Greatest pianist who ever lived?

[Keith_W]

Since this is the "What's best" forum, I thought I would ask - who do you think is the greatest pianist who ever lived?

Of course, this poll might be open to long-dead pianists who never left a recorded legacy. People like Liszt, Beethoven, Padrewski, and the like were supposed to be astoundingly good pianists. But i'm afraid that for the purposes of this discussion, I will have to limit it to people who have left recordings.

In my humble opinion, there is no greater pianist than Sviatoslav Richter. Why? Because my criteria for greatness is versatility. Richter could play anything - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, and Schubert. And every time he left a recording, it has been acknowledged to be either the definitive work, or close to it.

There are many pianists who are specialists. Bach specialists include - Hewitt, Gould, Tureck, Landowska, and Fischer. Beethoven specialists - Arrau, Schnabel, Gilels, Kempff. Schubert specialists - Brendel, Perahia. Chopin specialists - Horowitz, Rubinstein, Harasiewicz, etc. I could go on naming names. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover - Brendel played very good Beethoven and Schubert, but he did not absolutely dominate his field like Richter did.

Who, in your opinion, was the greatest pianist who ever lived? And why?

 

[Mike]

Since this is the "What's best" forum, I thought I would ask - who do you think is the greatest pianist who ever lived?

Of course, this poll might be open to long-dead pianists who never left a recorded legacy. People like Liszt, Beethoven, Padrewski, and the like were supposed to be astoundingly good pianists. But i'm afraid that for the purposes of this discussion, I will have to limit it to people who have left recordings.

In my humble opinion, there is no greater pianist than Sviatoslav Richter. Why? Because my criteria for greatness is versatility. Richter could play anything - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, and Schubert. And every time he left a recording, it has been acknowledged to be either the definitive work, or close to it.

There are many pianists who are specialists. Bach specialists include - Hewitt, Gould, Tureck, Landowska, and Fischer. Beethoven specialists - Arrau, Schnabel, Gilels, Kempff. Schubert specialists - Brendel, Perahia. Chopin specialists - Horowitz, Rubinstein, Harasiewicz, etc. I could go on naming names. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover - Brendel played very good Beethoven and Schubert, but he did not absolutely dominate his field like Richter did.

Who, in your opinion, was the greatest pianist who ever lived? And why?

That's a tough question to answer. Your definition of greatest is versatility. I think that my definition of greatest is who gives me the most pleasure. Although the list you provided covers most of the greatest candidates, I'd go with Pollini, as I like most his interpretation of Chopin, who is possibly my favourite composer for piano.

Intersting question, Keith!

 

[egidius]

this is easy: ask the greatest pianist!

Since this is the "What's best" forum, I thought I would ask - who do you think is the greatest pianist who ever lived?

Of course, this poll might be open to long-dead pianists who never left a recorded legacy. People like Liszt, Beethoven, Padrewski, and the like were supposed to be astoundingly good pianists. But i'm afraid that for the purposes of this discussion, I will have to limit it to people who have left recordings.

In my humble opinion, there is no greater pianist than Sviatoslav Richter. Why? Because my criteria for greatness is versatility. Richter could play anything - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, and Schubert. And every time he left a recording, it has been acknowledged to be either the definitive work, or close to it.

There are many pianists who are specialists. Bach specialists include - Hewitt, Gould, Tureck, Landowska, and Fischer. Beethoven specialists - Arrau, Schnabel, Gilels, Kempff. Schubert specialists - Brendel, Perahia. Chopin specialists - Horowitz, Rubinstein, Harasiewicz, etc. I could go on naming names. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover - Brendel played very good Beethoven and Schubert, but he did not absolutely dominate his field like Richter did.

Who, in your opinion, was the greatest pianist who ever lived? And why?

I honestly and humbly think there is no best: As cheeky a declaration of quality is (that's why I actually quite like the name wbf!), in art, john cage might turn out "better" than Richter.
A very trustworthy guideline however is: Ask whomever you consider "the best", that might turn your attention in a completely different direction. This is because whoever is truly "best" in something, will never believe it being so! To be the best in art and believe it is mutually exclusive. Bad luck.

But cheer up: by asking anybody truly good, you will discover so many people you've never heard of, you will end up with a heap of new music to listen to

 

[Keith_W]

That's a tough question to answer. Your definition of greatest is versatility. I think that my definition of greatest is who gives me the most pleasure.

Well I deliberately only used "versatility" as my only criteria so that we could generate some useful debate! I could have also asked - who has had the most influence? Did a pianist make a previously unrecognized composer famous? Did he leave behind a legacy of students, or a legacy of imitators? Which pianist made the most money? Is technical accomplishment a requirement for greatness? What about those who broke the rules and introduced new ways of seeing things? Are they innovators or are they crass attention seekers? And how important is tone to you - does a great pianist have to have a great tone?

Depending on the weighting you place on some of these other criteria, you could also judge Richter as an also-ran and nominate someone like say ... Perahia to be the greatest ever. He has a beautiful tone. He has plenty of students and imitators. He has made lots of money. But, he's not as versatile as Richter.

 

[Keith_W]

in art, john cage might turn out "better" than Richter.

I was listening to the radio yesterday and they played John Cage's clarinet concerto. The announcer said ... "the debut performance of this piece was delayed because the clarinetist refused to play the piece on aesthetic grounds". Having then heard the piece, which consisted of ungodly moans and groans and made the clarinet sound like a tortured cat, I am inclined to agree. Cage was a jackass.

 

[Mike]

I was listening to the radio yesterday and they played John Cage's clarinet concerto. The announcer said ... "the debut performance of this piece was delayed because the clarinetist refused to play the piece on aesthetic grounds". Having then heard the piece, which consisted of ungodly moans and groans and made the clarinet sound like a tortured cat, I am inclined to agree. Cage was a jackass.

Was there no rehesal, where, presumably, the clarinet players could have voiced their concern?

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

You all knew this was coming didn't you?

 

[Mike]

You all knew this was coming didn't you?

I'm not sure that his style was in the classical music spirit, but that's a good one, John!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

It's Friday afternoon, the weekend is upon us , so I figured a little light humour would start that off right.

 

[Mike]

It's Friday afternoon, the weekend is upon us , so I figured a little light humour would start that off right.

On topic however, I can't say who the greatest pianist was, but I do have a question. Does it exclude all who aren't classical?

Probably not. To return to versatility that Keith was getting at, possibly pianists like Rick Wakeman, Elton John, Billy Joel, Duke Ellington, etc., would be considered greats for their ability to transcend many music styles. For example, Duke Ellington's wiki page has this:

A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical.

 

[Keith_W]

We aren't including pianists from the world of jazz. I created this thread in the classical music subforum.

 

[Whatmore]

I am a classical music ignoramus but Kovacevich has always done it for me

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

We aren't including pianists from the world of jazz. I created this thread in the classical music subforum.

I saw that after I posted, so sorry for going off track here.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Since this is the "What's best" forum, I thought I would ask - who do you think is the greatest pianist who ever lived?

Of course, this poll might be open to long-dead pianists who never left a recorded legacy. People like Liszt, Beethoven, Padrewski, and the like were supposed to be astoundingly good pianists. But i'm afraid that for the purposes of this discussion, I will have to limit it to people who have left recordings.

In my humble opinion, there is no greater pianist than Sviatoslav Richter. Why? Because my criteria for greatness is versatility. Richter could play anything - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, and Schubert. And every time he left a recording, it has been acknowledged to be either the definitive work, or close to it.

There are many pianists who are specialists. Bach specialists include - Hewitt, Gould, Tureck, Landowska, and Fischer. Beethoven specialists - Arrau, Schnabel, Gilels, Kempff. Schubert specialists - Brendel, Perahia. Chopin specialists - Horowitz, Rubinstein, Harasiewicz, etc. I could go on naming names. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover - Brendel played very good Beethoven and Schubert, but he did not absolutely dominate his field like Richter did.

Who, in your opinion, was the greatest pianist who ever lived? And why?

What about Artur Schnabel and Leon Fleischer?

Personally, I want to say Rubinstein but my heart is with Ivan Moravec.

 

[U47]

I'd have to agree with Keith- Richter was the man. As far as living pianists, I'd have to nominate Grigory Sokolov. I've been listening to his complete recordings the last few weeks and found them to be monumental. The sound(all live recordings) are quite fine, very clear and dynamic. The 10 CD set is on the Opus 111 label. I especially like his Schubert sonatas and his blistering performance of the Diabelli Variations. He plays almost no Liszt. If you want to hear unsurpassed Liszt, try Gyorgy Cziffra, the Hungarian Wizard.

Rich

 

[flat6]

What about Artur Schnabel and Leon Fleischer?

Personally, I want to say Rubinstein but my heart is with Ivan Moravec.

Moravec's Chopin Nocturnes are sublime...

 

[FrantzM]

Moravec or Rubinstein ... Not clear on who's better but they sit at the top IMHO.

 

[egidius]

I really like Rubinstein: why don't you read his formidable autobiography. If you like his playing you'll love his writing! E

 

[Soundproof]

As the question is "who ever lived?" - I would have to say Beethoven. He completely trounced every challenger in the piano duels that were in vogue in his time, and was a master improviser on the piano.

Rachmaninov is the pianists' favourite when they are asked (poll in Gramophone said as much).

It's a very difficult question to answer - One would even have to consider "point in career" and whether one went by technical skill or original contribution to interpretations.

And as there are fifteen million Chinese taking formal high level piano lessons ...

 

[Keith_W]

jazdoc, I don't care about jazz pianists. Perhaps it is too late for me to change the title to "greatest CLASSICAL pianist who ever lived", but as I have pointed out - I created this thread in the CLASSICAL subforum. One would think that would be sufficient to keep all off topic discussion away from this thread as a matter of courtesy.