Marc Pantillon

Marc Pantillon,
piano

Born into a family of Neuchâtel musicians, Marc Pantillon grew up in an environment steeped in music, and it was only natural that from an early age he should take up the piano under the guidance of his parents: indeed, he would have no other teacher until he passed his teaching diploma at the age of twenty. With a Migros scholarship, he moved to Vienna to continue his piano studies with Hans Petermandl at the Hochschule für Musik, graduating in 1983.

He was then fortunate enough to be able to perfect his skills with the great pianist Paul Badura-Skoda, who took an interest in him, prompting him to seriously consider a career as a soloist, which kicked off in 1987 when he was awarded the Prix de Soliste by the Association des Musiciens Suisses. Since then, he has performed frequently, both in recital and as a soloist with orchestra, and is also in great demand as a chamber musician.

Now retired, Marc Pantillon devoted much of his energy to teaching at the Haute École de Musique de Neuchâtel – Genève and the HEMU in Lausanne.

On the recording front, Marc Pantillon has often chosen to record little-played composers in whom his curiosity has led him to take an interest, such as Stephen Heller, Ignaz Lachner (the six Trios), Julien-François Zbinden, Pavel Haas (with the oboist Fabrice Ferez) or Mel Bonis (the complete works for flute and piano with his daughter Anne-Laure). This has not prevented him from recording the great classics that are close to his heart, such as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven (C Minor, on Gallo), or more recently on Claves: Beethoven (the sonatas for cello and piano with Sébastien Singer) and Brahms (the two Sonatas op. 120 with violist Ettore Causa, but also the Ballades op. 10 and opuses 117 to 119, CD reissued in 2021).

Together, Christophe and Marc have recorded a disc devoted to Liszt and, very recently, a second dedicated to Neuchâtel composer Samuel Duccomun. The two musicians will be signing books at the end of the concert.