Jean-Yves Thibaudet
piano

Performance Dates
October 12/13/14 8:00 PM
GERSHWIN: Piano Concert in F

A masterful, brilliant, poetic, miraculous, breathtaking virtuoso: these are only a handful of the many accolades the press has used to describe pianist JeanYves Thibaudet. A charismatic and versatile musician acclaimed for his sensitivity and ranges of color and texture, he is sought after by today's foremost orchestras, festivals, conductors, and collaborative musicians. In both live performance and recordings, he continues to uphold his reputation as one of the best pianists in the world. He last performed with the ASO in April 2004, in Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony.

This season takes Mr. Thibaudet to engagements on four continents. His North American performances include recitals in Washington, Chicago, West Palm Beach, Portland, and Vancouver, and concerts with the orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Nashville, among others. Highlights of his concerts abroad include recitals in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, and performances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchester des WDR (Cologne), Spanish National Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra, as well as a fivecity tour of the Netherlands with the Rossetti String Quartet and another tour with the Orchestre National de Lyon to Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria.

An exclusive recording artist for Decca with over 30 releases, Mr. Thibaudet was the soloist on the 2005 Oscarnominated soundtrack of Pride and Prejudice. Also new in 2005 was his recording of Strauss's Burleske with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. His diverse repertoire includes works by Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Satie, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Grieg, Messiaen, Debussy, and Ravel. His enthusiasm for jazz has resulted in popular recordings including "Reflections on Duke: the music of Duke Ellington" and "Conversations with Bill Evans." His recordings over the years have garnered a Grammy nomination and many prizes including the Schallplatten Preis, Diapason d'Or, Choc de la Musique, Gramophone Award, Edison Prize, and two Echo awards.

Offstage, Mr. Thibaudet was featured on the soundtrack and appeared in the 2001 film Bride of the Wind. He performed two Schubert Impromptus on the soundtrack of 1997's Portrait of a Lady. On television, he was featured in the 2000 PBS/Smithsonian special, "Piano Grand!" and he has impacted the fashion world with concert attire designed by London designer Vivienne Westwood.

Of French and German heritage, Mr. Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies at age five and made his first public appearance at seven. He entered the Paris Conservatory at age twelve, studying with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At age 15 he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire, and three years later hewon the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. The Republic of France awarded him the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2001, and a year later he was awarded the Premio Pegasus from the Spoleto Festival in Italy for his artistic achievements and his longstanding involvement with the festival.