5 Most Famous Piano Players In The World

When I was a youngster my mother decided I would start taking piano lessons. (Without my consent, obviously!) At the time the only music I had been exposed to was the fast-paced rapping of artists like Eminem and Nicki Minaj, and the rhythmic beats of dubstep artists like Skrillex - whose only resemblance to the classical music I was about to be introduced to was the lack of vocals.

You see, this list is filled with passionate pianists who perform on a level I never knew possible. Just sitting there listening to some of the powerful performances left me misty-eyed, and I'm definitely not a bawler.At least you'll be able to enjoy them, and perhaps, if you're lucky, you could even catch the pianists in a live performance.

* Evgeny Kissin

Evgeny Kissin is a Russian child piano playing prodigy who had his debut performance in Moscow at a young age. At 12 he performed internationally for the first time, which is an astounding feat in anyone’s books. Since then, he has gone on to perform all around the world with plenty of other big names in the music industry. He has received numerous awards for his talents, even including Grammies.

* Grigory Sokolov

Grigory Sokolov started piano lessons at the age of five, and just seven years later he had his first major performance. When he won the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966 when he was aged just 16, the USSR was still fairly isolated from the rest of the world in many ways, including in its music. As a result Sokolov found fame at home, but it wasn’t until some time later that his fame spread further around the world. In the past he has quoted Rachmaninoff as being one of his greatest musical influences.

* Martha Argerich

Born in Argentina, Martha Argerich started playing the piano at a very young age, performing for the first time when she was just eight. She continued to learn and improve, before winning the 1965 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. In the past it was more common to see her performing as a solo artist, but more recently it appears that she has begun to favor performing in concertos with other musicians.

* Krystian Zimerman

In 1975 Krystian Zimmerman became the youngest person ever to win the Chopin Competition in Warsaw – he was just 19 years old at the time. After that, he went on to play with both the Berlin and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, which have led him to become widely recognized as one of the best piano players of all time. Zimmerman is very well known for his performances of Romantic music, but he only performs in public a few times each year. This means that hearing him play live is a real privilege!

* Lang Lang

Lang Lang is a Chinese pianist who quotes an episode of Tom and Jerry as being the inspiration behind his pursuit of a musical career. Incredibly, when he was just five years old he played in public for the first time and won the Shenyang Piano Competition. However, what’s even more unbelievable is that when he was nine his piano teacher expelled him for having a lack of talent, but that didn’t deter Lang Lang at all. Soon he was back to his winning ways, and he has gone on to carve a career for himself playing in numerous prestigious venues worldwide with several different Philharmonic Orchestras.