So I'm really curious about which pianists have the most fans here, and which are truly the most beloved.

To Participate:[/b]
Make a list of your favorite 5 pianists and post it to this thread. (Order does not matter.) Each time a pianist's name appears in a list, he she will get a point.


Guidelines:[/b]
1. Submit your favorite 5 only once.
2. Please do not change your favorite 5 after you have posted.
3. Feel free to place obscure and retired players in your lists.
4. Any lists with more or less than 5 entries will NOT be added to the ranking.
5. Please do not make your list with the intention to alter the ranking. (Example: Top 5ing the pianist ranked 2nd, simply because you don't like who is in 1st.)
6. Obviously, you cannot choose pianists of which there are no recordings.

If you need an example, here's my list (again, in no particular order)...

My List
Vladimir Horowitz
Arthur Rubinstein
Glenn Gould
Sviatoslav Richter
Sergei Rachmaninoff
------------

Ranking:[/b]
Vladimir Horowitz(27)

Martha Argerich(25)

Emil Gilels(19)

Arthur Rubinstein(18)

Sviatoslav Richter(17)

Sergei Rachmaninoff(11)

Glenn Gould(10)

Vladimir Ashkenazy(9)

Claudio Arrau(8)
Alfred Brendel(8)

Krystian Zimerman(7)

Marc-Andre Hamelin(5)
Wilhelm Kempff(5)

Pierre-Laurent Aimard(4)
Dinu Lipatti(4)
Radu Lupu(4)
Maurizio Pollini(4)
Andras Schiff(4)
Grigory Sokolov(4)
Josef Hofmann(4)
Stephen Hough(3)

Leif Ove Andsnes(3)
Gyorgy Cziffra(3)
William Kapell(3)
Evgeny Kissin(3)
Garrick Ohlsson(3)
Arturo Michelangeli(3)
Arcadi Volodos(3)

Emanuel Ax(2)
Yefim Bronfman(2)
John Browning(2)
Van Cliburn(2)
Alfred Cortot(2)
Youri Egorov(2)
Yundi Li(2)
Lang Lang(2)
Nikolai Lugansky(2)
Murray Perahia(2)
John Ogdon(2)
Artur Schnabel(2)
Rudolph Serkin(2)
Vladimir Sofronitsky(2)
Mitsuko Uchida(2)
Earl Wild(2)

Alexander Ardakov(1)
Wilhelm Backhaus(1)
Lazar Berman(1)
Victor Borge(1)
Ronald Brautigam(1)
Stanislav Bunin(1)
Robert Casadeseux(1)
Jean-Philippe Collard(1)
Philippe Entremont(1)
Sergio Fiorentino(1)
Annie Fischer(1)
Ingrid Fliter(1)
Samson Francois(1)
Nelson Freire(1)
Ignaz Friedman(1)
Walter Gieseking(1)
Bernd Glemser(1)
Richard Goode(1)
Maria Grinberg(1)
Friedrich Gulda(1)
Horacio Gutierrez(1)
Adam Gyorgy(1)
Myra Hess(1)
Angela Hewitt(1)
Byron Janis(1)
Julius Katchen(1)
Cyprien Katsaris(1)
Zoltan Kocsis(1)
Stephen Kovacevich(1)
Ruth Laredo(1)
Alicia De Larrocha(1)
Angela Lear(1)
Alain Lefebvre(1)
Oscar Levant(1)
Josef Levin(1)
Raymond Lewenthal(1)
Valentina Lisitsa(1)
James Mathis(1)
Benno Moiseiwitsch(1)
Ivan Moravec(1)
John O'Conor(1)
Janusz Olejniczak(1)
Ian Pace(1)
Jon Kimura Parker(1)
Geoffrey Parsons(1)
Murray Perahia(1)
Maria Joao Pires(1)
Ivo Pogorelich (1)
Jonathan Powell(1)
Awadagin Pratt(1)
Sergei Prokofiev(1)
Frederic Rzewski(1)
Wen Yu Shen(1)
Dmitri Shostakovich(1)
Christian Zacharias(1)


Nationality Statistics[/b]
In order by number of pianists:
America(17)

Russia(15)

France(5)
Germany(5)
Hungary(5)
Poland(5)

Canada(4)
England(4)
Ukraine(4)

Austria(3)
China(3)
Italy(3)

