12 Piano Recordings You Should Listen to and Why

Whether you are just beginning to play the piano or have been at it for a while, it’s important to listen to piano recordings of professional pianists in a variety of musical styles — even if it’s not a style of music you are personally interested in learning to play.

There are a number of reasons to listen to great artists on the instrument you play. Listening to them helps you understand and appreciate what good playing sounds like. It also helps to hear how various musicians interpret great works of music. And, finally, listening to music in a variety of styles helps you learn about music in general.

The following list is not necessarily the best list or the only list. It’s a list of recordings of great music, played by great musicians, in a variety of musical styles.

As to where you can find these recordings, you have a number of options. Borrowing CDs from your local public library is an excellent way to listen to a lot of music free. You may also have a friend or family member with a large collection who will let you borrow from them. And of course, if you’re up on the latest trends, find them on Spotify or iTunes.

Etudes/Preludes/Polonaises – Chopin
Performer: Maurizio Pollini
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
This large multi-CD set may be all the Chopin you need to hear. Chopin’s piano music helps you understand music of the Romantic period in a way the music of other composers never will. Chopin was considered a genius for getting the most out of each and every note. Listen carefully and enjoy.

Sonata, Op.27,No.2 – Beethoven /Prelude, choral et fugue – Franck/Paganini Variations — Brahms
Performer: Evgeny Kissin
Label: RCA
Kissin is a technical wizard at the keyboard and these selections definitely require wizardry. Each of these selections is considered part of the core repertoire for serious pianists.

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I – Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Glenn Gould
Label: Sony
Glenn Gould is famous for his clear, authoritative, musical, and sometimes eccentric way of playing Bach. If you want to know what the keyboard music of J.S. Bach should sound like, go no further.

Images 1 & 2 – Debussy; Children’s Corner — Debussy
Performer: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Considered one of the top 10 Debussy keyboard albums of all time. If you must listen to Debussy — and you must — this is the one.

Concerto No.1 – Tchaikovsky/Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” – Beethoven
Performer: Vladimir Horowitz
Label: RCA
This recording features two of the most famous piano concertos of all time performed by one of the great virtuosos of all time. As a bonus, world famous conductors, Arturo Toscanini and Fritz Reiner lead two of the finest orchestras you will ever hear.

Piano Concerto, Op. 54 — Schumann/Misc. Selections — Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, Grieg
Performer: Evgeny Kissin
Label: Sony
Carlo Maria Giulini conducts the Vienna Philharmonic. Evegeny Kissin plays with emotional sophistication well beyond his years. This is a nearly perfect, imperfect performance. That is to say, it is not Schumann played as if it were Mozart. It is Schumann played as if it were (and it is) Schumann. Romantic music as it is meant to be heard.

Piano Concerto No. 2 – Rachmaninov/Piano Concerto No. 1 — Tchaikovsky
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Sviatoslav Richter is magnificent in his interpretation of both of these classic piano concertos. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, is musically sensitive and spot on. The Warsaw Philharmonic, under the baton of Stanislaw Wislocki, is less inspired, but does not detract from the overall value of this recording.

Horowitz Plays Liszt
Performer: Vladimir Horowitz
Label: RCA
Considered by many to be a controversial recording, first-time listeners will probably not hear that in the music. The controversy comes from the fact that pianist, Vladimire Horowitz had recorded some of the music many years
earlier, and this time his interpretation had changed considerably. For most listeners, it’s enough to know you are hearing some of the best piano music ever written, performed by one of the greatest piano players in history.

The Trio – Oscar Peterson
Performer: Oscar Peterson
Label: Ojc
Recorded in a club in Chicago, this CD explains why Oscar Peterson is the greatest jazz pianist who ever lived.

Complete Capitol Recordings – Art Tatum
Performer: Art Tatum
Label: Blue Note Records
In order to understand traditional American jazz music, you must be familiar with Art Tatum. And, in order to be familiar with Art Tatum, you must hear his original Capital recordings. Tatum’s rhythmic shifts and ability to carry an entire piece of music must be heard to be believed.

18 Original Sun Greatest Hits – Jerry Lee Lewis
Performer: Jerry Lee Lewis
Label: Rhino
The truth is, Jerry Lee Lewis was so important in the early days of rock and roll that nearly every piano player of the era, and since, copied at least part of his style. There is no small amount of “gospel soul” in the man’s playing and this collection, made between 1956 and 1963 in Nashville, has it all.

The Very Best Of Dr. John
Performer: Dr. John
Label: Elektra
This recording is a gumbo stew of New Orleans jazz, rock, gospel, and blues. To appreciate the joyous uplifting instrument the piano can be, you must listen to Dr. John. This recording really is the “very best” of an accomplished piano player.
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