Jean-François Heisser ©Lydia Casparan
Jean-François Heisser
Pianist, conductor, artistic director and teacher, Jean-François Heisser is the heir to Vlado Perlemuter, Henriette Puig-Roget and Maria Curio. He taught piano at the CNSMD de Paris from 1991 to 2016. His disciples include Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, with whom he enjoys a close musical relationship.
As a soloist, he performs under the direction of the greatest conductors such as Janowski, Tilson-Thomas, Segerstam, Krivine, Mehta, Plasson, Roth… with, among others, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France, the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Orchestre National de France, Les Siècles… He also performs in recital, with a predilection for Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, the Spanish repertoire and the great French composers. In addition to major works, he also champions 20th-century and contemporary works.
As a chamber musician, he has traversed the entire repertoire with partners such as the Ysaye, Linsay and Pražák Quartets. A keen advocate of the four-hand and two-piano repertoire, he remains one of the most sought-after partners of both established artists and the younger generation.
Since 2001, as musical director, he has been developing the Orchestre de Chambre de Nouvelle-Aquitaine project, which he has raised to the highest level of French chamber ensembles. In September 2023, he will release a CD devoted to Ravel, including the Concerto in G (Jean-François Heisser, piano and conductor).
Artistic Director and President of the Académie internationale Maurice Ravel between 2000 and 2023, he is co-artistic director of the Ravel Festival with Bertrand Chamayou until 2023. He also programs the Soirées Musicales d’Arles and is artistic advisor to the Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux.
His discography includes over 40 recordings, widely acclaimed by international critics. Today, Jean-François Heisser records mainly for the Mirae label.