THE 30 MOST FAMOUS PIANISTS IN HISTORY - ART - 2025

There are famous pianists who have stood out for the quality of their compositions, their developed technique and the beauty of their music. Some of the greatest are Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, among others.

The piano is one of the central instruments of music, used throughout history in different styles and genres. It owes its name to the shorthand for the word pianoforte, which in Italian was used to describe its variety of loud and soft sounds.

The history of the piano is that of the development of different instruments, beginning with the Zither (originally from Africa and Southeast Asia in 3000 BC) and the Monochord. Its evolution continued with the Saterio, the Clavichord and the Harpiscordios, all with the same system of interposing mechanical devices between the strings and the fingers.

It was the Italian Bartolomeo Cristófori who in 1700 (the exact date is unknown due to the lack of registration of the time) gave the piano its final shape, although it later underwent some design variations.

Considered a stringed instrument, it is made up of 88 keys, 36 black and 52 white, and three pedals, which pluck the 224 strings. In addition, it contains a resonance box that amplifies and modulates its particular and unmistakable sound.

Great masters of music dedicated their lives to the piano, not only in classical music, but also in rock and jazz.

The 30 most famous pianists in history

1- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 -1791, Austria)

Considered one of the first great piano masters, he was recognized for his musical talent and for his compositional ability. Anarchic, rebellious and unpredictable, he stood out within classicism and was one of the most influential musicians in history.

He began his career as a performer and was noted for his great musical ear, but he was also a fruitful author. His works include sonatas, symphonies, chamber music, concerts, and operas, all marked by vivid emotions and sophisticated textures.

2- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827, Austria)

Innovative and talented, Beethoven began to play the piano under the strict orders of his father, who subjected the boy to great torments during classes. While still a child he gave his first concert.

He went through his school education with great difficulties, because as he said: "Music comes to me more easily than words." During his adulthood he had to fight against deafness, even some of his most important works were composed during the last 10 years of his life, when he could no longer hear.

He is recognized as one of the most famous composers in history, with masterpieces of the classical style and an absolute mastery of form and expression. It was one of the precursors of romanticism.

3- Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828, Austria)

Schubert's work stood out for its remarkable melody and harmony, being considered one of the last great classical composers and one of the pioneers of romanticism.

Outstanding as a violinist, organist and singer, the piano was his best ally for composition. He left behind 600 compositions in the form of lieders, 21 sonatas, seven masses and nine symphonies.

4- Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847, Germany)

He was one of the child prodigies of music and was nicknamed the "Mozart of the 19th century." He made his stage debut at age nine and began composing at 10, leaving behind an extensive work as a legacy, including 11 symphonies.

Considered one of the fathers of romanticism, his sister Fanny was his great inspiring muse. When he died in 1947, Mendelssohn's career began to deteriorate until his death six months later.

5- Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849, Poland)

Refined, subtle, with a perfect technique and a unique harmonic elaboration, Chopin gave the piano a new life within romantic music with his compositions.

He began to surprise the public with only six years for his virtuosity in front of the keys but also for his composition. He passed away in 1949, his body was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, but his heart was deposited in a church in Warsaw, near the place of his birth.

6- Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856, Germany)

Called one of the paradigms of Romanticism, despite his virtuosity, his career as a pianist was cut short early by an injury to his right hand.

From that fact he began to compose, being one of the most prolific composers for piano in history.

7- Franz Liszt (1811 -1886, Austria)

Owner of a great ability for interpretation, he was considered by his peers as the most advanced pianist of his time. However, at the age of 36 he gave up the piano and only rarely did he perform in public again.

From that moment he devoted himself to directing, teaching and composition, leaving more than 350 works as a legacy.

8- Sergey Rachmaninov (1873 -1943, Russia)

He was one of the most brilliant pianists of the 20th century and one of the last great romantic composers of the music of Europe. A student of Liszt's piano and Tchaikovsky's music, he stood out for his technical ability and rhythmic handling.

Rachmaninov had very large hands, which allowed him to grasp the piano more easily. But it was for his works that he is considered one of the most influential musicians of his generation.

9- Alfred Cortot (1877 - 1962, Switzerland)

Disciple of Chopin and interpreter of the work of Beethoven, Cortot stood out for being a student of the piano. Recognized as a teacher and director (as well as as a pianist), he was the creator of "The rational principles of piano technique", a book that changed the way of teaching since its publication in 1928.

Technically impeccable, he was a militant of free interpretation, not concerned with the most detailed musical accuracy but with the complete finished work.

10- Artur Schnabel (1882 -1951, Austria)

An admirer of Beethoven, Schnabel based a large part of his career on making the work of the Austrian author known. He was the interpreter of his pieces and is recognized for recording his complete works.

Virtuous but without charisma, it was his great teacher, the virtuoso Teodor Leschetizky, who marked his career. "He told me repeatedly over the years, and in the presence of many other people: 'You will never be a pianist, you are a musician.' And so it was, Schnabel left a legacy with more than fifty compositions.

11- Arthur Rubinstein (1887 - 1982, Poland)

"The most important thing is to remember the public, treat them well and always be available," said Rubinstein, who lived with the premise that his existence was blissful and he should enjoy it.

With a beautiful and original sound, his interpretations of Chopin enjoyed a unique freshness, as if he were improvising while playing the works of the famous Polish pianist.

12- Wilhelm Kempff (1895 -1991, Germany)

He surprised the world when at the age of nine he played for Georges Schumann and showed all his talent before one of the musical eminences of the time. In addition to being a pianist, he was a teacher and composer, leaving behind four operas, two symphonies and another ten orchestral, instrumental and chamber works.

With a lucid, noble style, structural clarity and a limpid, lyrical tone, Kempff had a prolific recording career with releases up to his 80s.

13- Vladimir Horowitz (1903 - 1989, Ukraine)

Possessing a unique repertoire of colors, tones and dynamics in his recorded studio performances, Horowitz used all kinds of sounds to express and convey emotions.

He had a particular technique, with a little recommended hand placement in which there was almost no movement of his body. That stillness was transformed into explosions of sound on the piano that led him to be considered one of the most important pianists of all time.

14- Claudio Arrau (1903 - 1991, Chile)

Considered the first great South American pianist, he learned to play the piano from his mother and at the age of 5 he gave his first concert. He stood out as an interpreter of the classical-romantic repertoire and was recognized for his avant-garde contemporary compositions.

15- Shura Cherkassky (1911 - 1995, United States)

Virtuous, sensitive, temperamental and owner of a very Cantabrian tonality, Cherkassky explained that: "Above technique is the feeling of the artist, and there is musicality, depth and interiority." With that phrase he defined his music.

He was distinguished by his colleagues thanks to his own style that gave a new meaning to what he played. He was one of the last representatives of the sacred romantic school of piano virtuosity.

16- Wladyslaw Szpilman (1911-2000, Poland)

His recognition lies not so much in his outstanding musical talent as in his history of tenacity in the face of adversity. The film "The Pianist" by Roman Polanski and the song "The Pianist of the Warsaw Ghetto" by Jorge Drexler, are inspired by him.

A member of a Jewish family, he was saved from death by the help of a friend who took him off the train that was taking all his parents and siblings to a concentration camp. He survived the war but recounted in detail the atrocities experienced during his capture and never gave up music.

As a musician he was recognized before the Second World War and after its completion he founded the Warsaw Piano Quintet, with which he toured the world. His legacy is completed with more than 500 works of his authorship.

17- Benjamin Britten (1913 -1976, UK)

"Learning is like rowing against the current: as soon as you stop, you go back", was his headline phrase and the one that best describes his career.

Studious and talented, he began to play the piano from a young age but it was before the death of his father that he incurred in composition in order to sustain his life. His recognition was such that he was the first musician or composer to receive a title of nobility in England.

18- Sviatoslav Richter (1915- 1997, Russia)

Versatile, deep and complex, Richter was considered one of the great pianists of the 20th century by his peers. He began to play the piano with his father as a teacher and at the age of 8 he already did it perfectly.

When he began his career as a professional he stood out as a great interpreter of works of different genres and authors but he always resisted recording. Denial that broke in 1971.

Despite his prowess, he was not a perfect musician but could miss a lot of notes when he was not having a good day. However, he considered that the spirit of music prevailed above all.

19- Emil Gilels (1916 - 1985, Russia)

Born into a family of musicians, he began his training under a strict method, which he accepted as a way to improve his technique, until it became perfect.

That would make him one of the most recognized pianists of the 20th century until his death, in an accidental murder during a medical check-up.

