Virtuoso

A virtuoso (from the Latin virtu meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding mechanical ability at operating a musical instrument. The plural form is: virtuosi. Virtuosi are often musical composers as well. During the age of Baroque music many, if not most, composers were also virtuosi on their respective instrument.

An inevitable discussion surrounding virtuosos is whether the mere skillful operation of an instrument constitutes art. For most people, this is a matter of taste and will likely remain a point of contention in the future.

Although whether an individual's musical skills constitute virtuosity is a matter of opinion, there is a general list of individuals who have been generally recognized as virtuosi. These include:

Bass Guitar: Jeff Berlin, Avishai Cohen, Charlie Haden Michael Manring, Edgar Meyer, Charlie Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci, Dave LaRue, Victor Wooten.

Fiddle: Stephane Grappelli, Alison Krauss, Yehudi Menuhin, Mark O'Connor, David Ragsdale.

Guitar: Vicente Amigo, Manuel Barrueco, Jeff Beck, Jason Becker, Lenny Breau, Robert Fripp, Paul Gilbert, Michael Hedges, Jimi Hendrix, Allan Holdsworth, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Pat Metheny, Steve Morse, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Joe Satriani, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Ron Thal, Steve Vai, John Williams.

Harpsichord: Hendrik Bouman, Ketil Haugsand, Ton Koopman, Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, Andreas Staier.

Keyboard: Chick Corea, Keith Emerson, Brian Eno, Lyle Mays, John Medeski, Rick Wakeman, Joe Zawinul.

Percussions: Brian Blade, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd, Trilok Gurtu, Roy Haynes, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Rod Morgenstein, Helge Andreas Norbakken, Simon Phillips, Max Roach, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Weckl.

Sitar: Ravi Shankar.

Violin: Pietro Locatelli, Niccolò Paganini, Antonio Vivaldi.