A pianist ( US : / p iː ˈ æ n ɪ s t / pee- AN -ist , also / ˈ p iː ə n ɪ s t / PEE -ə-nist ) is a musician who plays the piano . A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music , jazz , blues , and popular music , including rock and roll . Most pianists can, to an extent, easily play other keyboard instruments such as the synthesizer , harpsichord , celesta , and the organ .
10-834: Isaac "Snookum" Russell (April 6, 1913 – August 1981) was an American pianist and leader of a territory band that played tobacco warehouses and dance halls in the South and Midwest in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Russell was born in Columbia, South Carolina , United States. Members of his bands included J. J. Johnson , who joined shortly after, and played with Fats Navarro , Ray Brown , Tommy Turrentine , and Herbie Phillips . Pianist Contemporary classical pianists focus on dedicating their careers to performing, recording, teaching, researching, and continually adding new compositions to their repertoire. In contrast to their 19th-century counterparts, they typically do not engage in
20-780: A German teacher at St. Francis High School in Mountain View. In June 1997 Nakamatsu won the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas . He was the first American to win this prize since 1981. Immediately following the competition, he quit his job as a high school German teacher to pursue a career as a classical pianist. He did not attend a music conservatory or major in music while he attended college and graduate school. During
30-638: The European Parliament for his "outstanding contribution to European cooperation and the promotion of common values". Jon Nakamatsu Jon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu (born 1968, San Jose, California ) is an American classical pianist who resides in San Jose . He is the son of David Y. Nakamatsu, a San Jose electrical engineer, and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu, a city employee. He was raised in nearby Sunnyvale , California and attended Prospect High School and Stanford University before becoming
40-615: The composition or transcription of music. While some classical pianists may specialize in accompaniment and chamber music , a smaller number opt for full-time solo careers. Mozart could be considered the first concert pianist, as he performed widely on the piano. Composers Beethoven and Clementi from the Classical era were also famed for their playing, as were, from the Romantic era , Liszt , Brahms , Chopin , Mendelssohn , Rachmaninoff , and Schumann . The Romantic era also saw
50-862: The emergence of pianists better known for their performances than for composing, such as Clara Schumann and Hans von Bülow . Jazz pianists almost always perform with other musicians. Their playing is more free than that of classical pianists, and they create an air of spontaneity in their performances. They generally do not write down their compositions; improvisation is a significant part of their work. Well known jazz pianists include Bill Evans , Art Tatum , Duke Ellington , Thelonious Monk , Oscar Peterson , Bud Powell , McCoy Tyner , Chick Corea , Herbie Hancock , and Brad Mehldau . Popular pianists might work as live performers (concert, theatre, etc.) or session musicians . Arrangers most likely feel at home with synthesizers and other electronic keyboard instruments. Notable popular pianists include Liberace , who at
60-425: The height of his fame was one of the highest paid entertainers in the world , as well as Elton John and Billy Joel , so nicknamed "The Piano Man", others include Richard Clayderman , who is known for his covers of popular tunes and the late Victor Borge , who performed as a comedian. A single listing of pianists in all genres would be impractical, given the multitude of musicians noted for their performances on
70-432: The instrument. Below are links to lists of well-known or influential pianists divided by genres: Many important composers were also virtuoso pianists. The following is an incomplete list of such musicians. Some people, having received a solid piano training in their youth, decide not to continue their musical careers but choose nonmusical ones. As a result, there are prominent communities of amateur pianists all over
80-875: The summer of 2005, Nakamatsu toured with the San Jose Youth Symphony in Spain, performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 , and in June 2007, he toured with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra to Budapest , Prague , and Teplice playing the same piece. During the summer of 2008, he also toured with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra to China, playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Nakamatsu
90-585: The world that play at quite a high level and give concerts not to earn money but just for the love of music. The International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs , held annually in Paris , attracts about one thousand listeners each year and is broadcast on French radio. Jon Nakamatsu , the Gold Medal winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for professional pianists in Fort Worth, Texas (1997)
100-423: Was at the moment of his victory technically an amateur: he never attended a music conservatory or majored in music, and worked as a high school German teacher at the time; it was only after the competition that he started pursuing a career as a classical pianist. The German pianist Davide Martello is known for traveling around conflict zones to play his moving piano. Martello has previously been recognized by
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