So, another of my Classical Music polls but a bit different. This time, we’re not going to rank works but musicians.
A couple of preliminary remarks as usual:
The list only includes pianists who were recorded extensively and in at least relatively acceptable sound. So, no Liszt, Brahms, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and sadly, no Lipatti.
I based it on various similar ones I found here and there. In spite of its length (40 entries), there are certainly omissions. Some of these are due to my personal tastes. Feel free to comment on them in the thread. However…
I decided on a cut-off date in order to make sure that we have enough material to form an opinion… All the pianists listed here had their starts in the 1960s or early 1970s at the latest.
Not voting because I’m simply not qualified. I’ve come to enjoy classical music more and more in the last few years, but I’ll be damned if I can compare Horowitz and Rubinstein in a meaningful way. Horowitz is my “favorite”, but that is based on the breadth of his recorded work and the the fact that he almost always played with top-flight musicians as opposed to a real partialism to his technique or approach (though his predilection for the Romantics is another reason I like him so much).
ETA: I do consider this a very informative poll, and I thank everyone who participates.
Also, nice to see quite a few women among the choices (though not winning many votes, so far). I’m ashamed to admit I’m only familiar with Argerich and Hess.
Mmm, I can’t stand his “sewing machine” approach to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. A real turn-off as far I’m concerned.
Yeah, when I first started listing names for the thread, I realized that Argerich was the only woman on it. Then, I thought of Pires and the others came from polls I found online, but in retrospect, they all have their place here and I should have been able to think of them by myself.
Hard to imagine, say, Rick Wakeman, Art Tatum, or Elton John embarrassing themselves while performing classical piano works. But since classical piano wasn’t their professional focus, there might be slight, but discernible, flaws in the way Wakeman/Tatum/John would play classical vs. the names in the poll.
Oh God, I don’t know. Too many choices, and not every pianist is equally adept in all styles. I’ve heard some pianists who could play the bejeezus out of Rachmaninov absolutely murder some Bach fugues.
Speaking of fugues, I rather like Keith Jarrett’s version of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. IMO Jarrett’s jazz experience enhances his interpretation of the Shostakovich. But, conversely, I’m not sure he’d be up to Rach 2.