Argentina(2)
Czech Republic(2)
Japan(2)
Romania(2)

Australia(1)
Brazil(1)
Chile(1)
Cuba(1)
Denmark(1)
Holland(1)
Ireland(1)
Israel(1)
Norway(1)
Portugal(1)
Spain(1)
Serbia(1)

In order by number of votes:
Russia(91)

Poland(29)

America(24)
Argentina(24)

Canada(18)

Austria(12)

England(10)
Hungary(10)
Ukraine(10)

Germany(9)

Chile(8)
France(8)
Italy(8)
Romania(8)

China(6)

Czech Republic(3)
Norway(3)

Israel(2)

Australia(1)
Cuba(1)
Brazil(1)
Denmark(1)
Holland(1)
Ireland(1)
Japan(1)
Portugal(1)
Serbia(1)
Spain(1)

Fun Facts[/b]
There are 305 votes (61 people have voted) total. There are 91 pianists.

~16.7% of the pianists are Russian, and ~28.8% of the votes are for a Russian pianist. America has 1 more pianist than Russia, but Russia has nearly 4 times as many points.

The top two pianists have ~17.8% of the votes. The top five have ~35.6%.

There are only 5 pianists with 15 or more points, and only 2 with 20 or more. There are only 6 countries with 5 or more pianists, and only 2 with 10 or more. There are only 4 countries with 20 or more votes, and only 2 with 25 or more. There are 55 pianists with only 1 point, 12 countries with only 1 pianist, 8 of which only have 1 point.

Argentina is ranked 3rd by points, with 23... Argerich is 22 of them (~95.7%).

Interesting to note how few votes certain 'superstar' status pianists have, the most prominent example being Rachmaninoff, with only 2. Edit: 2 became 11 in just over a page and a half. Funny how that works.

Rankings to watch[/b]
Horowitz and Argerich--For 1st(points)
Gilels, Richter, and Rubinstein--For 3rd(points)
Gould and Rachmaninoff--For 6th(points)

America and Russia--For 1st(pianists)

Poland and Argentina--For 2nd(points)
America and Argentina--For 3rd(points)


Last edited 12/4, ending with Anders39's post

NOTE: Right now the fun facts may be inaccurate as I have not updated them. I will do that later.[/b]

Vladimir Horowitz

Dinu Lipatti (my favorit)

Glenn Gould

Josef Hofmann

Josef Levin

Victor Borge

Regards

Thomas

Annie Fischer
Martha Argerich
Artur Rubinstein
Vladimir Horowitz
Rudolph Serkin

Vladimir Horowitz
Dinu Lipatti
Angela Lear
Josef Hofmann
Janusz Olejniczak

Alicia De Larrocha
Youri Egorov
Radu Lupu
Emil Gilels
Grigory Sokolov

Vladimir Horowitz
Glenn Gould
Friedrich Gulda
Cyprien Katsaris
Marc-Andre Hamelin

Marc-Andre Hamelin
Gyorgy Cziffra
Arcadi Volodos
Ian Pace
Raymond Lewenthal

Emil Gilels
Krystian Zimerman
Evgeny Kissin
Sviatoslav Richter
Emanuel Ax

That's a tough one... I'd say :

Hamelin
Gilels
Horowitz
Richter
Argerich

phillipe entrement
glenn gould
vladimir ashkenazi
robert casadeseux
martha argerich

Vladimir Ashkernazy
Stephen Hough
Martha Argerich
Pollini
Vladimir Horowitz

These two are my favorite:
gilels
richter

Distant third:
pollini

Tied for fourth/fifth, give them 2/3 point each:
pogorelich
argerich
michelangeli

Sorry, I could not eliminate one of these last three.

Alfred Brendel
Martha Argerich
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Arthur Rubinstein
Claudio Arrau

Gould
Pollini
Pogorelich
Aimard
Lupu

Vladimir Horowitz
Grigory Sokolov
Ivan Moravec
Ingrid Fliter
Alfred Cortot

Van Cliburn
Zoltan Kocsis
Claudio Arrau
John Ogdon
Leif Ove Andsnes

Vladimir Horowitz
Martha Argerich
Glenn Gould
Murray Perahia
Richard Goode

Grigory Sokolov
Nelson Freire
Arthur Rubinstein
Krystian Zimerman
Emil Gilels

Emil Gilels
Martha Argerich
Claudio Arrau
Radu Lupu
Alfred Brendel

Vladimir Horowitz
Emil Gilels
Mitsuko Uchida
Arthur Rubinstein
Awadagin Pratt

Alphabetically:

