[S Clark]

I was listening to Ruth Laredo playing Ravel's La Valse on Columbia and was struck with her power as well as her finesse.  I've been a fan of her recording of Scriabin, but this reminded me how versatile she is.  Also a big fan of Alicia de Larrocha for all Spanish keyboard compositions. 
Who are the women pianists that you listen to, and what do they bring to their performances?

[SlushPuppy]

Probably not the style you're looking for, but Tori Amos is a very talented player. "Little Earthquakes" is one of my favorite albums. From her biography: "At six she became the youngest student ever to attend the prestigious Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore."


Cheers!

Slush

[avta]

Martha Argerich would certainly be on the list.

[thunderbrick]

Caitlyn Jenner?

...oh, wait.   

[jazzcourier]

Hilde Somer playing Scriabin.If you can find the lps.She really locks into the mysticism of his work. Just really exceptional.

[jazzcourier]

Somer has two lp's on Mercury from the 60's performing Scriabin.She died in 1979,a sparse discography betrays her reputation and her amazing journey fleeing the Nazi takeover of Europe.Her teachers were a prestigious list of some of the greats.Hilde Somer had rare and special gift for piano.

[Big Red Machine]

Helene Grimaud - very intense player.

[Scottdazzle]

Helene Grimaud - very intense player.

+1
Helene Grimaud is mesmerizing on stage in addition to her superb skills and musical insight.
I also love Gabriela Montero.

[Kenneth Patchen]

I'd add Ito Ema to the list, though perhaps it's premature to do so. Her Bach Goldberg Variations is a recording not to be missed, more lyrical than Gould. Exquisite.

http://snvinyl.co.uk/Bach-Goldberg-Variations-Ito-Ema-180g-LP

[boisty]

a vote for Simone Dinnerstein.  enjoy all her works and once saw her perform at Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau region of Germany.  She was fantastic and was a highlight of that trip.

[JohnCZ]

One of my favorites was Ruth Slenczynska. She is remarkable playing Chopin.
At an early age she won many competitions and toured the US. Her first LP was recorded sometime in the 60s. Not sure exactly. She became an Artist in Residence at Souther Illinois University, School of Music, Edwardsville, Illinois. There she taught piano to high level aspiring pianists from around the country at SIU. I was a music major at the time and attended a number of her recitals and concerts. I believe I still have her first 2 LPs.

There is a recent Youtube video of one of her performances in Japan. A very small woman with a great smile and a real passion for music, especially Chopin.
John

[dflee]

Enjoy Mitsuko Uchida. Her renditions of the Mozart piano concertos
depict a certain liveliness and playful nature that is the reputation
of the composer.

Don

[KLH007]

Olga Kern

[sounddog]

I agree that Uchida and Dinnerstein belong on the list. I'd add Angela Hewitt and Maria Joao Pires. Although of course we can't hear her performances, based on her renown, Clara Schumann might belong as well.

[hrosenba]

Some wonderful artists from the past and present:
1) Clara Haskil (both as soloist -- wonderful Mozart --and chamber musician, e.g. with Arthur Grumiaux)
2) Lili Kraus (known for her collaboration with Szymon Goldberg, one of the great pupils of Carl Flesch) -- she and Goldberg were in Japanese prison camps when arrested while performing in what is now Indonesia during WWII.
3) Dame Myra Hess
4) Orly Shaham -- the sister of violinist Gil Shaham and wife of the excellent conductor David Robertson.  She and Gil Shaham have an excellent recording of works by Prokofiev -- love their performance of the Sonata No. 1
Enjoy,
Harvey

[Kenneth Patchen]

I agree that Uchida and Dinnerstein belong on the list. I'd add Angela Hewitt and Maria Joao Pires. Although of course we can't hear her performances, based on her renown, Clara Schumann might belong as well.

I have all of Dame Uchida's recordings and several Diinerstein, Hewitt, Joao Pires, and Grimaud and agree they all should definitley be on the list. Last night we listened to SD's Berlin Concert and Hewitt's Bach Fugues, which is currently my favorite. I already have tickets to see Hewitt with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in April. Stupidly, stupidly I passed on the opportunity to see her play solo in a very small - and accoustically excellent venue - in Guelph last September.

[richidoo]

Dinnerstein has a unique touch, very mechanical and precise. On her Beethoven CD there is a later Sonata in there, I forget which, that really swings. She plays the triplets so straight and legit it sounds like a modern jazz feel like bebop. I have no doubt after hearing her interpretation that Beethoven invented jazz in early 1800s! Of course he wouldn't play it so stiff, I bet he swung it hard!   Other players interpretation of that piece are not so jazzy as hers.

I like Valentina Lisitsa. She was discovered on Youtube and is now a major new star.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ValentinaLisitsa

And Lise de la Salle, especially her Prokofiev Concerto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKGPe31nWZs

[schubert]

One to watch - Annika Treutler.  She's very young but her recent Schumann record was outstanding.

[Rob Babcock]

Olga Kern, Martha Argerich and Simone Dinnerstein are all terrific. To that list I'd also add Idil Biret.  She's a wonderful interpreter of Romantic era stuff.

[Tyson]

Argerich is great but kind of takes a similar approach to everything (high octane).  Similar charges could be leveled against Uchida (dainty), and Hewitt (overly-refined).  But in the right repertoire they are amazing.  Argerich in Liszt/Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky/Prokofiev.  Uchida in Mozart and Hewitt in Bach and Ravel/Debussy. 

A really surprising find for me has been the Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Mari Kodama.  Really taps into the depth and mysterious aspects of these works.