Paul Lay

Paul Lay, Jazz Pianist and Composer

“Excellent harmonic imagination, highly varied playing, very interesting compositions, and an evident knowledge of jazz history. Paul Lay has everything it takes to last!” — Martial Solal

After studying at the CNSMD in Paris, Paul Lay released his first trio album, « Unveiling », in 2010, which garnered attention immediately : « Paul Lay already has all the qualities of a great artist, with his knowledge of jazz history, harmonic imagination, and a poetic universe far from any conventional ‘pianism’. » — Citizen Jazz

Universally recognized as « one of the greatest jazz pianists of his generation » (Le Monde), Paul Lay has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Grand Prize of the Charles Cros Academy in 2014 for his album « Mikado », which established him on the international scene as a creator. Named Instrumental Artist of the Year at the Victoires du Jazz (2020), Paul Lay is the recipient of many prestigious accolades, such as the Soloist Prize at the La Défense Competition, Moscow Jazz Piano Competition, Martial Solal Competition, Montreux Competition, and the Django Reinhardt Prize from the French Jazz Academy.

An initiator of unique collaborations, Paul created the video-musical performance « Billie Holiday, Passionately » with videographer Olivier Garouste for the La Folle Journée festival in Nantes (2015). This project was performed at the Philharmonie de Paris, La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, and the French May Festival in Hong Kong. As a sought-after sideman, Paul has also been part of the ensembles of Riccardo Del Fra, Géraldine Laurent, Eric le Lann, and Ping Machine.

In 2017, he released two albums, « The Party » (with Dre Pallemaerts and Clemens Van Der Feen) and « Alcazar Memories » (with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu), two unique trios that performed in over 70 concerts around the world.

At the end of 2018, Paul released « Thanks a Million », a duo album with Eric le Lann, which paid a heartfelt tribute to Louis Armstrong and was particularly acclaimed.

Frequently invited abroad, Paul Lay has performed in New York, Toronto, Berlin, Warsaw, and toured extensively in Germany, Russia, Peru, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, China, and Japan.

Paul is also an awardee of sponsorships and programs that make him an official representative of French jazz. This led to performances for the International Jazz Day alongside Barbara Hendricks, as part of Marseille European Capital of Culture in 2013, The Bridge in 2017, and with the Centenary Mission for World War I commemorations.

His album « Deep Rivers », with Isabel Sörling and Simon Tailleu, was released in January 2020 and was a great success, leading to about 50 concerts in 2020-2021.

In June 2021, Paul released his first solo piano album « Full Solo » under the Gazebo label, featuring unique recreations of Beethoven’s works. Upon release, the album topped the Fnac Jazz/Blues charts and received multiple accolades, including the Victoires du Jazz.

Since then, Paul’s collaborative projects involving commissioned compositions have grown. In 2024, several new projects emerged. Paul composed part of the soundtrack for Mark Gill’s film « Ravens », presented at the Cannes Festival. That same year, he created an original program with the Chœur de chambre Les Eléments titled « Waves of Light », for which he composed several pieces for choir and jazz trio. 2024 also marks the debut of Paul Lay’s symphonic version of Gershwin’s « Rhapsody in Blue », performed twice with the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Avignon-Provence Regional Orchestra. After his 2022 album « Blue in Green: Tribute to Bill Evans » under the Scala Music label, Paul is set to release a new trio album, « L’Odyssée », in the fall of 2024 under Gazebo. This original work, freely inspired by Homer’s « Odyssey » and composed entirely by Lay, solidifies his position as a composer.

Since September 2022, Paul Lay has been a jazz piano professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.

Since 2017, he has been supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation for the development of his career.

ALEXANDER Malofeev

Alexander Malofeev, the Russian Piano Prodigy

In 2014, at just 13 years old, Alexander Malofeev won the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. Quickly hailed by critics as a “young Russian genius” (Corriere della Sera), he has since established himself as one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation: “Malofeev doesn’t just play the notes; he brings every phrase to life as if it tells something entirely new…” (The Guardian) Born in Moscow in 2001, he now resides in Berlin.

Since his promising debut, Alexander has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the Filarmonica della Scala, and many others.

He collaborates regularly with some of the most renowned conductors of our time, such as Riccardo Chailly, Mikhail Pletnev, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and JoAnn Falletta, among others.

As a recitalist, he appears on the world’s most prestigious stages: the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Philharmonie, Bozar in Brussels, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg… and many other iconic venues. He is also a frequent guest at major festivals, including the Verbier Festival, the International Piano Festival of La Roque d’Anthéron, the Rheingau Musik Festival (Germany), the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals (USA), the Tsinandali Festival (Georgia), the Master Pianist Series (Amsterdam), and the Celebrity Series of Boston.

