Pierre Hantaï Pierre Hantaï

Pierre Hantaï, harpsichord soloist and conductor of Le Concert Français, won Second Prize in harpsichord at the age of 18 at the Bruges International Early Music Competition (1982), the most important early music competition in Europe. He went on to become a harpsichordist sought after by major festivals and concert halls across Europe, the Americas, and Japan. Active as a soloist on stages worldwide, Pierre Hantaï is regarded as the successor to the great harpsichord master Gustav Leonhardt and as one of the finest harpsichordists of our time.

His extensive discography includes his early recordings for EMI Virgin Classics of Bach’s sonatas, suites, toccatas, fantasias, the Chromatic Fantasia, and preludes and fugues, as well as more recent recordings for the French label Mirare of Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, the Goldberg Variations, five volumes of D. SCARLATTI sonatas, and harpsichord works by Couperin. These recordings have earned numerous international honors, including selection among Gramophone’s “50 Greatest Bach Recordings,” “Best Classical Album,” and the Grand Prix du Disque. His 1992 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations brought him wide acclaim and was hailed by critics as a “desert island disc.” In recent years he recorded the Goldberg Variations a second time for Mirare, setting a precedent in the harpsichord world: he became the first harpsichordist in recent years to record the work twice, and the fourth performer recognized as having a distinctive insight into it. His rigorous sense of structure and astonishing technique reveal the refinement and mystery of Bach’s music as a whole.

Recording awards:
2019 Gramophone, 50 Best Bach Recordings of the Year
2016 Gramophone, Best Classical Album