Claire Désert (born 1967) is a French classical pianist.

Biography

Born in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

, Désert began learning the piano at the age of five. At fourteen, she joined the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP). A student of French composer

Jean Hubeau Jean Hubeau (22 June 191719 August 1992) was a French pianist, composer and pedagogue known especially for his recordings of Gabriel Fauré, Robert Schumann and Paul Dukas, which are recognized as benchmark versions. Biography Admitted at th ...

, she won the First prize for

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. In 1985, she was unanimously awarded the first piano prize by the jury. She then enrolled in the class of the Bulgarian pianist Ventsislav Yankov. In the same year, she was admitted into the piano improvement cycle. She obtained a scholarship from the French government and went to study for one year at the Tchaïkovski Conservatory of Moscow, in the class of Yevgeny Malinin. Back in France, she joined the class of

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Roland Pidoux Roland Pidoux (born 29 October 1946, in Paris) is a French contemporary cellist and conductor. Biography Roland Pidoux studied at the Conservatoire de Paris until 1966. His masters were André Navarra, Jean Hubeau and Joseph Calvet. He entered ...

and further perfected her chamber music skills.

Career

Since the early 1990s, the musician has performed on stages such as the Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Salle Pleyel as well as in international festivals at the invitation of La Folle Journée, the , the Lille Piano(s) Festival, the , the , the Stavelot Festival and the George Enescu Festival in Bucarest. In 1997, she was named "New Talent of the Year" at the

Victoires de la musique classique The Victoires de la musique classique (; en, "Victories of Classical Music") are an annual French classical music award event founded in 1986. The awards are the classical equivalent of the popular music awards Victoires de la Musique and the Victo ...

for her performance of the Czech composer

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

's and the Russian pianist and composer

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

's concertos, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. Désert is also a professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Paris

Collaborations

As a soloist, she regularly accompanies renowned symphonic formations such as the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Orchestre philharmonique de Paris, the Orchestre national de Lille, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France. Her musical career has led her to play and record alongside the musicians of the , cellists Anne Gastinel, Gary Hoffman, violinists Tedi Papavrami,

Philippe Graffin Philippe Graffin (born 1964 in Romilly-sur-Seine) is a French violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinis ...

and

Nemanja Radulović Nemanja Radulović ( sr-cyrl, Немања Радуловић; born 18 October 1985), is a Serbian violinist. Biography Radulović began studying the violin in 1992. In 1996, he was awarded the October Prize for music of the city of Belgrade, ...

and pianist

Emmanuel Strosser Emmanuel Strosser (born 4 May 1965 in Strasbourg), the son of theatre director Pierre Strosser, is a French classical pianist. Biography Strosser first studied with Hélène Boschi then at the Conservatoire de Paris with Jean-Claude Pennetier a ...

Discography

Personal albums

* 2007:

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's ''Davidbünderltänze Op 6'', Mirare * 2010: Robert Schumann's '' Abendmusik'', Mirare

Collaborations

* 1999: ''Œuvres pour piano à quatre mains : Variations (8) / Op.35 - Allegro / op.144 'Lebensstürme'...'' by Franz Schubert with Claire Désert and Emmanuel Strosser, Aria Music * 2000: ''Musique de chambre'' by Elliott Carter with Patrick Gallois, Michel Lethiec, Arto Noras,

Gérard Poulet Gérard (Georges) Poulet (born 12 August 1938) is a French classical violinist. Biography Born in Bayonne the son of conductor Gaston Poulet, Poulet started studying the violin at age five. At 11 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris in André ...

and Amaury Wallez, Arion * 2000: Saint-Saëns's '' The Carnival of the Animals'' with Francis Blanche, Vincent Coq, Claire Désert, Philippe Meyer, Raphaël Pidoux and Léa Weber. * 2001: ''Quintette pour piano et vents - Ma mère l'Oye'' by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

and André Caplet, Claire Désert and the Moragues wind quintet,

Le Chant du Monde Le Chant du Monde is a French music publishing house. It was created in 1938 by Léon Moussinac and was supported in the beginning by classical composers Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Albert ...

* 2001: ''Cello Concerto in A minor'' by

with Anne Gastinel and

Louis Langrée Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. One of his sisters is an amateur cellist. Biography Early years Langrée studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory, but had no f ...

