Jean-Yves Thibaudet has been performing worldwide for more than 30 years, recording over 50 albums and earning a reputation as one of the finest pianists working today. His repertoire includes solo works, chamber music and orchestral works - from Beethoven to Liszt, Grieg and Saint-Saëns to Khachaturian and Gershwin, to Olivier Messiaen, Qigang Chen, James MacMillan, Richard Dubugnon and Aaron Zigman.
Since the beginning of his career, he has been passionate about music beyond the standard repertoire, from jazz to opera, including works he has transcribed for the piano himself. His deep professional friendships and connections span the globe and have led to spontaneous and highly fruitful collaborations in film, fashion and the visual arts.
This season, Thibaudet begins a two-year journey of Debussy's Préludes. He will perform the complete Préludes in solo concerts around the world, with dates in Eindhoven, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Rome, Toronto, Los Angeles and West Palm Beach; upcoming seasons will include performances in the US, Europe and Asia. Thibaudet is also planning two more concert tours this season: Starting in February, he will join cellist Gautier Capuçon and violinist Lisa Batiashvili on a European tour of trios by Haydn, Arensky and Brahms. In May, he will join Capuçon for a series of duo concerts in the USA and Colombia.
In addition to his recital tours, Thibaudet appears as soloist in seven different works, performing with thirteen orchestras. He began the season with one of his best-known works, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major, at the George Enescu Festival; he later performs the concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic, where he is artist-in-residence. Thibaudet then performs Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Houston Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He premiered Aaron Zigman's concerto for piano and orchestra "Tango Manos", written for him, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing in 2019, followed this season by performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic Orchestra in January; he also performs Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety" with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic. Together with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Thibaudet performs Scriabin's Prometheus: The Poem of Fire in February, followed by performances with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in June. Performances of Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 5 with the St. Louis Symphony and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F with the Dresden Philharmonic round out the season's programme.
Thibaudet has been passionately involved in education and the promotion of young musical talent throughout his life. He is the first-ever artist-in-residence at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he also resides. In 2017, the school announced the Jean Yves Thibaudet Scholarships, funded by members of the Colburn donor community to support Music Academy students who Thibaudet selects for the awards regardless of their choice of instrument.
Thibaudet records exclusively for Decca; his extensive catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, the German Record Critics' Award, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize and the Gramophone Awards. His most recent album, 2021's Carte Blanche, features a collection of highly personal solo piano pieces that the pianist has never recorded before. Other highlights in Thibaudet's catalogue include a 2017 recording of Bernstein's Age of Anxiety with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, with whom he has previously recorded Gershwin, with big-band jazz orchestrations of Rhapsody in Blue, the Concerto in F and the original version of the Variations on "I Got Rhythm". In 2016, to mark the 150th anniversary of Erik Satie's birth, Decca released a box set of Satie's complete solo piano music, played by Thibaudet - one of the leading exponents of the composer's works. On his Grammy-nominated recording Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerti Nos. 2&5, released in 2007, he is accompanied by Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Thibaudet's Aria-Opera Without Words, released the same year, features aria transcriptions, some of them by Thibaudet himself. His other recordings include the jazz albums Reflections on Duke: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Plays the Music of Duke Ellington and Conversations With Bill Evans.
Thibaudet has also been influential in the world of fashion, film and philanthropy. He was soloist in Aaron Zigman's score for Robin Swicord's Wakefield; it was the first time the composer allowed a pianist other than himself to perform his film work. He was also a soloist in Dario Marianelli's award-winning scores for Atonement (which won an Oscar for Best Original Score) and Pride and Prejudice, as well as Alexandre Desplat's soundtracks for the film Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012) and Wes Anderson's film The French Dispatch (2021). He made a cameo appearance in Bruce Beresford's film about Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, where his playing can be heard throughout. In 2004 he was President of the prestigious Hospices de Beaune charity auction. His concert wardrobe was designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies at the age of five and gave his first public performance at seven. At twelve, he entered the Paris Conservatoire to study with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At fifteen he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire and three years later the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York City.
His many awards include the Victoire d'Honneur, a lifetime achievement award and the highest honour bestowed by France's Victoires de la Musique. In 2010, the Hollywood Bowl honoured Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously, Thibaudet was Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and was appointed Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. In 2020, he was appointed Special Representative for the Promotion of French Creative and Cultural Industries in Romania. He is joint artistic director of the Musique & Vin au Clos Vougeot festival with Gautier Capuçon.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet is represented worldwide by HarrisonParrott and records exclusively for Decca Records.
More information at www.jeanyvesthibaudet.com