Stéphane Blet

He died from a fall on 7 January 2022, at the age of 52.

In 2017, Gaël Brustier [fr] revealed that he is close to Alain Soral et "l’un des conférenciers engagés dans la Masonic conspiracy theories denonciation". In one month, his lecture was viewed 77,000 times on YouTube in August alone. Stéphane Blet did another "repentant" interview viewed over 260,000 times. He makes an appearance in La France maçonnique, a film directed by Paul-Éric Blanrue and Julien Teil, with Dieudonné, Jean-Yves Le Gallou, Emmanuel Ratier [fr] and Pierre Hillard.

For twenty-five years Blet was vice-president of the Académie du disque lyrique [fr] and created the "Grand Orphée d'Or Leyla Gencer" prize in 2010, in homage to the great Turkish singer.

Blet participated to the jury of the École normale de musique de Paris, before being appointed a professor in 2001. He also chaired a large number of international competitions, including the Istanbul International Piano Competition in 2013.

In 1993, he created the event by transcribing the monumental Liszt's Faust Symphony, which earned him several awards, including one from the Franz Liszt Association. He also composed a large cycle of Turkish and Ottoman Rhapsodies and was decorated in 1996 by the Turkish government for this work.

One year later he signed with Philips Classics, for whom he recorded two new CDs, still dedicated to the Hungarian composer, including the Piano Sonata in B minor, selection of the meilleurs CD Diapason 1989, who led André Boucourechliev to write: "From his body to body with the work is born a superb architecture, chanted in turn by majesty and the most intense lyricism. And what a sound! We appreciate the true musician and his wonderful understanding of the work... we forget everything to devote ourselves to emotion... it is the state of grace!". As for Carlo Maria Giulini, he emphasized "an amazing technique and the most beautiful piano sound".

His recitals at the Salle Gaveau and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées earned him the adulation of the public, as during his "Franz Liszt marathon" in February 1987 where he was applauded for more than thirty minutes, which made the music critic Pierre Petit say: "Stéphane Blet is more than just piano, it's the music itself."

Born in Paris, France, Blet was a disciple of the great American pianist Byron Janis who discovered an exceptional talent in him and invited him to New York. He was also a young assistant of Vladimir Horowitz. In 1986, he began an international concert career.

Stéphane Blet (9 March 1969 – 7 January 2022) was a French classical pianist and composer.