Described as “the latest phenomenon of the Russian piano school” (Corriere della Sera), Alexander Malofeev stands out as one of the most captivating and promising artists on today’s classical music scene.

An exclusive Sony Classical artist, he is currently working on his debut album for the label, scheduled for release in autumn 2025.

Wilhem Latchoumia

A singular pianist, Wilhem Latchoumia serves both contemporary creation and the great repertoire with equal joy and charisma. Designing programs that break away from traditional paths is the hallmark of this French musician, who impresses audiences with his ability to establish an immediate and joyful connection with the public.

Wilhem Latchoumia’s passion for contemporary creation has earned him the favor of composers such as Pierre Boulez, Gérard Pesson, Philippe Hersant, Gilbert Amy, Jonathan Harvey, Michael Jarrell, Franck Bedrossian, and Francesco Filidei. He is the instigator and performer of works inspired by Daughters of the Lonesome Isle by John Cage. He took part in the French premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Piano Concerto under the direction of Jean Deroyer with Orchestre National de Lille. He also participates in choreographic projects such as Achterland by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker or, more recently, he performed alongside Sonia Wieder-Atherton in the creation of Nous, le radeau / We, The Lust by Emio Greco at the Philharmonie de Paris.

In France, Wilhem Latchoumia regularly performs in Paris (Auditorium de Radio France, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Opéra Comique, Cité de la Musique, CENTQUATRE, Festival Présences), at the Théâtre d’Orléans, the Capitole de Toulouse, and Lyon opera. He is a guest at major festivals such as Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, La Roque d’Anthéron, Messiaen au Pays de la Meije, Biennale Musiques en Scène in Lyon (GRAME), and Lille Piano(s) Festival.

Internationally, Wilhem Latchoumia performs at venues such as the Barbican Centre in London, Salle Philharmonique in Liège, BOZAR in Brussels, Concertgebouw in Bruges, as well as in New York, the Beijing Modern Music Festival, the Electronic Music Week in Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Martinique, Italy, San Sebastián, and Berlin.

Wilhem Latchoumia has also performed as a soloist with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Pascal Rophé), Orchestre National de Lille (Paul Polivnik, Benjamin Shwartz, Yann Robin), Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre National de Lyon, and Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with which he performed Des Canyons aux étoiles by Messiaen under the direction of Jean-François Heisser.

He has performed under the baton of Peter Csaba, Andrei Galanov, and Christian Arming, with Rostov Symphony Orchestra, Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul and Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as with the Teatro Colón Orchestra. He collaborates with the Tokyo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain (Daniel Kawka), ensembles Ictus, 2e2m, Accroche Note, Hermes, and Linea, violist Christophe Desjardins, Diotima, Tana, and Béla quartets, as well as pianists Marie Vermeulin, Vanessa Wagner, and Cédric Tiberghien.

His discography is rich and varied and always receives the best awards. Since 2014, he has recorded for La Dolce Volta label.

2007 : Piano & Electronic Sounds, features works by Jonathan Harvey, John Cage, Pierre Jodlowski and Luc Ferrari (Choc du Monde de la Musique)
2008 : Impressões, dedicated to Villa-Lobos and Ginastera (Choc du Monde de la Musique, Diapason d’or, “Best recording” from Audio Clásica)
2014 : Extase Maxima, dedicated to Wagner and his transcribers, recorded within a extensive tour supported by Palazzetto Bru Zane (Choc de Classica, Maestro from Pianiste Magazine)
2016 : Falla : Solo Piano Works (5 Diapasons, Maestro from Pianiste Magazine, Joker from Crescendo, FFFF from Télérama)
2019 : Cinderella, works by Prokofiev and Cowell (5 Diapasons, FFFF from Télérama)
2021 : This is America, duo album duo with Vanessa Wagner (Diapason d’or, Choc Classica).
2023 : Do Brasil – Villa-Lobos (Choc Classica, 5 Diapasons)
2024 : Piano Twins, duo album duo with Vanessa Wagner

Wilhem Latchoumia obtained his First Prize at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon (classes of Éric Heidsieck and Géry Moutier). He continued his training in an advanced class with Géry Moutier. A student of Claude Helffer, he also attended masterclasses with Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and György Kurtág. Holder of a degree in musicology, he is a laureate of the Hewlett-Packard Foundation and the 12th Montsalvatge International Contemporary Music Competition (Girona, Spain). In 2006, he won the First Prize with Special Mention Blanche Selva, along with five other prizes at the International Piano Competition of Orléans.

