A pianist is a person who plays the piano.
A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an orchestra or smaller ensemble, or accompany one or more singers or solo instrumentalists.
A performing classical pianist usually starts playing piano at a very young age, some as early as three years old. Many well-known classical composers were able pianists themselves; for example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Sergei Rachmaninov were all virtuoso pianists. Some pianists have special preferences as to which composer's music they play.
Most western forms of music can make use of the piano. Consequently, pianists have a wide variety of forms and styles to choose from, including jazz, classical music, and all sorts of popular music.
Well-known or influential classical pianists:
Well known blues pianists include:
Well known country piano pickers include:
The Pianist is a 2002 motion picture that tells the story of how the Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman miraculously survived the Nazi Holocaust of 1939-1945.
The term pianist was used during the Second World War to designate a spy using radio or wireless telegraphy to keep in touch with headquarters.