ARTISTIC JOURNEY

Manuel Schweizer was born on April 23, 1959.

He began his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Grenoble, then continued at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Leningrad, the École Normale de Musique de Paris (in André Gorog’s class), and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon (CNSM), where he obtained the Diplôme National d’Études Supérieures Musicales in 1985, studying with Éric Heidsieck.

He also attended masterclasses with Claude Helffer and Evgeny Malinin.

In 1987, he obtained the Certificat d’Aptitude for piano teaching.

He is a professor and head of the piano department at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Lyon.

He has also worked as a pedagogy trainer for Cefedem Rhône-Alpes and the CNSM de Lyon.

He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in more than 25 countries across five continents, notably in collaboration with GRAME, Centre National de Création, with the Quark Trio, and in solo and four-hand piano recitals with his partner and wife, Kanykey Medetbecova.

Deeply involved in contemporary creation and improvisation, he has composed and produced music for several performances, notably for the choreographic company 47/49, directed by François Veyrunes.

He founded the improvisation collective Si Noir que Bleu.

He is the author of the collection of stories Déconcertants concerts, ou les étonnements d’un pianiste voyageur (Confounding Concerts, or the Astonishments of a Traveling Pianist), published by Éditions Globophile,

as well as the interactive treatise on piano interpretation and technique, for both body and mind:

Piano, Gesture, Sound,

published by the University Press of Dijon.

Release date: March 13, 2025