Pierre Hantaï (born 28 February 1964,

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 ...

) is a French

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

ist and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Career

The son of painter Simon Hantaï, he discovered the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

when he was ten and first heard

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

's recordings when he was eleven. He took up the harpsichord when he was eleven and was self-taught until meeting his first teacher, the American harpsichordist Arthur Haas. He later studied for two years in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

with Gustav Leonhardt. In 1983 he won the second prize in the

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

harpsichord competition. His first recordings focused on the English virginalists ( Giles Farnaby and

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

), and on Bach. Influential solo recordings include two

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'' (), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may ...

, released ten years apart (1993, 2003), and an ongoing series of

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

’s sonatas. Following a first CD for Astrée in 1993, he has recorded six more volumes of Scarlatti recitals for

Mirare Mirare is a French classical music record label founded by René Martin and François-René Martin. The label was created for recordings of the La Folle Journée La Folle Journée is a French annual classical music festival held in Nantes. It ...

between 2002 and 2019. Other solo recordings include the ''

Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time ''clavier'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

'', Book I, three recordings dedicated to Bach’s

toccatas Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...

and suites, as well as recordings of

Frescobaldi The Frescobaldi are a prominent Florentine noble family whose influence extends deeply into the political, economic, and social fabric of Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the ...

and

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

. He performs internationally as a soloist across Europe, North America and Asia at festivals such as La Roque d'Anthéron, La Folle Journée de Nantes, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, the

Boston Early Music Festival The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote historical music performance. It arranges an annual Boston and New York City concert series, produces opera recordings, and ...

, at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, the

Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portugal, Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the List of wealthiest c ...

, and Hakuju Hall in Tokyo. In 1991, he and his brother Jérôme recorded part of the soundtrack to the French film ''

Tous les matins du monde ''Tous les matins du monde'' (English: "All The Mornings of The World") is a 1991 French film based on the book of the same name by Pascal Quignard.

''. In 1985, he founded the ensemble ''Le Concert Français'', which he conducted from the harpsichord and which recorded both orchestral and chamber repertoire. He frequently performs with his two brothers, Marc (

traverso The Western concert flute can refer to the common C concert flute or to the family of transverse (side-blown) flutes to which the C flute belongs. Almost all are made of metal or wood, or a combination of the two. A musician who plays the flute ...

) and Jérôme (viola da gamba) as part of the Trio Hantaï. He played for many years with

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Hi ...

(directed by

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble o ...

), and he continues to perform with

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish Conducting, conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol ...

, , Hugo Reyne, and Maude Gratton. He has collaborated with many other musicians, including

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from ...

and

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. Minkowski was musical director of Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Austria, from 2013 to 2017 and was gene ...

Teaching

Pierre Hantaï has never held a permanent teaching post in a conservatory. During the 1990s, he taught privately. His students, including

Bertrand Cuiller Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Bert ...

and Maude Gratton, continued their studies at the CNSM de Paris with

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conducting, conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on Authentic performance, period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and ...

and Olivier Baumont. In 2000, Hantaï replaced Rousset, then the harpsichord professor at the CNSM, during his sabbatical year. At the end of the year, Rousset quit and a job search was held as a formality, with the expectation that Hantaï would succeed Rousset and continue to work with his students at the CNSM. In what one student called an unexpected twist that shook the harpsichord class, though, he lost the post to Baumont, who has been the harpsichord professor at the CNSM since 2001. Since then, he has largely limited his teaching activities to master classes (

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic ...

, Fondation Royaumont, Académie de Villecroze, Accademia Europea Villa Bossi, etc.). He tutored the harpsichordist Lillian Gordis between 2009 and 2013.

Discography

Solo recordings

* 1990: Giles Farnaby: ''Farnaby's Dreame'', Accord * 1990:

Wolfgang Amadeus 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 ...

: ''Concerti per cembalo; Sonatas; Menuets'', Opus 111 * 1993:

: ''22 sonates'', Astrée * 1993: Bach: '' Goldberg Variationen'' 992 Recording Opus 111 * 1994: Bach: ''Concertos pour clavecin'', Le Concert Français, Astrée * 1995:

: ''Doctor Bull's Good Night'', Astrée * 1997:

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of ke ...

: ''Partite et Toccate'', Astrée * 1997: Bach: '' Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue -

Toccatas Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...

,'' Virgin Veritas * 1999: Bach: ''Works for Harpsichord'', Virgin Veritas * 2002: ''Scarlatti 1'', Ambroisie * 2002: ''Scarlatti 2'', Mirare * 2003: Bach: '' Le Clavier bien tempéré'', Premier livre, Mirare * 2004: Bach: ''Variations Goldberg'', Mirare * 2006: ''Scarlatti 3'', Mirare * 2008:

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

: ''Pièces de clavecin'', Mirare * 2012:

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

: ''Symphonies à deux clavecins'', Mirare * 2014: Bach: ''Suites anglaises'' n^o 2 et 6; ''Concerto italien'', Mirare * 2014: ''Magnificat et Concerti'' '': A. Vivaldi, J.S. Bach'',

La Capella Reial de Catalunya ''La Capella Reial de Catalunya'' is a group of soloist singers under the patronage of the Government of Catalonia with the aim of celebrating, maintaining, and reviving medieval vocal polyphony and the music of the Spanish Golden Age. The group wa ...

, Alia Vox * 2014: Bach: ''Concertos for Two Harpsichords'', with Aapo Häkkinen, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Aeolus * 2016: ''Scarlatti 4'', Mirare * 2017: ''Scarlatti 5'', Mirare, mention « Choc de Classica » * 2019: 'Scarlatti 6'', Mirare * 2020: Handel: ''Suites pour clavecin''. Mirare * 2021: Handel; Scarlatti. Mirare * 2023: Scarlatti: ''100 Sonates pour clavecin''. Mirare

Orchestral and chamber music

* 1991: ''Christmas Concerto, Sonatas after Concerti Grossi op. VI'' / Le Concert Français, Opus 111 *1992: ''Maskes & Fantazies'' / Le Concert Français. Naïve * 1997: Marin Marais: ''Pièces de viole'' / Jérôme Hantaï. Virgin Veritas * 1997: Jean-Marie Leclair: ''Sonates pour violon et basse continue, Livre IV'' / François Fernandez. Naïve * 2002: ''Pavana: The Virgin Harpsichord'' / Skip Sempé. Astrée * 2003: Marais: ''Pièces à deux et à trois violes'' / Jérôme Hantaï. Warner Classics * 2003: Georg Philipp Telemann : ''Essercizii Musici'' / Le Concert Français. Naïve * 2005: Bach: ''Sonates pour flûte'' / Marc Hantaï, Jérôme Hantaï. Warner Classics * 2005: Marais: ''Pièces de viole, vol. 2'' / Jérôme Hantaï. Warner Classics * 2006: Bach: ''Suites pour orchestre nos. 1 & 4, Sonate pour violon et clavecin no. 4'' / Le Concert Français. Mirare * 2018: Bach: ''Sonatas for flute and harpsichord'' / Marc Hantaï. Mirare

References

External links

*
Bach-cantatas.com: Pierre Hantaï
- biography and photos
Goldberg Web: Pierre Hantaï
- biography and discography {{DEFAULTSORT:Hantai, Pierre 1964 births French harpsichordists French performers of early music French male conductors (music) Musicians from Paris Living people 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians