Collard at the ''Flâneries musicales'', (6 June 2014)">Reims (6 June 2014)
Jean-Philippe Henri Collard (born 27 January 1948) is a French
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
known for his interpretations of the works of
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...
and
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 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 ...
.
Career
Collard was born on 27 January 1948 in
Mareuil-sur-Ay,
Marne, into a musical family. He started playing the piano at age five. In 1960 he traveled to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
having been sent by the
Jeunesses musicales de France to compete in the International Competition for young pianists. At 16 he won First Prize at the
Paris Conservatory of Music
The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Jau ...
. He is also a winner of the
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...
Award. In addition, Collard has won a First Prize from the
Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition, the
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 ...
Award and the
Cziffra International Competition.
In 1973 he played his recital debut in Paris at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...
. Critics in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
were very enthusiastic. "He has all the right qualities which make him a musician of the highest order; his technique, his sensibility are like the flower of virtuosity" -- ''
Le Figaro
() is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'', February 1973.
He is considered one of the greatest exponents of the French school. Collard made his American debut in 1973 with the
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Franci ...
, conducted by
Seiji Ozawa
was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...
. The performance was praised by the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
''.
A prolific recording artist with more than thirty titles to his credit, Collard's discography includes
Faure's complete solo piano music and chamber music with piano,
Rachmaninov
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 ...
's
Études-Tableaux and the
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...
Hungarian Dances
The ''Hungarian Dances'' () by Johannes Brahms ( WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular wo ...
(with pianist
Michel Beroff
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* MÃchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* MÃchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
), both named ''Stereo Reviews Record of the Year in their respective years; the
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
concerti with
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel (; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in t ...
and the
Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...
, cited by ''Gramophone'' magazine as Best Concerto Recording; and the Chausson Concert, Op. 21 (with Augustin Dumay and the Muir String Quartet) which won the
Grand Prix du Disque
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma, USA
* Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre
* Grand County (disambiguation), ...
. He has recorded all five
Saint-Saëns piano concerti with
André Previn
André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
, and the first recordings of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's arrangements of the six French melodies with
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
José van Dam
Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 25 August 1940 in Brussels), known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone, described as having "a magnificent resonant and expressive voice" and being "an excellent actor".
Life and career
At the age of 17, h ...
. Other recordings include a disc of
Chopin's
Ballades and his
third sonata, and a
Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...
recital disc including the
B minor sonata.
He is the Artistic Director of the .
Personal life
Collard lives in Paris with his wife and five children.
He was appointed a Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
in January 2003.
[
]
References
External links
Official Bio
at Seldy Cramer Artists website
in '' La Scena Musicale''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collard, Jean-Philippe
1948 births
Living people
People from Marne (department)
20th-century French male classical pianists
20th-century French classical pianists
21st-century French male classical pianists
21st-century French classical pianists
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Knights of the Legion of Honour