Biography

His career is marked by precociousness. He began the piano at the tender age of 3 and a half and won a first piano prize at the age of 17.
The encounters with two musical giants sealed his artistic fate forever. The first was with the 'legendary' Hungarian pianist Görgy Cziffra (1921-1994) who, moved by his talent, was to heartily encourage him to embrace a pianist career. Next came the immense Polish pianist and composer, Milosz Magin (1929-1999), with whom he was to follow an intense and eclectic education, characterised by both a broad culture and freedom of spirit. With Milosz Magin , he was to discover the excellence of Polish music (its lyricism, folklore, rhythms, and its colours) and dedicated to him two recordings (Milosz Magin, Œuvres pour piano, Passavant label, distributor XCP et Juliusz Zarebski, Œuvres pour piano, Marcal Classics label, distributor Integral Distribution).
Both were highly praised by the famous Polish critic Josef Kanski: « There is no doubt that the French pianist Philippe Devaux is a pianist of great class. His virtuosity, strongly embedded in an impressive fieriness and bravery, coupled to a honed sense of phrasing and a noble and generous sound, indicates the broadest and most remarkable musical culture. »
Prize-winner of the Cziffra Fondation and First Grand Prix of the Milosz Magin International Piano Concourse in 1995, his repertoire extends from Scarlatti to Magin with a predilection for the romantic period and, in particular, Chopin. He also demonstrates a real talent as an improviser.
Philippe Devaux has performed in France (Salle Gaveau, Saint Merri Church, UNESCO, the Isle of Ré La Maline…), Belgium (Atelier Marcel HASTIR), in Poland (Poznan, Warsaw, Gdansk, …), Romania (Bucharest, Iasi), Hungary (Budapest), the Czech Republic (Prague, Brno), Turkey (Istanbul), Scotland (Aberdeen), Denmark (Copenhaguen), Ukrainia (Kiev), the USA (New York). He has also performed with orchestras: BEETHOVEN (concerto 5 in E flat Major), SCHUMANN( concerto in A minor), with the Brno Philarmonic(Czech rep), CHOPIN(concerto n°2 in F minor) and RACHMANINOV (concerto n°2) with the Gdansk Philarmonic, Milosz MAGIN (concerto n°3) with the Koszalin Philarmonic.