A multi-faceted musician -- composer, conductor, teacher, chamber player -- Jean-Claude Pennetier is above all a remarkable soloist and recitalist.Beginning his piano studies at three and a half, he was enrolled at the age of six in the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. When he was just ten years old, M. Pennetier was recognized for his extraordinary talent, winning first prizes in piano, chamber music and theory from the Conservatoire. He went on to take the First Prize Gabriel Fauré at 18, First Prize in the International Montréal Competition at 23 and First Prize in the International Geneva Competition at 25. In 2002, M. Pennetier had the great honor of being named a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur.

In great demand for appearances with orchestra and in recital, M. Pennetier performed with the Orchestre de Paris, the Staatkapelle of Dresden, NHK in Tokyo, and at festivals around the world. At the age of 30, however, he interrupted his performing career to pursue composing and conducting and to expand and deepen his repertoire. He explored musical theater and contemporary music, wrote operas for children and award-winning film scores.

After several years of experimentation and enrichment, M. Pennetier returned to the concert stage to great acclaim, and has since been active in many musical capacities throughout Europe, in North and South America and in Japan. In recent seasons, he has toured with the orchestras of Lille, Pays de Savoie, and Poitou, and has performed with l'Orchestre de Paris and the Cannes, Limoges, Lugano and Trieste orchestras.

Recital appearances throughout Europe have recently included performances in Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburgh, Munich, and Copenhagen. In the 2004-2005 season, his recital schedule included New York, Los Angeles, and a tour of Central America. M. Pennetier also records and tours worldwide as a member of the Paris Piano Trio ("Les Musiciens"). He frequently conducts and performs chamber music in Paris and throughout France. This season, he tours the United States with his Ensemble Pennetier (two pianos and percussion).

A recent performance of Saint-Saëns Second Concerto with the Orchestre de la Radio et Télévision Suisse-Italien under the direction of Alain Lombard was both broadcast and televised, and he has undertaken a major addition to his substantial and highly regarded discography, a traversal of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas (eight each year) for Lyrinx.