French pianist Emmanuel Despax is one of the most sought after rising stars of his generation. He has performed widely in Europe and as far afield as New Zealand and South America.
Emmanuel began his piano studies at the age of 9 with his mother before passing the entrance exam to the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, studying with Michel Bourdoncle and Florence Belraouti. From the age of 13 he continued his studies in the UK where he gained a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School, studying with Ruth Nye, one of Claudio Arrau's finest students. When she heard his audition, she recognized a great talent in the making and has been his mentor ever since.
During his five years at the prestigious Menuhin School, Emmanuel was given numerous opportunities to appear in concerts, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, most notably in London, at the Royal Festival Hall, St John's Smith Square and Wigmore Hall. He is also keen to develop his talent as a composer, his score for the ballet "Le Petit Bal Nocturne" was premièred in 1999 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall by L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, with himself at the piano and the strings of the Menuhin School Orchestra.
In 2002 Emmanuel gained a full scholarship to the Royal College of Music; there he won many awards including the Kendall Taylor Prize in the Beethoven Competition, the Esther Fisher Prize for best undergraduate and the Chappell Medal. He was also awarded the RCM's most prestigious prize, the Tagore Gold Medal, which was presented to him by HRH the Prince of Wales. While still at college, he made his London début performing Brahms's First Concerto under Andrew Litton with the RCM Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his studies, Emmanuel also participated in masterclasses and sought the advice of such eminent musicians as Emanuel Ax, Nikolai Demidenko, Claude Frank, John Lill, Bernard D'Ascoli, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Murray Perahia and András Schiff.
Since graduating from the Royal College of Music with first class honours in 2006, Emmanuel's international performing career has gone from strength to strength. In his native France he has appeared at Le Festival International de Musique â la Cour at Solliès-Pont, Le Château de Lourmarin and a gala concert at La Roque d'Anthéron. Elsewhere in Europe he has given recitals at the Fazioli Auditorium in Italy, the Gasteig Blackbox in Munich, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Belgium, and in Holland, Mallorca and Slovenia to name a few.
As winner of the Jaques Samuel Piano Competition, Emmanuel made his Wigmore Hall début in September 2005 which was recorded live and released on the Jaques Samuel Label. "...This disc is about Despax - he impresses - and he is all about the music." Colin Anderson, INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW, June 2006.
He has played with many orchestras throughout the UK, most notably with the London Festival Orchestra as part of the Virtuoso Pianists series at Cadogan Hall and the Arion Orchestra at St James's Piccadilly, as well as in many festivals including Chipping Campden and Petworth.
Recent and upcoming highlights include a second appearance at the Chipping Campden Festival, performances in London at Cadogan Hall, Kings Place, the National Portrait Gallery, Drapers' Hall and another Wigmore Hall recital.
In France he returns to Le Château de Lourmarin and is invited to play in his home city of Aix-en-Provence at the Cour de l'Hôtel de Ville.
He has just come back from a second successful tour of New Zealand, where he appeared at the prestigious Fazioli International Series in Auckland and played Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra under Tom Woods, which was broadcast on national radio. Both performances drew glowing reviews.