Philippe Entremont is one of the most celebrated French classical pianists and conductors of the past century, with a career spanning over seven decades. Born in Reims into a highly musical family — his mother a Grand Prix–winning pianist and his father an opera conductor — he began piano lessons at six, won top prizes at the Conservatoire de Paris by fifteen, and became a laureate of the Long-Thibaud Competition at sixteen. At just eighteen, he made his legendary Carnegie Hall debut performing André Jolivet’s Piano Concerto and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, launching him to international fame.

Renowned for his brilliant technique and interpretive insight, Entremont became one of the most recorded pianists of his generation. His discography includes acclaimed recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Second and Fourth Concertos with Leonard Bernstein and Eugene Ormandy, Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto, Saint-Saëns’ Second and Fourth Concertos, and numerous Mozart concertos — many of which he conducted from the keyboard, pioneering this now-common practice. He has also championed French composers such as Ravel, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns, bringing their works to global audiences through his performances and recordings.

In addition to his piano career, Entremont has held numerous prestigious conducting posts. He served as Music Director of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (later named its Conductor Laureate), the New Orleans Symphony, the Denver Symphony (now the Colorado Symphony), and the Chamber Orchestra of the Netherlands. He founded the Santo Domingo Music Festival, a renowned biennial event that attracts world-class artists to the Dominican Republic, and from 2010 to 2013 undertook major international tours with the Munich Symphony, the Israel Festival Orchestra, and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie. In 2010, he was named Lifetime Laureate Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra.

A devoted educator and mentor, Entremont has served as President of the Maurice Ravel Académie and Director of the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau (once led by the legendary Nadia Boulanger). He was also instrumental in founding the Chamber Orchestra of the École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris – Alfred Cortot, and has served on the juries of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions, including the ARD Munich, Santander, Chopin (Warsaw), Van Cliburn, and Leeds competitions.

His artistry has earned him France’s highest honors — Commandeur of the Légion d’honneur, Commandeur of the Ordre national du Mérite, and Commandeur of the Arts et Lettres — as well as Austria’s Great Cross of Honour in the Order of Merit and the Cross of Honour in Science and Art. Sony has released two definitive box sets of his work: a 19-CD collection of piano concertos and a 34-CD set of his complete solo piano recordings.

Across more than seventy years, Philippe Entremont has left an indelible mark on classical music. With brilliance, versatility, and unwavering dedication, he continues to inspire generations of musicians and audiences around the world.