THE SUNDAY TIMES

"Wonderful playing with an enormous tonal and dynamic range and typical French refinement. There was authority as well as delicacy in the performance. (…) Passionate, free, almost improvisatory virtuosity of the highest order that went beyond the empty display it could have become."

PIANO INTERNATIONAL

"Daudet’s performance was one of those special, one-off musical events that concert goers spend their lives searching for."

CONCERTONET NEW YORK

"From the moment she stepped on stage at Weill Recital Hall last night, Célimène Daudet created her own milieu. 'This,' Ms. Daudet seemed to say, 'happens to be my Debussy. But since you’re here, you may as well enjoy my show.'"

GRAMOPHONE

"Célimène Daudet is a sensitive and evocative French pianist (…) Daudet’s performances of Messiaen’s Préludes, from the most extended, the nearly nine-minute Bells of Anguish and Tears of Farewell, to the fleeting The Light Number, at barely two minutes, impart the feeling of sensations grasped from the air, sparkling and evanescent, which are tasted and savoured to the fullest, before being released again into the ether. Debussy’s Préludes, which may seem more substantive due to their greater familiarity, are equally flavourful. La puerta del vino is given beautiful shape and narrative flow, while La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune seems to emanate a silvery glow. Despite the maturity and sophistication of Daudet’s conceptions, it is difficult to escape the sense of still greater things in store. I can’t wait."

LE MONDE

"Is it ivory under Célimène Daudet’s fingers? No, marble for some keys, mica or quartz powder for others. In short, a keyboard of precious stones, an opening onto a dream that she manages to recreate with a double quality of energy and surrender."

LE FIGARO MAGAZINE

"Célimène Daudet releases an enchanting Messe Noire […] A reverse mysticism, made possible by a touch and sensitivity of diabolical beauty."

TÉLÉRAMA

"A performance overflowing with colors, sometimes very tender, often weightless, which does not prevent her, when needed, from being firm and determined."

DIAPASON

"This very fine artist joins the small circle of authentic Debussy interpreters. In the game of comparisons, she topples the giant Pollini."

LIBÉRATION

Favorite 2018 recording of Libération "…because this pianist has ideas, convictions, and talent."

LA CROIX

"A pianist of rare finesse – yet her playing overflows with energy when the repertoire demands it. Célimène Daudet’s playing, full of integrity and perfect clarity, unfolds a seductive lyricism, delicate or blazing. It reveals a depth without affectation, allowing the music to speak above all."

DER FALTER

"Purple, orange, gray, or green – to each of his eight Préludes, the then 20-year-old assigned a color. This delightful jewel of sounds and moods is combined by French pianist Célimène Daudet with music by Claude Debussy, who served as inspiration for Messiaen."

MUSICOLOGIE.ORG

"Majestic virtuosity, sumptuous, spellbinding, unshakable in the slow movements. There is also this way of seeming to disappear behind the music, while imposing herself as the undisputed master."

CLASSICAGENDA

"One is charmed by the personality of this pianist whose supple playing, constant blossoming of sound, and poetry recall the historic interpretation of Walter Gieseking."

BACHTRACK - Récital at the festival Muse and Piano

"One leaves shaken, moved by such an experience, to return to the depths of the Louvre-Lens, in this concrete basement where Célimène Daudet plays a program combining the last Liszt with early and late Scriabin. She draws the audience into a universe whose power is magnified by the strangeness of the place. Célimène Daudet has a sense of form, a science of articulation, of sound balance that is quite incredible. Her incredibly fine ear catches every detail of the sometimes bewildering harmonic progressions of works that flirt with atonality, that seem suspended, hesitant before a resolution that seems near but slips away. Her listening, imagination, and wonderfully accomplished technique allow her to succeed in limitless sonic gradations: her piano is an orchestra. Triumph!" (Alain Lompech)

JOURNAL ZIBELINE - Premiere of Christian Rivet’s concerto at the Grand Théâtre de Provence

"Christian Rivet’s Piano Concerto summons a familiar imaginary world, between atonality of language and rhythmic smoothness. Conceived especially for the impressive Célimène Daudet, the opus recalls in its contours the lyrical melodies for lute, the composer’s formative instrument. Suspended time unfolds, through scattered lines from one desk to another, a shifting landscape made of versatile timbres, always distinct yet always in perfect harmony."

CON SPIRITO - Récital at the Festival of la Roque d’Antheron

"We find ourselves as if surrounded by an impenetrable bubble, our spirit and body becoming music, that which unfolds in the pianist’s thought and under her fingers before us. Time then takes on another dimension. We enter into this breathing that Célimène Daudet installs throughout the fugue, with a broad unfolding of the melody, taking time to connect, to phrase, to penetrate the structure of sound itself. There is depth and rigor in her playing. Rigor of measured time without stiffness, precision of dotted rhythm that conveys this spirit of joy in Contrapunctus II, depth and roundness tinged with sensuality in Contrapunctus VII whose four voices enter in turn, thought out, conceived, born of both flesh and spirit. The Contrapunctus XIV, which begins in a bareness close to the soul, is magnificently built in the complexity of its lines. The musician erects it stone by stone, ever higher towards its infinity, towards its dizzying signature: B.A.C.H. (B-flat, A, C, B), advancing with confidence and courage toward the unfinished."

DIAPASON

"The Franco-Haitian artist once again captivates with her sound of great concentration and her way of creating enigmatic atmospheres."

ELLE MAGAZINE

"Her Majesty of the keys: Célimène Daudet delivers our favorite album of the year’s end."

Press reviews