Colette Maze

Colette Maze
Born	Colette Saulnier (1914-06-16)16 June 1914 Paris, France
Died	Paris, France
Education	École Normale de Musique de Paris
Occupation	Pianist Piano teacher
Children	Fabrice Maze

Colette Maze (16 June 1914 – 19 November 2023) was a French pianist. She studied with Alfred Cortot and Nadia Boulanger, making her the last person to play in their immediate tradition. She began recording in her 90s, with a preference for the music by Claude Debussy who was still alive when she was born. She released her seventh album in 2023, making her one of the oldest recording pianists in the world. When she turned a centenarian, she became a favourite of social media.

Life

She was born Colette Saulnier in Paris on 16 June 1914. Her father, Léon Pierre Saulnier, was the manager of a fertilizer plant. Her grandmother played the piano, and her mother, Denise Claire Piollet, played violin, both giving concerts at their home. The girl began playing the piano at age five. She was educated at home until she was a teenager. She studied piano at the École Normale de Musique in Paris from age 15. Her teachers were Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger and Jeanne Blanchard, and she was to become Cortot's last surviving pupil. She received a Pleyel piano for her 18th birthday which she kept for life.

She wanted to become a professional concert pianist, but her parents opposed the idea, and she failed the final exam. She completed studies to be a piano teacher, and gave lessons.

After World War II she fell in love with a married man; she raised their son, Fabrice, as a single mother in a small appartment, cut off from her family. She later married again.

She focused on music by composers from the Romantic period, such as Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy, saying:

I always preferred composers who gave me tenderness, like Schumann and Debussy. Music is an affective language, a poetic language. In music there is everything — nature, emotion, love, revolt, dreams; it's like a spiritual food.

She was fond of the love story of Schumann and his wife Clara. She recorded from her 90s until age 109, playing the piano daily for four hours to maintain her memory.

Maze died at her home in Paris on 19 November 2023, at age 109.

Recording

When Maze was already in 90s, her son urged her to record, to preserve the tradition of Cortots teaching and her unique way of playing. While hesitant at first, she began recording on a Steinway piano in her appartment.

She released seven classical albums, including a CD dedicated to Claude Debussy. In 2021, aged 107, she released her sixth album. In 2023, aged 109, she released her seventh album, including music by George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla, Schumann and again Debussy.

She was a favourite of social media from age 100.

External links

• Colette Maze discography at Discogs
• 108-year-old Pianist Colette Maze on YouTube
• The Story of a 107-Year-Old Pianist | Colette Maze Interview | Thomann on YouTube