Bertrand Chamayou

Bertrand Chamayou is one of today’s most strikingly brilliant pianists, recognised for his revelatory performances at once powerfully virtuosic, imaginative and breathtakingly beautiful.

Heralded for his masterful conviction and insightful musicianship across a vast repertoire, the French pianist performs at the highest level on the international music scene. He is recognised as a leading interpreter of French repertoire, shining a new light on familiar as well as lesser known works, while possessing an equally driving curiosity and deep passion for new music. He has worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, György Kurtág, Thomas Adès and Michael Jarrell.

In 2019 Bertrand Chamayou won the Gramophone Awards for Best Concerto and overall Recording of the Year for his album of Saint-Saëns Piano Concertos No. 2 and 5 with Orchestre national de France and Emmanuel Krivine. His award-winning discography also includes Ravel’s complete works for piano (ECHO Klassik award) and Liszt’s complete Années de pèlerinage, recorded for Naïve (Choc de Classica; Diapason d’Or de l’année and Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2012). He is an exclusive recording artist for Erato.

Chamayou appears regularly at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals, such as Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Lincoln Center New York, Philharmonie de Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, as well as Mostly Mozart in New York, Beethovenfest Bonn, Lucerne Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron, Edinburgh International Festival and Rheingau Musik Festival.

He has undertaken several major recitals of substantial bodies of work, most memorably the complete piano œuvre of Ravel, Liszt’s Etudes and Années de pèlerinage, and Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus. Chamayou also enjoys high profile artist residencies in his name at Radio France, Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Following on from a number of international debuts over the past year, 2019-20 promises another rich concert season, including performances at Munich Gasteig, London’s Wigmore Hall, Paris Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, Gothenburg, Detroit and Luzern. He also undertakes diverse projects at Strasbourg’s Musica festival including works by John Cage for prepared piano with dancer Élodie Sicard. Chamayou will also make his debut with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, tour with Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, and appear as artistic director and on the jury of the Long Thibaud Crespin Competition 2019.

Bertrand Chamayou performs with the world’s finest orchestras, including New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig’s Gewandhausorchester, Orchestre de Paris, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Wiener Symphoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestre Zurich, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Bamberg Symphoniker and NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, among many others. He has had the privilege of sharing the stage with maestros Pierre Boulez and Sir Neville Marriner and counts among his regular partners at the podium Semyon Bychkov, Mikko Franck, Philippe Herreweghe, Philippe Jordan, François-Xavier Roth, Tugan Sokhiev, Stéphane Denève and Emmanuel Krivine.

A passionate chamber musician, Bertrand Chamayou often performs with partners such as cellist Sol Gabetta, violinists Vilde Frang and Renaud Capuçon, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and clarinetist Sabine Meyer. 

Bertrand Chamayou was born in Toulouse and makes his home in Paris. He has received France’s prestigious Victoires de la Musique Classique prize on four separate occasions and in 2015 was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.