Iddo Bar-Shaï

Israeli pianist Iddo Bar-Shai studied with Pnina Salzman and Alexis Weissenberg.

He has performed on important stages such as the Wigmore Hall, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Paris Philharmonie, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Berlin Philharmonie and the Beijing Zhongshan Concert Hall.

Iddo has played under the batons of Christoph Eschenbach, Lawrence Foster, Elihau Inbal, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Oksana Lyniv, Aldo Ceccato, Ion Marin and Jesus Lopez-Cobos among others with prominent orchestras such as the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Konzerthaus orchestra, Les Siecles and The Orchestre National de Lille.

He has performed with renowned artists such as Martha Argerich, Maria João Pires, Menahem Pressler, Renaud Capucon, Steven Isserlis, Isabelle Faust, Augustin Dumay, Vilde Frang, Alisa Weilerstein, Matthias Goerne, Anna Prohaska, Veronika Eberle, Magdalena Kozena, Sayaka Shoji, Stefan Dohr and quartets such as the Ysaÿe, Ebène, Aviv, Modigliani and the American String Quartet. His interest in other forms of art brought him to collaborate, during his artist in residency at “Les Dominicains de Haute Alsace”, with shadows artist Philippe Beau for a project “Les Ombres Errantes” with Francois Couperin’s keyboard works which was highly acclaimed by the French and International press.

He participated in festivals such as Verbier, Ravinia, La Roque d’Anthéron, Menton, “Progetto Martha Argerich” in Lugano, “La Folle Journée” festivals in Nantes, Lisbon, Tokyo, Warsaw, Bilbao and Rio de Janeiro, “La Grange de Meslay”, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival in Berlin and Jerusalem, Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele and the Radio-France music festival in Montpellier, and his concerts were broadcast by Mezzo, Arte, Medici TV and NHK TV channels amongst others.

He is the founder and artistic director of the festival “Les Coups de Coeur a Chantilly” inaugurated in spring 2021 with renowned artists such as Martha Argerich (with concerts celebrating her 80^th birthday), Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky, Evgeny Kissin, Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis and Leonardo Garcia Alarcon to name a few.

His recordings for “Mirare” label which include music by Haydn, Chopin and Francois Couperin, received numerous awards and praise by the international press; among which it was described as “one of the best ever, dedicated to the piano works of Haydn” by “Le Monde de La Musique” and as a “magnificent achievement which confirms a new great talent of present keyboard” by “Classique-News”.

Rafal Blechacz

After thirteen years since the victory in the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2005 he has achieved a position of the truly world-famous artist. His outstanding talent has been appreciated by the audiences of Europe, America, Asia, by music critics, great conductors and famous symphony orchestras, record producers, managers and artistic agencies organizing concerts in the most famous concert halls and in the largest music centres.
Last ten years of Rafał Blechacz’s career was filled with the solo recitals as well as concerts performed with the symphony orchestras. First of all however, it was time of intensive work on expanding his repertoire. Winning the Grand Prix, the Gold Medal and all of the other awards possible, namely for the best performance of mazurkas, polonaise, concerto, sonata (the latter founded by Krystian Zimerman) and also the audience award he unquestionably has been recognized as his generation’s greatest performer of Chopin’s works.
In such a role the international audiences wanted to hear and know him better as he never lets them down being able to win people over and gain their affection and appreciation. To meet these demands the young artist embarks on numerous and often long artistic tours. After all, the title of the Chopin Piano Competition Winner carries the meaning and importance. Everyone everywhere would like to listen to him and experience a talent of someone who amidst tough rivalry before distinguished jury proved to be the best one. One can only mention here that the young Polish pianist was definitely head and shoulders above the large and strong – as it is always the case in Warsaw – group of competitors. To emphasize his superiority the jury has not awarded the second prize but only the third and subsequent ones.
The aforementioned artist’s intensive work on developing his repertoire refers of course to Chopin but it is hard to imagine that the pianist of such a rank would not perform works by other composers. Therefore his repertoire is being continuously enlarged with works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Debussy and Szymanowski. From among them the programs of the artist’s albums recorded and released by Deutsche Grammophon (currently five) have been selected.
The American Gilmore Artist Award, sometimes called ”the Piano Nobel,” bestowed on Rafal Blechacz in January 2014, is a strong and meaningful acknowledgment that summarizes well the last decade of his artistic activity.

