Re: good pianists
 

kid cue - fellow piano fiend, eh?

for classical music I like

Glenn Gould (for bach) - his genius doesn't hijack the music like other pianists, but actually manages to bring the music out. (good call kid cue)
Emanual Ax (for beethoven, chopin)
Murray Perahia (chopin)
Maurizio Pollini (chopin)
Vladimir Ashkenazy (for mozart and chopin)

for jazz I love

marcus roberts
keith jarrett (is the best jazz improv pianist in the world just listen to the koln concert to know)
vince guaraldi (of peanuts fame)

Re: good pianists
 

Strangelet have you heard any Leon Fleisher? he's probably my favorite classical pianist, next to Gould (who was not human, so he kind of doesn't count). search out the recordings of Brahms, Schumann, and Grieg piano concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra...!

Perahia i've always liked, if only to use as some sort of neutral measuring stick har har.

i saw Emanuel Ax play the Emperor piano concerto back in high school, he was pretty awesome IIRC.

Re: good pianists
 

thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely check him out.

I'm really picky when it comes to Chopin. I think he's got to be the most misunderstood artist in terms of his intentions and aesthetics. The stock artur rubenstein leaves me cold half the time. My theory is he's more close to Bach in sense and sensibility then he is to any other romantic period composer. That's just my theory.

Re: good pianists
 

what about Craig Armstrong? too much pop music?

for nice music also, try Rubén González, probably the greatest cuban pianist.

Re: good pianists
 

I was going to mention him. Instead, I'll second it. :)

Re: good pianists
 

Talking about that! Gonzalo Rubalcaba...maybe not the best but the most famous.

Re: good pianists
 

really? why do you say that?

Chopin has always struck me as being extremely obvious.

Re: good pianists
 

Obvious in the same way bach is obvious you mean? chopin's work is a violent refutation of the excess ornamentation of the romantic period. he's a much more disciplined, classically structured composer than say, schubert or liszt or bizet.

Which is why he's able to create a more emotive response, imho. But i take it you're not such a fan? he's not very popular. which I really don't get. I think he was god incarnate.

Re: good pianists
 

no way. he's great. if we're getting into this scene let me add michael nyman for his composition work.

bb mentioned tom waits. "The piano has been drinking" is brilliant in its own tom waits way.

Re: good pianists
 

i don't think of Bach as obvious, other than being obviously baroque. Chopin i liked earlier (and i always thought he was quite popular, much more than Liszt), but his compositions always seemed to have this linear or even 'narrative' quality that made it difficult for me to listen to him repeatedly. i felt like once i got the story there was nothing else to be gotten. i'll dig out my recording of the ballades & scherzos today though.

Gould didn't like him either....