Many people have asked me why the computer in my office is named "argerich" (full name argerich.colorado.edu). That's a long story that I won't get into here, but I will say that the name comes from the Argentine-born pianist Martha Argerich who is pictured above.
Martha Argerich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1941, and gave her first public performance at the age of 8 (some sources say 5). She studied in Europe with Friedrich Gulda, Nikita Magaloff, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, among others, and gave her debut recital in 1960 (a recording of this recital has recently been re-released by DG.)
Some of my other favorite living pianists include Grigory Sokolov, Helene Grimaud, Radu Lupu, and Olli Mustonen. For sheer technical virtuosity no one can match the young Marc-Andre Hamelin. My most recent discovery is Eliso Virsaladze (thanks to BMG/Melodiya's Russian Piano School series). My favorite historical pianists change with time: right now, the list is headed by Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Arthur Rubenstein, Dinu Lipatti, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli , and Julius Katchen. Next year it will probably be different.