Jean-François Zygel

Born in Paris in 1960, Jean‑François Zygel has built a career at the crossroads of classical music, tonal contemporary composition and piano improvisation. Trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, where he won several first prizes, he was awarded in 1982 the first prize of the International Piano Improvisation Competition of the city of Lyon — an important milestone in a trajectory that combines composition, performance and teaching. His catalogue includes notably La Ville, Malaga and Nigun, works distinguished by attention to polyphonic textures, rhythmic interplay and influences ranging from certain late‑20th‑century American composers to English music of the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as Hebrew cantillation. As an improvising pianist he performs solo and in duo — notably with Antoine Hervé or Thierry Escaich — and regularly provides live accompaniment to silent films in concert venues such as the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Cité de la Musique. His discography includes Improvisations (2008), Double Messieurs with Antoine Hervé (2011) and L’Alchimiste (2017). He also maintains a regular presence on radio and television while teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he founded the piano improvisation class in 2002.