20- Dinu Lipatti (1917 - 1950, Italy)

Noted for a fine style, he was a great influence on a whole generation of new pianists. His career was hit by World War II and leukemia, but nothing stopped his fingers at the piano.

He began his career at the age of four giving concerts for charitable purposes. His analytical understanding and a particular expressive interiority made him a cult musician.

21- Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli (1920 - 1995, Italy)

His reluctance to reveal an aspect of his private life, made him a mysterious being whose only public facet was his musical talent.

He was distinguished for being a detail-oriented man, but also for his clarity, his luxurious tone, his palette of colors and shades, and his irreverence that led him to cancel concerts shortly before they began.

22- Giorgy Cziffra (1921-1994, Hungary)

Of humble origins, he was self-taught since he was a child and thus acquired a great talent for improvisation, giving a personal touch to the works and generating the rejection of the piano purists.

He began his career at age 5 as a circus number, which he had to leave due to illness. At 9 he impressed the professors of Franz Liszt's academy, but again he had to leave the piano to serve the army in World II until a Nazi general heard him and took him out of danger to dedicate himself to music.

However, he was captured by the enemy troops and suffered some injuries to his hands. When he regained his freedom he became an international star. He ventured into different genres, such as classical, folkloric and even jazz.

23- Alicia de Larrocha (1923 - 2009, Spain)

Winner of the highest artistic awards in her country, de Larrocha began playing the piano at the age of 3, but only at 20 began a professional career.

She was the preferred interpreter of two of the greatest Spanish composers: Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados. Her repertoire was vast in quality and genres.

24- Bill Evans (1929 - 1980, United States)

Remembered as the master of jazz, he was the most prominent pianist of the genre. Shy, reserved and with a stern gesture that he never gave up, Evans was a unique pianist for his style.

Owner of a unique musical magic, with a perfect and tenuous cadence, balanced and exhaustively modeled, he dazzled with the simplicity of his pulse.

25- Glenn Gould (1932 -1982, Canada)

He was recognized as the interpreter of the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, but his fame lies in the eccentricity of his personality.

Gould suffered an injury as a child when he fell off a boat ramp. This prompted his father to build him a height-adjustable chair, which he used very close to the ground (hunching over the keys), and which he did not abandon for the rest of his life.

In addition, Gould considered the concerts with an audience as "the force of evil", which led him to abandon the performances for many years in what he jokingly defined as "Gould's Plan to Abolish Applause and Demonstrations of All Kinds. ”.

"What happens between my left hand and my right hand is a private matter that nobody cares about," he explained later. He retired from the stage at age 34 but left an extensive legacy of studio recordings.

26- Jerry Lee Lewis (1935, United States)

Pioneer of rock, his virtuosity and his performances on stage made him one of the most famous pianists in history. Able to press keys with his foot as well as his hands, Lewis is nicknamed "The Killer" for his behavior at the piano.

He is not a great composer, as his style is that of an interpreter capable of giving an original stamp to each song in a long and varied repertoire.

27- Daniel Barenboim (1942, Argentina)

Barenboim is as well known for his art at the piano as for his quality as a conductor and his efforts for peace in the world. He made his debut at age 7 and from his first concert aroused the interest of the main academies.

He was mentored by Arthur Rubinstein, conducted great orchestras around the world, and won six Grammy Awards. For him, music is the best instrument to build bridges between peoples.

That conviction led him to unite Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese musicians, in order to bring together Arabs, Jews and Palestinians through music.

28- Krystian Zimerman (1956, Poland)

A rebel of modernity and a detractor of new technologies, he is capable of stopping a concert at the sound of a telephone. He began to play the piano from a young age and only at the age of 6 did he understand that not all houses had one.

Talented like few others in his generation, he was the winner of most of the competitions in which he participated as a child.

29- Yevgueni Kisin (1971, Russia)

Considered one of the best pianists in the world, he is characterized by a virtuous playing style and a unique ability to master difficult technical pitfalls with simplicity.

He was a child prodigy who surprised the world by performing two Chopin Concertos for Piano and Orchestra at just 13 years old.

30- Lang Lang (1982, China)

He is another of the best pianists of today, with world fame, and the recognition of his colleagues, conductors and composers. He is one of the most acclaimed musicians by the public and one of the new faces of the classical repertoire.