Valère Burnon

Born in 1998 in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgian pianist Valère Burnon was awarded Third Prize and the Audience Prizes at the 2025 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He has also received distinctions at the Épinal International Piano Competition (First Prize, 2019), the Bremen European Piano Competition (First Prize, 2021), the Viotti Competition (Second Prize, 2023), the Long-Thibaud Competition (Prix Révélation, 2022) and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (Certificate of Outstanding Merit, 2024). His passionate and detailed interpretations, underpinned by great musical maturity, captivate audiences worldwide.

A versatile musician, he performs as a soloist, as a chamber musician and with orchestras. He has collaborated with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Sinfonia Varsovia and orchestras from Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Milan and Metz, under the direction of Augustin Dumay, Kazushi Ono and Marc Albrecht. He has performed at venues including the Cologne Philharmonie, the Salle Philharmonique de Liège, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Salle Cortot in Paris, Flagey and Bozar in Brussels, the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, the Concertgebouw Brugge, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf and the Yamaha Ginza Hall in Tokyo.

His discography comprises two recordings. His first album, released by Azur Classical in 2020 with pianist and composer Luc Baiwir, combines works by Debussy and Prokofiev with Sergei Protopopov’s Preludes, Op. 32, recorded for the first time. In 2021, Neoteric was released on Musicaphon, in a duo with clarinettist Andreas Hermanski, featuring works by Poulenc, Chausson, Debussy, Lindberg, Pärt and Martinsson.

Valère discovered music through the violin at the age of six before quickly turning to the piano. After studying under Marie-Paule Cornia for nearly ten years, he continued his training at the Royal Conservatory of Liège under her guidance and that of Jean Schils, and subsequently at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln under Florence Millet, where he earned his master’s degree with highest distinction in 2021. He then pursued further studies at the Accademia Incontri col Maestro in Imola under Leonid Margarius and earned a Diploma Master there in 2024. He has also worked with artists including Stephen Kovacevich, Denis Kozhukhin, Nikolai Lugansky, Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-Bernard Pommier.

Remaining deeply attached to chamber music and to his first instrument, he has taught chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of Liège alongside Jean-Gabriel Raelet since 2022. His wide-ranging repertoire, from the Baroque era to contemporary creation, reflects a musical curiosity shaped by virtuosity, lyricism and a spirit of sharing.

Valère Burnon has been an Artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel since 2022, where he receives guidance from Frank Braley, Avedis Kouyoumdjian and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.

Last updated: 3rd September 2026