The legendary pianist’s latest disc, Carte Blanche, celebrates a new decade and features musical gems close to his heart.

One must fête certain occasions and French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet has done exactly that with his latest disc Carte Blanche.

“It was to celebrate a special birthday,” says Thibaudet — who turned 60 years old on September 7. With more than 40 records on the Decca Classics label, the intrepid pianist was given free rein of the programming, noting only one rule: “nothing that was previously recorded.” 

Featuring a wide variety of repertoire — from composers Thibaudet calls “friends” — the seemingly disparate pieces all reflect a special moment in the great pianist’s life: some pieces having been played since childhood; others being learned or arranged recently through the pandemic. 

“A lot of those pieces are actually reminding me of real friends,” notes Thibaudet, who offers the pieces as musical memories and tributes to those friendships. 

Hear more about the intimate and delightful disc through Chris Wolf’s conversation below!