pianist

/ˈpiənəst/

/ˈpiənɪst/

Other forms: pianists

If you play the piano, you are a pianist. The word most often describes a professional piano player, like a pianist in the symphony.

A pianist might work playing jazz standards in a restaurant or performing solo shows on stages all over the world. A local pianist might make some extra money by giving piano lessons to kids, tuning pianos, or serving as a substitute music teacher. The French source of the word pianist is pianiste, which comes from the Italian piano e forte, "soft and loud."

Definitions of pianist

1. noun

   a person who plays the piano
   synonyms: piano player

   examples:

   Bela Bartok

   Hungarian composer and pianist who collected Hungarian folk music; in 1940 he moved to the United States (1881-1945)

   Marc Blitzstein

   United States pianist and composer of operas and musical plays (1905-1964)

   Frederic Francois Chopin

   French composer (born in Poland) and pianist of the romantic school (1810-1849)

   Karl Czerny

   Austrian virtuoso pianist and composer of many works for the piano; studied with Beethoven and was a teacher of Liszt (1791-1857)

   Manuel de Falla

   Spanish composer and pianist (1876-1946)

   Dame Myra Hess

   English pianist (1890-1965)

   Vladimir Horowitz

   Russian concert pianist who was a leading international virtuoso (1904-1989)

   Jerry Lee Lewis

   United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)

   Franz Liszt

   Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso (1811-1886)

   Ignace Jan Paderewski

   Polish pianist who in 1919 served as the first Prime Minister of independent Poland (1860-1941)

   Francis Poulenc

   French pianist and composer (1899-1963)

   Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff

   composer and piano virtuoso born in Russia (1873-1943)

   Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein

   Russian composer and pianist (1829-1894)

   Arthur Rubinstein

   United States pianist (born in Poland) known for his interpretations of the music of Chopin (1886-1982)

   Charles Camille Saint-Saens

   French pianist and composer (1835-1921)

   Artur Schnabel

   United States composer (born in Austria) and pianist noted for his interpretations of the works of Mozart and Beethoven and Schubert (1882-1951)

   Clara Josephine Schumann

   German pianist and composer of piano music; renowned for her interpretation of music, especially the music of her husband Robert Schumann (1819-1896)

   Rudolf Serkin

   United States concert pianist (born in Czechoslovakia) (1903-1991)

   type of:

   instrumentalist, musician, player

   someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)