Pianist André Laplante, hailed as one of the great romantic virtuosos, has performed extensively throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia, and has released a series of ever more impressive CDs. He first garnered international attention after winning prizes at the Geneva and Sydney International Piano Competitions, and then capturing the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 2005, he was honored to be named an Officer of the Order of Canada. That same year, he was selected for the first of numerous Prix Opus Awards for best performances of the year throughout Canada.

Mr. Laplante has appeared as orchestral soloist with virtually all of Canada’s symphonies – Montréal, Toronto, Québec, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver – to name only a few; toured Europe with the Toronto Symphony under the baton of Andrew Davis; and appeared as concerto soloist with the Royal Philharmonic and the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin during an extensive tour of North America. In the U.S. he has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, among others, and he has appeared widely at Canadian and international festivals.

Mr. Laplante’s recordings on the Analekta label include works by Ravel and Rachmaninov, an award-winning Brahms album (Félix 1996), and a Liszt recording (Félix 1995) which was voted ‘Best Solo Classical Album of the Year’ by the Toronto Star. He has also recorded for Melodia, and his recording of Jacques Hetu’s Piano Concerto No. 2 for CBC Records won the 2004 Juno award. His recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Joav Talmi and l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec was nominated for the 2001 Felix Award; and in 2010 his recording of Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage earned a Felix Award for Best Classical Solo Album of the Year.

This season, Mr. Laplante’s engagements include a Mozart Concerto with the Hiroshima Symphony (in Montreal’s sister-city) during a Japanese tour. Upcoming engagements include performing and teaching in Puerto Rico and Shanghai, service on the final jury of Canada’s Honens International Piano Competition, and the complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Concertos with Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières.