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?
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?