(conductor), Valois * 2002: ''Les Œuvres pour flûte'' by

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

with Mathieu Dufour, Adrienne Krausz, Michel Moraguez, Julie Palloc,

Sandrine Piau Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debus ...

and the Moraguès Wind Quartet, Saphir * 2004: ''Duos pour piano'' by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

and Franz Schubert with

, Virgin Classics * 2005: ''Arpeggione'' by Franz Schubert, with Anne Gastinel, Naïve * 2005: ''Piano Quartets'', compositions by Alexis de Castillon,

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, Ernest Chausson and

Guillaume Lekeu Jean Joseph Nicolas Guillaume Lekeu (20 January 1870 – 21 January 1894) was a Belgian composer. Life Lekeu was born in Heusy, a village near Verviers, Belgium. He originally studied piano and music theory under Alphonse Voss, the director of ...

with the Kandinsky quartet, Virgin Classics * 2005: ''In the shade of forests'', compositions by George Enescu,

and

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

with Claire Désert and

, Avie * 2005: Mendelssohn Bartholdy's '' Songs Without Words'' with Claire Désert and David Walter, Polymnie * 2007: ''Danses slaves, Op 46 and Op 72'' by

with Claire Désert and

, Mirare * 2007: Mozart's ''3 préludes pfor piano - 3 strophes sur le nom de Sacher'' - Dutilleux's ''

Ainsi la nuit ''Ainsi la nuit'' (''Thus the Night'') is a string quartet written by the French composer Henri Dutilleux between 1973 and 1976. It was premiered in 1977 by the Parrenin Quartet. It is considered one of the most important works in the genre and ...

'' with Claire Désert, Desmons, Hery, Perraud, Erol * 2008: ''Arpeggione'' by Franz Schubert, Claire Désert, Anne Gastinel, Édition collector naïve 10 ans * 2013: ''L'enfance - Piano à 4 mains'' with Claire Désert and Emmanuel Strosser, Mirare * 2013: ''Moments musicaux - Pieces for Paul Klee - Suonare - All ungarese'' by

Bruno Mantovani Bruno Mantovani (born 8 October 1974) is a French composer. He has been awarded first prizes from the Conservatoire de Paris which he joined in 1993. His work has been commissioned by the French government as well as other organizations. In Septe ...

with Claire Désert and the

Trio Wanderer The Trio Wanderer is a French piano trio made up of Vincent Coq, piano, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, violin, and Raphaël Pidoux, cello, who graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1988 they won the ARD International Music Competition i ...

, Mirare * 2015: ''Œuvres pour piano à 4 mains'' by Franz Schubert, Claire Désert,

, Mirare * 2017: ''Brahms: Cello Sonatas'' with Claire Désert and Gary Hoffman, La Dolce Vota

Compilations

* 2006: ''Anne Gastinel - Coffret 3Cds'', compositions by

and Franz Schubert with Claire Désert, Anne Gastinel,

François-Frédéric Guy François-Frédéric Guy (born 23 January 1969) is a French classical pianist. Life Training Born in Vernon, Eure, Guy entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age 11 and worked with Dominique Merlet and Christian Ivaldi. Graduated in 1980, in ...

(conductor) and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, Naïve * 2007: ''Classique et Zen'', Classical compilation with Rinaldo Alessandrini, Lise de la Salle, Claire Désert, Anne Gastinel,

Howard Griffiths Howard Griffiths may refer to: *Howard Griffiths (conductor) (born 1950), British conductor *Howard Griffiths (scientist), British plant scientist *Howard Griffiths (presenter), British television presenter *Howard Griffiths (screenwriter) (1935– ...

, François-Frédéric Guy,

Laurence Equilbey Laurence Equilbey (born 6 March 1962) is a French conductor, known for her work in the choral repertoire, and more recently as the founder and music director of the Insula Orchestra. Equilbey studied piano and flute in her early life. She under ...

Sara Mingardo Sara Mingardo (born 2 March 1961) is an Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's ''Les Troyens'' won a Gramophone Award and bo ...

, Fazıl Say,

Grigory Sokolov Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian pianist naturalized Spain, Spanish. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning compo ...

, Naïve * 2010: ''Complete chamber music with winds'' by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, Compilation Classique with Berrod, Claire Désert,

, Trenel and the Orchestre des solistes de Paris, Indesens

Live recordings

* 2005: ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

'' by Bruno Coulais, live recording with Loïc Pierre (conductor), le Choeur de Chambre Mikrokosmos, Guillaume Depardieu, Claire Désert, Marie Kobayashi, Laurent Korcia, , ,

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, Naïve * 2006: Recordings of the piano Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron with

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14 ...

, Iddo Bar-Shaï, Boris Berezovsky, Claire Désert,

Brigitte Engerer Brigitte Engerer (; 27 October 1952 – 23 June 2012) was a French pianist. Biography Born in Tunis, French Tunisia, Engerer started piano lessons at the age of four, and by the age of six was performing in public. When she was 11 her fami ...

, Philippe Giusiano, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Anne Queffélec,

, Édition limitée, Mirare * 2007: Recordings of the La Roque-d'Anthéron piano festival, volume 2, with

, Iddo Bar-Shaï, Boris Berezovsky, Claire Désert, Shani Diluka, Philippe Giusiano, Anne Queffélec, Jean-Frederic Neuburger,

, Mirare

References

External links

Interview of Claire Désert on Classicagenda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desert, Claire 1967 births Living people People from Angoulême 21st-century French women classical pianists Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Women music educators