French pianist Eric Ferrand-N’Kaoua (pronounced Ennkawa) was born near Paris in 1963. He studied with Madeleine de Valmalète from an early age and soon entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur, where he obtained first prize with distinction in piano when aged only fourteen, soon followed by a first prize in chamber music.

Finalist and prizewinner of the Clara Haskil and the Santander Competitions, he started performing as a soloist with several Japanese orchestras before the age of 20.

He then started collaborations with musicians from Eastern Europe, such as the USSR State Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Soloists, and performed several times in the former USSR. He is a regular guest of the Miami International Piano Festival and has performed at the Theâtre du Châtelet (Paris), the Wigmore Hall (London) and the Mariinsky Concert Hall (St Petersburg). He is also an avid chamber music performer and forms an unconventional duo with the French violinist Gilles Apap.

EFN’K has premièred works by Thierry Lancino, Philippe Racine and Christopher Culpo. His eclectic repertoire and his interest in jazz allow him to blend Bach’s Goldberg Variations, or Liszt’s transcription of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with jazz-inspired pieces in the same recital. This recording is a personal tribute to music from Russia, France and America.