The same breadth is reflected on the orchestral stage. Chamayou makes debuts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and George Benjamin, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Collon, and Munich Philharmonic with Barbara Hannigan. He returns to the Orchestre de Paris with Esa-Pekka Salonen to perform both Ravel concertos in a single programme, and reunites with the London Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Adès, Oslo Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko, Santa Cecilia and Tarmo Peltokoski, NDR Elbphilharmonie and Hannigan, and Ensemble intercontemporain under Pierre Bleuse. He is Artist in Residence at both Wigmore Hall and with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra throughout the season.
In Berlin, Chamayou revisits one of the defining projects of his career, performing Messiaen’s complete Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus in a one-off concert at the Philharmonie. His commitment to contemporary music is equally fundamental: he worked closely with Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux and György Kurtág, and has developed relationships with composers including Thomas Adès, Unsuk Chin, Bryce Dessner and Michael Jarrell, whose piano concerto Reflections was written for him.
Collaboration provides another thread through Chamayou’s musical life. In 2026/27 he tours with two long-standing artistic partners: Sol Gabetta, including the duo’s first appearance together in the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris, and Barbara Hannigan, with whom he undertakes an extensive European recital tour. His growing presence in Asia continues with a Korean tour alongside the Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru, appearances with the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony orchestras, and a Mendelssohn recital in Shanghai.
Chamayou’s international orchestral career has taken him to the Wiener Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has performed under conductors including Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Thomas Adès, Philippe Jordan, Andris Nelsons, Sir Antonio Pappano, Tugan Sokhiev, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth and Mikko Franck.
An exclusive Warner/Erato artist, Chamayou has approached recording with the same spirit of exploration that defines his performances. His discography ranges from Ravel and Liszt to Saint-Saëns and contemporary repertoire; his recording of Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.2 and 5 was named Gramophone’s Recording of the Year in 2019, while his complete Ravel solo piano works received the 2016 ECHO Klassik Award. More recent projects include Letter(s) to Erik Satie and a recording with Leif Ove Andsnes. The only artist to have won France’s prestigious Victoires de la Musique on five occasions, Chamayou is also Artistic Director of Festival Ravel in the French Basque Country.
Born in Toulouse, Bertrand Chamayou studied with Jean-François Heisser at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris before completing his training with Maria Curcio in London.
