Trio Talweg

The pianist Romain Descharmes is a marvel of class and classical purity. Christian Merlin, Le Figaro

We are full of admiration for a rare pianistic talent which combines flawless musicality with staggering dexterity. Emmanuel Andrieu, ConcertoNet

Respected by his peers, the pianist Romain Descharmes is as well-known a soloist with orchestra as he is a recitalist or chamber musician.
Since his enthusiastically received debut with the Orchestre de Paris in May 2012, he has established himself as a new force on the French piano scene. Among his recent activities, Romain Descharmes has performed with the Orchestre de Paris (P. Järvi and I. Metzmacher), the Orchestre National de Lyon (L. Slatkin), the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (T. Sokhiev), the Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France (T.Otaka), the Orchestre de Bordeaux Aquitaine (F. Gabel), the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec (E. Mazzola), the Malmö Symphony Orchestra (M. Soustrot), the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse (P.Davin) and others.

He has been invited to perform at festivals such as Piano aux Jacobins, the Festival de La Roque-d’Anthéron, Solistes aux Serres d’Auteuil, the Rencontres Internationales F. Chopin, Vox Musica, Classique au Vert and the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, as well as the festivals of Chambord, Colmar, Menton, Sully-sur-Loire, La Vézère, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Ghent, Sceaux and L’Epau. Further afield, he has given recitals in Istanbul and London, at the Arties Festival (India), the Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico) and the Belgrade Music Festival (Serbia), and appears regularly at the Palazetto Bru Zane. In June 2014, he performed at the Philharmonie in Berlin with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, as part of the Young Euro Classic festival.

Romain Descharmes is sought after as a chamber musician because of his responsiveness, his sensitivity and his wide repertoire, which extends from sonatas to pieces for large ensemble by way of lieder (of which he is especially fond). He performs with artists such as the Ebène, Diotima and Danel Quartets, Sarah and Déborah Nemtanu, Pierre Fouchenneret, Henri Demarquette, François Salque and Lise Berthaud.

Being an eclectic musician, Romain Descharmes also plays with the fusion group Quai no.5, with whom he has recorded two albums for Decca-Universal and performed in major Parisian venues (the Bataclan, the Cigale, the Européen, the Café de la Danse).

During the 2016–17 season, Romain Descharmes will be performing, among others, with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark, at the Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux, at La Courroie, at the Salle Poirel in Nancy, at Le Vésinet, and at the Opéra de Lille. He is also set to appear in the La Belle Saison chamber music concert series, giving concerts at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, in the chapel of Saint-Martin du Méjan in Arles, and at Béziers and Coulommiers.

Romain Descharmes’ discography includes recordings of Brahms (Claudio Records), Ravel (Audite), Fauré and Scriabin (Artalinna). As part of his long-term collaboration with the Palazetto Bru Zane, he has also recorded the Sonata by Théodore Dubois and works by Hérold, as well as the First Piano Concerto by Marie Jaëll with the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Joseph Swensen – a disc for which he was critically acclaimed upon its release in 2016.

Under the baton of Marc Soustrot, he has just recorded Saint-Saëns’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. These discs will be released by Naxos in 2017. Romain Descharmes is also very committed to teaching and is professor of piano at the Regional Conservatory of Paris.

March 2018