Jean-Ives Thibaudet, France, 2nd Prize, 1979

Jean-Ives Thibaudet was born in Lyons (France) in 1961 to musically literate parents - a French father who played the violin and a German mother who gave him his first piano lessons at age 5; later he learned the violin and even dreamed of conducting. He made his first public appearance at age 7 and first performed with an orchestra at age 9, playing Ravel's Concerto in G - his prize for winning a competition called the Kingdom of Music.

At age 12, he graduated with the gold medal from the conservatory in Lyons, continuing his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, with Lucille Descaves - a student of Fauré and Ravel; he later studied with Reine Gianoli, a student of Artur Schnabel; and lastly with Aldo Ciccolini, perhaps the one who influenced him most.

At age 15, he won the premier Prix du Conservatoire, soon followed by top prizes at the Viotti International Competition (Italy), the Robert Casadesus International Competition ( Cleveland,) and the Busoni International Competition (Italy). In 1980, he won the highest prize at the International Piano Competition in Japan, and in 1981, he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and soon began a series of sensational debuts in the US, Europe, and the Far East.

Mr Thibaudet has perfomed with most of the world’s major orchestras. More recent appearances include the Orange County Philharmonic Society (1997) when he replaced the ailing Peter Serkin upon last-minute notice in a Mozart piano concerto, the Minnesota Orchestra, the BBC Symphony under Andrew Davis with whom he toured 10 cities in the United States in 1998, the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra under Keith Lockhart (telecast nationally on “Evening At the Pops”), and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach. In Europe he has appeared with the Munich Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Budapest Festival.

He has given recitals and master classes in as many venues, and has appeared in operatic duos with Celia Bartoli, Renee Fleming, Angelika Kirchschlager and Brigette Fassbaender.

He has performed with chamber ensembles with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in Europe with the Rossetti Quartet.

Mr. Thibaudet’s discography is extensive, with recordings on many labels including London/Decca, Virgin VC, and Deutsche Gramophone.

For his artistic achievements, the Republic of France awarded Mr. Thibaudet the prestigious Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 2001; and in 2003 he received the Premio Pegasus from the Spoleto Festival with which he has had a longstanding involvement.