Andsnes
Argerich
Horowitz
Rachmaninov
Richter

Adam Gyorgy
John Browning
Argerich
Myra Hess
Horowitz

I'm surprised Rachmaninoff has been mentioned 3 times already. I really do not like his interpretations, especially of his own works. For example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7im-86V8p0w

Maybe, it's just the recording quality but I really don't like Rachmaninoff as a pianist. :rolleyes:

Sergio Fiorentino
Ruth Laredo
Lazar Berman
John Ogdon
Vladimir Ashkenazy


Nice touch with the stats...

Sviatoslav Richter
Emil Gilels
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Yefim Bronfman
Artur Rubinstein

Nicely done, I agree with LaValse.

Martha Argerich
Sviatoslav Richter
Krystian Zimerman
Leif Ove Andsnes
Evgeny Kissin

Maria Joao Pires
Martha Argerich
Youri Egorov
Grigory Sokolov
Earl Wild

Alfred Brendel
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Martha Argerich
Dmitri Shostakovich

I had to add Shostakovich in, as I absolutely love hearing him play his own music.

Sviatoslav Richter
Emil Gilels
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Glenn Gould
Wilhelm Kempff

Richter
Kempff
Lipatti
Gould
Gilels

Josef Hofmann
Sviatoslav Richter
Vladimir Horowitz
Arthur Rubinstein
Sergei Rachmaninoff

I wish we could add more, though.

Marc-André Hamelin
Martha Argerich
Andras Schiff
Krystian Zimerman
Artur Schnabel

Vladimir Horowitz
Arthur Rubinstein
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Martha Argerich
Yefim Bronfman

Where's the wunderkind LL?
Too bad Liszt and Chopin were pre-recording days!

at the moment something like this but I'm discovering more each day

Ashkenazy
Kissin
Horowitz
Zimerman
Richter

Artur Rubinstein
Emil Gilels
Grigory Sokolov
Earl Wild
Stephen Kovacevich

Gyorgy Cziffra
Krystian Zimerman
S. Rachmaninoff
Julius Katchen
Vladimir Sofronitsky

Sviatoslav Richter (but of course!)

Emil Gilels
Murray Perahia
Radu Lupu
Maurizio Pollini


I'm going to loose sleep over this. Agonising that I had to leave out the likes of Josef Hoffman and Dinu Lipatti only because of their limited scratchy recordings. And how about Kempf, Rosenthal .... arghhhh. Could I do a list of 10 please???

After hearing this (again), I can certainly see why he's been mentioned multiple times--gorgeous playing.

Kapell
Horowitz
Cziffra
Moiseiwitsch
Friedman

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Emil Gilels
Claudio Arrau
Vladimir Horowitz
Byron Janis

Aimard
Richter
Gilels
Gould
Kempff

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Josef Hofmann
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
William Kapell
Maria Grinberg (some things I love, some things I hate, but for some selection of repertoire there is simply nobody better.)

Cool Thread! Tough to choose just 5!

Garrick Ohlsson
Horacio Gutierrez
Stephen Hough
Horowitz
Rachmaninoff

Martha Argerich
Claudio Arrau
Wilhelm Backhaus
Oscar Levant
Arthur Rubinstein

Yeah, and listen to his Liszt! Rachmaninov's super-human prowess really comes to the fore around 2:39.

BTW Koji, I recently encountered your Scriabin 10th on YouTube. Wonderful. You're as beautiful to watch as you are to listen to. With all the discussion around here about stage mannerisms and such, I would highly recommend people view that video. One imagines you don't have much patience with the contortions of LL or Uchida.

I recall hearing his Gershwin Preludes several years back. Knocked me flat. This guy was good.

Vladimir Horowitz
Alfred Cortot
Emil Gilels
Glenn Gould
Artut Rubinstein

Alfred Brendel
Arthur Rubinstein
Walter Gieseking
Claudio Arrau
Rudolph Serkin

(editted for spelling)

Vladimir Ashkenazy
Martha Argerich
Angela Hewitt
Jean-Philippe Collard
Yundi Li

and very witty too! Too bad his career was derailed somewhat by a lot of personal and health problems.

