Famous French Pianists

French and American writer, journalist, and pianist Ève Curie was one of the daughters of scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. She was the only one in the Curie family who did not choose a career in science. She authored her mother’s biography and was actively involved with UNICEF, helping women and children in developing countries.

Khatia Buniatishvili is a Georgian-French pianist. Buniatishvili has been playing since the age of three and gave her first concert when she was just six years old. She then went on to play at an international stage at the age of 10. Buniatishvili is known for her association with Sony Classical, which has produced many of her solo piano albums.

One of the greatest composers of all time, French pianist and organist Gabriel Fauré is best remembered for his masterpieces such as Requiem. His music career began at 9, when he was sent to Paris to become a choirmaster. At 75, he was awarded the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'honneur.

French composer Francis Poulenc was most self-taught, as he was not encouraged to join a music school by his pharmaceutical manufacturer father. Part of the legendary “Les Six” of French music, Poulenc was also a skilled pianist. He is also remembered for the opera Les dialogues des Carmélites.

Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has recorded more than 1,300 melodies so far in his illustrious career. Having sold over 70 million copies worldwide, which includes 70 platinum and 267 gold albums, Clayderman is the world's most successful pianist, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. 

French pianist Alfred Cortot is remembered for his renditions of popular Romantic composers, such as Chopin and Schumann. The Paris Conservatory alumnus later established the Paris Orchestre Philharmonique and the École Normale de Musique. He also formed a trio with cellist Pablo Casals and violinist Jacques Thibaud.

Michel Legrand was a French musician, conductor, composer, arranger, and jazz pianist. A prolific composer, Legrand wrote more than 200 television and film scores, apart from several songs. Over the course of his illustrious career, which spanned more than seven decades, Michel Legrand won several prestigious awards including three Academy Awards, five Grammy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist Gyorgy Cziffra was born into a poor family of gypsy musicians and lost his father and sister to starvation. His piano skills got him a job at a circuses and nightclubs. He eventually trained at the Franz Liszt Academy. Following his son’s death in a fire, he stopped performing.

Stéphane Grappelli was a French-Italian violinist best remembered as the co-founder of a jazz group named The Quintette du Hot Club de France. The group became famous for being one of the first jazz bands to house only string instruments. Nicknamed the grandfather of jazz violinists, Stéphane Grappelli went on to play in concerts well into his 80s.

Michel Petrucciani was a French jazz pianist who was born with a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta which affected his physical growth. In spite of his health condition, Petrucciani went on to become one of the most successful jazz pianists of his generation. Interestingly, the genetic disease contributed greatly to his playing style as well as his personality.

Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French virtuoso pianist and composer. During the peak of his career in the 1830s and 1840s, Alkan was counted among the most important pianists in Paris. Over the years, his music has been admired by several prominent musicians like Anton Rubinstein, Egon Petri, and Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Hélène Grimaud is a French pianist whose recordings have earned her numerous accolades, such as the Cannes Classical Recording of the Year, Grand Prix du disque, Midem Classic Award, and Echo Klassik Award. Apart from being a virtuoso pianist, Grimaud is also a passionate human rights activist, wildlife conservationist, and writer. She is credited with founding the Wolf Conservation Center.

Born into the musical family of a composer father and a pianist/singer mother, Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmuller was no stranger to music in childhood. A talented cellist, too, the German Romantic composer later settled in Paris, where he composed everything from piano pieces to waltzes and ballets.

Born in Budapest, pianist Isidor Philipp was brought to Paris as a toddler. He excelled as a student of French composer and pianist Georges Mathias at the Paris Conservatoire before making his London debut. He later taught at the Conservatoire and also spent much of his later career in New York.