Pianist

For other uses, see Pianist (disambiguation).

Motion capture of two pianists' fingers playing the same piece (slow motion, no sound).

A pianist (pron.: /ˈpiːənɨst/ PEE-ə-nist) is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.

Choice of genres

Most forms of Western music can make use of the piano. Consequently, pianists have a wide variety of repertoire and styles to choose from, including jazz, classical music, and all sorts of popular music.

A performing classical pianist usually starts playing piano at a very young age.

A single listing of pianists in all genres would be impractical, given the multitude of musicians noted for their performances on the instrument. Below are links to lists of well-known or influential pianists divided by genres:

Classical composers

Many well-known classical composers were also virtuoso pianists. The following is an incomplete list of such musicians.

• Isaac Albéniz
• Charles-Valentin Alkan
• Anton Arensky
• Béla Bartók
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Leonard Bernstein
• Johannes Brahms
• Ferruccio Busoni
• Frédéric Chopin
• Claude Debussy
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel
• Franz Liszt
• Nikolai Medtner
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sergei Prokofiev
• Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Anton Rubinstein
• Camille Saint-Saëns
• Robert Schumann
• Alexander Scriabin
• Dmitri Shostakovich
• Carl Maria von Weber

See also

Classical pianists

• List of classical pianists (recorded)
• List of classical pianists
• List of classical piano duos (performers)

Pop and rock music pianists

• List of pop and rock pianists

Jazz pianists

• List of jazz pianists

Blues pianists

• List of blues musicians
• List of boogie woogie musicians

Gospel pianists

• List of gospel musicians

New Age pianists

• List of New Age music artists