Sophia

Maurizio's still the best pianist since Liszt, maybe who ever was...so give it up and move on...

Martha Argerich
and, these days:
Emil Gilels
Michelangeli
Richter
Arrau

Martha Argerich
Nikolai Lugansky
Valentina Lisitsa
Mitsuko Uchida
Emil Gilels

(Gosh only 5? )

And I must add, it ABSOLUTELY tickles me that Kissin only has 1 vote, and Mr. Lang has none.



Daniel

Ridicolosamente,,,



Seconded

I'm glad this topic was phrased as your favourite, or most beloved, rather than who do you think is the greatest etc. No one can argue with a list of most beloveds

Not in any particular order, the first four were easy:

Richter
Brendel
Schiff
Argerich

And for the fifth? What about a collaborative pianist/accompanist? And my favourite is Geoffrey Parsons.

Funnily, just last night I was trying to think of a 5th pianist for my top 5, and the name Gerald Moore popped up. It takes a very confident pianist to tackle so successfully the elaborate (but glorious) accompaniments of Schumann, Strauss and Wolf.

But I can certainly agree with your admiration of Mr. Parsons... and lucky him to have worked with singers of the calibre of Jessye Norman and Christa Ludwig.

My Top 5:

Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Maurizio Pollini
Sergej Prokofiev
Bernd Glemser
Frederic Rzewski

my top 5-

Vladimir Horowitz
Ian Pace
Sviatoslav Richter
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Jonathan Powell

Argerich
Ax
Bunin
Horowitz
Rubinstein

Matt

double post

I completely forgot about Bernd Glemser. His Rachmaninov concertos are my favourite.

Very inappropriate as a response towards Kissin(and even LL) in my opinion. You have every right not to like him, but acting as if he is in the same class as LL or even worthy of your ridicule is way off base. I personally dislike LL but would never say it "absolutely tickles me" that he has no vote.

There have been 100's of very great pianists not yet mentioned at all yet or given just a few votes. Do you really think that a poll of 20 or even 100 PW members has so much meaning?

Since the age of 12 Kissin has been playing to sold out houses around the world and unlike LL has gotten many(if not unanimous)rave critical reviews for both his recordings and concerts.

Just look at his YouTube recording of the Chopin concerti at age 12.

Vladimir Horowitz
Yundi Li
Martha Argerich
Lang lang
Artur Rubinstein

Nikolai Lugansky
Martha Argerich
Lang Lang
Wen Yu Shen
Horowitz (Don't shoot )

There are plenty more.

Kissin
Horowitz
Brendel

hello all, i realize this is a strange place to introduce myself to the 'pianist' side of the forum. i've been a member of the 'piano' side for a little over a year now and am just branching out.

here are my top 5:
Andras Schiff
Martha Argerich
Artur Rubinstein
Vladimir Horowitz
Artur Schnabel

of course after you mentioned he-who-must-not-be-named, two people listed him...hmph!

Rachmaninoff
Horowitz
Brendel
Gould
Perahia

hmm .. there are pretty interesting lists!! like Koji's.

Jon Kimura Parker
Garrick Ohlsson
S. Richter
S. Hough
J. O'Conor

horowitz
rachmaninoff
rubinstein
yundi li
arrau

What!?!? That kastle guy hasn't gotten a single vote?

Thanks to everybody who's contributed so far. I skipped over the one or two who didn't follow, and presumably, didn't read the guidelines in the OP. More updates will come as people post, but probably less frequently, maybe once a day or once every few days. Thanks again to everyone for your input.

That's because he is too good to be on a list. He would take up all 5 spots and leave room only for Nancarrow's custom built player piano

Hi Bluemarocks--

It looks like Mitsuko Uchida was listed by two people (me, of course, or I wouldn't have noticed it, and one other), but you have her down twice for one vote.

You have had a great idea here, and I am so glad you have taken this task on. I am searching out many of these names on Youtube and Amazon to hear their work. Keeping the list to five was very hard!

Nancy

Ronald Brautigam
Garrick Ohlsson
Christian Zacharias
Alexander Ardakov
Martha Argerich

Just to set the record straight, I am indeed a fan of both. After Ms. Lisitsa, Kissin is the professional pianist I've seen perform most, and I'll very likely keep attending his concerts when opportunities arise.

