Michel Bourdoncle
Jury Member
Pianist • Artistic Director • Professor
French pianist Michel Bourdoncle is internationally recognised for an illustrious career that has taken him to some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. After studying at the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence with Jacqueline Courtin and Bernard Flavigny, he was admitted at the age of 14 to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied with Geneviève Joy, Jean Hubeau, Christian Ivaldi and Dominique Merlet. He further refined his artistry working with Carlos Roqué Alsina, Alberto Neuman and Evgeny Malinin.
In 1984, he won the Grand Prize at the Acanthes International Piano Competition, chaired by Iannis Xenakis, and in 1986 a scholarship enabled him to continue studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, under Henriette Mirvis, Samvil Alumian, Mikhail Voskresensky and Lev Naumov. That same year he became a laureate of the First Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Utrecht.
Michel Bourdoncle performs regularly on major international stages, including Carnegie Hall (New York), Sala São Paulo, Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Salle Gaveau and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Grand Theatres in Beijing and Shanghai, and leading philharmonic halls across Europe and Asia. He has collaborated with eminent musicians and ensembles, and is the dedicatee of works by contemporary composers including Carlos Roqué Alsina, Nicolas Bacri and Tristan-Patrice Challulau. His recordings appear on Naxos/Marco Polo, Doron Music, EMS Master Sound and 3D Classics.
Alongside his concert career, he has had an influential teaching legacy. He served as accompanist at the Paris Conservatoire (1981–1991), taught piano at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon, chamber music at the Conservatoire in Marseille, and since 1987 has been Professor of Piano at the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence. He is frequently invited to give international masterclasses and appears regularly on radio and television.
Michel Bourdoncle is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Festival, Academy and International Piano Competition “Les Nuits Pianistiques”.
