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.

Wilhem Latchoumia

Wilhem Latchoumia is unique in the field of music. He embraces both new music and classical repertoire with as much success as charisma. The way he creates original programs is therefore seen by many as his signature. In the meantime, he has this strong and jubilant bond with the audience.

In France, he has performed on numerous occasions at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, the Opéra Comique, the Cité de la Musique, the CENTQUATRE, the Théâtre d’Orléans, the Musée d’Orsay Auditorium, Toulouse Capitole, Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Dijon Operas, as well as the Fondation Royaumont. He has also been invited by international festivals such as Printemps des Arts de Monte Carlo, Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, La Roque d’Anthéron, Besançon and Aix-en-Provence, and has close relationship with Strasbourg-Musica, the Festival Messian au Pays de la Meije, Musiques en scène Biennale in Lyon (GRAME), Lille Piano(s) Festival and more…

Abroad, audiences enjoy his performances in many festivals and venues such as London Barbican Centre, Liege Philharmonic Hall, Brussels BOZAR and Brugge Concertgebouw, the Institute For Contemporary Performance (Mannes College) in New York City, the Beijing Modern Music Festival and Shanghai Electronik Music Week, as well as Buenos Aires Encuentros Festival, the Retour au Pays Natal festival in Martinique, in Italy (Gubbio Summer Festival and Traiettorie festival in Parma), Berlin (Young Euro Classic Festival), San Sebastian (Quincena musical)…

He will make his debuts at the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik next spring.

International tours have taken him to Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Poland, China, Corea, USA and South America.

As a soloist, Wilhem Latchoumia has performed with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Pascal Rophé, Joshua Dos Santos), the Orchestre National de Lille (Paul Polivnik, Benjamin Shwartz, Yann Robin), the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (Grieg’s concerto, 2017) and the Orchestre National de Lyon (Peter Rundel) in Unsuk Chin’s piano concerto – which he had premiered in France with the Orchestre National de Lille (Jean Deroyer). He played Strauss’ Burlesque with the Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France (Ainars Rubikis) and Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles with the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Aquitaine (Jean-François Heisser). He has also performed under the direction of Gilbert Amy, Peter Csaba, with the Rostow Symphony orchestra (Andrei Galanov), Liège (Christian Arming), Seoul and Daejean philharmonic orchestras, as well as Teatro Colon orchestra. Among his partners: the Tokyo Sinfonietta (Yasuaki Itakura), the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain (Daniel Kawka), Ictus, 2e2m, Accroche Note and Linea ensembles, violist Christophe Desjardins, Diotima and Tana Quartets, pianists Marie Vermeulin, Vanessa Wagner and Cédric Tiberghien…

Wilhem Latchoumia is one of the most sought-after performers: his passion for contemporary music has led him to collaborate with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Philippe Hersant, Gérard Pesson, Gilbert Amy, Pierre Jodlowski, Franck Bedrossian, Samuel Sighicelli, Michael Jarrell, Jonathan Harvey, Oscar Bianchi, Francesco Filidei, Karl Naegelen, José Manuel Lopez-Lopez, Mikel Urquiza… He has inspired and performed a new production supported by the Fondation Royaumont around John Cage’s Daughters of the lonesome Isle, which toured in France and abroad. He loves taking part in choreographic projects; the next one will be Achterland, a production by Rosas / Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker.

“Extase Maxima”, Wilhem Latchoumia’s CD released in 2014, was recorded during a long tour supported by Palazzetto Bru Zane. Devoted to Wagner and his transcribers, it has launched his collaboration with French label La Dolce Volta. Awarded by a Choc (“Classica”) and a Maestro (“Pianiste”), this CD followed two critically-acclaimed recordings: “Piano and Electronic Sounds” (Sisyphe) rewarded by a Choc (“Monde de la Musique”) and “Impressoes” (Sony BMG / RCA), dedicated to Villa-Lobos (a.o.) that won a Choc as well, a Diapason d’or and the Audio Clasica magazine « best recording » award. He joined the Diotima Quartet for a CD devoted to composer Miroslav Srnka, released by naïve in March 2016.

Wilhem Latchoumia’s latest solo recording is devoted to Manuel de Falla’s piano work (La Dolce Volta, 2016), for which he obtained 5 Diapasons, a Maestro from the magazine Pianiste and Télérama’s well-known FFFF.

