Considered to be one of the greatest American pianists; one of his
specialties was the music of
George Gershwin. He recorded Gershwin's
piano music with such renowned conductors as
Arturo Toscanini and
Arthur Fiedler. He was also famous for his recordings of all four
Rachmaninoff concertos. He did not work exclusively in classical music. He was not afraid to appear on TV variety shows and popular radio programs, which may explain why his career was overshadowed by such pianists as
Van Cliburn, though he is regarded as being equal to and superior to Cliburn by many critics.