I find it very humorous because I made a relevant comment about Kissin a few weeks ago. He embodies world class musicianship, artistry, and fame, but at the same time, doesn't seem to be anyone's "favorite" pianist. This isn't a scientific poll, but its results have some implications I believe.

That's all I meant.

Out of dozens of my favorite pianists, here's a semi-random five:

Richter, Sviatoslav
Mathis, James
Sofronitsky, Vladimir
Brendel, Alfred
Francois, Samson

But I have to say, five is not even close to being representative of my favorites. A selection of fifty might have been better for capturing it. Maybe I just hate trying to rank stuff I love...

Well, Kissin's not even 40 ... i think that may have something to do with him not being on many people's lists. It is a "preferred" , not "best" list. I'm sure if this poll was made in 40 years time, Kissin would get a lot more votes ...

Kapell
Browning
Lipatti
Gilels
Zimerman

For what it's worth,in a fairly recent edition of BBC Music magazine dedicated to the piano, an article featured many of the luminaries of today such as Kissin,Argerich, Askenazy, Kovacevich, Barenboim etc who were asked to speak about the great pianistical influences in their artistic careers. Richter was mentioned most frequently followed by Horowitz.

Possibly. I've seen Kissin on a number of occasions, and own a fair amount of his CDs. Almost always, I have prefered his recordings to his live performances. Kissin just seems better behaved in the studio, and indeed, he has given us some very fine recordings- ones that will certainly pass the test of time.

For now I've retired from attending any live Kissin concerts. At the last one he battered the poor Chopin Ballades in cold blood (each succeeding one was faster and louder)... even the generous selection of encores couldn't make up for what I thought was incredibly insensitive piano playing. I left the concert very disillusioned, and more than ready for a few pints...

Well i really enjoyed my first Kissin concert last november. I liked the Prokofiev better than the Chopin. I think he's hitting London in June 09 at the Barbican.
Which of his recordings would you advice?

I think Kissin is currently the foremost exponent of the Prokofiev 6th, so definitely try to get that one. Also -and this recording was not unanimously praised- I just loved Kissin's recording of the Brahms F minor Sonata, coupled with some deliciously marinated-in-gulyas Hungarian Dances.

For once, here is this sonata played with all the passion and angst of a young man. Not since Katchen had I heard such potency! Others will no doubt prefer the Arrau school of treating early Brahms as if the music were written after the Clarinet Quintet, the Four Serious Songs and the Op. 118 piano pieces.

Kissin also has a recording with Schumann's Op 17, and 5 of Liszt's Trascendental Etudes, no 12, 11, 10, 5, 8, that I think is very good.

I think the Schumann is excellent and very sensitively played, and the Db Liszt etude is the recording to which I measure all other performances of the etude, really doesn't get any better than that in my opinion.

How is it that I have never heard of this Martha Argerich anywhere except in these forums?

Has she been performing for very long? If so, was there a dramatic breakthrough point for her like Andre Watts substituting for an ailing Glenn Gould at the last minute?

Any competition medals to her credit? Composers she has an affinity for?

Incidentally, though he didn't make my top 5 I'm glad to see Richter high up on the list.

She's more active in Europe and she's canceled a lot of her concerts in the US.

And while she's recorded a lot, her reputation is based on only a few recordings: her debut recital, the Amsterdam Recital from 1978, the Rachmaninoff 3rd, Prokofiev 3rd, and Tchaikovsky 1st concerti, and the Schumann album (Kinderszenen and Kreisleriana.)

Oddly enough, as much as people talk about her on the forums, I can't remember anyone ever mentioning the work she's done with Kremer, Maisky, or Friere. Nobody seems to talk about her Chopin, Bach, or Bartok recordings either. (Her 2nd Partita is wonderful!)

As "global" as the world is, we are still divided by an ocean. Many Europeans are unaware of Copland's piano music or people like Jon Kimura Parker, who mostly concertizes in the states and Canada.

(And Americans are unaware of some excellent European pianists like Dubrovka Tomsic, Elisabeth Leonskaya, John Lill, or Idil Biret.)

I don't know why you have that impression, Kreisler. She is as famous for her interpretation of Chopin and Bach as she is for the recordings you mentioned. She is also obviously a leader in piano duo performances; in fact she gets criticized for this often.
I was surprised she had so many fans on this forum (eg the Ranking thread). I think she is rather under-rated.

soundboard, google or even better, You Tube the lady.. You will be hooked..

Well she cancels in Europe too. But the concerts she does play are always reviewed in major papers, often as a "feature" review. I've read quite a bit about Argerich in the American press.

Furthermore, any periodical reviewing piano CDs is sooner or later going to at least mention Argerich in some context, generally comparing her standard with the recording being reviewed. I cannot recall a single issue of Gramophone (and I've subscribed for years) wherein Argerich wasn't referred to at least once.

One politely wonders what else this individual has missed...

Alain Lefebvre
Arcadi Volodos
Emil Gilels
Stepheh Hough
Wilhelm Kempff

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ONE ALSO WONDERS just how broad and diversified an individual's experiences and tastes may be when he labels himself first and foremost a devotee of one particular artist alone.

Fortunately this one is partially redeemed with his four other choices in this particular thread.

I don't care very much for the stuffed-shirted critics who subject us all to their 'wisdom' in Gramophone. This crowd of ardent concertgoers is far less self-interested and often a great deal more down to earth.

She won the first prize in International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 1965.

What Wikipedia says seems to carry some truth about her - "Her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. She has given relatively few interviews.".

She is recognizable, in many countries well known, but certainly not by media appearances.


M.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

I'm sure Jason will be relieved to know of his redemption in your eyes, but only someone with less than a month's tenure here could imagine him to be anything less than thoroughly worldly and erudite (attributes that have shone brightly and regularly in his 3,000+ posts).

BTW FWIW I identify myself first and foremost as a devotee of one composer alone. Oh, there are plenty of others whom I like, some of them intensely, and different musical genres, too, but I don't think there's anything wrong with (or even unusual about) a personal fervor for one particular titan among the giants.

Music is like language to me, and I have only one mother tongue.

Steven

^ HAHA very nice Steven ...

never thought of it that way..

do we see a thread of our top 5 fav composers?

'tenure'? Sounds like you both take this thing way too seriously. I don't doubt his erudition or worldliness; I just didn't very much care for the petulant and unwarranted remark, and his silly handle was a convenient target for retaliation.

Favoring a Titan among the giants is fine and well--I actually agree with you on Chopin. But I don't quite see Argerich being a titan among giants. Anyway it's immaterial, being mostly a matter of opinion.

I apologize to all bystanders for the great deviation from the original topic at hand (though not for anything I've said.) Let's get some more votes.

My apologies soundboard, I did not intend offense. I was just a bit mystified that you had not heard of Argerich. Fair enough?

Well I can assure you that I have heard many other pianists, both live and on recording, I didn't see anything 'childish' about preferring a certain pianist. Methinks you protest too much.
I'm grateful the other pianists I listed met your approval. Sort of hard to argue, eh?
Okay, you played the 'anti-Brit' card. Fair enough. A very 'American' trait of suspicion and presumed superiority of the Olde World. But if you have read the piano reviewers of Gramophone, Bryce Morrison, Jeremy Nicholas, Jed Disler, for example, you would certainly have to agree at least that they know their stuff. The latter two have also reviewed for American publications.

I have also read the American Fanfare and American Record Guide, the latter a truly disgusting periodical, primarily because of the contrarian and racist views of its editor, a sad sod whose whining is posed as intelligent discourse. At least that is not a problem with Fanfare, as the editor adopts a very low profile. He has some great reviewers in his stable. But ultimately they are not tangibly superior to those writing for Gramophone. (And I won't even get into the respective reviewers of non piano music, specifically church music.)

Your sarcastic comments strike me more as ruffled feathers. As Steven correctly points out, you are new here. Before launching an attack on me, at least survey the territory, take a breath, have a pint or whatever.

The Pianist Corner is a great community. You will meet some terrific folks here, of course we all have our opinions (not surprising, hah!), but that is what can make it so much fun.

Welcome and cheers...

I just googled Martha Argerich and got over 500,000 hits; searching YouTube produced nearly 500, and Amazon over 250. Considering the ease with which you could have found out information about her, your question seemed a tad dismissive.

As for the response of her biggest fan here, dang, it's not as if he said you've been living under a rock for several decades! I think you seriously overreacted, and there's no reason to pronounce his screen name "silly" nor any basis for saying that others take things "way too seriously."

