Who were your musical inspirations growing up?

I was surrounded by music from the time I was born. My father was a piano teacher and I often listened to him giving piano lessons to his students. Without a doubt, my father was my inspiration. He was also a very skilled accordion player, so sometimes he would play his accordion, and I would listen passionately to him. To me, it was magic when he played. Then, I attended musical schools and the conservatoire, and of course, my inspirations were Chopin, Bach, Schumann, Beethoven… all of these great composers. When I was 15 or 16, I heard rock and pop music on the radio. I heard the Beatles, and found myself more concerned with that kind of music than classical music.

Richard Clayderman, pianistPianist Richard Clayderman. Photo © James McMillan

What were the recordings that really spoke to you?

In the 60s, there were many good records played on the radio stations so I can’t really single out specific titles except, of course, for the Beatles, their first hits, the Stones and Led Zeppelin. All of these great groups at...