One of the most distinctive pianists of his generation, Bertrand Chamayou combines a deep affinity with the French repertoire with a fascination for the great landmarks of the piano literature and an enduring commitment to the music of our time. From Ravel’s complete works for solo piano and Liszt’s Études and Années de pèlerinage to Messiaen’s monumental Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, he has made ambitious, immersive projects a defining feature of his artistic life. Alongside them runs a constant dialogue with living composers, making discovery and reinvention as central to his identity as his relationship with the core repertoire.
That spirit of exploration shapes his 2026/27 season. At its heart is the release on Warner/Erato of his complete recording of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, which he takes beyond the recording studio into a recital programme exploring the idea of music as song without text, from Mendelssohn to Takemitsu’s transcriptions of Paul McCartney. Following its launch at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the programme travels to Wigmore Hall, Gulbenkian, Harpa Reykjavík, Rudolfinum Prague, Opéra de Lyon, Toronto, Montreal, Klavier-Festival Ruhr and La Roque d’Anthéron.
The same breadth is reflected on the orchestral stage. He makes debuts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and George Benjamin, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Collon, and Munich Philharmonic with Barbara Hannigan. He returns to the Orchestre de Paris with Esa-Pekka Salonen to perform both Ravel concertos in a single programme, and reunites with the London Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Adès, Oslo Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko, Santa Cecilia and Tarmo Peltokoski, NDR Elbphilharmonie and Barbara Hannigan, and Ensemble intercontemporain under Pierre Bleuse. He is Artist in Residence at both Wigmore Hall and with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra throughout the season.
In Berlin, he revisits one of the defining projects of his career, performing Messiaen’s complete Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus in a one-off concert at the Philharmonie. His commitment to contemporary music is equally fundamental: he worked closely with Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux and György Kurtág, and has developed relationships with composers including Thomas Adès, Unsuk Chin, Bryce Dessner and Michael Jarrell, whose piano concerto Reflections was written for him.
Collaboration provides another thread through his musical life. In 2026/27 he tours with two long-standing artistic partners: Sol Gabetta, including the duo’s first appearance together in the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris, and Barbara Hannigan, with whom he undertakes an extensive European recital tour. His growing presence in Asia continues with a Korean tour alongside the Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru, appearances with the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony orchestras, and a Mendelssohn recital in Shanghai.
His international orchestral career has taken him to the Wiener Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has performed under conductors including Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Thomas Adès, Philippe Jordan, Andris Nelsons, Sir Antonio Pappano, Tugan Sokhiev, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth and Mikko Franck.
An exclusive Warner Classics/Erato artist, Bertrand Chamayou has built a critically acclaimed discography reflecting the breadth of his repertoire, his curiosity and his adventurous approach to music. From Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage and the complete solo piano works of Ravel, awarded an ECHO Klassik in 2016, to Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 5, named Gramophone’s Recording of the Year in 2019, his recordings have earned international acclaim. Among his most ambitious projects is Messiaen’s monumental Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus (2022), alongside more personal and imaginative programmes such as Good Night!, Letter(s) to Erik Satie and Cage², devoted to the music of John Cage. His recent recording of Schubert’s works for piano four hands with Leif Ove Andsnes won the Piano Award at the 2026 Gramophone Classical Music Awards, marking his second Gramophone triumph. Other recent releases include Ravel: Fragments and Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words. The only artist to have won France’s prestigious Victoires de la Musique Classique on five occasions, he is also Artistic Director of the Festival Ravel in the French Basque Country.
Born in Toulouse, Bertrand Chamayou studied with Jean-François Heisser at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris before completing his training with Maria Curcio in London.
