Jean-Yves Thibaudet

piano

About this Artist

Through elegant musicality and an insightful approach to both contemporary and established repertoire, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He is especially known for his diverse interests beyond the classical world; in addition to his many forays into jazz and opera—including works which he transcribed himself for the piano—Thibaudet has forged profound friendships around the globe, leading to fruitful collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art. He is a devoted educator and the first-ever Artist-in-Residence at the Colburn School, which awards several scholarships in his name.

Thibaudet opened the 2025/26 season with Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and in Bucharest. He performs the Saint-Saëns, alongside Guillaume Connesson’s The Shining One—composed specifically for Thibaudet—with the Bern Symphony Orchestra. A major contemporary champion of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto, which he recently recorded for Decca, Thibaudet performed the piece with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic in November.

In 2026, Thibaudet bookends the LA Phil’s Body and Sound festival with two multisensory works—Scriabin’s Prometheus, Poem of Fire and Messiaen’s Turangalîla-symphonie. In January, he joins the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for the world premiere of a piano concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis. He journeys to Australia to perform Qigang Chen’s Er Huang and Gershwin’s Variations on “I Got Rhythm” with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, followed by Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

A prolific recording artist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has appeared on more than 70 albums and six film scores; his extensive catalog has received two Grammy nominations, two ECHO Awards, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards.