Claire Désert
The French pianist Claire Désert has been active and influential as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber music player, accompanist, and educator. She is especially noted for her interpretations of Schumann, and for her chamber music work. Désert was born in Angoulême in southwestern France in 1967. She took up the piano at five, showed talent, and at 14 traveled to Paris to enroll at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP). Désert had a good feel for the chamber music field early on, winning the school's first prize for chamber playing, and then adding a first prize for general piano performance. In 1985 she began studies with Bulgarian pianist Ventsislav Yankov and won admission to the conservatory's Cycle de Perféctionnement advanced course. A French government scholarship allowed her to study at the Moscow Conservatory for a year, in one of the earlier Western-Eastern exchanges of that type, and back in France, she studied as a chamber player with cellist Roland Pidoux. Désert launched her recital career in the early '90s and got a boost with a Victoires de la Musique Classique newcomer award for her 1997 recording of concertos by Scriabin and Dvorak with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. She has performed at major halls including the Salle Pleyel in Paris, Washington's Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall in London, and has been a frequent guest at music festivals in France and beyond, including the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. Désert's recording career since the turn of the century has been busy. She has been a frequent collaborator with chamber groups, with pianist Emmanuel Strosser in duo piano repertory, and with other instrumental soloists. Two solo recordings of music by Schumann on the Mirare label, in 2007 and 2010, won widespread acclaim. Désert appeared with violinist Philippe Graffin in 2019 on Fiddler's Blues, a recital of works by Ysaÿe, Ravel, Enescu, and Debussy.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Schumann: Études symphoniques, Op. 13 - Études sur un thème de Beethoven, WoO 31 & Geistervariationen, WoO 24
Classical - Released by Mirare on Sep 10, 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Bunte Blätter / C. Wieck : Variations Op. 20 / Brahms : Variations Op. 9 (Claire Désert)
Chamber Music - Released by Mirare on Nov 16, 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Fantaisie, Romances, Scènes de la forêt
Solo Piano - Released by Mirare on Sep 14, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fiddler's Blues (Ysaÿe, Ravel, Debussy, Enesco)
Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
Duets - Released by AVIE Records on Feb 1, 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann & Dvořák (Arr. for Sextuor)
Claire Désert, Quintette Moraguès
Classical - Released by Indésens on May 14, 2021
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Piano à quatre mains
Claire Désert and Emmanuel Strosser
Classical - Released by Mirare on Oct 29, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
In The Shade Of Forests - The Bohemian World Of Debussy, Enescu & Ravel
Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
Classical - Released by Avie Records on Mar 28, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hungarian Dances
Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Sep 29, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Danses slaves, Op. 46 & 72
Claire Désert, Emmanuel Strosser
Classical - Released by Mirare on Sep 2, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Encore
Claire Désert, Quintette Moraguès
Classical - Released by Indésens on Feb 25, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert & Brahms: Works for Piano Duet and 2 Pianos
Claire Désert, Emmanuel Strosser
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 4, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Romances sans paroles
Classical - Released by Polymnie on Sep 13, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Mantovani (Claire Désert et le Trio Wanderer)
Classical - Released by Mirare on Jun 3, 2013
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 - Intermezzi, Op. 4
Classical - Released by Mirare on Sep 2, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto; Violin Sonata No.2
Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Jul 5, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Davidsbündlertänze Op.6, Intermezzi Op.4 (Claire Désert)
Classical - Released by Mirare on Sep 2, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -