Talk:Pianist/Archives/2015

Female Pianists
Why are there so few female pianists on the list? (formatting of anonymous editor's unsigned comment, corrected by Parzival418 22:41, 30 March 2007 (UTC))

Removed Pianist from List
I removed "Steve Swayne" from the list of classical pianists. I've never heard of the guy, but I'm sure he's not as noteworthy as Horowitz, Arrau etc.

Well Known or Influential
This morning User:128.36.50.251 removed some 75% of the names from the classical pianist section. I've reverted the edits, but I guess the motivation may have been that many of these names are perhaps not so well-known or influential. Maybe the list should be pruned, or maybe many of the names should be moved to a separate list of classical pianist (divided by nationality perhaps). On the other hand, less significant pianists could be said to be covered by the category system. -- Solipsist 06:53, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree, there should be a separate page called List of classical pianists. Ben Finn 22:28, 17 May 2005 (UTC)

I, too, think that some of the classical pianists listed should be removed. Maybe not 75%, but I haven't heard about quite a big part of those before. We should discuss about the red links first - or they really deserve an article or they're not worth mentioning on this site either. --Missmarple 12:34, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I think a separate page for classical pianists would be a good idea. But I have yet to see any pianist listed who should be removed. Granted, many may not be well known or even known at all, especially those from the Golden or Silver Age of the piano, but none are without interest and many were influential in their own right. --Mhare40 2:30, 12 June 2005.

I think we shouldn't have a list of "influential classical pianists". First of all, it ommits many names of influential classical pianists- also, most of the pianists mentioned are all from the 20th century- we have great names from the 19th and 18th century missing. Secondly, the section, for being complete, would have to be confusing- after all, weren't Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt and Chopin not only influential composers but also outstanding and influential pianists who performed works from other artists? Well, yes, I guess so. Then we would have to mix composers with performers. Also, we have the discussion- Well Known or Influential? --Francisco BR 20:54, 20 July 2005 (UTC) - I vote for removing the section.

Francisco_BR --200.148.66.176 20:54, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

I actually like the section. It mentiones most of the most important pianists and I think that some kind of consensus could be reached. The list 'Classical pianists' should be cleaned up though (IMO). --Missmarple 07:43, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Well, I think it would take too long to reach a (debatable) consensus.--Francisco BR 12:38, 20 July 2005 (UTC) Why the complete (and neutral) list should be cleaned?

The second list isn't complete and will never be since you can't list every pianist. You can list all pianists that are widely regarded as influential or well-known though. I think that the important pianists should be the only ones listed here... --Missmarple 17:39, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

It seems inconsistent to have both a list and a page of classical pianists, but only have a page of jazz pianists and no list of 'influential' ones. I would tend to go for just the page of classical pianists and remove the list here altogether - it would be very difficult to agree on a definitive list of influential and/or well-known pianists, and by then the list would probably be too long for the page. --Satchmo 23:29, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

List of pianists vs. Most influental
Well, I believe it will not work very long this way and not really effective. In the moment there are only a few pianists on the list. If I would (for example) import my list of pianists (from 1890 - 1930) it would became three pages, of course without any backyard artists. The German Wiki has the same problem, there are two lists in the moment and http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_von_Pianisten seems to be the best for me in the moment. Which pianists are really the most "influential ones" or at last important is a different thing. But without that list you can't make a list of the most influental ones. Where to put all the other ones into ? And the future list should contain different sections like Classics, Jazz, Ragtime and so on. There are simply to much pianists, will be easier perhaps with famous bagpipers (I actually own one). Gerhard51 22:22, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

Schubert a virtuoso?
By whose definition was Schubert a virtuoso? None of his piano music is particularly difficult, and he was known for having to simplify some of it for his own performances. The right-hand octaves in Erlkoenig, for example, were too difficult for him and he played a tremolando in place of them (i.e. {c - c' - c}{c' - c - c'} in triplets).

I have to say-that whether we consider Schuber to have been a virtuoso or not-which I do consider him a virtuoso-more importantly his music is VERY DIFFICULT. Especially Piano Sonatas are among the largest and most difficult works of the piano repertoire. To claim that his music is easy - and I know this is all subject to opinion technically-but the idea that the Schubert Sonatas are easy is just not accepted by the musical community. haha sorry just had to get that out there.


 * No idea when the above posts were posted, or by whom.
 * I agree with the statement about the sonatas. Also, the Wanderer Fantasy is hardly lightweight.  It is known to have defeated Schubert himself.  But he was still a more than capable pianist.  However, he is not renowned for his pianistic prowess, but for his compositional brilliance.  A vast number of composers (and conductors) could play the piano very well, or better, but it would be silly to list them all here.  JackofOz 12:53, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Who's in and who's out
It's impossible to make a list of pianists unless the inclusion and exclusion criteria are definable.

