Chopin Society of Atlanta

A French pianist born in Paris of Russian descent by his mother, Marc
Laforet made his first appearance at the age of 8 at the Théâtre des
Champs-Élysées. He graduated from the Conservatoire de
Boulogne-Billancourt in the class of Jacqueline Landowski and was
unanimously awarded first prize at the Conservatoire National Supérieur
de Musique de Paris in the class of Pierre Sancan, which was followed
by a master class.

Mr. Laforet enjoyed the great privilege of working with
Maestro Arthur Rubinstein, who gave him his warmest encouragements. He
received the Gold Medal of the Cziffra Foundation and is also a
laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.

In New York in 1985 Mr. Laforet won the Young Concert Artists
International Auditions. In Warsaw in 1985, he won the Silver Medal of
the 11th International Frederic Chopin competition in Warsaw, as well
as the Prize of Mazurkas, the Prize of the Public and the Prize of
Polish Radio-Television.

Since that time, Mr. Laforet has enjoyed an international
career. He is regularly invited to perform with orchestras such as
Orchestre de Paris, la Scala di Milano, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, La Haye,
Zurich, Suisse Romande, Tokyo Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony,
Warsaw Philharmonia, Leipzig, Saint-Petersburg, Orchestre National de
France, Symphonic Euskadi, Philharmonique de Radio-France, Monte-Carlo,
Prague, and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with
conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Georges Pretre,
Klaus-Peter Flor, Rudolf Barshai, Vassili Sinaiski, Armin Jordan, Serge
Baudo, Alain Lombard, Kasimierz Kord, Jan Latham-Koenig, Stanislaw
Skrowaczewski, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Antoni Wit and Eliahu Inbal,

He also has given recitals in Paris, New York, Washington, Saint
Petersburg, Moscow, Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Munich, Milan, Rome,
Vienna, London, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Stockholm and Berlin.

In 1995 the Del Duca Foundation, which is associated with the
Académie des Beaux-Arts, awarded Mr. Laforet the first Grand Prize for
Musical Interpretation.

In 1997 Mr. Laforet began a successful collaboration with the violinist Vladimir Spivakov.

China opened its doors to Mr. Laforet when he was invited by
the Shanghai Broadcast Symphony Orchestra, who later chose him as
soloist of their first European tour.

Known as an outstanding specialist of Frederic Chopin, Mr.
Laforet was privileged to play in the composer's house on Place Vendôme
in Paris on October 17, 1999, on the very night of the 150th
anniversary of the composer's death.

Also in October 1999, along with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Murray Perahia, he gave master classes in Berlin.

In April 2001, Mr. Laforet recorded Live in Tokyo, Mozart's
Concertos No. 21, K. 467 and No. 23, K. 488, with the Nippon Symphony
Orchestra (recording available in Japan).

Mr. Laforet also played Ravel's Concerto in G, under the baton
of Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Laforet was recently invited for a China tour by the
Berliner Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Eliahu Inbal. This
tour was followed by concerts in Berlin at the famous Konzerthaus .

In October 2002, he was appointed Artistic Advisor of the annual European Young Concert Artists Auditions in Paris.

In July 2003, Mr. Laforet founded and has since been Artistic
Director of Les Grands Crus Musicaux, a music festival that takes place
every July in prestigious castles around Bordeaux, France.

Mr. Laforet's poetical interpretation comes to light through
his recordings, among which are the two Chopin Concerti with the London
Philharmonia conducted by Maestro Rudolf Barshai (EMI) and the 24
Chopin Preludes and Sonata No. 3 (Berlin Classics). His CD of the
complete set of Chopin Waltzes (Arion) received the most enthusiastic
press reviews.

Mr. Laforet recorded a CD and DVD dedicated to Frederic Chopin
in which he performed the two Concerti with the Warsaw Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Maestro Kazimierz Kord (Maxell, available in
Japan).

Mr. Laforet takes great pleasure in playing chamber music with outstanding violinists.

His repertoire allows him to vary his programs from Bach to
Rachmaninoff, ranging from such composers as Mozart, Scarlatti,
Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Scriabin, Stravinsky,
Liszt, Janacek, Debussy and Ravel.