Rafał Blechacz was born in 1985 in Nakło nad Notecią. He started playing piano at the age of five. He studied in the Artur Rubinstein State Primary School of Music in Bydgoszcz under the supervision of Professor Jacek Polański. In 2007 he completed the piano studies in the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz in class of Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń. Still a student, he received many awards and honours such as the 1st Prize and Grand Prix in the 13th Johann Sebastian Bach National Competition in Gorzów Wielkopolski (1996), the 2nd Prize in the 5th Artur Rubinstein International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz (2002), the victory in the 5th International Piano Competition in Hamamatsu, Japan (2003).
As the winner of the Grand Prix of the 15th Chopin Piano Competition he started concertizing in the most prestigious venues such as Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, Berliner Philharmonie, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Herkulessaal in Munich, Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Royal Festival Hall as well as the Wigmore Hall in London, Tonhalle in Zurich, La Scala in Milan, among others. He is being invited to the best music festivals such as Salzburg, Verbier in Switzerland, La Roque-d’Anthéron (France), Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Germany as well as The Gilmore Festival in the USA. He plays with numerous symphony orchestras, cooperating with outstanding conductors like Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Pavo Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagono, Andris Nelsons, Victor Pablo Perez, Trevor Pinnock, Mikhail Pletnev, Jerzy Semkow, Antoni Wit and Dawid Zinman. In 2006 he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, the German record company. He is the second in history, after Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist signed up by this prestigious label.
Rafal Blechacz’s first album with Fryderyk Chopin’s Preludes appeared in 2007. In Poland it obtained the platinum status just in the second week of sale. It has been honoured with many awards, among others by German Echo Klassik and French Diapason d’Or. The next album, this time with sonatas of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, was released one year later and again it was received very well. After the success of the two first albums the artist celebrated the Chopin’s Year of 2010 with the recording of both Chopin’s Piano Concerts conducted by Jerzy Semkow and legendary Concertgebouw Orchestra, proclaimed in 2009 by the British magazine Gramophone the best orchestra of the world. This time the already third album of Rafał Blechacz was honoured with Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the prestigious award of critics from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Poland it obtained the double platinum status in the short period of time. The next recording with works by Debussy and Szymanowski, due to a thoughtful selection of the repertoire, as well as masterful performance, gained significant publicity and recognition among the international music critics. In 2012 the Deutsche Phono Akademie awarded Blechacz the Echo Klassik prize in category of the Best Solo Album of the Year (19th and 20th century). Furthermore, this same recording was honoured as the Album of the Month by the British magazine Gramophone. It was also recognized with the Polish phonographic Fryderyk Award as the best classical music album of 2013. In the fall of 2013 Rafał Blechacz returned to Chopin’s repertoire recording his seven grand polonaises. This album obtained the gold record status on the first day of sale. Soon after, it was honoured with Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik as the best album in the category Piano music (2013).
In July 2010 Rafał Blechacz received the Premio Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Siena) award for his overall artistic achievements bestowed on him by the international jury of music critics. In January 2014 in New York he was pronounced the winner of The Gilmore 2014 award, highly valued in the piano world, conferred every four years on the most outstanding artist to provide financial support for advancing his/her artistic career.
On February 24, 2015 in Warsaw during the concert in the Warsaw Philharmonic Rafal Blechacz received the President of the Republic of Poland’s medal Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta awarded during the concert at the National Philharmonic.

In February 2017 was released his album with works by Johann Sebastian Bach ‘ . . [a] superb Bach collection mostly of well known works including the “Italian Concerto” and the Hess arrangement of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. Exquisite, crystalline pianism, and impeccable performances. This is an outstanding addition to Blechacz’s discography’ – Robert E. Benson, Classicalcdreview.com / 01. March 2017

François Dumont

“Respectful of style, endowed with a fertile imagination, this deep, subtle performer, architect of sound, delivers a vision where intelligence rivals spontaneity.”
– Michel Le Naour – Cadences

François Dumont is the laureate of some of the most prestigious international competitions: the Chopin Competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition, the Clara Haskil Competition, and the Monte-Carlo Piano Masters. He has been nominated for the Victoires de la Musique in the ‘instrumental soloist’ category and received the Prix de la Révélation de la Critique Musicale Française.

François Dumont was chosen by Leonard Slatkin to perform and record both of Ravel’s piano concertos with the Orchestre National de Lyon as part of their complete Ravel cycle. The album, released by Naxos, was warmly received by critics: “A very accurate vision of the two concertos; perfect classical clarity in the G major concerto… the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, powerful, even heartbreaking,” writes Jacques Bonnaure in Classica.

He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, the Colombian National Orchestra, the Orchestre Pasdeloup, the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, the Orchestre National des Pays de Loire, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, working with conductors such as Jesús López-Cobos, Mykola Diadiura, Roberto Fores-Veses, David Reiland, François-Xavier Roth, Aziz Shokhakimov, Alexander Sladkovsky, and Antoni Wit.

Born in Lyon, he studied with Pascale Imbert, Chrystel Saussac, and Hervé Billaut. At the age of fourteen, he entered the C.N.S.M.D. in Paris in Bruno Rigutto’s class. He further refined his skills at the Como International Academy and the Lieven Piano Foundation with Dmitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naboré, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier, and Fou Ts’ong.

François Dumont regularly performs recitals at prestigious festivals such as Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, the Roque d’Anthéron Festival, the Chopin Festival in Nohant, the Chaise-Dieu Festival, the Lisztomanias in Châteauroux, the Chopin Festival in Paris, the Radio-France Montpellier Festival, the Besançon Festival, the Epau Festival, the Nuits Musicales in Uzès, the Nuits du Suquet in Cannes, the Grands Concerts in Lyon, the Chopin Festival in Geneva, the Vézère Festival, the Folles Journées in Nantes, the Sociedad Filarmónica in Bilbao, the Música – Musika Festival in Bilbao, and the Kennedy Center in Washington. He is regularly invited to China, Japan, and South Korea. His solo discography includes the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas (Anima Records), a Chopin album, two Bach albums (Artalinna), a Wagner/Liszt album (Piano Classics), a double live album of the Chopin Competition (published by the National Chopin Institute of Warsaw), and the complete piano works of Maurice Ravel (Piano Classics). He has recorded a series of Mozart concertos, about which the press has praised his “cantabile and inspired playing, with a profound understanding of detail” and “a perfect synergy with the musicians.”

His recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes has been highly praised: “In a very crowded repertoire, that of Chopin’s Nocturnes, pianist François Dumont joins the ranks of the greatest. From this essential body of the composer’s music, he offers a vision of rare coherence.” His album dedicated to Fauré’s Nocturnes, recorded on a 1922 Gaveau piano, received the highest accolade, the “Supersonic” award, from the Luxembourg magazine Pizzicato.

In 2022, the pianist released an album dedicated to Chopin’s Ballades and Impromptus, as well as a disc featuring César Franck’s Quintet and Dvořák’s “American” Quartet, in collaboration with the Pražák Quartet.

In 2024, François Dumont recorded his first duo album with cellist Marc Coppey, where they interpret works by Gabriel Fauré. In November 2024, he released his album “Debussy, Clair de Lune”, recorded on the piano of Debussy preserved at the Brive-La-Gaillarde Museum. The album received critical acclaim and prestigious distinctions, such as the Choc Classica: “The instrument touches your heart, but it is the pianist who gives it magic.”

He enjoys performing chamber music with Sayaka Shoji, Marc Coppey, Laurent Korcia, Augustin Dumay, and the Pražák Quartet. He has been forming a duo with soprano Helen Kearns since 2003.

During the 2024-2025 season, he will perform at the Salle Gaveau, with the ONB under the direction of Nicolas Ellis, with the Orchestre d’Auvergne conducted by Thomas Zehetmair, and on tours in Japan (2024) and Chile (2025).

Critics

Dumont, capace di dominare la materia sonora. Davvero degna di nota la presa del suono. Dinamica precisa, dotata di una sua naturalezza e debita velocità […]

Andrea Bedetti, Music Voce***** 2018

With bell-like melodic lines, Dumont elicits a singing tone from the piano. Emotions are to the fore, without the undue histrionics of many Chopin performances.
(OC) ★★★★ BBC Music Magazine, 2018

[…] the rising French pianist François Dumont with a stunning new version […] a clarity, momentum and coherence that immediately grab the ear. His controlled pianissimos imbue the melodies with tender sweetness.

Michael Johnson, International Piano **** 2018

François Dumont’s first issued recordings included a complete set of Mozart sonatas, certainly an unusual opening set. He has been honored in some of the most prestigious piano competitions. I was amused that he was also awarded the “Prix de la Révélation” from a group of French critics. I am not sure what other revelations he is credited with, but he is a wonderful Chopin player, graceful and coherent, expressive and at the same time rhythmically secure. It’s a matter not of avoiding rubato or other expressive gestures, but of making them fit the whole. I just heard the Nocturne in A♭, op. 32/2, and note the beautifully rounded ending of the work, pause and all. He plays the Nocturne, op. 48/1, with the utmost sobriety: It’s a dark-toned work and Dumont renders its particular drama, with its occasional near explosiveness and tenderness, remarkably. His performance of the posthumous Nocturne in C♯ Minor begins in almost otherworldly fashion: There are few recent recordings to compare with this one. He also plays the more forthright Nocturne in C Minor, also posthumous, equally is clearly and warmly recorded.

Fanfare 2018

Till Fellner

Austrian pianist Till Fellner’s international career was launched in 1993 when he won First Prize at the renowned Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey, Switzerland. Over a period of more than two
decades, he has become a sought-after guest with many of the world’s most important orchestras and at the major music centres of Europe, USA and Japan, as well as numerous festivals.

During the 2017-18 season Till Fellner will debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. Other highlights will include concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Le Concert Olympique, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
Last season Till Fellner amongst others performed with the Symphony Orchestras from Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Montreal, Vienna, with the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Philharmonia Orchestra London.

Till Fellner has collaborated with Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph von Dohnányi, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Jonathan Nott, Kirill Petrenko, Claudius Traunfellner, and Hans Zender, among many others.

In the field of chamber music Till Fellner regularly collaborates with British tenor Mark Padmore, with whom he premiered a composition by Hans Zender in 2016 and with whom he toured Japan in February 2017. This collaboration will be continued in 2017-18 (amongst others with Lieder recitals in Vienna and Salzburg). Further he regularly performs with the Belcea Quartet.

Over the past few years he has dedicated himself to two milestones of the piano repertoire: The Well-Tempered Clavier of Johann Sebastian Bach and the 32 piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven. He performed the Beethoven cycle from 2008 to 2010 in New York, Washington, Tokyo, London, Paris and Vienna. Furthermore, contemporary music is of great importance to him; he has given the world premieres of works by Kit Armstrong, Harrison Birtwistle, Thomas Larcher, Alexander Stankovski and Hans Zender. From 2017-18 onwards – and stretching over two seasons – Till Fellner will present an all Schubert cycle (four concerts in total) which will be presented at the Schubertiade Festival, in Antwerp, Tokyo and Taipei and other cities.

The ECM label, for whom Till Fellner is an exclusive recording artist, has released the First Book of the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Two & Three-Part Inventions of J. S. Bach, Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Kent Nagano and, most recently, a CD of chamber music by Harrison Birtwistle. In autumn 2016 Alpha Classics released the recording of the piano quintet by J. Brahms with the Belcea Quartet, this recording received the “Diapason d’Or de l’Annee”.

In his native Vienna, Till Fellner studied with Helene Sedo-Stadler before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel, Meira Farkas, Oleg Maisenberg, and Claus-Christian Schuster.

Since autumn 2013, Till Fellner teaches at the Zurich Hochschule der Künste.

Alexandre Kantorow

In 2019 Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition, as well as the Grand Prix, awarded only three times before in the competition’s history. He has been hailed by critics as ‘the reincarna tion of Liszt’ (Fanfare), and in 2024 he became the youngest and first French winner of the Gilmore Artist Award, one of the most prestigious and important American and international music prizes, awarded every four years. Alexandre Kantorow has appeared with some of the world’s greatest con – ductors.

In recent years these have included Manfred Honeck with the Pitts – burgh Symphony Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms in London, John Eliot Gardiner with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Alexandre Kantorow has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors. In recent years, he has appeared with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms in London, John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, as well as Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He has also toured internationally with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, and with the Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru.

In recital, he performs in some of the world’s most renowned concert halls, such as Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in its Master Pianists series, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Philharmonie de Paris, Bozar in Brussels, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall… and at the most prestigious festivals including La Roque d’Anthéron, the Ravinia Festival, the Verbier Festival, and the Klavier-Festival Ruhr.

Chamber music is also one of his great passions, which he shares notably with Liya Petrova and Aurélien Pascal. He is co-artistic director alongside them of the Musikfest and the “Rencontres Musicales de Nîmes,” as well as the Pianopolis festival in Angers.

Alexandre Kantorow records exclusively for BIS. His recordings have received the highest critical acclaim worldwide.

In 2024, Alexandre was awarded the title of Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by the French President of the Republic, having already been made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture. In July 2024, performing Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, Alexandre appeared at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.

Alexandre Kantorow studied with Pierre-Alain Volondat, Igor Lazko, Frank Braley, and Rena Shereshevskaya.

Denis Matsuev

Since his triumph in the 1998 at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition, Denis Matsuev has become a virtuoso in the grandest of Russian pianistic tradition and has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation.

Mr. Matsuev performs with the world’s best known orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapella Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, “Philharmonia” Orchestra of London, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra of Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Vienna Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oslo Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Swiss Romande orchestra, Lucerne Symphony orchestra, Verbier and Budapest Festival Orchestras, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, NHK Symphony, as well as the European Chamber Orchestra. He is continually re-engaged with the legendary Russian orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra.

