![Khatia Buniatishvili Khatia Buniatishvili](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/khatia-buniatishvili-52805-1.jpg)
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.
![Michel Legrand Michel Legrand](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/michel-legrand-8895-1.jpg)
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.
![Alfred Cortot Alfred Cortot](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alfred-cortot-68190-1.jpg)
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.
![Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/richard-clayderman-10509-1.jpg)
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.
![George Enescu George Enescu](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/george-enescu-39005-1.jpg)
![Gyorgy Cziffra Gyorgy Cziffra](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/gyorgy-cziffra-1.jpg)
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.
![Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/michel-petrucciani-17310-1.jpg)
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.
![Francis Lai Francis Lai](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/francis-lai-19664-1.jpg)
![Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/charles-valentin-alkan-17724-1.jpg)
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 Hélène Grimaud](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/hlne-grimaud-19156-1.jpg)
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.
![Jacques Loussier Jacques Loussier](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jacques-loussier-1.jpg)
![Cécile Chaminade Cécile Chaminade](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ccile-chaminade-28825-1.jpg)
![Emmanuel Chabrier Emmanuel Chabrier](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/emmanuel-chabrier-26211-1.jpg)
![Fania Fenelon Fania Fenelon](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/fania-fenelon-1.jpg)
![Louise Farrenc Louise Farrenc](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/louise-farrenc-1.jpg)
![Gyorgy Kurtag Gyorgy Kurtag](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/gyorgy-kurtag-1.jpg)
![Jean-Yves Thibaudet Jean-Yves Thibaudet](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jean-yves-thibaudet-1.jpg)
![Georges Moustaki Georges Moustaki](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/georges-moustaki-1.jpg)
![Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmuller Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmuller](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/johann-friedrich-franz-burgmuller-1.jpg)
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.
![Brigitte Engerer Brigitte Engerer](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/brigitte-engerer-58691-1.jpg)
![Ignaz Pleyel Ignaz Pleyel](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ignaz-pleyel-1.jpg)
![Maxence Cyrin Maxence Cyrin](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/maxence-cyrin-23121-1.jpg)
![Charlotte de Rothschild Charlotte de Rothschild](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/charlotte-de-rothschild-1.jpg)
![Riopy Riopy](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/riopy-1.jpg)
![Claude Bolling Claude Bolling](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/claude-bolling-1.jpg)
![Emil Waldteufel Emil Waldteufel](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/emil-waldteufel-57137-1.jpg)
![Walter Gieseking Walter Gieseking](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/walter-gieseking-57493-1.jpg)
![Jean Françaix Jean Françaix](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jean-franaix-1.jpg)
![Lucas Debargue Lucas Debargue](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/lucas-debargue-1.jpg)
![Alexandre Tansman Alexandre Tansman](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alexandre-tansman-1.jpg)
![Sébastien Érard Sébastien Érard](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/sbastien-rard-57935-1.jpg)
![Alexandre Tharaud Alexandre Tharaud](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alexandre-tharaud-1.jpg)
![André Messager André Messager](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/andr-messager-57060-1.jpg)
![Alain Mion Alain Mion](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/alain-mion-1.jpg)
![Yvonne Loriod Yvonne Loriod](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/yvonne-loriod-59221-1.jpg)
![Marcelle Meyer Marcelle Meyer](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/marcelle-meyer-1.jpg)
![Daniel Levi Daniel Levi](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/daniel-levi-1.jpg)
![Carlos Salzedo Carlos Salzedo](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/carlos-salzedo-1.jpg)
![Robert Casadesus Robert Casadesus](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/robert-casadesus-59588-1.jpg)
![Henri Herz Henri Herz](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/henri-herz-59883-1.jpg)
![Isidor Philipp Isidor Philipp](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/isidor-philipp-63116-1.jpg)
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.
![Vlado Perlemuter Vlado Perlemuter](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/vlado-perlemuter-74095-1.jpg)
![Anne Queffélec Anne Queffélec](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/anne-quefflec-123470-1.jpg)
![Micheline Ostermeyer Micheline Ostermeyer](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/micheline-ostermeyer-65703-1.jpg)
![Raoul Pugno Raoul Pugno](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/raoul-pugno-1.jpg)
![Louis Diémer Louis Diémer](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/louis-dimer-71086-1.jpg)