Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont

Pianist Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont has built a reputation as an idiosyncratic performer widely appreciated for his musical intelligence, sensitive interpretations and innovative ideas. His multifaceted musical personality and insatiable curiosity have led him in exciting new directions, going beyond the beaten paths of the usual conformist-thinking musicians and giving him a distinctive view on the works he interprets. Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont has long been seen as a maverick within the classical music landscape. Quickly after his debut in 1996, Dablemont began criticizing concert life and opposed aesthetical and musical arguments to live performances. However, he continued to perform on stage, giving a rather limited number of concerts each year. From 2009 to 2011, Dablemont took a sabbatical from the music industry to reorient his career in a direction matching his unorthodox ideas. He decided to go back to his earlier devotion to digital media and virtually retire from concert life. He has hardly ever appeared on stage since. Since his childhood, the pianist has been experimenting with electronic media and he has developed professional proficiency in recording techniques and studio work. Radio, television and recorded music have played a very important role in Dablemont’s relationship with music. Dablemont started recording in fall 2011 and released his much anticipated debut album in July 2012, Introducing Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont, which rapidly earned widespread acclaim. In 2013 he recorded his second album, dedicated to Beethoven sonatas op. 27 and 28 as the first part of his project, Beethoven Evolutions. The new album was released in July 2014 on Resonus Classics. Also actively involved in the expansion and promotion of the contemporary piano repertoire, Dablemont has premiered numerous works for solo piano or chamber ensemble. In 2014, he will premiere The Magical Control of Rain, a large-scale piano cycle by Marc Yeats, written in memory of Scottish composer Morris Pert. Besides music, writing about music has remained one of Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont’s foremost interests. The pianist keeps a widely-read blog where he writes about his unique musical aesthetics, and he shares detailed essays on works he particularly likes. Born near Paris in 1979, he enjoyed a privileged and sheltered childhood in a non-musical family. His musical gifts became apparent early on, and though his parents never pushed him, he quickly became serious about piano and began his education under Véronique Menuet-Stibbe. He then worked under Marc Lys, Françoise Thinat and Hugues Leclère in Paris. He later studied with František Maxián at the Prague Conservatory. Dablemont currently lives in Brussels, Belgium.