A pianist ( /ˈpiːənɨst/ PEE-ə-nist) is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.

Choice of genres[link]

Most forms of Western music can make use of the piano. Consequently, pianists have a wide variety of repertoire and styles to choose from, including jazz, classical music, and all sorts of popular music.

A performing classical pianist usually starts playing piano at a very young age.

A single listing of pianists in all genres would be impractical, given the multitude of musicians noted for their performances on the instrument. Below are links to lists of well-known or influential pianists divided by genres:

Classical composers[link]

Many well-known classical composers were also virtuoso pianists. The following is an incomplete list of such musicians.

• Isaac Albéniz
• Charles-Valentin Alkan
• Béla Bartók
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Leonard Bernstein
• Johannes Brahms
• Ferruccio Busoni
• Frédéric Chopin
• Claude Debussy
• Franz Liszt
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Sergei Prokofiev
• Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Anton Rubinstein
• Robert Schumann
• Alexander Scriabin
• Dmitri Shostakovich
• Carl Maria von Weber

See also[link]

Classical pianists[link]

• List of classical pianists (recorded)
• List of classical pianists
• List of classical piano duos (performers)

Pop and rock music pianists[link]

• List of pop and rock pianists

Jazz pianists[link]

• List of jazz pianists

Blues pianists[link]

• List of blues musicians
• List of boogie woogie musicians

Gospel pianists[link]

• List of gospel musicians

New Age pianists[link]

• List of New Age music artists

Adrien Brody
Brody at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Detachment
Born	(1973-04-14) April 14, 1973 (age 39) Woodhaven, Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present

Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002), for which he became the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29. Brody is also the only American actor to receive the French César Award.

Early life[link]

Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the son of Sylvia Plachy, a photojournalist, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor and painter.^[1] Brody's father is of Polish Jewish descent; Brody's mother – who was raised Catholic – was born in Budapest, Hungary, the daughter of a Catholic Hungarian aristocrat father and a Czech Jewish mother.^[2][3][4] Brody was raised "without a strong connection to" Judaism or Catholicism.^[5] As a child, he performed magic shows at children's birthday parties as "The Amazing Adrien".^[6] He attended the I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer middle school and New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (famous as the inspiration for television's Fame). His parents enrolled him in acting classes to distance him from the dangerous children with whom he associated^{[citation needed]}. He attended summer camp at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in the Adirondacks in upstate New York.^[7] Brody attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook before transferring to Queens College for a semester.

Career[link]

Taking acting classes as a youth, by age thirteen, he appeared in an Off-Broadway play and a PBS television film.^[8] Brody hovered on the brink of stardom, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role in the 1998 film Restaurant and later praise for his roles in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). To prepare for the role, Brody withdrew for months, gave up his apartment and his car, was left by his then-girlfriend,^[8] learned how to play Chopin on the piano, and lost 29 lbs (13 kg). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, making him, at 29, the youngest actor ever to win the award, and to date the only winner under the age of 30. He also won a César Award for his performance.

Brody appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 10, 2003, his first TV work, but he was banned from the show after giving an improvised introduction while wearing faux dreadlocks for Jamaican reggae musical guest Sean Paul (the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, is notorious for hating unscripted performances). However, the unscripted intro remains in reruns of the episode. Other TV appearances include NBF's The Today Show and on MTV's Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton Kutcher.

Brody at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

After The Pianist Brody appeared in four very different films. In Dummy (released in 2003 but originally shot in 2000, just prior to his work in The Pianist) he portrayed Steven Schoichet, a socially awkward aspiring ventriloquist in pursuit of a love interest (his employment counsellor). He learned ventriloquism and puppetry for the role (under the tutelage of actor/ventriloquist Alan Semok) convincingly enough to perform all of the voice stunts and puppet manipulation live on set in real time, with no subsequent post dubbing. He played Noah Percy, a mentally disabled young man, in the film The Village, by M. Night Shyamalan, shell-shocked war veteran Jack Starks in The Jacket, writer Jack Driscoll in the 2005 King Kong remake, and father-to-be Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson. King Kong was both critical and box office success; it grossed $550 million worldwide and is Brody's most successful film to date in monetary terms. Additionally, Brody played a detective in Hollywoodland. He has also appeared in Diet Coke and Schweppes commercials as well as Tori Amos' music video for "A Sorta Fairytale".

On January 5, 2006, Brody confirmed speculation that he indeed was interested and very willing to play the role of The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. However, Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. decided instead to cast Heath Ledger in the role.^[9] He was also in talks with Paramount to play Spock in J. J. Abrams Star Trek XI, but it ultimately went to Zachary Quinto.^[10][11] Brody starred with Mark Ruffalo as gentlemen con men in Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, released in May 2009.^[12] Also in 2009 was the box office release of Splice, a science fiction film written and directed by Vincenzo Natali. Originally a Sundance film, Splice was adopted by Dark Castle Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Most recently, he played the star role of Royce in Predators (a sequel to the original Predator), directed by Nimród Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez.^[13]

In 2011, Brody starred in a Stella Artois beer ad called "Crying Jean," that premiered right after half-time of the Super Bowl XLV as part of Stella's "She Is a Thing of Beauty” campaign.

On January 16, 2012, Adrien made his runway debut as a model for Prada Men Fall/Winter 2012 show.^[14] Also in January, he was named ambassador for the Gillette Fusion ProGuide Styler which the company is scheduled to market the following month.^[15]

Personal life[link]

In 1992, Brody was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in which he flew over a car and crashed head-first into a crosswalk.^[16] He spent months recuperating. He has broken his nose three times doing stunts; the most recent was during the filming of Summer of Sam.^[17]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adrien Brody

• Adrien Brody at the Internet Movie Database
• Adrien Brody at AllRovi

Awards for Adrien Brody v t e Academy Award for Best Actor (2001–present) Denzel Washington (2001) Adrien Brody (2002) Sean Penn (2003) Jamie Foxx (2004) Philip Seymour Hoffman (2005) Forest Whitaker (2006) Daniel Day-Lewis (2007) Sean Penn (2008) Jeff Bridges (2009) Colin Firth (2010) Jean Dujardin (2011) Complete list (1928–1940) (1941–1960) (1961–1980) (1981–2000) (2001–2020) v t e César Award for Best Actor 1976 Philippe Noiret · 1977 Michel Galabru · 1978 Jean Rochefort · 1979 Michel Serrault · 1980 Claude Brasseur · 1981 Gérard Depardieu · 1982 Michel Serrault · 1983 Philippe Léotard · 1984 Coluche · 1985 Alain Delon · 1986 Christophe Lambert · 1987 Daniel Auteuil · 1988 Richard Bohringer · 1989 Jean-Paul Belmondo · 1990 Philippe Noiret · 1991 Gérard Depardieu · 1992 Jacques Dutronc · 1993 Claude Rich · 1994 Pierre Arditi · 1995 Gérard Lanvin · 1996 Michel Serrault · 1997 Philippe Torreton · 1998 André Dussollier · 1999 Jacques Villeret · 2000 Daniel Auteuil · 2001 Sergi López · 2002 Michel Bouquet · 2003 Adrien Brody · 2004 Omar Sharif · 2005 Mathieu Amalric · 2006 Michel Bouquet · 2007 François Cluzet · 2008 Mathieu Amalric · 2009 Vincent Cassel · 2010 Tahar Rahim · 2011 Éric Elmosnino · 2012 Omar Sy

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (February 2009)

Lee Hee-ah
Hee Ah Lee
Born	(1985-07-09) 9 July 1985 (age 26) Seoul, South Korea
Occupation	pianist
Religion	Christian

Lee Hee-ah (born 9 July 1985) is a Korean pianist with only two fingers on each hand. The thumb of her left hand does not have any bones. She does not have any limbs below the knee on each leg. Her father was injured in a war and took morphine for 10 years as he was paralysed below the waist. Her mother took motion-sickness pills to deal with carsickness without realizing she was pregnant. These factors may have contributed to Lee's birth defects. Not letting them hold her back, Lee tours the world giving concerts with her ability to play pieces that would be difficult even for able-bodied pianists.

Biography[link]

When she was 7, her mother started her on the piano to train her hands, which at the time couldn’t even hold a pencil. "However, as time went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend," she recalls. Soon she diligently practised piano for hours at a time trying really hard to improve. For example, she worked on one passage from Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu for five years.

In 1992, she won the First Prize at the Korean National Student Music Contest, and has since won many more contests and has also played in many solo-concerts along with playing with many well-known artists. She was even awarded by the then President of Korea, Kim Dae-jung, for Overcoming Physical Difficulty. She has also been recognized as one of the best students in Seoul by the Korean Education Department. She currently attends The Korean National College of Rehabilitation and Welfare.

External links[link]

• Official website
• "Disabled Pianist Lee Hee-ah to Release Her First Album", KBS Global

The Right Honourable The Viscount Lee of Fareham GCB, GCSI, GBE, PC
Lord Lee of Fareham, 1903.
Personal details
Born	Arthur Hamilton Lee (1868-11-08)8 November 1868 Bridport, Dorset, England
Died	21 July 1947(1947-07-21) (aged 78) Avening, Gloucestershire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservatives
Occupation	Politician, patron of the arts

Arthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham, GCB, GCSI, GBE, PC (8 November 1868 – 21 July 1947) was a British soldier, diplomat, politician and patron of the arts. After military postings and an assignment to the British Embassy in Washington, he entered politics and served as Minster of Agriculture and Fisheries and First Lord of the Admiralty following World War I. He donated Chequers to the nation as a country retreat for the Prime Minister, and founded the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Early life and military career[link]

Lee's former residence in Washington, D.C.

After attending Cheltenham College, Lee entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before being commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant on 17 February 1888.^[1] He was promoted lieutenant on 18 February 1891.^[2] After serving in China and on the Isle of Wight, on 18 August 1893 Lee became a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada,^[3] with the local rank of captain.^[4] He did not receive substantive promotion until 18 April 1898.^[5] He became the British military attaché with the United States Army in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898, where he became an honorary "Rough Rider" and met Theodore Roosevelt. On 28 January 1899 Lee was appointed military attaché at the British Embassy in Washington, with the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel (for the duration of his appointment).^[6]

On 23 December 1899, Lee married Ruth (died 1966), daughter of New York banker John Godfrey Moore. Ruth was left a substantial inheritance after her father's death shortly before the wedding. He was promoted brevet major on 8 August 1900, and returned to regimental duty on 22 August 1900,^[7] and retired from the army on 12 December 1900.^[8]

Politics[link]

Lee then embarked on a political career, he was elected Member of Parliament for Fareham in the 1900 general election while still a regular officer.^[9] He served as Civil Lord of the Admiralty from 1903 to 1905.^[10] He also continued military service during this period as a member of the Volunteer Force.^[11]

At the beginning of World War I, Lee served as Lord Kitchener's personal commissioner to report on the Army Medical Services in France, with the rank of temporary colonel.^[12] From October 1915 he served David Lloyd George at the Ministry of Munitions, and followed him to the War Office in 1916.^[13] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 12 July.^[14] On 8 June 1917, with Lloyd George now Prime Minister, Lee became Director-General of Food Production under Rowland Prothero as President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, having now left the arrmy he was permitted to retain the honorary rank of colonel.^[15] He was recognised for his work on 1 January 1918, being appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.^[16] He was elevated to the peerage on 9 July that year as Baron Lee of Fareham, of Chequers in the County of Buckingham,^[17] shortly before he resigned as Director-General of Food Production after disagreements with Prothero.

Lee joined the Cabinet and the Privy Council in August 1919 when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, succeeding Prothero. He became First Lord of the Admiralty on 18 February 1921,^[18] and was selected as a second British delegate to attend the Washington Naval Conference with Arthur Balfour later that year. He resigned with Lloyd George's government in 1922 and he was promoted to Viscount Lee of Fareham, of Bridport in the County of Dorset, on 9 December that year.^[19] He went on to chair Royal Commissions on the civil service in India (1923–1924),^[20] London cross river traffic (1926),^[21] and police powers and procedure (1928).^[22] He was also chair of the radium commission and of the committee on police pay and pensions (1925). He was appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India on 1 January 1925,^[23] and he was promoted Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1929 King's Birthday Honours.^[24] He was also appointed Knight of Grace in the Venerable Order of Saint John on 20 June 1930.^[25]

Chequers[link]

Lee and his wife took on a long lease of Chequers, a country house and 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) estate in Buckinghamshire, in 1909. The Lees bought the property in 1912 after the owner died and began restoration. In 1917, they gave the estate, and the entire contents of the house which included a library, historical papers and manuscripts and a collection of Cromwellian portraits and artefacts, in trust to the nation to be used as official residence and retreat of British Prime Ministers, enabled by the Chequers Estate Act 1917. The Lees left the property in January 1921 and Lloyd George was the first Prime Minister to use the property.^[26][27][28]

Patron of the arts and later life[link]

After furnishing Chequers, Lee began a second collection. He gained the financial backing of Samuel Courtauld and Joseph Duveen, and established the Courtauld Institute of Art with the University of London. The Institute, the first to offer degrees in the history of art in Britain, opened in 1932 with William George Constable as its director at Lee's request. Also with Courtauld, he persuaded the University of London to accept the transfer of the Warburg Institute from Hamburg; it was loaned to him prior to its re-establishment in 1944. He also donated a silver collection and other objects to the Hart House in Canada in 1940.

Additionally, in the 1920s Lee was a trustee of the Wallace Collection and of the National Gallery. He served as chairman of the latter in 1931–2, and was a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission from 26 May 1926 until his death.^[29]

Lee died in Avening, Gloucestershire, in 1947. Lee had no children and his viscountcy became extinct upon his death.

Bibliography[link]

• Lee of Fareham, Viscount; Clark, Alan (1974). A Good Innings; The Private Papers of Viscount Lee of Fareham. London: J. Murray. ISBN 0-7195-2850-X. 

References[link]

• Baddeley, V. W.; Brodie, Marc (January 2008). "Lee, Arthur Hamilton, Viscount Lee of Fareham (1868–1947)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/ref:odnb/34466. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34466. Retrieved 16 August 2009.  subscription or UK public library membership required

External links[link]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Arthur Lee