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Born in Paris, of Breton origin, Anne Queffélec studied music at the Paris Conservatoire winning first prize for piano in 1965 and first prize for chamber music in 1966. She continued her studies in Vienna with Alfred Brendel and took part in two major international piano competitions; in Munich, where she won first prize by unanimous decision in 1968, and in Leeds, where she was a prize-winner in 1969.
Since then she has had a busy international career playing solo recitals and orchestral concerts in the principal cities of Europe, Japan, USA, Israel and Canada, under such conductors as Barshai, Boulez, Conlon, Davis, Guschlbauer, Groves, Holliger, Jordan, Gardiner, Leppard, Marriner, Semkow, Skrowaczewski and Zinman.
Anne Queffélec is a regular visitor to Britain playing at the Proms and with orchestras including the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, and BBC National orchestra of Wales, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, London Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Northen Sinfonia, London Philharmonia.
She is a great chamber music enthusiast and plays regularly with her friends Rafaël Oleg, Augustin Dumay, Régis Pasquier, the Endellion and Chilingirian String Quartets, and Imogen Cooper in piano duo. They have recorded a CD of Mozart Piano Works for four hands for the Dutch label Ottavo as well as a box of three Schubert Piano Works four hands for Erato.
Famous festivals like Bath, Cheltenham, King’s Lynn, Swansea, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Folle Journée in Nantes, Strasbourg, Dijon… invited her regularly.
She is one of the most recorded French pianists of her generation, having made records of works including Scarlatti, Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Ravel, Bach, Mendelssohn, Fauré, Hummel and Debussy. Her recording of Satie piano music for Virgin Classics, which was released at the end of 1998, was greeted with enthusiastic critical acclaim. In 1990, she won the prize for the Best Classical Artist of the Year in the Victoires de la Musique Awards, the highest prize in the French record industry’s. Recent releases by Virgin Classics include two volumes of solo piano works by Ravel, a second volume of piano music by Satie, the Concerto for Two Pianos by Poulenc with Jean Bernard Pommier and the complete piano works of Dutilleux.
She is also highly interested in teaching giving master-classes in Japan, Great Britain and France. In addition to these activities, she is invited by major international juries.
Anne Queffélec was recently awarded the highly prestigious Chevalier de la légion d’honneur, by the French Prime Minister in recognition of her achievements as a professional pianist.
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