Wilhem Latchoumia studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse in Lyon (Eric Heidsieck’s and Géry Moutier’s classes) where he was awarded the first Prize with unanimous jury congratulations. He completed his training with Géry Moutier in perfection classes. Then he studied with Claude Helffer and benefited from Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen’s and Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s master classes. He holds a bachelor’s degree in musicology and has received several prizes and awards, including the Hewlett-Packard Foundation, the 12th Montsalvatge International Piano Competition, the First prize with Special Distinction Blanche Selva, as well as five other prizes of the 2006 Orléans International Piano Competition.

“His capacity to slip between the different spaces of a music, is combined with the ability to read between the lines of a score. Thus, he delivers Crumb’s Nocturnal Fantasia with clearness that will be the privilege of Liszt’s legacy (Nuages Gris, Funérailles), and the festal flights of fancy of Villa-Lobos (Ciclo Brasileiro)”

Pierre Gervasoni | Le Monde (August 23, 2007)

“The summit is reached with Archipel IV by André Boucourechliev. A contemporary work, reputed to be difficult but which the pianist invites us to devour like a detective novel.”

Olivier Bellamy | Le Parisien (August 19, 2007)

“We can’t resist Latchoumia’s charismatic breath, nor his poetry!”

Alain Cochard | Concertclassic (April 12, 2007)

“A brilliant young pianist: a dramatic elegance, a pallet of sounds, a supple and franc touch”

Télérama (November 2006)

Iddo Bar-Shaï

Born in 1977, Israeli pianist Iddo Bar-Shai trained at the Rubin Academy of Music (Tel-Aviv University) with Bracha Ornan-Margalit and then with Pnina Salzman – a former student of Alfred Cortot at the Ecole Normale de Musique and First Prize in the class of Magda Tagliaferro at the Conservatoire de Paris. He also benefited from the teaching of Alexis Weissenberg. Fellow of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (1988-1999), he has been the winner of numerous national and international competitions.

He is now pursuing his international career in Europe, Asia, Brazil and the United States, in particular on the prestigious stages of the Wigmore Hall (London), the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), the Opera City Hall (Tokyo), Beijing Zhongshan Hall and Fredric R. Mann Auditorium (Tel Aviv).

Partner in chamber music of the Ysaÿe, Aviv, Ebène, Modigliani or American String Quartets, he has been playing with orchestra since the age of twelve, among others with the English Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel, the Lille National Orchestra, the Paris Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Aldo Ceccato, Eliahu Inbal, Sir Lawrence Foster, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Kaspar Zehnder, Günter Pichler …

Invited by Martha Argerich as part of the Martha Argerich Project in Lugano, Iddo Bar-Shai has been playing every year at the Roque d’Anthéron Festival since 2004. He participated in the Festival and the Verbier Academy, on the Steans Institute program. of the Ravinia Festival (USA), the Meslay Barn Festival, the Menton Festival, the Radio France Music Festival in Montpellier, the international chamber music festival in Jerusalem (in Berlin and Jerusalem) as well as than at the Festival de la Folle Journée in Nantes, Lisbon, Tokyo, Warsaw and Rio de Janeiro.

Iddo Bar-Shaï was selected by “Dominicans of Haute-Alsace” as artist-in-residence during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. In this context, he collaborated with the ombromane Philippe Beau to the project “The Wandering Shadows” with keyboard works by François Couperin. This show has been acclaimed by the press and a world tour is planned.

This season is marked by a collaboration with the famous pianist Menahem Pressler, with the performance of Mozart’s double piano concerto and a collaboration with the famous pianist Martha Argerich, with the performance of Bach’s concerto for 4 pianos as well as by chamber music concerts with Alisa Weilerstein, Vilde Frang, Anna Prohaska, Sayaka Shoji …

His concerts have been recorded and broadcast by several European, American and Israeli radio stations. Several concerts have been broadcast on the television channels Mezzo, Arte and NHK. It also appears on the DVD “The Pianos of Tomorrow” (Naïve / Ideal Audience) with the cooperation of channels ARTE and France-3.

His Haydn piano CD, released in 2006 under the Mirare label, won praise from the press. With “5 tuning forks” from Diapason magazine, it has been described as “one of the best recordings ever devoted to Haydn’s piano work” by the World of Music and, by the magazine Piano International, as “an extraordinary record; the acquisition of this CD is de rigueur for all lovers of classical repertoire “and also” This superb recital announces the arrival of a talented pianist who joins his elders, Curzon and Larrocha in Andante, Brendel and Gould for sonatas “by Classica Répertoire. This CD has also been selected and awarded by numerous magazines and radio stations, notably by the magazine International Piano, which has chosen it among the three CDs to receive the “rising star prize for a first recording” as part of the Prize International Piano Festival 2006. In December 2008 his last Chopin mazurkas CD was released by Mirare. He has received unanimous praise in the world with the highest ratings from prestigious newspapers such as Le Figaro and Fonoforum in Germany and has been described as a “magnificent achievement; and confirmation of a new great talent for the current keyboard “(online magazine Classic-news) and” A singular and major record “(Le Devoir). His latest CD released in 2013, entirely devoted to François Couperin’s works, was judged as “a Couperin record as fascinating as the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould.”

Opus HD magazine, and “a record that attracts, demonstrating that Couperin’s works are as viable on modern piano, and where Bar Shai does a splendid job. You can not go wrong with such an interpretation, finely nuanced and expressive. Fanfare magazine.

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, with a fertile imagination, this profound and subtle performer, an architect of sound, offers a vision where intelligence contends with spontaneity.”

– Michel Le Naour, *Cadences*

François Dumont is a laureate of the most prestigious international competitions, including the Chopin Competition, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Clara Haskil Competition, and Piano Masters of Monte-Carlo. He was nominated for the « Victoires de la Musique » in the « Instrumental Soloist » category and received the « Révélation » Prize from the French Music Critics Association.

François Dumont was selected by Leonard Slatkin to perform and record Ravel’s two concertos with the Orchestre National de Lyon as part of their complete Ravel collection. The album, released by Naxos, was warmly received by critics : « a very accurate interpretation of both concertos ; perfect classical clarity in the G major concerto… the left-hand concerto, powerful and even heartbreaking, » wrote Jacques Bonnaure in « Classica ».

He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National de Lorraine, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, National Orchestra of Colombia, Pasdeloup Orchestra, Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, and Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, collaborating 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, Dumont studied with Pascale Imbert, Chrystel Saussac, and Hervé Billaut. At 14, he entered the CNSMD in Paris under Bruno Rigutto. He further refined his skills at the International Academy of Lake Como and the Lieven Piano Foundation, studying with Dmitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naboré, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier, and Fou Ts’ong.

Dumont performs in recital at major festivals such as Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, Chopin Festival in Nohant, La Chaise-Dieu Festival, Lisztomanias in Châteauroux, Chopin Festival in Paris, Radio-France Festival in Montpellier, Besançon Festival, Epau Festival, Nuits Musicales d’Uzès, Nuits du Suquet in Cannes, Grands Concerts in Lyon, Chopin Festival in Geneva, Vézère Festival, and Folles Journées in Nantes. He is also a regular performer in China, Japan, and South Korea. His solo discography includes the complete Mozart Sonatas on Anima Records, a Chopin album, two Bach albums on Artalinna, a Wagner/Liszt album on Piano Classics, a live double album from the Chopin Competition published by the Chopin National Institute in Warsaw, and the complete piano works of Maurice Ravel on Piano Classics. His Mozart concertos recordings have been praised for “a cantabile and inspired playing, serving a deep understanding of detail” and “total osmosis with the musicians.”

His recording of Chopin’s « Nocturnes » has been equally well received by critics: « In the much-played repertoire of Chopin’s ‘Nocturnes’ , pianist François Dumont joins the ranks of the greats. He offers a vision of rare coherence in this essential body of work. »

His album of Fauré’s « Nocturnes », recorded on a 1922 Gaveau piano, was awarded the maximum rating, « Supersonic, » by Luxembourg’s « Pizzicato » magazine.

Dumont also enjoys performing chamber music with artists such as Sayaka Shoji, Marc Coppey, Laurent Korcia, Augustin Dumay, and the Prazak Quartet. Since 2003, he has formed a duo with soprano Helen Kearns.

