Jean Muller is a Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 classical pianist. He has received several international awards and performed widely in Europe and beyond. Since 1997, he has made numerous recordings.

Education

Jean Muller was born on 11 December 1979 in Luxembourg City

Luxembourg (city)

The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...

, son of Gary Muller, a piano teacher. He was only six when he had first piano lessons at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg

Conservatoire de Luxembourg

The Conservatoire de Luxembourg is a conservatoire in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The conservatoire was founded in 1906, after a private donation made possible its establishment, which had been mandated under a Grand Ducal decree issued in 1904...

. At age 15, he spent a semester with Teofils Bikis

Teofils Bikis

Teofils Biķis was a Latvian pianist.He was trained at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Vlasenko, graduating in 1975. That same year he won the Vianna da Motta International Music Competition and was appointed a teacher at the Novosibirsk Conservatory. In 1989 he was promoted to the Latvian...

 in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

 before continuing his studies in Brussels, Paris and Munich. Among his teachers were Gerhard Oppitz

Gerhard Oppitz

Gerhard Oppitz is a German classical pianist.He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München - the youngest in the history of the institute - where he still teaches. As a soloist he has appeared with...

 and Michael Schäfer

Michael Schäfer

Michael Schäfer is a Danish former football player and now manager. In his active career, he played 482 games for Danish club Lyngby BK, as well as three games for the Denmark national football team. At the moment he is a teacher at Virum Skole in Denmark.-Biography:Born in Rødovre in eastern...

. He also received guidance from Anne Queffélec

Anne Queffélec

Anne Queffélec is a French pianist, born in Paris.-Biography:She started playing piano at the age of five. In 1964, she enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire. She won the first prize for piano in 1965 and the first prize for chamber music in 1966. She continued her education with Paul Badura-Skoda...

, Leon Fleischer, Janos Starker

János Starker

János Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...

 and Fou Ts'ong

Fou Ts'ong

Fou Ts'ong is a Chinese pianist.Born in Shanghai to a family of intellectuals , Fou first studied piano with Mario Paci, the Italian founder of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra...

.

Career

Muller has performed widely across Europe and beyond both in concert halls and at music festivals. In addition to solo performances, he frequently plays with the Bavarian State Orchestra

Bavarian State Orchestra

The Bayerisches Staatsorchester is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera.- History :Founded in the times of Ludwig Senfl the orchestra, specializing in musica sacra, belonged to the finest ones in Europe already under Orlando di Lasso . In 1651 the Italian opera was introduced in Munich...

, the Münchner Symphoniker

Munich Symphony Orchestra

The Munich Symphony Orchestra is a German orchestra based in Munich. Kurt Graunke founded the orchestra as the Graunke Symphony Orchestra in 1945. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1990...

 and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra

Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra

The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra , abbreviated to OPL, is the national orchestra of Luxembourg, and is based in Luxembourg City. The orchestra formerly performed at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Conservatoire de Luxembourg...

. He has worked with many renowned conductors including Frédéric Chaslin

Frédéric Chaslin

Frédéric Chaslin is a French conductor, composer and pianist.The son of an architect, Chaslin studied at the Conservatoire de Paris , where he won first prizes in harmony, counterpoint, fugue, piano accompaniment, vocal direction, and orchestration...

, Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...

 and Bramwell Tovey

Bramwell Tovey

Bramwell Tovey, OM is an English-born Grammy Award winning conductor and composer. His musical roots are in The Salvation Army. He was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as a pianist and composer...

. He has performed all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas in concert.

Awards

In 1999 at Bratislava, he was a laureate of the “Tribune Internationale des Jeunes Interprètes” (TIJI) organized by the European Broadcast Union (EBU) in the name of the UNESCO.

In 2004, he received the first prize at three French piano competitions in Arcachon, Vanves (Jean Françaix) and Brive (Francis Poulenc).

In 2007, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg OIH is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. His maternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden...

 elevated Jean Muller to the rank of Knight of the Civil and Military Order of Merit of Adolph of Nassau in gratitude for his performances during official state visits.

Assessment

The president of Concours Poulenc jury, Jean-Claude Pennetier, stated: "Everything is there: fingers, head and heart." His recordings have also earned excellent reviews in the specialized press such as Pizzicato, Piano Magazine and The CD Selection.

Discography

• 2007: "Jean Muller plays Stéphane Blet", 6 Sonatas; Suite érotique. Polymnie CD POL - 150 544
• 2006: "Jean Muller - Chopin", Sonata No 3, 4; Impromptus; Barcarolle; Polonaise op. 53. Hybrid SACD Turtle Records TRSA 0027
• 2004: "Jean Muller - Liszt, Chopin, Civitareale, Françaix", Franz Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Spanish Rhapsody; Frédéric Chopin: Nocturnes op. 27, Ballade No 4; Walter Civitareale: 3 Miniatures; Jean Françaix: 5 Encores. CD JCH-Productions JCH 2004 / 02
• 2003: "Attila Kereztesi, Jean Muller - Béla Bartok", Béla Bartók: Sonatas & Rhapsodies for violin and piano; Romanian Dances, with Attila Keresztesi, Violin. CD JCH-Productions JCH 2003 / 02
• 1999: "Jean Muller - [piano]", Igor Stravinsky: Petruchka; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonata KV 576 in D major; Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata op. 57 in F minor - Appassionata; Carl Czerny: Variationen über den Sehnsuchtswalzer; Mily Balakirew: Islamey. CD JCH-Productions JCH 1999 / 09
• 1997: "Jean Muller - Pianistic Fireworks", Sergei Rachmaninov: Sonata No 2; Frédéric Chopin: Berceuse, Barcarolle; Franz Liszt: Racószy-Marsch, Feux Follets; Paul Hindemith: Suite 1922. CD JCH-Productions JCH 1997 / 12