Biography
Although pianist Alain Planès has shown an instinctive rapport with French repertoire and a particularly refined approach to Debussy, Satie, and Chabrier, his name has more frequently been linked to Schubert and Haydn, composers to whom he has dedicated extensive attention both onstage and in the studio. His broad repertoire also encompasses Chopin and Scarlatti, while he actively promotes works by Boulez, Berio, Ligeti, and Stockhausen. Most of his numerous recordings have appeared on the Harmonia Mundi label, which released his account of Gabriel Fauré’s piano music in 2024.
Born in Lyon, France, on January 20, 1948, Planès took up the piano at five and performed with orchestra at eight. From his mother he inherited a deep appreciation for the arts, revealing not only exceptional keyboard gifts but also a feeling for poetry and painting. After claiming first prize at the Lyon Conservatory competition at twelve, he entered the Paris Conservatory soon afterward to study with Jacques Février. Further training took him to the United States and the University of Indiana at Bloomington, where his principal mentors included Menahem Pressler, Franco Gulli, William Primrose, and György Sebök. He quickly became a frequent collaborator in chamber settings with cellist Janos Starker.
Upon returning to France, Planès served for several years as pianist for Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble InterContemporain. He resigned the post in 1981 to pursue an international career as soloist and chamber musician. During the 1980s he strengthened his profile through a blend of solo and ensemble engagements, and his recordings soon began attracting attention. The first of these for Harmonia Mundi was the 1991 partnership with cellist Lluís Claret in the cello sonatas of Chopin and Richard Strauss. Additional releases followed, among them an eight-disc survey of Schubert’s sonatas and solo pieces as well as an extensive collection of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas.
In the twenty-first century Planès has remained active as soloist and chamber player, appearing with major orchestras and at festivals such as Marlboro, Aix-en-Provence, and Montreux. His recordings from this period include a 2006 account of Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite and the 2009 period-instrument release Chopin chez Pleyel. In 2016 he was the subject of Dominique Lemonnier’s documentary Alain Planès, l’Infini Turbulent. He has continued recording for Harmonia Mundi into the mid-2020s, issuing an album of Liszt’s transcriptions of Beethoven symphonies in 2020, Chopin’s complete nocturnes in 2021, and Fauré’s piano music in 2024.
Born in Lyon, France, on January 20, 1948, Planès took up the piano at five and performed with orchestra at eight. From his mother he inherited a deep appreciation for the arts, revealing not only exceptional keyboard gifts but also a feeling for poetry and painting. After claiming first prize at the Lyon Conservatory competition at twelve, he entered the Paris Conservatory soon afterward to study with Jacques Février. Further training took him to the United States and the University of Indiana at Bloomington, where his principal mentors included Menahem Pressler, Franco Gulli, William Primrose, and György Sebök. He quickly became a frequent collaborator in chamber settings with cellist Janos Starker.
Upon returning to France, Planès served for several years as pianist for Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble InterContemporain. He resigned the post in 1981 to pursue an international career as soloist and chamber musician. During the 1980s he strengthened his profile through a blend of solo and ensemble engagements, and his recordings soon began attracting attention. The first of these for Harmonia Mundi was the 1991 partnership with cellist Lluís Claret in the cello sonatas of Chopin and Richard Strauss. Additional releases followed, among them an eight-disc survey of Schubert’s sonatas and solo pieces as well as an extensive collection of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas.
In the twenty-first century Planès has remained active as soloist and chamber player, appearing with major orchestras and at festivals such as Marlboro, Aix-en-Provence, and Montreux. His recordings from this period include a 2006 account of Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite and the 2009 period-instrument release Chopin chez Pleyel. In 2016 he was the subject of Dominique Lemonnier’s documentary Alain Planès, l’Infini Turbulent. He has continued recording for Harmonia Mundi into the mid-2020s, issuing an album of Liszt’s transcriptions of Beethoven symphonies in 2020, Chopin’s complete nocturnes in 2021, and Fauré’s piano music in 2024.
Albums
Live
