Michel Béroff

Not every pianist finds it straightforward to engage with the demanding scores of French avant-garde composer Olivier Messiaen, whose cycle of solo keyboard works draws directly from avian vocalizations and whose Quartet for the End of Time remains one of the most formidable chamber pieces in the repertoire. Michel Béroff has earned recognition as a leading exponent of this composer’s catalog while simultaneously distinguishing himself through authoritative readings of Beethoven, Brahms, Bartók, Prokofiev, Mozart, Debussy, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Schumann, and Schubert.

His formal training began at the conservatory in Nancy before he transferred to the CNSM in Paris, where his exceptional talent quickly became evident. In 1966 he made his Paris recital debut and captured first prize at the Olivier Messiaen International Piano Competition. From that point his engagements extended across continents, placing him before many of the era’s foremost conductors, among them Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, and Andre Previn. In recital and chamber settings he has partnered with Pierre Amoyal, Jean-Philippe Collard, Augustin Dumay, Barbara Hendricks, and Lynn Harrell.

Alongside his pianistic activities, Béroff pursued intensive examination of conducting technique and the specialized left-hand piano literature. One tangible result is his Deutsche Grammophon recording of the Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand with the London Symphony Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. The conducting studies eventually opened a secondary career on the podium, though his concert schedule as soloist has always taken precedence. In 1989 he joined the faculty of his alma mater, the CNSM, to instruct conducting; since 1994 he has also taught at Freiburg’s Musikhochschule.

Extensive Japanese engagements in 1996 featured Debussy programs that were subsequently captured for the Denon label; the five resulting albums each received a Grand Prix du Disque. During the same visit he appeared with the NHK Symphony and the Shinsei Japan Philharmonic. Audience acclaim prompted a return later that year for additional recitals and a Philips Classics recording of Debussy’s Le bal masqué alongside Seiji Ozawa and Wolfgang Holzmair. He next concentrated on Stravinsky, devising a combined orchestral and recital project with the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague. In 2000 he traveled through England and Spain with the London Philharmonic Orchestra led by Kurt Masur.

Béroff’s recorded output for EMI is extensive, encompassing the complete piano-and-orchestra works of Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Liszt together with further selections by Messiaen, Schumann, Brahms, and Debussy.