David Fray

Born on May 24, 1981 in Tarbes, France, David Fray has become one of the most sought-after and popular French pianists of his generation. He began playing the piano at the age of four, and gradually immersed himself in the scores of the great German composers, notably Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. After graduating from the Tarbes Conservatoire with three gold medals, he entered the piano class at the Paris Conservatoire, graduating in 1999 with first-class honors. He then went on to perfect his skills with teachers such as Christian Ivaldi and Claire Désert, before making a name for himself with his solo and orchestral tours, giving recitals in the most prestigious concert halls and collaborating with great conductors such as Riccardo Muti (whose daughter Chiara he married), Kurt Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Following his success at the Roque d'Anthéron festival in 2004, David Fray has established himself as a specialist in Baroque music through his recordings of the music of J. S. Bach, Partita BWV 828 - French Suite (2007) and Keyboard Concertos BWV 1052, 1055, 1056 & 1058 (2008), followed by Partitas Nos. 2 & 6 - Toccata BWV 911 (2012), published by Virgin Classics. The pianist also recorded Mozart Concertos Nos. 22 and 25 with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden, as well as recitals devoted to Schubert(Moments Musicaux - Impromptus in 2009 and Fantaisie in 2015) and Chopin (2017). He then returns to Bach with Concertos for 2, 3 & 4 Pianos (2019), Sonatas with Renaud Capuçon (2019) and Goldberg Variations (2021). In 2025, he offers a recital of works by Domenico Scarlatti, François Couperin, Handel, Rameau, Royer and Bach in Baroque Encores.