Richard Clayderman (; born Philippe Pagès , 28 December 1953 in Paris)
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, ja ...
who has released numerous albums including the compositions of
Paul de Senneville
Paul de Senneville (born 30 July 1933) is a French composer and a music producer.
Career
He began his career as a journalist working for French newspapers such as France Soir. Later, he became a TV program producer as well.
In 1988 he crea ...
,
Olivier Toussaint
Olivier Toussaint is a French composer, pop singer, orchestra arranger, company manager, and record producer.
Early life
He was born in Paris, in a family of classical musicians. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Duprez was a very well known oper ...
and Marc Minier, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of popular works of classical music.
Early life
Clayderman learned piano from his father, an accordion teacher.
At the age of twelve, he was accepted into 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 won great acclaim in his later adolescent years. Financial difficulties, precipitated by his father's illness, forestalled a promising career as a classical pianist.
In order to earn a living, he found work as a bank clerk and as an accompanist to contemporary bands. He accompanied French singers such as
Johnny Hallyday
Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France.
During a career spanning 57 ...
,
Thierry Le Luron
Thierry Le Luron (; 2 April 1952 – 13 November 1986) was a French impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and humorist.
Early life
Born in Paris, France, to Francis Le Luron (1926-2012), and Huguette Gousserey (1922-2009).
Debut
In 1 ...
, and
Michel Sardou
Michel Charles Sardou (; born 26 January 1947) is a French singer and occasional actor.
He is known not only for his love songs ("La maladie d'amour", "Je vais t'aimer"), but also for songs dealing with various social and political issues, su ...
.
"Ballade pour Adeline"
In 1976, he was invited by
Olivier Toussaint
Olivier Toussaint is a French composer, pop singer, orchestra arranger, company manager, and record producer.
Early life
He was born in Paris, in a family of classical musicians. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Duprez was a very well known oper ...
, a French
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, and his partner
Paul de Senneville
Paul de Senneville (born 30 July 1933) is a French composer and a music producer.
Career
He began his career as a journalist working for French newspapers such as France Soir. Later, he became a TV program producer as well.
In 1988 he crea ...
, to record a gentle piano ballad. De Senneville had composed this ballad as a tribute to his baby daughter, Adeline. The 23-year-old Pagès was auditioned along with 20 other pianists and got the job. "He was an interesting musician with a soft touch and good technique", said Toussaint. "And he looked good, too."
Pagès' name was changed to Richard Clayderman (he adopted his great-grandmother's last name to avoid mispronunciation of his real name outside France), and the single took off, selling 22 million copies in 38 countries. It was called "
Ballade pour Adeline
"Ballade pour Adeline" (French for "Ballad for Adeline") is a 1977 instrumental by Richard Clayderman, composed by Paul de Senneville. Paul de Senneville composed the piece as a tribute to his newborn daughter, Adeline. , worldwide sales of the re ...
".
Success
Clayderman has recorded over 1,300 melodies and has created a new romantic style through a repertoire which combines his trademark originals with classics and pop standards.
As of 2006, his record sales number at approximately 70 million, and has 267 gold and 70 platinum albums to his credit. He is popular in Asia and is noted by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as being "the most successful pianist in the world".
Discography
Studio albums, 1977–90
* ''Richard Clayderman'' (aka ''Ballade pour Adeline'', 1977)
* ''A Comme Amour/Les Fleurs Sauvages'' (1978)
* ''Rêveries'' (1979)
* ''Lettre à Ma Mère'' (1979)
* ''Medley Concerto'' (1979)
* ''Les Musiques de l’Amour'' (1980)
* ''Rondo Pour un Tout Petit Enfant'' (1981)
* ''Christmas'' (1982)
* ''Rêveries No. 2'' (1982)
* ''Couleur Tendresse'' (1982)
* ''Les Rêves d'Amour'' (aka ''A Dream of Love'', 1983)
* ''Le Premier Chagrin d’Elsa'' (1983)
* ''Italie Mon Amour'' (1984)
* ''The Music of Love'' (1984)
* ''Cœur fragile'' (1984)
* ''Concerto'' (with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
, 1985)
* ''Divorce à Hollywood/
Irreconcilable Differences
''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were no ...
'' (soundtrack, 1985)
* ''From Paris with Love'' (1985)
* ''Les Sonates'' (with
Nicolas de Angelis, 1985)
* ''Hollywood and Broadway'' (1986)
* ''Romantic'' (1986)
* ''Eléana'' (1987)
* ''Songs of Love'' (1987)
* ''A Little Night Music'' (1988)
* ''Deutsche Volkslieder'' (with the
Schöneberger Sängerknaben
The Schöneberger Sängerknaben were a German boys' choir from Berlin, named after the . The choir performed with about 30 boys at a time. They wore short black trousers, black blazers with emblems, white shirts and white knee socks. The rep ...
, 1988)
* ''Quel Gran Genio Del Mio Amico – Richard Clayderman Interpreta
Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting.
Battisti released 18 studio albums ...
'' (1988)
* ''Romantic America'' (1988)
* ''Zodiacal Symphony'' (1988)
* ''The Love Songs of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
'' (1989)
* ''Amour Pour Amour'' (with Berdien Stenberg, 1989)
* ''Il Y A Toujours du Soleil Au-Dessus des Nuages'' (with
James Last
James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...
, 1990)
* ''My Classic Collection'' (1990)
* ''The Fantastic Movie Story of
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
'' (1990)
* ''Anemos'' (1990)
Live albums
* ''En Concert'' (1981)
* ''A Pleyel'' (with
Nicolas de Angelis, 1983)
*''Brasil Tour ’86'' (Brazil, 1986)
See also
*
List of best-selling music artists
The following list of best-selling music artists includes those music acts from the 20th century to the present with claims of 75 million or more record sales worldwide. This information cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization t ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Play Album of Richard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman on rfimusique.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayderman, Richard
1953 births
Living people
Musicians from Paris
Easy listening musicians
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
20th-century French male pianists
21st-century French male pianists