Famous pianists you should listen to at least once. Recommended pianists.
Introducing famous pianists you should listen to at least once!
Even people who aren’t into instrumentals often find themselves listening to piano pieces, right?
Unlike the guitar, the piano isn’t an instrument you run through effects, so its tonal individuality can be hard to distinguish—but that also means it appeals to a wide audience.
Here, we’re introducing professional pianists who command the piano as if it were part of their own bodies!
We’ll feature not only international pianists but also Japanese pianists.
The explanations are quite detailed, so even those who regularly listen to classical music should enjoy this!
Now, please sit back and enjoy!
- Masterpiece Performances: Introducing Japan’s World-Renowned Pianists and Their Iconic Performances
- Masterpieces of classical piano that are too beautiful for words. A gathering of delicate tones that cleanse the soul.
- [Piano Variations] A comprehensive showcase of gem-like masterpieces crafted by great composers!
- It’s so cool if you can play these on the piano! A selection of irresistibly charming masterpieces.
- [2026] Jazz piano masterpieces: from standards to recent favorites
- [Ultra-Advanced] Even challenging for advanced players! A curated selection of highly difficult piano pieces
- Jazz Piano Masterpieces: From Classic Essentials to Contemporary Favorites
- [For Intermediate Players] Challenge Yourself! Recommended Masterpieces That Shine at Piano Recitals
- [J-POP] I want to listen to songs with impressive, beautiful piano tones! Recommended piano cover tracks
- [Obituary] Hôko (Hiroko) Nakamura Passes Away: A Collection of Quotes from the International Pianist
- [Classical] Famous Piano Works | Gem-like Masterpieces You’ll Want to Play at Least Once in Your Lifetime
- Famous jazz musicians. Players who have graced the history of jazz.
- Beginner to Intermediate: Chopin pieces with relatively low difficulty. Recommended works by Chopin.
Famous pianists you should listen to at least once. Recommended pianists (101–110)
Brahms: Intermezzo, Op. 117 No. 1Gerhard Oppitz
Gerhard Oppitz is a pianist from Germany.
He began playing the piano at the age of five and made his official debut at eleven.
In 1977, he became the first German to win the International Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition.
Since then, he has achieved numerous distinguished accomplishments in his career.
Grieg: “Morning” from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1Lydia Maria Bader
Lydia Maria Bader is a pianist from Bavaria, Germany.
The piece she performs is Morning, the first movement from Peer Gynt Suite No.
1 by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, written for Henrik Ibsen’s incidental music.
Bach: Fugue in G minor, BWV 578Tatiana Nikolayeva
Tatiana Nikolayeva was a Soviet pianist born in 1924.
She won the Leipzig International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition, held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Bach’s death.
She forged a lifelong friendship with Shostakovich.
This piece, affectionately known as the “Little Fugue,” features a four-and-a-half-bar fugue subject and is celebrated as one of Bach’s most accessible and renowned melodies.
Schubert: Fantasy in C major, D 934, for Violin and PianoValery Afanassiev
Valery Afanassiev is a Russian pianist as well as a poet and writer.
He is known for his distinctive interpretations and a rather austere repertoire within German Romantic piano music, such as Beethoven and Schubert sonatas and Brahms’s late piano pieces.
He also includes national works like Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in his repertoire.
Debussy: Préludes, Book I – No. 8 “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair”Eloïse Bella Kohn
Éloise Bella-Cohen is a French pianist.
The piece performed is No.
8, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair,” from Book I of the Preludes by Claude Achille Debussy.
It is also frequently played on wind instruments, and its slow, beautiful, refreshing melody is soothing.
Famous pianists you should listen to at least once. Recommended pianists (111–120)
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 “Pathétique”Petra Somlai
Petra Somlay is a pianist from Budapest, Hungary.
The piece performed is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.
8 in C minor, Op.
13, “Pathétique.” Considered one of the three great piano sonatas, this work is regarded as an early masterpiece.
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minorTiffany Poon
Tiffany Poon is a pianist born in Hong Kong.
The piece performed is the Hungarian Rhapsody No.
2 in C-sharp minor, written for solo piano by the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt.
There is also an orchestral version transposed to D minor.