto in A minor played by Martha Argerich and she's still the only one who can make me listen to Schumann but when it comes to say, Chopin's 24 preludes (which by the way are my favorite pieces) I can't stand Argerich. I believe pianists are like singers, they don't have to be great at every composer or piece. They can be good at only a certain period or at certain composers' works. That being said, I truly wish I had a favorite composer, I don't think it limits one at all. It would be quite liberating to have a favorite whose recording you would buy without thinking and always end up loving them no matter what or who he plays.

This having favorites depending on the composer thing can be terrible sometimes, especially when the work you want to listen to is made for more than one instrument. When it comes to Schubert's lieds I adore Radu Lupu's playing but prefer Barbara Bonney's voice to Barbara Hendricks. Unfortunately it's Hendricks who team up with Radu Lupu and Bonney has some boring pianist I don't remember. Over analysing can kill the enjoyment.

I would have loved hearing Liszt and Chopin and at my age some might think it was possible, but since they were slightly before my time, I am stuck with twentieth and twenty-first century artists so I will throw out a name not mentioned above: Arthur Rubinstein. I also admire Murray Perahia, Vladimir Horowitz, Marta Argerich, Emil Gilels, Wilhelm Kempff, Andrass Schiff, Yundi Li, Earl Wild, Dinu Lipati, and many others. I agree with those who say it varies with the pieces being played. It also depends on my mood. Most of these pianists are a cut above the normal concert pianists for a lot of different reasons, but I am sure I have forgotten to mention great pianists that I will think of later as well. There are so many to admire that it is hard to pick one favorite.

Glenn Gould . . . Because he plays everything wrong and still sounds better than everyone else.

In terms of how much I own played by a single pianist it is Ashkenhazy

My favorite would have to be Claudio Arrau. His style of playing creates such a unique tone, as if he's digging deep into the piano itself to bring out its voice. I really admire his phrasing as well. He seems to me as someone specializing in precision over velocity.