Biography

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has performed worldwide and recorded more than 50 albums. He delights in music beyond the standard repertoire, from jazz to opera. This season he continues his multiyear focus on Debussy’s Préludes, playing the complete set in solo recitals throughout the US and Europe. He appears in recital with Renée Fleming; tours with Midori in the US and Japan; performs with the Itzhak Perlman and Friends ensemble in Michigan, Toronto, and New York City; and joins Michael Feinstein in a program featuring the music of Gershwin and others. This season Mr. Thibaudet also performs as soloist with 11 orchestras in eight works by Gershwin, Debussy, Messiaen, Liszt, Saint-Saëns, Bernstein, and Ravel. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1994.

Mr. Thibaudet is the first-ever artist in residence at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he lives. In 2017 the school announced the Jean-Yves Thibaudet Scholarships. He records exclusively for Decca and has received many awards, including two Grammy nominations, two ECHO Awards, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and the Diapason d’Or. He is the soloist on Wes Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch; his playing can also be heard in Pride and Prejudice, Extremely Loud& Incredibly Close, Wakefield, and the Oscar-winning Atonement.

Born in Lyon, France, Mr. Thibaudet began his piano studies at age five and made his first public appearance two years later. At 12 he entered the Paris Conservatory to study with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, he was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. His concert wardrobe is designed by Vivienne Westwood.

(12/2022)