Fran�ois-Ren� Duch�ble is a French pianist. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and at the age of 13 won the institution's first prize in piano. Three years later, he placed 11th at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, and in 1973 he won the Prix de la Fondation Sacha Schneider. At that time, Duch�ble caught the attention of Arthur Rubinstein, who encouraged him to pursue a solo career and helped him secure his first important engagements. Since then, Duch�ble has had a successful concert career in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan. Duch�ble has had in his repertoire the concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Bart�k and Ravel, and solo piano works of Liszt, Chopin, and Poulenc. He has appeared at many prestigious music festivals, including those of Salzburg, Lucerne, Berlin, the London Proms, Lockenhaus, and the Flanders Festival, and has presented concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall, the Philharmonie in Berlin, and the Musikverein in Vienna. [More at Wikipedia]

April 22nd, 1952 in Paris (Age 72)