The trouble with 'notable' as a criterion is that pianists who were notable may now be forgotten, at least outside their own country. Who remembers Charles Lynch? The Irish do. And who knows that Lorca was an accomplished pianist and arranger, and left some recordings? The Spanish.

I've tried one solution, by starting a list of classical pianists who have left some recorded legacy. This allows people to nominate pianists whose work can be listened to by others. At least it's clear who is in and who is out.

Rconroy 09:04, 2 June 2006 (UTC) Ronán Conroy

Women pianists
I agree with the question at the top - women pianists seem under-represented. I've taken this as a challenge and just added stubs for Maria Grinberg and Yelena Bekman-Shcherbina.

Rconroy 12:32, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Living versus dead classical pianists
This is a mess, folks!

The list of 'living' pianists includes a whole bunch of pianists who have been dead for years.

Cleanup needed.

Rconroy 09:26, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Adam Neiman - Pianist
Classical : Talent : Profile

Adam Neiman Adam Neiman has rapidly established a reputation as an artist who delivers compelling, poignant and colorful performances in a vast range of repertoire and genres. At the age of 26, he has already performed with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, San Francisco, Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Utah, Nashville and New Haven, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Chamber Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, Orchestra New England, the Umbria Philharmonic and the Jupiter Symphony, with such renowned conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Yoel Levi, Peter Oundjian, Jiri Belohlavek, Emmanuel Villaume, Jens Nygaard and Kenneth Schermerhorn, among others.

In the 2003-04 season Mr. Neiman made his debuts with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton, the Houston Symphony with Giancarlo Guerrero, the Cincinnati Symphony with John Morris Russell, the Missouri Symphony with Kirk Trevor, and the Grand Rapids Symphony with David Lockington. Mr. That season also included performances of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy at both the Gilmore and Vail festivals, performances at the Moritzburg Festival in Germany, and recital and concerto performances in Lecce, Italy.

Highlights of the upcoming season include performances with the Houston, Charleston, and Eugene symphonies, as well as Mr. Neiman's first season as a member of Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society II, which extends through the 2005-06 season.

Mr. Neiman's solo appearances have included performances in New York at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the 92nd Street Y; in San Francisco at Davies Symphony Hall and Golden Gate Park; at Royce Hall in Los Angeles; at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and at Symphony Hall and Ravinia in Chicago. Other venues at which he has played include the Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery, Vancouver's Recital Society at the Chan Center, the Seattle Symphony's Recital Series at Benaroya Hall, the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival's recital series, and the Caramoor Festival. Abroad, he has performed at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, at the Ivo Pogorelich Festival in Germany, at the International Chopin Festival in France, and in the Italian regions of Umbria and Amalfi.

Mr. Neiman's discography includes the solo recital disc "Live at Tokyo's Suntory Hall" for Lyric Records, an appearance on "Masters of the Keyboard - the Next Generation" Vol.2 on VAI, and an upcoming double CD for VAI (due for release in October) featuring live performances at the Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery. VAI's collaboration with Mr. Neiman and the Miami festival has extended into a documentary film on VAI's video label, and he is also featured prominently in "Playing for Real," a documentary by the Academy Award-nominated director Josh Aronson that is airing nationwide on PBS.

Mr. Neiman's first broadcast with National Public Radio's "Performance Today" was nominated for a Grammy Award, and he has returned for numerous performances on the show in addition to serving as a Young Artist in Residence and as a contributor to "Milestones of the Millenium." Other notable radio broadcasts include WQXR and WNYC in New York, WFMT in Chicago, and KPFA in Berkeley, to name a few.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Neiman has performed for six consecutive seasons at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and also at the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Caramoor's Rising Stars and Virtuosi, and the Jupiter Chamber Players and Barge Music in New York. He is also a founding member of the Corinthian Trio. In March 2003 he performed Schumann's Piano Quintet with the Miró Quartet on Fleet Boston's Celebrity Series at Jordan Hall, and during the 2004-05 season he will perform with the Miró in Pittsburgh and Maryland. In April 2003 he was featured on the chamber music series of the San Francisco Symphony at the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

A 1999 Rubinstein Award-winning graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Neiman also received first prize in Juilliard's Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition two years in a row. Other awards include an Avery Fisher Career Grant, a Gilmore Young Artist Award, the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, and Silver Medal at the Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy at the age of 15.

A deeply creative artist, Mr. Neiman is also a composer, whose original compositions include several works for chamber ensemble, solo piano and voice, as well as a Concertino for Violin and Orchestra. Mr. Neiman's current projects include his First Symphony as well as a String Quartet.

Full details of Adam Neiman's career can be accessed on his new website, www.adamneiman.com.

''Thank you for your contribution. You will find that you can sign your contributions by including four tildes at the end of your post. ''

May we wish you every success in your career, Adam.

