Eric Le Sage

Eric Le Sage, a pianist devoted to Romantic repertoire, regularly interprets compositions by Robert Schumann along with pieces by French creators. His broad collection encompasses infrequently programmed concertos from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Born in Aix-en-Provence, France, on June 15, 1964, he trained at the Conservatoire de Paris and continued his preparation in London with Maria Curcio. Victories at major contests advanced his path, among them the Porto International Piano Competition in 1985, the Robert Schumann International Competition in Zwickau, Germany, in 1989, and the Leeds Competition in 1990. The last of these successes led to a concert appearance with conductor Simon Rattle, after which Le Sage performed concertos with ensembles such as Berlin's Konzerthaus Orchester, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the NHK Symphony. Recital engagements have carried him to distinguished sites including Wigmore Hall in London, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, and Tokyo's Suntory Hall, as well as most leading halls throughout France.

An avid chamber musician, Le Sage has joined forces with the Quatuor Ébène, Les Vents Français, and flutist Emmanuel Pahud. His recording career began in 1993 on the Denon label, where he supported clarinetist Paul Meyer on French Clarinet Art. A frequent participant in French festivals, he launched the Festival international de musique de Salon-de-Provence in 1994. During the 1990s he accompanied assorted soloists on disc and achieved his solo debut in 2001 on RCA with Poulenc: Oeuvres pour piano.

Le Sage has earned particular notice for his exhaustive recorded surveys of several composers, most prominently a Schumann edition issued for the composer's 200th birthday in 2010. He has also produced complete cycles of Poulenc's piano music and Fauré's piano chamber music; a Brahms chamber music cycle with piano, begun in the late 2010s, stood at nine volumes by 2021. Releases have appeared on RCA, EMI, Alpha, and other labels; in the late 2010s he moved to B Records for the Brahms series, which continued into the early 2020s. In 2021 he issued an album of Hindemith wind sonatas with Les Vents Français on Warner Classics. The next year brought Mozart piano concertos with the Gävle Symphony Orchestra on Alpha and the solo recital Jardins Suspendus on Sony Classical. He returned to Warner Classics in 2023 to accompany flutist Emmanuel Pahud on Romances. By then his recorded output numbered more than sixty titles.