Bertrand Chamayou

The common description of a young pianist as “one of the finest of their generation” has become something of an empty cliché. But for Bertrand Chamayou, such an epithet is both apt and accurate. Born in Toulouse, France, in 1981, Chamayou is a musician of wider interests than he has yet shown on record. While Liszt and Ravel are central to his musical identity, his recorded catalog is largely devoted to Romantic repertoire by such composers as Mendelssohn, Schubert, Franck, and Saint-Saëns. His 2022 recording of Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus (1944) might seem an outlier, but this is music that made a profound impression on Chamayou when he was young. His insouciant technical brilliance and rhetorical flair were first demonstrated on his 2006 live account of Liszt’s Études d'exécution transcendante (1851) and reinforced on his 2011 recording of Liszt’s complete Années de pèlerinage and a 2016 Ravel album notable for its personality and unforced sincerity. Chamayou’s playing combines a tight yet flexible rhythmic control with a bold projection of musical line and pianistic color, all underpinned by sparkling technical ease.