You're the newcomer here, after all, and it would be sensible to assume good intentions and exercise some circumspection. A sense of humor helps, too—but, of course, this is just my own immaterial matter of opinion.

Steven

Oops, this is freaky. Today is your first encounter with the name Argerich and you're already pronouncing her not a titan among (I could have written 'amongst') giants. Aren't we a bit quick on the draw? Kill first, then ask questions?

How American can that be?
:p :p :p :p

Humour -oops 'humor'- is always the best sign of health, and sotto voce has it down. Good man...

Aw nuts, I'll try to take in stride the latest news regarding the American Episcopal Church... oh the perfidy of it all. British church forums will certainly get petticoats ruffled. I'm staying clear for the time being...

Vladimir Ashkenazy
Arthur Rubinstein
Martha Argerich
Emil Gilels
Sviatoslav Richter

By any reckoning, Argerich would most definitely be ranked among the titans. While her artistry may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying her mastery of the piano and her musicianship. Even her detractors cannot take that away from her and most readily concede it. The Chopin International Piano Competition, Warsaw, is noted for not having awarded many first prizes. Only a handful have been awarded in their history and she is one the rarefied few first prizewinners.

I'm a little surprised by the rankings at this point -- Argerich at second is actually somewhat of a nice surprise for me, even though it was not me who put her there. I was fully expecting Richter to be higher or second and he is trailing quite a bit. It's my understanding that Richter is the pianist that invented post-1950s piano style.

Just going to throw that out there...

Vladimir Horowitz (the best. I enjoy everything I've heard from him)
Emil Gilels (Nails everything he plays)
Andras Schiff (Gorgeus Chopin prelude in D-minor)
Wilheim Kempff (Best in Beethoven)
Arcadi Volodos (Best Rach 2 ever.)

Just remember that the original post asked for our most beloved pianists - not the ones we thought were the greatest or the most influential, or groundbreaking. For me that means the pianists I love to hear playing the music I love to hear . I've no idea who does the best Rach 3, for example, and it explains why Geoffrey Parsons is on my list.

Why do you state an opinion as if it were a fact?
If by a "titan" you mean something like one of the top 10 pianists of all time, then I would say many would disagree. This is not to say I don't think Argerich is a very great pianist.

If you look here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Frederick_Chopin_Piano_Competition#Prize_winners

you'll see that in the Chopin Competition the 1st prize was awarded in all but two years.

Vladimir Horowitz
Martha Argerich
Sviatoslav Richter
Arthur Rubenstein
Roger Woodward

But of course that was just the jury's opinion too, wasn't it?

I was responding to a poster who said the first prize was rarely awarded. My post shows this statement was not correct.

As far as the jury deciding the prize(s) in a competition and their decision being based on their opinion ...yes, that's true but so what???

Indeed, Argerich has walked out on a jury. One wonders about the drama queen factor. Would have loved to have been there for what must have been a great show...

Keith Jarrett
John Arpin
David Thomas Roberts
Peter Jacobs
John Lenehan

Updated thru ander's post and also alphebetized and separated the lists to make them more digestable. The fun facts are wrong as of yet, but I will update them (and will get whoever's lists I haven't yet) sometime tomorrow.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Bolet!

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2yoZQCLoSY

That's probably because of the limit of only five. I definitely thought of including him...and would have it we were allowed fifty names, which to my mind would be more reasonable.

And I'm surprised Alicia de Larrocha only got one vote. In her heyday, I think she could play rings around anyone who's been listed here. In addition to her, my list would include Rubinstein, Arrau, Bolet and Firkusny.

As Wikipedia also mentions, she won the Busoni and Geneva competions, too.

She was included in the Phillips label's "Great Pianists of the Century" series of recordings, which may have had a few weird choices, but she wasn't one of them.

FWIW, i would have put her as #6.

I would guess that people haven't been exposed to her as much? I myself have mostly listened to her Mozart, which is great, but not my favorite. I did hear a recording of her doing the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto though, did she play the hell out of that thing. It was jaw-dropping. One performance doesn't quite get you in people's top 5 though.

I hate to point out the obvious, but piano competitions are hardly a good measure of whether a pianist plays in a way that the audience wants to hear or not. I can think of many jokers that have won even the Tchaikovsky.

