Hervé Billaut (born 5 August 1964) is a French classical pianist.

Biography

Born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Billaud joined the at the age of ten. He continued his studies at the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

, where he entered the classes of Germaine Mounier (piano),

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 t ...

(

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 ...

), Jeanine Rueff and Bernard de Crépy (writing). Billaut won a Grand Prize at the "Marguerite Long Competition" (1983), and distinguished himself in numerous international competitions (Viotti, 1981; Vercelli, 1982;

Épinal International Piano Competition The Épinal International Piano Competition is a biannual piano competition held in Épinal Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of ...

, 1983; Pretoria, 1990; Tokyo, 1995). He performed in France at the Salle Pleyel, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, in Spain, at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

in Madrid, and on all continents, notably in South America, China, Japan and Korea. He collaborated with the choreographers

Jean-Christophe Maillot Jean-Christophe Maillot (born 1960) is a French dancer and choreographer born in Tours. Early life and education He studied at the dance conservatory in Tours before enrolling at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, ...

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also inc ...

and

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 Rose ...

as soloist of

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (The Monte Carlo Ballet) is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco. I ...

and performs regularly at the festivals of Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, in Granada, Paris, Toulouse and

La Folle Journée La Folle Journée is a French annual classical music festival held in Nantes. It is the largest classical music festival in France. The festival's name refers to the Pierre Beaumarchais play ''The Marriage of Figaro'', whose alternative title i ...

of Nantes. He is

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the ''Rendez-vous de Rochebonne''.

Notable recordings

* Maurice Ravel: **'' Gaspard de la Nuit'', ''

Le Tombeau de Couperin ''Le Tombeau de Couperin'' (''The Couperin's Grave'') is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917. The piece is in six movements, based on those of a traditional Baroque suite. Each movement is dedicated to the me ...

'' (éd. REM, 1985); ** ''

Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

'', ''

Piano Concerto for the Left Hand This is a list of concertos and concertante works for piano left-hand and orchestra. The first piano solo was an arrangement by Johannes Brahms of the Chaconne from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita for Violin No. 2, BWV 1004, published in 1878. ...

'', with the

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (french: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle ...

, dir. Claude Bardon (1987) * Jacques Castérède: Works for 1 and 2 pianos, H. Billaut, G. Ibanez, J. Castérède (éd. REM) * Isaac Albéniz: ''

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

'', ''Navarra'', '' Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47'' *

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 ...

: Works for piano (éd. Lyrinx, 2004) * Paul Dukas: Works for piano (éd. Mirare, 2015)

Sources

Biographical information from record booklets

External links

Interview on Piano bleu

Hervé Billaut
on

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz. Hist ...

Hervé Billaut, Biography
on Festival tempo
Hervé Billaut
on Agence Claire laballery
Hervé Billaut, pianiste et Karine Deshayes, mezzo-soprano
on Radio Classique
Hervé Billaut
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. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Dukas: Sonata in E flat minor, by Hervé Billaut
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Billaut, Herve 21st-century French male classical pianists Conservatoire de Paris alumni 1964 births People from Villefranche-sur-Saône Living people