Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He is originally from Russia and has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972. He has lived in Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, he has recorded a large repertoire of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards and Iceland's Order of the Falcon.
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Dame Mitsuko Uchida, DBE is a classical pianist and conductor, born in Japan and naturalised in Britain, particularly noted for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert.
Murray David Perahia is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Known as a leading interpreter of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, among other composers, Perahia has won numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards from a total of 18 nominations, and 9 Gramophone Awards in addition to its first and only "Piano Award".
Leon Fleisher was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced".
Sir András Schiff is a Hungarian-born Austro-British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, and was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music. He is also known for his public criticism of political movements in Hungary and Austria.
John O'Conor is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Paul Badura-Skoda was an Austrian pianist.
Yeol Eum Son is a South Korean classical pianist. She first drew international attention in October 2004 at age 18 when she appeared as a soloist performing Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel on their Asia tour in Seoul, Daejeon, and Tokyo. Son again performed with Maazel and the New York Philharmonic when they returned to the Seoul Arts Center in February 2008, this time as soloist for Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2.
Christian Zacharias is a German pianist and conductor.
Radu Lupu was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teachers were Florica Musicescu, who also taught Dinu Lipatti, and Heinrich Neuhaus, who also taught Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. From 1966 to 1969, he won three of the world's most prestigious piano competitions: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1966), the George Enescu International Piano Competition (1967), and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition (1969). These victories launched Lupu's international career, and he appeared with all of the major orchestras and at all of the major festivals and music capitals of the world.
Jonathan Biss is an American pianist, teacher, and writer based in Philadelphia. He is the co-artistic director of the Marlboro Music Festival.
Rudolf Buchbinder is an Austrian classical pianist.
Kun-woo Paik is a South Korean pianist. He has performed with multiple orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic.
Dezső Ránki is a Hungarian virtuoso concert pianist with a broad repertoire and a significant discography of solo, duo and concerto works.
Ilya Itin is a Russian concert pianist of international acclaim currently residing in New York City.
Hai-Kyung Suh is a South Korean classical pianist living in New York. She is known for her rich, round tone, and singing voice-like phrasing, characteristics of the Romantic style of piano playing that was predominant in the Golden Age of pianism.
François-Frédéric Guy is a French classical pianist.
Robert Herschel Silverman, CM, born May 25, 1938 in Montreal is a noted Canadian pianist and piano pedagogue. He was made Member of the Order of Canada in 2013. In 1998 he became the inaugural recipient of the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award of the Ontario Arts Foundation. His widely acclaimed 10-CD recording of all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas was short-listed for a Juno Award for Best Classical Album: Solo or Chamber Ensemble. His Liszt recording was awarded the 1977 Grand Prix du disque by the Budapest Liszt Society. He lives in Vancouver with his wife and occasional duet partner, pianist Ellen (Nivert) Silverman.
