
On the other hand, there are people who refer to his work as elevator music, because of extensive playing of his production in neutral spaces as elevators, malls and other public spaces. He is often credited with pioneering the piano recordings of famous Hollywood soundtracks and pop music artists, such as ABBA and The Carpenters.Ĭlayderman has a curious market niche on third world countries, a fact mainly attributed by critics to his commercially-oriented performance of local and very popular music (especially love songs), and inexpensive, well-distributed records.

In the peak of his career he performed 200 concerts in 250 days. Since then, he has recorded over 1000 songs and has become one of the most successful instrumental recording artists in the world, with reported record sales in excess of 70 million units worldwide.

The single became an instant success, selling 22 million copies in 38 countries. His life changed dramatically in 1976, when he recorded a single "Ballade pour Adeline" (Ballade for Adeline), composed by French musical producer Paul de Senneville. After finishing Conservatory he worked as an accompanist and session musician. This accompaniment is usually with James Last's orchestra.īorn to a piano teacher,Clayderman started studying to play piano at age six, and he was accepted at Conservatoire de Paris in Paris at age 12. His music is generally played with an orchestra. He is known to alter many famous pieces of music such as Für Elise.

Most of his recordings focus on popular music in general and orchestral arrangements of well-known romantic songs in particular, such as Yesterday, The Sound of Silence and Memory, rather than on Jazz or Classical Music. Read Full Bio Richard Clayderman (born Philippe Pagès on December 28, 1953, Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums, including renditions and arrangements of popular music, French chansons, and popular piano works of Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart. Richard Clayderman (born Philippe Pagès on December 28, 1953, Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums, including renditions and arrangements of popular music, French chansons, and popular piano works of Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart.
