Alexandre Tharaud

Biography

Alexandre Tharaud is a rare artist: as a pianist, author, and artistic director, his passion for many styles of music animates a creativity that feeds all his artistic endeavours, from Baroque to contemporary repertoire. He has premiered the concerto for the left hand “Left, Alone” by Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen in 2016, followed by Oscar Strasnoy’s “Kuleshov” for piano and chamber orchestra in 2017 (Erato). He is also the dedicatee of Thierry Pécou’s “Outre-Mémoire,” “L’Oiseau innumérable” (harmonia mundi, 2008), and “Le Visage, le Cœur,” as well as of Gérard Pesson’s piano concerto composed in 2012...
He performs at the most prestigious venues (London, Vienna, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Zurich, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Tokyo...), appearing with the world’s leading orchestras under the baton of conductors such as Lionel Bringuier, Bernard Labadie, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Georges Prêtre, Marc Minkowski, Stéphane Denève, Claus Peter Flor, Leo Hussain, David Zinman, Juanjo Mena, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
At the Paris Philharmonie, Alexandre Tharaud is invited to programme a weekend of concerts annually (Domaine Privé, Satie, Rachmaninov...).
Alexandre Tharaud has an extensive discography, with numerous recordings for several labels (Arion, Naxos, Erato, and harmonia mundi). His most memorable harmonia mundi projects include Rameau’s “Nouvelles Suites,” Ravel’s complete music for solo piano (Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros, Diapason d’Or of the Year in 2003, CHOC in Le Monde de la Musique, Recommended in Classica, 10 de Répertoire, Pick of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, Stern des Monats in Fono Forum, Best Disc of the Year in Standaard), Bach’s Italian Concertos, and recital programmes devoted to François Couperin (“Tic Toc Choc”), Satie (Diapason d’Or of the Year in 2008), and Chopin (Waltzes and Preludes).
An exceptional partner in chamber music, he has recorded a disc of twentieth-century French repertoire (Boulez, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Messiaen, and Varèse) with flutist Philippe Bernold (Diapason d’Or), Schubert’s piano duets with Zhu Xiao-Mei, and French music for clarinet and piano (his very first disc for harmonia mundi, in 1997) with Ronald van Spaendonck. He also maintains a long-standing musical partnership with cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras; for harmonia mundi, together they have recorded works by Schubert, Berg, and Webern (album “Arpeggione”); Kodaly, Veress, and Kurtág (Choc de Classica, Diapason d’Or); Debussy and Poulenc (Diapason d’Or); and, most recently, Marin Marais (2023)