Thomas Enhco, born in Paris in 1988, is a pianist and composer in jazz and classical music. He began classical training on the violin and piano as a child and studied formally at the CMDL and the Paris National Conservatory. Since then, he has achieved international recognition, recording for labels Verve, Deutsche Grammophon and Sony Music and performing 100 concerts per year around the world.
Among the venues that have invited him, are Jazz Festivals of Tokyo, Montréal, Vienne, Montreux, Istanbul, North Sea, New York, Olympia Hall... and Classical venues such as Philharmonie de Paris, Bordeaux Opéra, Brussels Flagey, La Roque d'Anthéron Piano Festival, Shanghai Grand Theater, Salzburg Mozarteum, Théâtre du Châtelet, Beijing Concert Hall, Kyoto Concert Hall, Sapporo Kitara Hall…
His most recent releases as a leader are the albums A Modern Songbook – (Sony Masterworks, 2023, live recording), Thirty – in solo piano and with symphony orchestra in his own Piano Concerto and compositions (Sony Classical, 2019), Bach Mirror and Funambules – in duo with virtuoso marimbist Vassilena Serafimova (Sony Classical, 2021 and Deutsche Grammophon, 2016), Feathers – in solo piano (Verve, 2015) and Fireflies – with his jazz trio (Label Bleu, 2012).
As a jazz pianist, Thomas Enhco performs mainly in solo piano, in trio (with double-bass and drums), and in various duets. In solo concerts, his unique combination of improvisations on jazz standards, pop songs and themes by great classical composers alike, as well as his own compositions, are praised by audiences and critics all around the world. His last album A Modern Songbook encompasses 125 years of songs, from Carole King to Sting, Gabriel Fauré to James Blake, Serge Gainsbourg to London Grammar, Nick Drake to Silvio Rodríguez. In 2023, the four sold-out performances given at Philharmonie de Paris, where he re-interpreted Keith Jarrett's legendary Köln Concert, remained engraved in the memory of the 4,000 spectators who attended.
As a classical pianist, he regularly plays concertos by Mozart (K.491 and K.467), Ravel (Concerto in G), Gershwin (Concerto in F, Rhapsody in Blue), as well as his own concertos (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Double Concerto for Marimba, Piano and Orchestra, and Le Murmure des Oiseaux: Rhapsody for Violin, Piano and Chamber Orchestra). He’s performed as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of Kyoto, Sapporo, Kanazawa Orchestra Ensemble, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Orchestre National de France, d'Avignon, de Cannes, de Picardie, OPPB, Ensemble Appassionato, Insula Orchestra… with conductors Junichi Hirokami, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Fayçal Karoui, Alondra de la Parra, Julien Masmondet, James Gaffigan, Pierre Dumoussaud, Laurence Equilbey, Mathieu Herzog, Samuel Jean, Benjamin Lévy, Johanna Malangré…
As a composer, he regularly receives commissions from orchestras, chamber music ensembles, choirs and soloists. He notably composed three symphonic works and various works for piano, choir, string quartet, wind and brass quintets (some of which released on Sony, Naïve, Mirare and Klarthe). His two last film score are for the movie Elle & Lui et le reste du monde by French director Emmanuelle Belohradsky (2024) and Un Mondo in Più by Italian director Luigi Pane (2021).
Among the prizes and awards Thomas Enhco has received, are the SACEM Grand Prize for Jazz 2020, the Victoires du Jazz 2013, the 2nd Grand Prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition 2017, the FIPA d'Or for Best Film Score 2012 (Les Cinq Parties du Monde by French director Gérard Mordillat), the Django d’Or “New Talent” award 2010, the 3rd Grand Prize at Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition 2010…
He has performed and recorded alongside jazz, classical, pop, theatre, dance, literature and visual artists like Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Didier Lockwood, David Enhco, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Potter, Yamandu Costa, Paquito d'Rivera, José James, Peter Erskine, Kevin Hays, Ibrahim Maalouf, Gilad Hekselman, Mike Stern, Dan Tepfer, Cyrille Aimée, Scott Colley… Maria João Pires, Henri Demarquette, Khatia Buniatishvili, Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro, Sarah Nemtanu, Alexis Cardenas, Renaud Capuçon, Lise de la Salle, Caroline Casadesus, Natalie Dessay, Michel Dalberto, Laurent Naouri, Anne-Sofie Von Otter, Beatrice Rana, Thibaut Garcia, Félicien Brut, Maki Namekawa… The string quartets Quatuor Ébène, Arod, Hanson, Modigliani, Radio France Choir, Spirito Choir… David Lescot, Nicolas Mathieu, Aurélia Aurita, Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Tim Dup, Jane Birkin, MC Solaar, Clara Ysé…
From 2013 to 2021 Thomas Enhco was supported in his projects by the BNP Paribas Foundation.