Alexandre Tharaud

Press

• Concert with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

  Bristol Beacon

  Mar 2026

  • Tharaud’s playing in the first movement was so fine that it prompted an unconventional approval of applause from the audience, never waiting till the finale… A breathless, exhilarating finale returning to the jazz inflected wit of the first movement was executed with dazzling precision by Tharaud.

    • Bristol24/7
    • 13 March 2026

• Recital at the Philharmonie de Paris

  Grande salle Pierre Boulez

  Jan 2026

  • Il joue amoureusement, avec élégance et respect... la salle est silencieusement suspendue aux inflexions et à l'invention d'un jeu dont l'éloquence ne doit rien à la facilité." "He plays with passion, elegance and respect... the audience hangs in silent rapture, captivated by the nuances and inventiveness of a performance whose eloquence owes nothing to ease.

    • Bachtrack
    • 13 January 2026

• Recording/Satie Discovers (Warner Classics/Erato)

  • Alexandre Tharaud has taken great care to bring these true discoveries to life. His merry, steamroller playing and Glenn Gould-style murmurs on the recording make this special.

    • Buzz Magazine
    • 01 July 2025

• Recording/Concertos - Pécou, Lazkano, Nante (Warner Classics/Erato)

  • Il faut tout le talent d'Alexandre Tharaud pour rendre sa cohérence et sa continuité à cette œuvre d'une grande densité, notamment dans une impressionnante cadence, plus proche de Boulez que de Ravel.” “It takes all the talent of Alexandre Tharaud to restore its coherence and continuity to this work of great density, especially in an impressive cadenza, closer to Boulez than to Ravel.

    • ResMusica
    • 21 June 2025

  • Few current pianists place such emphasis on their contemporaries as Alexandre Tharaud.

    • Gramophone

• Concert with the Aurora Orchestra

  Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre London

  Oct 2024

  • From the whipcrack first notes of the Allegramente, dextrous pianist Alexandre Tharaud and the Aurora players fused to give a precisely calibrated yet whimsical account of the first movement. Theraud’s keyboard virtuosity was never in doubt. Alternating between astonishingly fast runs and bluesy harmonic progressions, he captured Ravel’s constantly changing shifts of moods and themes in all their syncopated detail. The second movement, an Adagio of serene beauty flowed in an unbroken line of melody, while the third movement – a fast moving, rapid-fire dialogue between piano and orchestra – was executed with awesome speed and panache.

    • Seen and Heard International
    • 28 October 2024

• Concert with San Francisco Symphony

  Davies Symphony Hall

  Sep 2024

  • The French musical polyglot Alexandre Tharaud had grabbed his attention with a knowledgeable and vivid approach to the music of Rameau.... Lots of busy flourishes from the piano, played with vigorous expression by Tharaud, established the character of the concerto. As the final measures of the first movement died down, the slow second movement introduced greater clarity to the dense harmonies and settled into quiet floating chords with overtones of jazz textures. An oboe intoned a languid tune as Tharaud added decorative embellishments, before settling into a lovely duet with principal viola Jonathan Vinocour.

    • Seen and Heard International
    • 30 September 2024

• Recording/Orchestre National de France/Langrée (Warner Classics)

  Oct 2023

  • The performances are all that you would expect from this unfailingly stylish pianist, especially in the outer movements of the G major concerto, played with as much glitter and fizz as anyone could want.

    • Andrew Clements, The Guardian
    • 05 October 2023

• Recital

  Berliner Philharmonie

  May 2023

  • One can only say about Tharaud’s “mirror images”: You have to experience it! The sovereign mastery of this world-class pianist leaves you speechless.

    • Keno David Schüler, Global Happenings
    • 01 June 2023

• Recital: Rameau, Schubert, Tharaud

  Salle Bourgie, Montreal

  May 2023

  • La sensation dominante de ce concert d’une heure a été la verve, voire l’exubérance, du pianiste, visiblement heureux d’être là. Nous l’entendions dans Les Sauvages de Rameau en bis, non pas ciselé comme avec Bruce Liu, mais emporté et nourri de coups de patte mettant en lumière tel ou tel détail original. Cet élan avait aussi des incidences sur la Suite en la mineur de Rameau et les Impromptus op. 90 de Schubert, notamment le choix de la limite jusqu’à laquelle le pianiste oserait faire aller la dynamique sonore. Alexandre Tharaud a choisi un son très nourri, ample et généreux, même dans Rameau, se délectant notamment des variations de la « Gavotte et six doubles ». Idem dans Schubert, où le pianiste a créé beaucoup plus de juste variété, de contrastes de tourbillon et de fantaisie dans les Impromptus op. 90 que David Fray dans son Klavierstücken février dernier au même endroit. Entre Rameau et Schubert, Tharaud a joué des pièces de son cru composées pendant la pandémie. Ces études brèves portent à la fois sur le rythme, la répétitivité et les sonorités. C’est concentré, éloquent et percutant.

    • Christophe Huss, Le Devoir
    • 06 May 2023

• Concert with Jean-Guihen Queyras

  Salle Bourgie, Montreal

  Apr 2023

  • Après avoir débuté puissamment, comme pour étalonner leur ambitus dynamique dans le cadre de la salle, Alexandre Tharaud et Jean-Guihen Queyras naviguent à travers les danses de Marais en faisant assaut de subtilités et en ne négligeant jamais le caractère des danses. Toute leur palette est exposée, au final, dans les Couplets des Folies d’Espagne. Cette collection de 32 variations autour du célèbre thème de La Folia, d’une durée de près de 20 minutes, est d’ailleurs faite pour exposer les possibilités expressives de la viole (à l’époque) et, donc, du tandem aujourd’hui.

    • Christophe Huss, Le Devoir
    • 03 April 2023

• Recital

  Carnegie Hall, New York

  Mar 2023

  • And for the two encores? Mr. Tharaud played a Scarlatti Sonata with a whirling tempo, so it was almost unidentifiable. Second was “La Sauvage” by Rameau again, this time with savage fury. It would be unforgivable during the concert itself. But his grand playing, his ebullience and his pianistic personality allowed him, in these gifts to the full‑house audience, a celebration of the digital speed of light.

    • Harry Rolnick, Concerto Net
    • 27 March 2023