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