Photo: Jean-Baptiste Millot

PATRICK HEMMERLÉ is one of Europe’s foremost and most enigmatic pianists. Refusing to follow musical traditional conventions, he has forged a unique path in the musical world which leaves him free to immerse himself with singular dedication into the repertoire and musical expression resonating with the profoundest convictions. The results are interpretations of startling insight and originality. By dauntlessly performing all 24 Chopin Etudes or 24 of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues in a single concert, as well as championing lesser-known composers he feels a deep affinity for, he has developed a reputation as an original with something out of the ordinary to say. A charismatic speaker, he is able to elucidate the musical concepts close to his heart with unapologetic candour in a manner that both mirrors and complements his piano playing. Not comfortable with compromise, he engages with his audience from the keyboard with an energy and integrity that leaves no-one in the room in doubt as to his musical intentions.
French born and trained at the Conservatoire de Paris under Billy Eidi, and laureate of many international piano competitions, he now lives in Cambridge, England, where he has built up a staunchly loyal following. He also performs all over the world and recent engagements have taken him to New York, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Prague and China. He has published 5 CDs, and his latest recording project to be issued shortly, is a pairing of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer’s „Ariadne Musica“. Patrick Hemmerlé is musician in residence at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, where he is in charge of the concert programme.