Pierre Pradier (born 26 July 1948) is a French classical pianist.

Biography

Born in

La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer (; "La Seyne on Sea"; ), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, is situated adja ...

, Pradier won the grand prix of the city of Marseille in

Pierre Barbizet Pierre Barbizet (20 September 1922 – 19 January 1990) was a 20th-century Chilean pianist. Barbizet was born in Arica, Chile and studied at the Marseille Conservatory. He later returned to the institution as its director. Barbizet died in Marse ...

's class, in conjunction with law studies at the Faculty of Aix-en-Provence. He entered the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 Ja ...

where he won the 4 first prizes including one for the piano in Monique de la Bruchollerie's class. Various encounters then with

Pierre Bernac Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed in F ...

Henri Sauguet Henri-Pierre Sauguet-Poupard (18 May 1901 – 22 June 1989) was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux, he adopted his mother's maiden name as part of his professional pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies (1945, 1949, ...

, and

Vladimir Jankélévitch Vladimir Jankélévitch (; 31 August 1903 – 6 June 1985) was a French philosopher and musicologist. Biography Jankélévitch was the son of Ukrainian Jewish parents, who had emigrated to France. In 1922 he started studying philosophy at the � ...

influenced him a lot, as well as the advice of Gyorgy Cziffra and

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (19 October 191614 October 1985, born Samuil) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a violinist. His daughter Elena ...

. Laureate of the International Casella Competition in Naples, and winner of the Alex de Vriès prize of the

Long-Thibaud-Crespin 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 ...

, he performed in Europe and the United States, and recorded several discs devoted to Chopin,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He also participated in the recording of film music, notably

René Allio René Allio (; 3 August 1924, Marseille – 27 March 1995, Paris) was a French film and theater director. Filmography * ''The Shameless Old Lady'', by Bertolt Brecht (''La Vieille Dame indigne'', 1965) * ''Le cercle de craie caucasien'', by Ber ...

's, and television programs including devoted to Gyorgy Cziffra. Pradier also accompanies singers such as Claude DormoyClaude Dormoy
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

and

Michel Dens Michel Dens (22 June 1911 in Roubaix – 19 December 2000 in Paris) was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta. Born Maurice Marcel, the son of a journalist, he studied at the Academy of ...

. In addition, Pradier has collaborated on several

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

creations by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

, such as ''Parisiana 25'', ''Les amours de Franz'', Soirées Debussy n°2, ''Ma Pavlova'', ''Charlot danse avec nous'', as guest solo pianist with

Dominique Khalfouni Dominique Khalfouni (born 1951) is a French ballet dancer. Once a star ( ''étoile'') of the Paris Opera Ballet and a principal of the Ballet National de Marseille, she is now a ballet teacher. Biography Born in 1951, she attended the Paris Opera ...

Zizi Jeanmaire Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 1924 – 17 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to a ...

Maya Plisetskaya Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she held both Lithuanian and Spanish citizenship.

Patrick Dupond Patrick Dupond (14 March 1959 – 5 March 2021) was a French ballet dancer and artistic director. He made a name for himself in 1976 when he won the gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria. A virtuoso dancer, he was n ...

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

. Pradier is an Academic of the . Several students in his class have joined the Conservatoires nationaux supérieurs of Paris and Lyon, and the Brussels and Geneva conservatories.

Discography (selection)

* ''Pierre Pradier joue Chopin'', Syrinx, 1977. * Liszt, De Vienne à Bayreuth, coffret 4 disques Lyrinx, 1978-79-80. * 11 Préludes de Rachmaninoff, Studio 35, 1984.

References

External links

Pierre Pradier's recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradier, Pierre 1948 births Living people People from La Seyne-sur-Mer Conservatoire de Paris alumni 20th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French classical pianists 21st-century French male classical pianists 21st-century French classical pianists