During the 2021-2022 season, he performed with orchestras at the Philharmonie de Paris, in Poland, and Germany, and gave recitals in Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Kosovo, London, and Paris (Salle Gaveau). His latest album, dedicated to Chopin’s « Ballades » and « Impromptus », was released in April 2022.

His upcoming season includes performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Cité de la Musique, and Musée d’Orsay, as well as a tour in Japan and at the Musikverein in Vienna.

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

Duo Jatekok

Leading an international career as a piano duo, the Jatekok have been performing on the most prestigious stages for over ten years.
They are one of the most dynamic duos of their generation, regularly called upon for ever more innovative and daring projects, like the opening-act for the metal band Rammstein.
A collaboration that started in 2017 and that will lead the woman duo to release an original and crossover album ” Jatekok plays Rammstein ” for Universal music.
Since their 1st album “Danses” released by the label Mirare which offers a colorful and expressive musical mix, they like to take up challenges and build bridges between different musical domains.
Their second album “Les Boys” released by the label Alpha Classics on the theme of jazz, offers a modern program, originated in a meeting with pianist Baptiste Trotignon.
The Jatekok have an undeniably lively presence that fill their audience with enthusiasm, and their open-mindedness seduces many artists from different fields.
They regularly play with the greatest orchestras such as the BBC Scottish Orchestra, the Belgium National Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Geneva, the Guatemalan Symphony Orchestra, and have recorded their 3rd album “Carnaval” with the National Orchestra of Lille and famous comedian Alex Vizorek.

Naïri Badal and Adélaïde Panaget have conquered an audience that recognizes their sincerity, their complicity and their talent.

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, at age 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win the Tchaikovsky Competition’s First Prize, as well as the Grand Prix, awarded only three times before in the competition’s history. Hailed by critics as the “reincarnation of Liszt” (Fanfare Magazine), he received the Gilmore Artist Award 2024, considered one of the most prestigious international piano prizes, and awarded only every 4 years. He is the first French artist and youngest winner of the Gilmore Artist Award.

Alexandre Kantorow began his career at an early age, making his debut at La Folle Journée de Nantes with Sinfonia Varsovia at age 16. Since then, he has performed with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko at the BBC Proms in London, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with John Eliot Gardiner, Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev and Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer. Alexandre Kantorow has also performed on prestigious international tours with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, as well as with the Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru.

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

Highlights of the 2024/2025 season include Alexandre’s debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, a European tour with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, under Tugan Sokhiev, debut with the Orchestre Metropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will also perform Brahms’ Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He will make his recital debut in China, including performances in Beijing and Shanghai as part of an Asian tour. In chamber music, he will perform with Janine Jansen and tour with Gautier Capuçon.

Alexandre Kantorow records exclusively for BIS. In 2022, he won two Diapason d’Or de l’Année for his Brahms disc and his Saint-Saëns disc (concertos 1 and 2). The latter disc, which finalizes the complete set of concertos recorded with the Tapiola Sinfonietta under Jean-Jacques Kantorow, has been hailed by critics as a “benchmark version of the Saint- Saëns concertos” (Resmusica). It was also selected by Gramophone magazine in their “Editor’s choice”. His two previous recordings (Saint-Saëns concertos 3, 4 and 5, and solo works by Brahms, Bartok and Liszt) were both awarded Diapason d’Or and Choc Classica of the year in 2019 and 2020. Gramophone magazine describes his performance as “another outstanding example of his virtuosity and artistry, displaying both skill and sensitivity from start to finish”. His recital recording “à la Russe” also won numerous awards and distinctions in 2017, including Choc de l’Année (Classica), Diapason Découverte, Supersonic (Pizzicata) and CD des Doppelmonats (PianoNews).

He is a laureate of the Safran Foundation and Banque Populaire. In 2020, he won two awards at the Victoires de la Musique Classique: Recording of the Year and Instrumental Soloist of the Year, the latter also in 2024.

In 2022, he became artistic director of the “Les Rencontres Musicales de Nîmes” festival with violinist Liya Petrova and cellist Aurélien Pascal.

In 2024, Alexandre Kantorow was made Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the French President. Two years earlier, in 2022, he had been honored with the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. In July 2024, Alexandre performed 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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