Beautiful piano playing please

February 6, 2016 9:14 AM

Hit me with your favourite beautiful piano music. Any genre as long as it's played exquisitely and preferably available on spotify.
posted by roolya_boolya to Media & Arts (45 answers total)

First thing that popped into my head reading the phrase beautiful piano music is Oscar Peterson, for example.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:34 AM on February 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Or this.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:37 AM on February 6, 2016

Fur elise is my all time favorite.
posted by DoubleLune at 9:37 AM on February 6, 2016

Bill Evans! Waltz for Debby, Sunday at The Village Vanguard, Everybody Digs, Undercurrent...
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:42 AM on February 6, 2016 [3 favorites]

Ryuichi Sakamoto
posted by thetortoise at 9:50 AM on February 6, 2016

Suzanne Ciani - Pianissimo II
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:55 AM on February 6, 2016

Not your mother's Chopin
Vladimir Horowitz , Chopin Scherzo #1, op.20; I have listened to this on spotify.
posted by heyho at 9:58 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ilya Beshevli
posted by sevenofspades at 9:58 AM on February 6, 2016

Eric Satie, especially as played by Reinbert de Leeuw. Here's an album as an example.
posted by Too-Ticky at 10:00 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

(Also: Silence by Lucia.)
posted by sevenofspades at 10:02 AM on February 6, 2016

Maurice Ravel's Sonatines.
posted by saladin at 10:02 AM on February 6, 2016

If you like improvised sessions of cosmic beauty, try

• Terry Riley's Harp of New Albion and
• Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert.

For delicate, precise, light, warm beauty:

• Arvo Pärt's Für Alina and
• Erik Satie's Gnossiennes.

For slightly funny but awesome contemporary solo piano:

• Chilly ("the musical genius") Gonzales's album Solo Piano, e.g. Dot (live).

posted by mbrock at 10:20 AM on February 6, 2016 [4 favorites]

On a different note, I've recently been waking up to Maxence Cyrin's piano cover of Where is My Mind (notably played in Mr. Robot and The Leftovers recently), which is available on Spotify as well.
posted by Pryde at 10:23 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Keith Jarrett's The Melody at Night, With You.
posted by ldenneau at 10:25 AM on February 6, 2016

Glenn Gould?
posted by mon-ma-tron at 10:28 AM on February 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

I know some folks would classify this as schlocky pop covers, but I really enjoy listening to The Piano Guys (actually one piano guy and one cello guy).
posted by HuronBob at 10:32 AM on February 6, 2016

On a different note, I've recently been waking up to Maxence Cyrin's piano cover of Where is My Mind (notably played in Mr. Robot and The Leftovers recently), which is available on Spotify as well.

I LOVE this one, and the link should go here.
posted by mochapickle at 10:35 AM on February 6, 2016

Rubinstein is one of my favourite performers. His rendition of La Campanella (first one on the list) is my favourite take on it of all time.
posted by tickingclock at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2016

Nils Frahm is maybe doing the most wonderful things with pianos out of anyone at the moment (IMHO). Solo is just exquisite (Spotify link)
posted by parm at 10:51 AM on February 6, 2016 [6 favorites]

The piano arrangement of the SaGa Frontier 2 soundtrack is excellent. Don't know if it's available on Spotify, but here's some information, and here's a YouTube playlist of it.
posted by Verdandi at 10:56 AM on February 6, 2016

Michael Jones.

As a bonus, he is also a “leadership educator."
posted by yclipse at 10:58 AM on February 6, 2016

Leszek Mozdzer the Polish jazz pianist. Can't check Spotify on my phone, but here's a YouTube link.
posted by jrobin276 at 11:03 AM on February 6, 2016

Ludovico Einaudi! Not sure whether he's on Spotify, but I know for certain he's on Deezer so odds are he's on Spotify, too. Not all of his music is solo piano, but at least some of it ought to be right up your alley.
posted by sailoreagle at 11:04 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Chopin, Minute Waltz or Raindrop Prelude.
Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody #2.
Thelonious Monk, Blue Monk.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:33 AM on February 6, 2016

I also love the Klon Concert. Brahms 21 Hungarian Dances. Milhaud's Bull on the Roof.
posted by dpx.mfx at 11:43 AM on February 6, 2016

Vince Guaraldi, starting here.
posted by ActionPopulated at 11:47 AM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Chopin. Specifically his nocturnes. I also like Poulenc.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 11:49 AM on February 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Brad Mehldau
posted by rhizome at 12:11 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

May not be the genre you're looking for, but I first thought of Tori Amos - her older stuff circa mid 90's and early 2000's.
posted by onecircleaday at 12:15 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Nina Simone & Piano
posted by sallybrown at 12:17 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Most of Yann Tiersen's work is on piano. My favourite.
posted by lizbunny at 1:03 PM on February 6, 2016

I also came here to say Nils Frahm.
posted by ludwig_van at 1:03 PM on February 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thirding the Satie recommendation, particularly Philip Corner's gorgeous, deliberately languorous take on Satie's work. "Played exquisitely" is "Satie Slowly" in a nutshell.

Also, yeah, Nils Frahm.
posted by multics at 1:23 PM on February 6, 2016

A little deviation...
posted by 0cm at 1:31 PM on February 6, 2016

Dustin O'Halloran: An Ending, A Beginning

Eddi Front: Into Your Arms

Red Garland Trio: (tough on Spotify for this album but damn, had to mention): Summertime

Brooklyn Funk Essentials: Take the L Train (to 8th Ave)
posted by priested at 1:49 PM on February 6, 2016

Huge fan of Tori Amos's Night of Hunters instrumental-only album. It's not only piano played in the arrangements, but it really shows off her mastery of the instrument.
posted by lieber hair at 2:34 PM on February 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Gabriela Montero. She improvises on classical music! I think she's only one of two people who do that (and I don't know who the other person is). She also plays classical music as originally written.
posted by foxjacket at 8:50 PM on February 6, 2016

I keep recognising Kevin Kern everywhere ever since I grew up listening to it in my school library. It's nice.
posted by appleses at 3:09 AM on February 7, 2016

Martha Argerich Ravel 2nd Movement
Mary Lou Williams Solo Blues
posted by smugly rowan at 3:30 AM on February 7, 2016

Dude! Anything by Carlos Cipa (e.g. The Whole Truth or The Monarch and the Viceroy). Or Nils Frahm, of course.
posted by Skyanth at 7:29 AM on February 7, 2016

Ólafur Arnalds can also play a fine tune.
posted by Skyanth at 7:30 AM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos was the first thing to spring to mind. And then I went to Spotify to find the link and was immediately presented with a 'Peaceful Piano Music' playlist, so I guess Spotify continues to deploy the witchcraft.
posted by corvine at 7:32 AM on February 7, 2016

The albums
Alphabets and Consequences by Adam Benjamin,
and
life carries me this way by Myra Melford.
posted by umbú at 10:43 AM on February 7, 2016

Konstantin Scherbakov's recording of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes & Fugues.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:56 PM on February 7, 2016

Glenn Gould playing Bach's 1 and 2 part inventions. Sublime.
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 4:12 PM on February 8, 2016