- Ricardo Virtuoso
Ricardo Magno Virtuoso is a Brazilian football (soccer) player, who currently plays midfielder for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. Virtuoso came up through the Clube Atlético Juventus youth system. He signed with Swiss second division side FC Chiasso in 2004 and played two seasons there. On May 18, 2006 he signed with the Columbus Crew. He has also been a member of the U-17 Brazilian national team.
- Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, widely considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. A trumpeter, bandleader and composer, Davis was at the forefront of almost every major development in jazz from World War II to the 1990s. He played on various early bebop records and recorded one of the first cool jazz records. He was partially responsible for the development of modal jazz, …
- Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, (baptized December 17, 1770 - March 26, 1827) was a German composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music, and was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music. His music and his reputation inspired — and in many cases intimidated — ensuing generations of composers, musicians, and audiences.
- Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer of the Romantic period. He was a renowned performer throughout Europe during the 19th century, noted especially for his showmanship and great skill with the piano. Today, he is considered to be one of the greatest pianists in history, despite the fact that no recordings of his playing exist. Liszt is frequently credited with re-defining piano playing itself, and his influence is still visible today, …
- Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21 1917 - January 6 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. In addition to featuring in these epochal moments in jazz, he was instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban jazz, the modern jazz version of the "Spanish Tinge". Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, …
- Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold ("Jeff") Beck (born June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington, Greater London, England) is an English guitar virtuoso and songwriter. Though he played in several influential bands in the 1960s and 1970s (notably in The Yardbirds) Beck has maintained a sporadic solo career over the last 25 years. Despite never attaining the commercial viability of his contemporaries, Beck has gained widespread critical acclaim, …
- Joe Pass
Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, died May 23, 1994, Los Angeles, California), was a jazz guitarist. His extensive use of walking basslines, melodic counterpoint during improvisation, and use of a chord-melody style of play attributed to him the title guitar virtuoso.
- Itzhak Perlman
Perlman began his music career at the Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv, Israel. In 1958, at the age of 13, Itzhak Perlman won an Israeli talent competition. This win made it possible for Perlman to travel to the United States to tour and appear on television. He then stayed in the U.S. and continued his musical training at the Juilliard School in New York City. In 1964, Perlman won a contest among young musicians known as the Leventritt Competition.
- Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar ("Robi Shôngkor", (born April 7, 1920, in Benares, United Provinces, British India) is an Indian composer best known for his virtuosity on the sitar. A disciple of Allauddin Khan (founder of the Maihar gharana of Indian classical music), Pandit Ravi Shankar is, perhaps, the best-known Indian instrumentalist in the world. He is well known for his pioneering work in bringing the power and appeal of Indian classical music tradition, …
- Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 - December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist of the impressionistic period, known especially for the subtlety, richness and poignancy of his music. His piano, chamber music and orchestral works have become staples of the concert repertoire. Ravel's piano compositions, such as "Jeux d'eau", "Miroirs" and "Gaspard de la Nuit", demand considerable virtuosity from the performer, and his orchestral music, …
- Jaco Pastorius
John Francis "Jaco" Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 - September 21, 1987) was a bassist and songwriter widely acknowledged for his virtuosity of the fretless bass, as well as his command of varied musical styles and his many compositions. His playing style was noteworthy for containing "dazzling solos in the higher register" and "fluid machine-gun-like passages that demanded attention," often featuring his instrument in lead rather than rhythm section.
- Art Tatum
Arthur Tatum Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso. Critic Scott Yanow opined that "Tatum's recordings still have the ability to scare modern pianists." The jazz pianist and educator Kenny Barron has commented that "I have every record [Tatum] ever made -- and I try never to listen to them. .. If I did, I'd throw up my hands and give up!" Jean Cocteau dubbed Tatum "a crazed Chopin." Some jazz musicians liked to call him the eighth wonder of the world.
- Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941) is a concert pianist of Argentine origin. Her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. She has given relatively few interviews. As a result, she may not be as well known as other pianists of similar calibre. Despite this, she is widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of modern day.
- Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (September 20, 1885 or October 20, 1890-July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. Morton was a colorful character who liked to generate publicity for himself by bragging. His business card referred to him as the Originator of Jazz, and he was and is valued as a source of rare information about early jazz, despite his penchant for hyperbole.
- Omar Sosa
Omar Sosa is a composer, bandleader, and virtuoso jazz pianist. He began studying marimba at age eight, then switched to piano at the Escuela Nacional de Musica in Havana, where he began to study jazz. Sosa moved to Quito, Ecuador in 1993, then San Francisco, California in 1995. In San Francisco he because deeply involved in the local Latin Jazz scene and began a long collaboration with percussionist John Santos. In approximately 1999, Sosa moved to Barcelona, Spain.
- Brian May
Brian Harold May CBE (born July 19, 1947) is an English guitarist best known as the lead guitarist and backing (sometimes lead) vocalist for the English rock band Queen. As a guitarist, he is known for his memorable riffs and solos, distinctive tone, as well as for the fact that he built (with his father) his own guitar, called the "Red Special". He is also cited as a pioneer of the delay effect. He wrote many of Queen's most famous songs and biggest hits, …
- Gabriela Montero
Gabriela Montero (born May 10, 1970) is a Venezuelan-born American classical piano virtuoso
- Renaud Garcia-Fons
Renaud Garcia-Fons is a French double-bass player and composer, notable for his virtuoso musicianship and for using a customised 5-stringed bass. Garcia-Fons' father is the painter Pierre Garcia-Fons. Yet being of Catalonian origin, Garcia-Fons' affinity for Spanish and oriental culture is understandable. In the early 1980s he enrolled at the Paris Conservatory. François Rabbath taught him his special technique of playing arco.
- James Galway
Sir James Galway (informally known as Jimmy) (born December 8, 1939) is a Northern Ireland-born virtuoso flute player from Belfast, often called "The Man With the Golden Flute". Following in the footsteps of Jean-Pierre Rampal, he became one of the first flute players to establish an international career as a soloist. James Galway studied at the Royal College of Music under John Francis and then at the Guildhall School of Music under Geoffrey Gilbert.
- Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck is an American virtuoso banjo player. He is most well known for his work with the band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, which he has described as "a mixture of acoustic and electronic music with a lot of roots in folk and bluegrass as well as funk and jazz." Many of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones' songs were featured on The Weather Channel's "Local On The 8s" segments.
- Pablo Casals
Pau Carles Salvador Casals i Defilló, best known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a virtuoso Catalan Spanish cellist and later conductor. He made many recordings throughout his career, of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, also as conductor, but Casals is perhaps best remembered for the recording of the "Bach: Cello Suites" he made from 1936 to 1939.
- Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur (born Artur) Rubinstein KBE (January 28 1887 - December 20 1982) was a Polish-American pianist who is widely considered as one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th Century. He received international acclaim for his performances of Chopin and Brahms and his championing of Spanish music.
- Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He is one of the most famous violin virtuosi, and is considered one of the greatest violinists who ever lived, with perfect intonation and innovative techniques. Although nineteenth century Europe had seen several extraordinary violinists, …
- Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués, was a Spanish violin virtuoso and composer of the Romantic period. Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Spain, the son of an artillery bandmaster. He began studying the violin with his father at the age of five and later took lessons from a local teacher but his musical talent became evident early on and he appeared in his first public concert in La Coruña at the age of eight.
- Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuliani (July 27, 1781 - May 8, 1828) was an Italian guitarist and composer, and is considered by many to be one of the leading guitar virtuosos of the 19th century.
- Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Igorevich Kissin is a virtuoso classical pianist. Kissin was born in Moscow to a Jewish family. At age 11 months, he reportedly was able to hum along to a Bach tune his sister Alla was playing on the piano. At age 6 he commenced his own piano studies at the esteemed Gnessin School of Music for Gifted Children where he became a student of Anna Pavlovna Kantor.
- Vicente Amigo
Vicente Amigo Girol is a Spanish Flamenco composer and virtuoso guitarist, born in Guadalcanal, near Seville. He is usually considered one of the greatest living flamenco guitarists, in succession to Paco de Lucía. He has played as backing guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers El Pele, Camarón de la Isla, Vicente Soto, Luis de Córdoba and the rociero band Salmarina, and he has acted as a producer for Remedios Amaya and José Mercé.
- Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman is a Polish classical virtuoso pianist. He was born in Zabrze and studied at the Katowice Conservatory under Andrzej Jasinski. His career was launched when he won the Warsaw International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 1975. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Herbert von Karajan in 1976 and he made his American début with the New York Philharmonic in 1979. He has toured widely and made a number of recordings.
- John Popper
John Popper (born March 29 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. He is most famous for his role as frontman of rock band Blues Traveler, performing harmonica, 12-string acoustic guitar and vocals. He is widely considered a harmonica virtuoso, and is listed by harmonica manufacturer Hohner as a "Featured Artist", an accolade reserved for only the best and most successful harmonica players.
- Roger Bobo
Roger Bobo, is a noted American tuba virtuoso and teacher. He retired from active tuba performance in 2001 in order to devote his time to conducting and teaching. He gave what is reputed to be the first solo tuba recital in the history of Carnegie Hall. His solo and ensemble discography is extensive. Major orchestral appointments include: *Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, 1956–1962 (Eric Leinsdorf, cond.) *Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, …
- Hans von Bülow
Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard Wagner.
- Yann Tiersen
Yann Tiersen is a French Avant-Garde Musician and composer known for his versatility, minimalist compositions, and virtuosity as a multi-instrumentalist. Most of his pieces include piano, accordion,melodica and violin, although many offer a much wider selection of instruments and sounds. Critics sometimes compare him to Erik Satie, Nino Rota, and the Penguin Café Orchestra for their musical proximity.
- Vinnie Vincent
Vinnie Vincent (born Vincent John Cusano on August 6, 1952, in Bridgeport, Connecticut), is a guitarist and songwriter most famous for his brief membership in the band KISS. Vincent played lead guitar on the album "Creatures of the Night" and subsequently toured with KISS in "Ankh Warrior" makeup. After that, he remained with KISS for one additional album, "Lick It Up," before being fired from the band.
- Gary Karr
Gary Karr (b. November 20, 1941), is an American classical double bassist virtuoso, and teacher. He is the first ever full-time careerist double-bassist.
- Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 - December 18, 1869) was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano pieces. Although he is regarded as an American composer and musician, he spent most of his working career outside of the United States.
- Peter Tchaikovsky
Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. Although not a member of the group of Russian composers usually known in English-speaking countries as 'The Five', his music has come to be known and loved for its distinctly Russian character as well as for its rich harmonies and stirring melodies.
- Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Omar Faruk Tekbilek (1951 -), is a Turkish virtuoso. He is known for his performances with the ney in a Sufi style.
- Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski (b. May 23, 1959) is a jazz clarinetist born in Cleveland, Ohio, known primarily for playing in the swing music idiom. He is sometimes compared to Benny Goodman in terms of tone and virtuosity. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records; his most recent albums have appeared on the "Nagel-Heyer Records" record label. In 2007 Peplowski was named jazz advisor of Oregon Festival of American Music and music director of Jazz Party at The Shedd, …
- Leonidas Kavakos
Leonidas Kavakos (born in 1967) is a Greek violinist. He has established himself as one of the most sought after young virtuoso violinists and appears regularly with leading orchestras and in recital throughout the world.
- Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre was a Spanish composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being blind from an early age, he achieved great success. Rodrigo is considered to be among the composers most responsible for popularizing classical guitar music, and his Concierto de Aranjuez is one of the pinnacles of the Spanish and guitar concerto repertoire.