I stand corrected about the Chopin Competition not awarding many first prizes. It's just that in the years 90 and 95 when I was following the competition closely, none were awarded. As for competitions not being a good gauge, I never said they were. It was merely a comment on somebody else's posting about whether Argerich had ever won one and the subsequent response that she won first in the Chopin in 1965. It is a fact that having won the Chopin First puts her in pretty illustrious company though.

I've just read back over my posts on this thread from over the past week--good grief could I have been more hostile???

Jason, I apologize for having misread your first post and for the righteous indignation scattered all over the rest of the page. To me it sounded like I was being sarcastically labeled as underexposed and inadequately educated, but it sounds like that was far from your intent.

To be a good sport I will be giving Argerich a listen this week.

soundboard79,

Unfortunately, many people are unable or unwilling ever to admit they were wrong about something or to apologize. I have great respect and admiration for those who do have that ability and willingness. Thanks very much for your post.

Steven

I'll second this. Welcome to the forum, soundboard!

Sorry for the delay, I will update this latest by the end of this weekend.

Thanks for the heads up pn Kissin s recordings Jason Argerich. I was some what disappointed by a Rach 2 cd i have of him, and din't want to get the "wrong" cd again ...

As for the ranking, it has been said already but i think it's important to again consider we are all subjective on our preferences when it comes to music, and in that lies the magic of music if you ask me. Preferred pianists doesn't necessarily mean "objectively best" pianists.

For example, i would have to say Richter is my favourite. He doesn't play my favourite Beethoven or my favourite Chopin or Bach, but for some reason he's at the top pf my list. He's not just the pianist, but the persona too.

The pianists who've moved me most the most often are: Emil Gilels
Vladimir Horovitz
Wilhelm Kempff
Alfred Cortot
Martha Argeritch

Claudio Arrau
Nikolai Lugansky
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Arthur Rubinstein
Alfred Cortot

Benno Moisiewitsch
Ignaz Friedman
Vassily Primakov
Gyorgy Cziffra
Ivan Moravec

Vladimir Horowitz
Arthur Rubinstein
Martha Argerich
Sviatoslav Richter
Sergei Rachmaninoff

Jean Phillipe Collard
Leif Ove Andsnes
Alfred Brendel
Andras Schiff
Mikael Pletnev

This is difficult. It depends on the mood. But here is my list for now:

Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ervin Nyíregyházi
Alexander Siloti
Eugen d'Albert
Raoul Pugno

Look them up if you have not heard them play!

Zimerman is losing!

Krystian Zimerman
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Horowitz
Yefim Bronfman (for his wonderful concerto performances)
Boris Berezovsky (Transcendental Etudes say it all!)

In no particular order.....

Valentina Lisitsa
Gyorgy Cziffra
Bobby Enriquez
Arcadi Volodos
Vladimir Horowitz

My all-time favorite:
Glenn Gould

I also like very much:
Ragna Schirmer
Lise de la Salle
Daniel Barenboim
Mitsuko Uchida

Gould
Perahia
Brendel
Schiff
Horowitz



(But if I could have voted for GG five times, I woulda.)

Richter
Gould
Horowitz
Ashkenazy
Kissin

(Thought I'd throw a vote Evgeny's way, just to be different )

josef hofmann
moritz rosenthal
leopold godowsky
josef lhevinne
sergei rachmaninoff

Vladimir Horowitz
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Oscar Peterson
Art Tatum
Maria João Pires

Nice to see a couple of jazz pianists in there, I thought they were a bit under-represented in people's lists!

Lang Lang
Yundi Li
Gilels
Horowitz
Kissin
Me!!!!

Alicia de la Rocha
Alfred Brendel
Jon Kimura Parker
Glenn Gould
Mitsuko Uchida

Horowitz
Hoffman
Ashkenazy
Pletnev
Argerich

Gilels
Kapell
Lipati
Rubinstein
Sokolov

-- and a tip of the hat to Paul Lewis, whose Beethoven sonata cycle on Harmonia Mundi is my new favorite -- better even than Gilels, and that's really saying something.

Vladimir Horowitz
Arthur Rubinstein
Emil Gilels
Michail Pletnev
jorge Bolet

Thank you for bringing up this topic again.

Glenn Gould
Sviatoslav Richter
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Alfred Cortot
Dinu Lipatti

Larrocha
Arrau
Rubinstein
Sokolov
Ashkenazy

sviatoslav richter
clara haskil
annie fischer
dinu lipatti
claudio arrau