Bessette

For forty years of an exceptional career, Louise Bessette has distinguished herself through the excellence of her performances on stage. Critics have always been enthusiastic in their praise of her. Several composers write specifically for her.

As a soloist, she has performed under the direction of Leonardo García Alarcón (Les Violons du Roy), Charles Bruck (Orchestre symphonique de Québec), Edward Cumming (Belfast Ulster Orchestra), Agnieszka Duczmal (Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Poznań, Poland), Charles Dutoit and Kent Nagano (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal), Mauricio Kagel (Orchestre philharmonique de Radio‑France), Pascal Rophé (Orchestre national de Montpellier, France), Gerard Schwarz (New York Chamber Symphony), Michel Swierczewski (Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Denmark), Yuli Turovsky (I Musici de Montréal), and Pascal Verrot (Orchestre national de Lyon).

Louise Bessette’s vast repertoire has earned her numerous invitations to major music events. These include the Festival Présences (Radio‑France), the Musica Festival (Strasbourg), the Détours de Babel Festival (Grenoble), the Tivoli Festival (Copenhagen), the Numus Festival (Aarhus), the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (U.K.), the Festival International de Lanaudière (Québec), and the Festival International du Domaine Forget (Québec). She has also performed in Warsaw and Mexico City during the World Music Days. In 2007, she was a professor and guest artist at the 4th Shanghai International Piano Festival.

In 2019, Louise Bessette received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in Classical Music, the highest distinction in the performing arts in Canada. In 2016, she was honoured at the University of Western Ontario, where she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree in recognition of her international career as a performer.

A pianist with an eclectic repertoire, always eager to engage with different art forms, Louise Bessette recorded works by Alkan and Grieg for the film Mères et filles (2009), directed by Julie Lopes‑Curval and starring Catherine Deneuve and Marie‑Josée Croze. The film premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival (2009) and was later shown in theatres worldwide.

Winner of a tenth Opus Prize from the Conseil québécois de la musique in 2021, she was named one of Canada’s 25 best pianists by CBC Music in 2015. First Prize at the Eckhardt‑Gramatté National Competition (1981), First Prize at the International Contemporary Music Competition (Saint‑Germain‑en‑Laye, 1986), First Prize at the Gaudeamus International Competition (Rotterdam, 1989), Québec‑Flanders Prize (1991), Member of the Order of Canada (2001), Officer of the National Order of Québec (2005), Ambassador of the Canadian Music Centre (2009), Louise Bessette serves on juries for international competitions and gives masterclasses in Europe, Canada, and Asia. Since 1996, she has held a piano professorship at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. In 2024, she was named Chevalière of the Ordre de Montréal.