Richard Clayderman

Richard Clayderman born Philippe Pagès 28 December 1953 in Paris is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville Olivier Toussaint and Marc Minier instrumental renditions of popular music rearrangements of movie soundtracks ethnic music and easylistening arrangements of popular works of classical music Clayderman learned piano from his father an accordion teacher At the age of twelve he was accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris where he won great acclaim in his later adolescent years Financial difficulties precipitated by his fathers illness forestalled a promising career as a classical pianist In order to earn a living he found work as a bank clerk and as an accompanist to contemporary bands He accompanied French singers such as Johnny Hallyday Thierry Le Luron and Michel Sardou In 1976 he was invited by Olivier Toussaint a French record producer and his partner Paul de Senneville to record a gentle piano ballad De Senneville had composed this ballad as a tribute to his baby daughter Adeline The 23yearold Pagès was auditioned along with 20 other pianists and got the job He was an interesting musician with a soft touch and good technique said Toussaint And he looked good too Pagès name was changed to Richard Clayderman he adopted his greatgrandmothers last name to avoid mispronunciation of his real name outside France and the single took off selling 22 million copies in 38 countries It was called Ballade pour Adeline Clayderman has recorded over 1300 melodies and has created a new romantic style through a repertoire which combines his trademark originals with classics and pop standards As of 2006 his record sales number at approximately 70 million and has 267 gold and 70 platinum albums to his credit He is popular in Asia and is noted by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the most successful pianist in the world Source Article Richard Clayderman from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30