Denis gives recitals in the USA in Boston, Washington and New York in Carnegie Hall (Keyboard Virtuosos series), in London in Royal Festival Hall (International Piano series), Madrid in Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Amsterdam in Concertgebouw (Master Pianists series) and Moscow (the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory).

Denis Matsuev regularly appears with the most distinguished conductors on a stage today, including Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Ricardo Chailly, Christian Thielemann, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, Paavo Jarvi, Antonio Pappano, Charles Dutoit, Alain Gilbert, Leonard Slatkin, Myung-Whun Chung, Semyon Bychkov, Iván Fischer, Adam Fisher, Gianandrea Noseda, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Manfred Honeck, James Conlon, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Yury Bashmet, Alexander Sladkovsky, K. Jarvi and others.

Mr. Matsuev is a frequent guest of world famous music festivals such as Verbier Festival and Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival in Great Britain, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany, Les Chorégies d’Orange and Festival de la Rogue d’Anthéron in France, Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl in the U.S., Chopin Festival in Poland, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Mito Festival in Italy, Montreux Festival in Switzerland, Enescu Festival in Romania, Baltic Sea Festival in Sweden and Stars of the White Nights Festival in Russia.

For 11 consecutive years Denis Matsuev has his original series at The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory “Denis Matsuev invites…”. Many famous orchestras, prominent conductors, outstanding soloists have taken part in it.

In 2010, in Avery Fisher Hall, the New York Philharmonic gave the orchestra’s 15,000th concert – a number unmatched by any other orchestra. Denis Matsuev was a leading soloist in this unprecedented milestone concert, which was conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev, and was praised highly by music critics.

For many years Denis Matsuev has led numerous musical festivals and educational projects which have added to his role as a prominent public figure. Since 2004 he has organized “Stars on Baikal” in Irkutsk, Siberia (in 2009 he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Irkutsk), and since 2005 he has been the artistic director of the music festival “Crescendo” (a series of events held in international cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Tel Aviv, Kaliningrad, Paris and New York). In 2010 he became the artistic director of Annecy Music Festival in Annecy, France, with the goal to bring together Russian and French music cultures. In 2012 Denis Matsuev became the artistic director of I International “Astana Piano Passion” Festival and Competition as well as the artistic director of International Festival and Competition “Sberbank DEBUT” in Kiev in 2013. In 2016 Denis Matsuev as the artistic director of the Competition and chairman of the Organizing Committee started a new competition for young pianists in Moscow – Grand Piano Competition. Additionally, Mr. Matsuev is the president of the charitable Russian foundation “New Names” that discovers and supports talented children and helps to develop music education in regions of his native Russia. More than 10000 children received monetary grants and/or opportunity to perform at the professional stage.

In 2007, RCA Red Seal released “Unknown Rachmaninoff” featuring Mr. Matsuev. The recording has received strong positive reviews praising his execution and creativity. His Carnegie Hall recital in November 2007 was recorded and released in 2009 as an album entitled “Denis Matsuev – Concert at Carnegie Hall.” The New York Times praised this performance writing “…his poetic instincts held fast in tender moments, with trills as thrillingly precise as one might ever hope to hear.”

Mariinsky Label releases include Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3, Shostakovich Concertos No. 1, No. 2 and Schedrin’s Fifth with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in the famed Mariinsky Concert Hall. Among many awards granted is the Five Star rating of BBC Music Magazine. Norman Lebrecht wrote: “Neither is a virtuoso vehicle and, the composer apart, there is no pianist who has stamped these works decisively as his or her own. Denis Matsuev, a Siberian who made his name in Rachmaninoff is perhaps the first to come close”.

In April 2013 Denis Matsuev presented the record (RCA Red Seal) with S. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody in Blue by G. Gershwin, accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of its music director Alan Gilbert.

In September 2013 the label LSO Live released a new disc with Denis Matsuev and LSO under baton of Valery Gergiev performing Symphonia Concertante by K. Szymanowski.

Gramophone has chosen Denis Matsuev’s recording of Tchaikovsky Concerti Nos. 1 & 2 as their recording of the month in April 2014.

“Matsuev’s Tchaikovsky No 1 is thrilling, the work’s drama excitingly to the fore – a new ‘personal benchmark’, says Jeremy Nicholas. That’s for you to decide, of course, but do hear it.” Gramophone (UK)

In 2018 Mariinsky Label released a disc with the record of two legendary piano concertos – Piano concerto #2 by S. Prokofiev and Piano concerto #2 by S. Rachmaninoff, performed by Denis Matsuev and Mariinsky Theatre orchestra under baton of Valery Gergiev.

For many years Denis Matsuev has collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninov Foundation, established by Alexander Rachmaninov, the grandson of the composer. Mr. Matsuev was chosen by the Foundation to perform and record Rachmaninov’s unknown pieces on the composer’s own piano at the Rachmaninov house “Villa Senar” in Lucerne. Later, he became the artistic director of the Foundation. To the 145th anniversary of S. Rachmaninoff Denis Matsuev prepared the cycle of all Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos and is ready to perform this cycle during his concerts all over the world.

Denis Matsuev is a laureate of prestigious “Shostakovich’s Prize” in Music as well as the State Prize of Russian Federation in Literature and Arts. He also is a “People’s Artist of Russia.” Denis Matsuev was named Honorary Professor of the Moscow State University. He is a member of The Presidential Council for Culture and Arts, Honored Artist of Russia and was the head of The Public Council under The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

In February 2014 Denis Matsuev was awarded the honour of performing at the official Closing Ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic games in Sochi and at the same year UNESCO designated Denis Matsuev as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

In 2016 Denis Matsuev was announced as 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia ambassador.

Denis Matsuev was awarded with State Order of Honour.

And in 2017 he received Government of Russia Prize in the sphere of Culture for his International Music Festival in Irkutsk “Stars on the Baikal”.

As the Ambassador of FIFA World Cup Russia Denis organized the unique concert with participation of Valery Gergiev, Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and other stars of classical music at the Red Square in Moscow on 13th of June 2018.

This season sees Mr. Matsuev perform with New-York Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Mariinsky orchestra under baton of Maestro Gergiev, Israel Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Christian Thielemann, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under baton of Mariss Jansons, London Symphony and Chicago Symphony orchestras under baton of Gianandrea Noseda, La Scala Orchestra with Riccardo Chailly, Konzerthausorchester Berlin with Thomas Sanderling, Vienna Symphony Orchestra with Alain Altinoglu, and the London Philharmonia Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov, Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Kent Nagano, the Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo with Neeme Jarvi.

He performs recitals at Carnegie Hall, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Vienna Konzerthaus, Pergola Theatre in Florence, G. Verdi Conservatory in Turin, Tonhalle in Zurich, Tonhalle in Dusseldorf, Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Tivoli in Copenhagen, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Smetana Hall in Prague, Gasteig in Munich, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Conservatorio di Musica “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan and Flagey in Brussels. He also takes part in concerts and tours with Staatskapelle Dresden as this season’s Capel-Virtuos. To celebrate the 145th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth in 2018, Mr. Matsuev performs the composer’s complete piano concerto cycles across the world.

Denis Matsuev participates in international music festivals such as Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Verbier Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Lucerne Festival, Montreux Festival, Stresa Festival and Bucharest Music festival.

Alexandra Troussova

In the corse of her international career Alexandra Troussova has worked with conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Antoni Witt, Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Walter Weller, Gerd Albrecht, Joseph Suk, Kaspar Zendner, Arie van Beek, Wolfgang Gönnenwein and Michel Tilkin.

Her successful performances brought her to renowned concert halls such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Prinzregententheater München, Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Opéra de Lyon, Tonhalle Zürich, Gulbenkian Foundation Lissabon, Opéra de Monte Carlo, Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid.

She is regularly invited to prestigious international music festivals, among others to the Verbier Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival Carinthischer Sommer, Saint-Denis Festival, Festival La Folle Journée, Festival de musique de Sully, Festival Piano aux Jacobins, Festival Piano à Auxerre, Festival Saint-Riquier, Festival Septembre musical, Florilegio Musical Salmantino, Al Bustan Festival, Festival de Lanaudière, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspielen and Klavierfestival Ruhr.

As a chamber musician she collaborates with a variety of artists including Frans Helmerson, Sarah Chang, Alexander Knjasev, David Guerrier, Benedict Kloeckner and Nils Mönkemeyer.

Alexandra Troussova is celebrating worldwide success in the Duo with her brother, the violinist Kirill Troussov. Both living in Munich, the siblings are recognizes as one of the few Siblings-Duos of world clas calibre.

Their common recordings – among others for EMI Classics – have been widely hailed by the international press and given many international awards.

The recent CDs “Emotions” (Dabringhaus und Grimm) and „Memories“ (Dabringaus und Grimm) of the Siblings-Duo, have been internationally praised, among others by “Süddeutsche Zeitung” in Germany and the french music magazine „Diapason“.

She studied with James Tocco, Dimitri Bashkirov, Vadim Suchanov and Alfredo Perl.

Numerous radio recordings and television broadcasts in Germany, France, Belgium and USA show Alexandra Troussova’s pianistic versatility.

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