Rconroy 11:44, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Extremely long list
The lists of pianists are really quite long (esp. jazz pianists) would anyone object to the lists being moved to a something like List of Pianists? This long list on a page that isn't specifically a list just seems kind of kind of ridiculous.... D4g0thur 13:02, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

This article is mostly a list of lists... how can we improve it?
I entered some templates suggesting the lists be merged or moved into separate list articles. That would then leave this pianists article as a stub. It really is a stub already though, and does not say much about the role of pianists in various kinds of music.

Perhaps if we move the lists out into their own list articles, then we can focus this article on sections about different styles of piano playing and how they fit into various genres of music.

Comments? Parzival418 22:17, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

It does not seem correct to have a short list of "other pianists" in this article. If there are genres that don't fit the existing schemes, there would be many more than just a few people described by that idea and since this list only had a few people, it was overly weighted and without any references or descriptions the list was not useful. So I removed that section and moved the various pianists into the other lists on this page wherever it seems they fit best. I did not delete any names. Most of them were classical pianists who play classical music from non-western countries. That could be worthy of a separate list but as it is still considered classical music and there were only four people listed, it seemed best to include them on the classical list. There were a couple pianists playing genres like Reggae and Easy listening - since those are generally part of pop music, that's where I moved them.

I suggest for reorganizing this article - to add to what I wrote above - that we have one section at the end of the article with references to the various lists of pianists on Wikipedia, by genre. In the case of genres that do not have pianist lists, we could create those pages or we could create sections on those genre list pages for pianists of those genres and link to those sections.

I don't have time to revamp this article myself right now. I invite others to reply and help out with this. [re-edited to add omitted signature, no change to text]  Parzival418 16:59, 2 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I have tried to clean up these lists with columns and occasionally reverting nonnotable additions, but I do agree these lists need to be separated from the article. Cricket02 12:42, 1 April 2007 (UTC)


 * While we're at it, I've never understood why there's a separate list of Classical pianists (recorded). Most of the people would appear on both lists; but even if that were not true, why make the distinction at all?  Surely it's more efficient - not to mention encyclopedic - to have just one list, whether they're recorded or not.  We could indictate on that list the pianists who have recorded.  JackofOz 12:48, 1 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree with this. Many pianists are on both lists.  It's clear that notable pianists in the modern era wold just about all have been recorded.  Perhaps each list of Pianists articles (by genres) could take a historical approach - when did they live?  As they appear in the recent eras, we could add how they were recorded - ie, piano rolls, wax cylynders, 78s, LP, CD, etc...  Whether we add that feature or not, simply a recorded and not recorded sections would be better than separate articles with duplicate entries.  Parzival418 17:03, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Avril Lavigne
In Avril Lavigne's new video When You're Gone, she is portrayed playing the piano. Does that count under "Pop and rock music pianists" (and there may be a citation needed there, because Avril is usually seen playing the guitar)? 99.247.139.102 18:04, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

Virtuoso pianists?
Please evaluate if Chopin and Schumann were virtuoso pianists?... :| Alegreen 17:09, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Classical "Peinis?"
There's a rather embarrasing typo here. I don't think I need to point it out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.205.34 (talk) 03:14, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

How to say it
Regarding pronunciation of the word, in most all cases the original pronunciation of the instrument is not so distorted as to lose recognition: vioLIN, vioLINist, etc.I vote for piANist, since we call it a piANo. Those who say it the other way, PEE-unist, are talking about the one that urinates the most. "Dat's duh PEE-unist puppy I evah seed." Just my opinion. I've been one for sixty years, a piANist, that is.Mingokau (talk) 20:04, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
 * It's not wikipedia's job to be prescriptive! The article currently describes how the majority of people actually say the word, and that is as it should be.  English isn't always as logical as we'd like; similar issues exist for the words cellist (not celloist!), saxophonist (with the second syllable stressed) and the English spelling and pronunciation of flautist. Jowa fan (talk) 22:42, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

The correct pronunciation is piANist. You should at least include both versions. I would add it myself but don't know how. Wikipedia's job is to inform, not misinform. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.187.190.36 (talk) 00:28, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Removal of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a harpsichordist and organist, among other things, but he was not a pianist. He played the piano on a few occasions (which in any set of criteria does not make a person a pianist), and it wasn't until after his death that the piano became popular. His works are now standard piano repertoire, but none of them were written for the piano- this may have led to some confusion and his inclusion on the list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Izikq (talk • contribs) 04:11, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

List of classical composers
Currently the page has a section called "List of classical composers". There's obviously room for debate about who should or shouldn't be in this list, and it isn't backed up by any references. What's the motivation for including this list (and for apparently giving classical music priority over jazz and other styles)? Should we maybe delete this section? Jowa fan (talk) 03:07, 9 August 2011 (UTC)