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 .
12-499: A pianist is someone who plays the piano. Pianist or the pianist may also refer to: 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 the composition or transcription of music. While some classical pianists may specialize in accompaniment and chamber music ,
24-682: 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 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
36-698: A terror attack) and started playing " Imagine " from John Lennon in tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks for a crowd gathered outside the hall. On 6 October 2018 Martello performed at the " Wald retten - Kohle stoppen " demonstration against the cutting of the Hambach Forest to extend the Hambach open pit mine in Germany. In March 2019, on the way to play at a pier in San Francisco , Martello wrecked his piano on
48-521: Is known for travelling around conflict zones to play his baby grand piano , which he tows behind his bicycle using a powered trailer. Martello has been recognised by the European parliament for his "outstanding contribution to European cooperation and the promotion of common values". According to his website his aim is to play in every capital of the world. Over Christmas 2012 he played in Afghanistan, for
60-657: 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
72-672: The European Parliament for his "outstanding contribution to European cooperation and the promotion of common values". Davide Martello Davide Martello , also known as Klavierkunst (born 1 November 1981 in Lörrach in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg ), is a German pianist of Italian descent. He was raised in Tuningen , between the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura . He
84-425: 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
96-432: 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
108-754: The police confiscated the piano. He also performed at the Maidan revolution in Kyiv and in Donetsk during the war in Donbas . In 2015 he performed at the sites of the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks . Later that year in the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks , on 14 November 2015, Martello rode his grand piano by bike to the Bataclan theatre (the venue where 89 people were killed in
120-571: The soldiers in Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz and Termez (Uzbekistan). During the Gezi Park protests , in the evening of 12 June 2013, a concert was held in Taksim Square to an audience of thousands, centered on a 14-hour-long piano recital on a grand piano by Martello, on a world tour, on a piano he had built himself. The evening proceeded peacefully without police intervention, though the following day
132-669: 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)
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#1733084541067144-423: 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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