Richard Clayderman

Richard Clayderman has done what virtually no other French act has ever done….. established a truly international career as a best selling recording artist and concert performer. Born Philippe Pagès on December 28th, 1953, he encountered the piano early in his life. His father, a piano teacher, laid the foundation for his son’s later success and began teaching him how to play at a very young age. It is said that, at the age of six, Richard Clayderman could read music more adeptly than his native French. It was the start of what has become an outstanding success story, and since that time, Richard Clayderman’s distinctive piano style has earned him superstar status all over the world. Today he has recorded over 1, 200 melodies and, in the words of a German journalist, “he has arguably done more to popularise the piano around the world than anyone since Beethoven”. Richard Clayderman has created a “New Romantic” style through a repertoire which combines his ‘trademark’ originals with classics and pop standards. He has clocked up massive worldwide record sales of approximately 90 million, at the last count, and an incredible 267 Gold and 70 Platinum discs to his credit. However, “The Prince of Romance” (as he was dubbed by Nancy Reagan) is not simply a recording artist. In fact, despite his natural shyness and reserve, he is completely in his element on stage ; a Richard Clayderman concert is a real ‘Spectacular’. Clayderman’s international success has resulted in a punishing itinerary which, in the past, has seen him play as many as 200 concerts in just 250 days spent outside France.