Jonathan Fournel

Jonathan Fournel (2 October 1993, Sarrebourg) is a French pianist. In 2021 he won first prize in the Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd for piano.

Fournel was born on 2 October 1993, in the French municipality of Sarrebourg, as the son of an organist. At age seven he wanted to play trombone, but his father put a stop to that. In an interview he said: "My father was not a fan of the imposing sound of the trombone and gently steered me towards the piano. At first I was not very motivated and practised too little, but when my father played me some recordings of György Cziffra, the magic worked. I wanted to be able to play that wonderful repertoire."

Fournel first studied at the conservatory of Strasbourg. At age eleven he was admitted to the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken. There he received lessons from pianist Robert Leonardy for four years. From age thirteen onwards he received private lessons from pianist Gisèle Magnan, with whom he would later also collaborate.

Subsequently, Fournel went to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and received lessons from Bruno Rigutto, Brigitte Engerer, Claire Désert and Michel Dalberto. After seven years of study he obtained a master's diploma in 2014 and two years later the diplôme d'artiste interprète.