Arts Global

Born in 1980 into a family of musicians, Simon Zaoui was drawn to the piano at an early age. His first mentor was Emile Naoumoff, and he then proceeded to the CNR in Boulogne-Billancourt where he worked with Marie-Paule Siruguet, Hortense Cartier-Bresson and Xavier Gagnepain. He obtained an unanimous First Prize in Piano as well as three First Prizes in Chamber Music. He then entered the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris in the class of Alain Planès and worked with Pierre Laurent Aimard, Christian Ivaldi and Jean Mouillère for chamber music. Further studies have been with Dimitri Bashkirov, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Idil Biret and Jean-François Heisser, among others. He obtained his Diploma in 2003.

Simon Zaoui is a member of the Alborada Trio, which has given many concerts and taken part in masterclasses with Gyorgy Kurtag, Ferenc Rados and Peter Csaba. In 2001 the Trio won Second Prize in the International Forum of Chamber Music. With the violonist Sarah Nemtanu, he was awarded Second Prize and a Special Prize in French Music at the Guérande Sonata Competition in 2001.

In 2002 he won First Prize at the Jean Françaix International Piano Competition and the Rotary-Club Prize of the Maurice Ravel Academy at St Jean de Luz. He is often heard on France Musique, broadcasting from the Festival of La Roque d'Anthéron, the Cité de la Musique in the Ligeti Cycle, the Auditorium of the Grenoble Museum and the Chamber Music Festival at St Jean-Cap Ferrat. He has appeared in the Carnegie Small Hall, and in Switzerland and Italy. In 2004 he participated in masterclasses with Menahem Pressler at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Further information may be found at his personal website, simzaoui.googlepages.com.