Ousset, Cécile (1936—)
Ousset, Cécile (1936—)
French pianist, known for championing lesser-known piano scores. Name variations: Cecile Ousset. Born in Tarbes, France, on March 3, 1936.
Cécile Ousset was born in Tarbes, France, in 1936 and made her debut at a pianist at age five. She studied with Marcel Ciampi at the Paris Conservatoire, where she won a first prize and graduated at age 14 in 1950. From 1953 through 1962, she won many of the major piano competitions, including the Pagés, the Marguerite Long -Jacques Thibaud, the Geneva, the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (in honor of Elizabeth of Bavaria ), the Busoni, and the Van Cliburn prizes. Since the 1960s, she has enjoyed a world virtuoso career, performing almost all of the great concertos throughout the world. In some of the solo pieces of Saint-Saëns, she is virtually unchallenged, and critics have praised her recordings. Acclaimed for her Chopin and Schumann interpretations, Ousset is also well known for championing such lesser-known scores as Camille Saint-Saëns' Allegro appassionato.
John Haag , Athens, Georgia