Piano
François-Frédéric Guy is widely regarded first and foremost as an outstanding interpreter of the
German Romantics and their forebears. The way he creates musical structure in sound is unrivalled,
especially evident in his interpretations of Beethoven, with whom he has a particularly intensive
musical relationship.
The pianist also has a special affinity with the music of Bartók, Brahms, Liszt, and Prokofiev and a
strong commitment to contemporary music. He has close links to composers such as Ivan Fedele,
Marc Monnet, Gérard Pesson, Bruno Mantovani and Hugues Dufourt, who dedicated his masterpiece
for solo piano, Erlkönig (2006), to the pianist. He has also given the premiere of works including
Mantovani’s Double Concerto (2012), which he performed with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto,
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 he gave the South
Korean premiere of Tristan Murail’s Le Désenchantement du monde with the Seoul Philharmonic
Orchestra.
In the current season, François-Frédéric Guy will continue his focus on Beethoven while also giving
numerous appearances in the dual role of soloist and conductor. His acclaimed performances of
Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, with guest appearances in Washington, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Monte
Carlo, Norwich, Metz and Buenos Aires, take him to Tokyo and Seoul this season.
François-Frédéric Guy first made his mark leading the orchestra from the piano with Beethoven’s
piano concertos. In the current season, he has conducted the Orchester National du Pays de la Loire
with works by Mozart and Beethoven, among others, and will also conduct Beethoven’s Piano
Concerto No. 5 of at the MONACO Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte Carlo with the Sinfonia
Varsovia. In collaboration with the Orchester de Chambre de Paris, François-Frédéric Guy is also
expanding his repertoire in the dual role of pianist/conductor with Brahms’ two piano concertos and
preparing a recording of Mozart’s late concertos. Together they will usher in the Parisian celebrations
for the Beethoven Year in January 2020 with the complete cycle of piano concertos at the Théâtre des
Champs-Élysées.
In the course of 2019, François-Frédéric Guy continues to present a diverse range of repertoire as a
soloist with orchestras, playing Bartók with the Orchester de la Suisse Romande under Gustavo
Gimeno, Liszt with the Orchestra Sinfónica de Navarra, and Tristan Murail’s Piano Concerto with the
George Enescu Philharmonic at the invitation of the Enescu Festival, among others. The pianist will
also give numerous recitals this season – his solo concerts taking him to Madrid, La Roque
d’Antheron, and to the Wigmore Hall in London, where after playing a solo recital he will appear in
concert with cello partner Xavier Phillips.
The pianist has been a guest of orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic,
Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna
Symphony and Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich. He has collaborated with world-famous conductors
including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kazushi Ono, Marc Albrecht, Philippe Jordan, Daniel Harding, Neeme
Järvi, Lionel Bringuier, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Kent Nagano. In recital he has performed at the
major concert halls in cities such as London, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Moscow, Paris, Vienna and
Washington, and at festivals including the Chopin Festival in Warsaw, Beethovenfest Bonn, Printemps
des Arts de Monte-Carlo, and the Cheltenham Festival.
At the heart of François-Frédéric Guy’s discography is his recording of the complete Beethoven
sonatas, which was released in 2013 by Zig-Zag Territoires, who also released his acclaimed Liszt
