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Biography

Born in Marche-en-Famenne in 1998, Valère Burnon is a promising pianist with an increasing reputation. As prizewinner of the prestigious international competitions in Épinal (first prize in 2019), Bremen (first prize in 2021), Long-Thibaud (“Prix Révélation” in 2022) and Viotti (second prize in 2023), he captivates European stages with his passionate and detailed interpretations, as well as his great musical maturity in his constant quest for vocality and expression. His great versatility as well as his wide and varied repertoire enable him to perform not only as a soloist but also in various chamber music ensembles and with renowned orchestras, including the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège and the Symphony Orchestras of Milan and Metz. Among the venues he has performed in are the Philharmonies of Cologne, Liège and Luxemburg, the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Studio 4 of Flagey in Brussels, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf and the Historische Stadthalle in Wuppertal.

So far, Valère has brought out two CDs. His first, released by “Azur Classical” in 2020 and produced with Belgian pianist and composer Luc Baiwir, focuses on Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev and Sergei Protopopov, a little-known Russian composer whose Preludes opus 32 had never been recorded. His second CD, “Neoteric”, released by “Musicaphon” in 2021, is in duo with German clarinettist Andreas Hermanski and dedicated to French composers Francis Poulenc, Ernest Chausson and Claude Debussy, as well as Scandinavian composers Magnus Lindberg, Arvo Pärt and Rolf Martinsson.

Valère discovered music through the violin at the age of six. Then a few months later, as his parents realised that he could reproduce everything by ear on a keyboard, they enrolled him in piano lessons in Marche-en-Famenne with Émilie Chenoy. Noticing his rare talent, she quickly introduced him to her former teacher Marie-Paule Cornia, whom Valère followed for nearly ten years, first at the Huy Conservatory and then at the Liège Royal Conservatory. Meanwhile, Valère continued his violin studies at the Ciney Conservatory with Valérie Cantella and joined afterwards a few orchestras as a violinist, including the Terra Nova Orchestra in Namur, under the baton of Étienne Rappe, and the Students’ Symphonic Orchestra of Louvain-la-Neuve (OSEL), led by Philippe Gérard.

In 2016, Valère was admitted to the Liège Royal Conservatory and entered the class of Jean Schils and Marie-Paule Cornia. He obtained his Bachelor's degree there in 2018, having also worked with Étienne Rappe and François Thiry. Valère then left for Germany to study at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Florence Millet's class, where he graduated with the highest distinction in 2021. A couple of months later, he was admitted to the Accademia “Incontri col maestro” in Imola, enabling him to perfect his pianistic approach with Ukrainian pianist and teacher Leonid Margarius. Since 2022, Valère has also been Artist in Residence at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, giving him access to the invaluable advice of Frank Braley, Avo Kouyoumdjian and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.

His love for the violin, his first instrument, explains why Valère is particularly attached to the chamber music repertoire, both in duo formations (“Duo di Montepulciano” with flutist Saskia Worf, duo with the clarinettist Andreas Hermanski, etc.) and in larger ensembles such as quartets or quintets. Accordingly, he has been teaching chamber music at the Liège Royal Conservatory since 2022, assisting his former chamber music teacher Jean-Gabriel Raelet.

Valère has received awards in a number of renowned piano competitions, both in Belgium and abroad. Among the prizes he has won are:

  • first prize at the “Breughel” Competition in Brussels in 2013;
  • first prize at the “Andrée Charlier” Competition in Charleroi in 2014;
  • third prize ex aequo at the Brest International Competition in Chopin category in 2015;
  • first prize at the Liège Piano Competition in 2016;
  • third prize at the “Merci, Maestro!” International Competition in Brussels in 2017;
  • second prize at the “Triumph of Art” International Competition in Brussels in 2018 ;
  • second prize at the “Karlrobert Kreiten” Competition in Cologne in 2018;
  • first prize at the Épinal International Piano Competition in 2019;
  • first prize ex aequo at the “Steinway Förderpreis” in Düsseldorf in 2019;
  • first prize at the European Piano Competition in Bremen in 2021;
  • “Prix Révélation” at the “Long-Thibaud” Competition in Paris in 2022;
  • second prize at the “Viotti” Competition in Vercelli in 2023;
  • and “Certificate of Outstanding Merit” at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in 2024.

Alongside competitions, Valère has taken part in numerous masterclasses throughout Europe with renowned pianists and pedagogues, including Victor Chestopal, Stephen Kovacevich, Rena Shereshervskaya, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Alexander Lonquich, Alexander Staier, Bernd Goetzke, Nikolai Lugansky, Yury Martynov and, more frequently, Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-Bernard Pommier.