Cécile Ousset (born 23 January 1936) is a French

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

. Cécile Ousset was born in

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turb ...

, France, and gave her first recital at the age of five, subsequently studying at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

at the age of 10 with

Marcel Ciampi Marcel Paul Maximin Ciampi (29 May 1891 – 2 September 1980) was a French pianist and teacher. He held the longest tenure in the history of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and also became head of piano classes at the ...

(who had formerly taught Yaltah and Hephzibah Menuhin) where, aged only fourteen, she was awarded first prize in the piano graduation class of 1950. In 1953, she won the Claire Pages prize and went on to win several competition credits, including the

Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition The Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition is an international classical music competition for pianists, violinists and singers that has been held in France since 1943. (A Jacques Thibaud Competition was held the year before in Bordeaux: Jacques ...

in Geneva at the age of 17; the Prix du Concours International de Geneve at 18; the Premier Grand Prix du Concours International Viotti at 19; the Premier Prix du Concours International Busoni at 23 and a

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (; July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist who, at the age of 23, achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

Prize when 26. She gained the fourth prize in the

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is n ...

in Belgium in 1956 (other contestants included

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He i ...

, who won first prize, John Browning,

Lazar Berman Lazar Naumovich Berman (russian: Ла́зарь Нау́мович Бе́рман, ''Lazarʹ Naumovič Berman''; February 26, 1930February 6, 2005) was a Soviet Russian classical pianist, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1988). He was hailed for a ...

Tamás Vásáry Tamás Vásáry (; born 11 August 1933) is a Hungarian concert pianist and conductor. Biography and career Vásáry was born in Debrecen, Hungary, and made his stage debut at the age of 8, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D major, K.107 i ...

and

Peter Frankl Peter Frankl (born 2 October 1935) is a Hungarian-born British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period (particularly Mozart), the Romantic period and the early Modern period. His recordings include the complete solo piano ...

), the Busoni and the

. She has performed throughout the world and recorded a repertoire including concertos of

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 ...

, Grieg, Saint-Saëns,

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

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 ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

, Rachmaninov,

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

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-kn ...

under the direction of

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orch ...

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...

, etc. She won the

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

of the

Académie Charles Cros The Académie Charles Cros (Charles Cros Academy) is an organization located in Chézy-sur-Marne, France, that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry. The academy is ...

for her recording of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Kurt Masur. To fulfill her interest in teaching and coaching young talent, Ousset has taught Master Classes in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and the Far East. This includes her annual Master class sessions, held since 1984 in the medieval village of Puycelsi in south-west France. She is a frequent adjudicator for major competitions such as

, Rubinstein,

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

, and the

. She is noted

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, ''88 notes pour piano solo'', Neva Editions, 2015, « Solo nec plus ultra », p. 52. for her recordings of

, Chopin,

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

, and

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

. Ousset is Honorary Patron of the Yaltah Menuhin Memorial Fund. In December 2006, she retired from public performance due to health problems related to her back.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ousset, Cecile 20th-century French women classical pianists 21st-century French women classical pianists Prize-winners of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition Conservatoire de Paris alumni Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners 1936 births Living people People from Tarbes