France Clidat

France Clidat (Nantes, 22 November 1932 – Paris, 17 May 2012) was a French pianist renowned for her interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt, a great many of which she recorded, and Erik Satie, whose complete piano works she recorded.

Biography In 1948, at age 15, France Clidat played Henri Sauguet's Concerto in A minor in Geneva under the conductor Ernest Ansermet. Maurice Hewitt, Alexis Roland-Manuel, Norbert Dufourcq, and Robert Siohan and received first prize in piano in 1950, at the age of 18. She later studied with Emil Gilels and Lélia Gousseau. She was also called "the Ambassadress of the French piano" and she was named alongside Monique Haas, Cécile Ousset, Robert Casadesus and Philippe Entremont as outstanding representatives of the French piano school.

In the 1960s and 1970s, for Les Éditions Vega, she recorded the following works of Franz Liszt for Decca: Original works in the field of programme music (Années de pèlerinage, Legends etc.) Works of purely folkloristic character (the Hungarian Rhapsodies and pieces generally in the form of dances, waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises, etc.) Studies or exercises (various collections of the Transcendental Études) Original works in the field of pure music (the Sonata in B minor, ballads, nocturnes, etc.) Transcriptions or paraphrases from operas or lieder. and "Liszt's complete pianistic output", but this can be shown not to be the case when her Liszt recordings (24 LPs, which were later transferred to 28 CDs) Tchaikovsky and Marcel Landowski. International Franz Liszt Competition the 3rd International Rhodes Competition,

She published articles about Liszt's solo piano music, such as "The Transcendental Studies: A Lisztian Pianist's Impressions" in New Light on Liszt and His Music (Walker, Saffle, Deaville) and "Aux sources littéraires de Franz Liszt", with Jeanne Fauré-Cousin, an entire double issue of La Révue musicale.

Many works were dedicated to France Clidat

Her playing of the Adagio from Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, was featured in the 2000 film Maelström.

Honours She was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1976 and a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite in 1987.

She was also a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur and received the Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris.

Death France Clidat died on 17 May 2012, aged 79, and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.