Pianist
A pianist (Template:Pron-en (PEE-ə-nist) or /piˈænɨst/ (pee-A-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.
A performing classical pianist usually starts playing piano at a very young age. Many well-known classical composers were also virtuoso pianists including:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
- Fryderyk Chopin,
- Ludwig Van Beethoven,
- Franz Liszt,
- Sergei Rachmaninoff,
- Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,
- Carl Maria von Weber,
- Charles-Valentin Alkan,
- Johannes Brahms,
- Ferruccio Busoni,
- Anton Rubinstein,
- Alexander Scriabin,
- Sergei Prokofiev,
- Dmitri Shostakovich,
- Joseph-Maurice Ravel
- Claude Debussy
- Isaac Albeniz
- Cecil Licad
- Maksim Mrvica
- Bela Bartok
- Robert Schumann
- Vladimir Horowitz
- Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Most western forms of music can make use of the piano. Consequently, pianists have a wide variety of repertoire and styles to choose from, including
- jazz,
- classical music,
- all sorts of popular music.
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: