Behind every successful man there is a woman, or so the old saying goes. In the music world, behind every brilliant soloist there is his or her accompanist. Jascha Heifetz had his Brooks Smith, Anne-Sophie Mutter has her Lambert Orkis, Midori had her Robert McDonald and among many other things, Benjamin Britten was the reliable accompanist to his Peter Pears.

As WQXR celebrates Powerhouse Pianists throughout January, we spotlight a pianist known to give the keyboard a workout. Hélène Grimaud is frequently admired for her enormous technical command and her keen musical curiosity.

Being a piano mover in New York City involves a host of special talents. Bill Hennessy, the owner of Keyboard Express, says that the biggest keys to moving a nine-foot concert grand are quick thinking and parking skills.

As we celebrate the current class of the keyboard world this month with our series Powerhouse Pianists, here are five up-and-coming prodigies -- and recent prodigies -- who could be selling out concert halls in the years to come.

With our Album of the Week, pianist Marc-André Hamelin has composed a collection of 12 Études in all the minor keys that pushes the outer limits of virtuosity. Get a free download and tell us what you think.

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has a fascination with the unexpected and mysterious qualities in Bach's music. This collection of Chorale Preludes, Keyboard Concertos and an English Suite is our Album of the Week.

The latest recording by Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero features inspired performances of 26 short, luminous works by seven Latin American composers as well as her own unique improvisations. It’s our Album of the Week.

In 1982, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould sat down with the critic and broadcaster Tim Page to talk about Bach's Goldberg Variations, the composition that came to define his career more than any other.

As we mark the bicentenary of Franz Liszt in 2011, many pianists are daring to tackle his immensely difficult and diabolical compositions. But they're not the only "extreme" pieces in the repertoire.

The young French pianist David Fray is fast gaining notice for his charismatic, sometimes eccentric performances of Bach and Schubert. Just don't compare him to Glenn Gould.

As WQXR focuses on today’s rising young pianists in January, we also look back at some of the young lions of the past. In this 1958 interview, pianist Van Cliburn tells WQXR about winning the first Tchaikovsky Competition.

Midge Woolsey considers the career of Vladimir Horowitz, "a man who overcame great emotional challenges to bring classical music lovers some of the most thrilling performances of his day."

Along with Van Cliburn, Leon Fleisher and Gary Graffman, Byron Janis is a leading light in the generation of American pianists who burst onto the international scene in the 1950s. Yet almost from the start he faced incredible odds.

In the summer of 1957, Jorge Bolet gave a celebrated performance with the Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York at Lewisohn Stadium in Upper Manhattan. The program's centerpiece was Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.