Jean-François Heisser

The pianist, conductor and pedagogue Jean-François Heisser is the heir to the teaching of Vlado Perlemuter, Henriette Puig-Roget and Maria Curcio. He himself taught the piano from 1991 to 2016 at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. Among his noted students are Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-Frédéric Neuburger.

As a soloist, he has played under the direction of the foremost conductors, among them Marek Janowski, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leif Segerstam, Emmanuel Krivine, Zubin Mehta, Michel Plasson and François-Xavier Roth, with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischer Rundfunks, the Orchestre National de France and Les Siècles. His solo recitals show a predilection for Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, and Spanish and French composers. In addition to the mainstream repertory, he champions twentieth-century works and contemporary creation.

As a chamber musician, he has performed the entire repertory with such partners as the Ysaÿe, Lindsay and Pražák Quartets. In addition, he is particularly committed to the four-hand and two-piano repertory and remains one of the most sought-after duo partners for both established artists and the younger generation.

Since 2001, as its music director, he has developed the project of the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which he has brought to the forefront of French chamber orchestras. Their recording of the complete Beethoven piano concertos was recently released on Mirare.

In the field of artistic direction, he is in charge of programming the Soirées Musicales d’Arles and is artistic advisor to the Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux, President of the Académie internationale Maurice Ravel and artistic director of the Festival Ravel en Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

His discography to date comprises more than forty recordings.