Born in 1998 in Marche-en-Famenne (Belgium), Valère Burnon is a highly promising pianist whose reputation continues to grow steadily. Prizewinner of prestigious international competitions — Épinal (1st Prize, 2019), Bremen (1st Prize, 2021), Viotti (2nd Prize, 2023) and Queen Elisabeth (3rd Prize, 2025) — he captivates audiences around the world with passionate and finely detailed interpretations, driven by a strong musical maturity and a constant search for lyricism and expression.
Versatile, he possesses a rich and varied repertoire that allows him to perform both as a soloist and in chamber music or with orchestra. He has notably collaborated with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Sinfonia Varsovia, as well as the orchestras of Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Milan and Metz, under the baton of Augustin Dumay, Kazushi Ono and Marc Albrecht. He has also performed in prestigious venues such as the Philharmonies of Cologne, Liège and Luxembourg, Salle Cortot in Paris, Studio 4 at Flagey and Bozar (Brussels), the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, the Concertgebouw in Bruges, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, and the Yamaha Hall in Ginza (Tokyo).
His discography currently includes two recordings. His first album, released in 2020 on Azur Classical in collaboration with Belgian pianist and composer Luc Baiwir, features works by Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev and Sergei Protopopov, a little-known Russian futurist composer whose Prelude op. 32 had never previously been recorded. In 2021, he released Neoteric on the Musicaphon label, in duo with German clarinettist Andreas Hermanski, devoted to Francis Poulenc, Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy, and Scandinavian composers Magnus Lindberg, Arvo Pärt and Rolf Martinsson.
Valère discovered music at the age of six through the violin, before his parents noticed that he was reproducing by ear on a keyboard everything he heard. They then enrolled him in piano lessons with Émilie Chenoy in Marche-en-Famenne, who soon introduced him to her former teacher Marie-Paule Cornia. For nearly ten years, he studied with the latter at the Conservatory of Huy and later at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. At the same time, he continued studying violin with Valérie Cantella at the Conservatory of Ciney and played in various orchestras, including the Terra Nova Orchestra of Namur (dir. Étienne Rappe) and the Louvain-la-Neuve Student Symphony Orchestra (OSEL, dir. Philippe Gérard).
In 2016, he joined the class of Jean Schils and Marie-Paule Cornia at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2018, after also studying with Étienne Rappe and François Thiry. He continued his training at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Florence Millet, earning a Master’s degree with highest honours in 2021. Admitted the same year to the Accademia Incontri col Maestro in Imola, he further refined his art with Leonid Margarius, obtaining a Diploma Master there in 2024. Since 2022, he has been Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, benefiting from the valuable artistic guidance of Frank Braley, Avo Kouyoumdjian and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.
Remaining faithful to his first instrument, the violin, he cultivates a deep attachment to the chamber music repertoire and has taught chamber music since 2022 at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, assisting his former teacher Jean-Gabriel Raelet.
Over the years, Valère has distinguished himself in numerous competitions, including:

• 2013: 1st Prize, “Breughel” Competition (Brussels)
• 2014: 1st Prize, “Andrée Charlier” Competition (Charleroi)
• 2015: Joint 3rd Prize, Brest International Piano Competition – Chopin category
• 2016: 1st Prize, Liège Piano Competition
• 2017: 3rd Prize, “Merci, Maestro!” International Competition (Brussels)
• 2018: 2nd Prize, “Triumph of Art” International Competition (Brussels)
• 2018: 2nd Prize, “Karlrobert Kreiten” Competition (Cologne)
• 2019: 1st Prize, Épinal International Piano Competition
• 2019: Joint 1st Prize, “Steinway Förderpreis” (Düsseldorf)
• 2021: 1st Prize, Bremen European Piano Competition
• 2022: “Revelation Prize”, “Long-Thibaud” Competition (Paris)
• 2023: 2nd Prize, “Viotti” Competition (Vercelli)
• 2024: “Certificate of Outstanding Merit”, Hamamatsu International Piano Competition
• 2025: 3rd Prize and Audience Prize (Musiq’3 and VRT), Queen Elisabeth International Competition (Brussels)

He has also taken part in numerous masterclasses throughout Europe with pianists and pedagogues such as Victor Chestopal, Stephen Kovacevich, Rena Shereshevskaya, Denis Kozhukhin, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Alexander Lonquich, Andreas Staier, Bernd Goetzke, Nikolai Lugansky, Yury Martynov, and more regularly Bertrand Chamayou and Jean-Bernard Pommier.
A complete artist, Valère Burnon pursues a path where virtuosity, poetic sensibility and musical curiosity combine in the service of a demanding repertoire, always in dialogue with the audience.

The Chopin Foundation is particularly proud to count among its laureates the Belgian pianist Valère Burnon, whose artistic journey continues to shine at the highest level.

Since his remarkable appearance at the Foundation during our Gala Dinner on December 6, Valère Burnon has continued along an exceptional path, marked by rigorous work and a deeply affirmed musical sensitivity.

This evolution has led him to one of the summits of the international piano world: the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2025, where he distinguished himself by reaching the final among the twelve best candidates.

His interpretation there generated unanimous enthusiasm from both the jury and the audience, earning him both a prestigious Third Prize and the Audience Prize — recognition that testifies to the expressive power and authenticity of his playing.

This exemplary journey fully illustrates the Foundation’s mission: to support and reveal exceptional artists destined to shine on the great international stages.

It is therefore with immense joy that we will welcome Valère Burnon once again on June 28, 2026, for a musical moment that already promises to be exceptional, celebrating the faithful and precious bond between the artist and the Chopin Foundation.