In a career spanning 25 years, Alexandre Tharaud has become a unique figure in the classical music world and a key exponent of French pianism. His extraordinary discography of over 25 solo albums, most of which received major awards from the music press, features repertoire ranging from Couperin, Bach and Scarlatti, through Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninov, to the major 20th century French composers. The breadth of his artistic endeavours is also reflected in collaborations with theatre makers, dancers, choreographers, writers and film makers, as well as with singer-songwriters and musicians outside the realm of classical music.
Tharaud is a sought-after soloist, appearing with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Recent highlights include concerts with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National de Lille, Les Violons du Roy, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Other highlights include the world première of Ramon Lazkano’s Piano Concerto with the Orchestre National de France and a Spanish tour of the Concerto with the Basque National Orchestra, a European tour with cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, and solo recitals at the Paris and Berlin Philharmonie, and London Kings Place.
Tharaud is an exclusive recording artist of Erato Records. His most recent album of Ravel’s Piano Concertos was released in October 2023. Other recent recordings include Cinéma, Schubert’s Impromptus D899 and Moments Musicaux D780, and the albums Chanson d’Amour with Sabine Devieilhe and Le Poète du Piano. His discography reflects an eclectic affinity to many musical styles, with recordings including Versailles, which pays tribute to composers associated with the courts of the French kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI, a tribute to singer-songwriter Barbara, a Brahms duo album with Jean-Guihen Queyras (a regular chamber music partner for 20 years), and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2. Over the course of his career, he has made critically acclaimed recordings of Rameau, Scarlatti, Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Italian Concerto, Beethoven’s three final sonatas, Chopin’s 24 Preludes and Ravel’s complete piano works.
In 2017, Tharaud published Montrez-moi Vos Mains, an introspective and engaging account of his daily life as a pianist. He had previously co-authored Piano Intime with journalist Nicolas Southon. He is the subject of a film directed by Swiss film-maker Raphaëlle Aellig-Régnier: Alexandre Tharaud, Le Temps Dérobé, and appeared in the role of the pianist “Alexandre” in Michael Haneke’s celebrated 2012 film Amour.
In 2021, Tharaud won the “Instrumental Soloist of the Year” award at the French Victoires de la Musique Classique.
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