French pianist Eric Ferrand-N'Kaoua, (pronounced Enkawa), born in 1963, obtained first prize with distinction in piano at the Paris Conservatoire when aged only fourteen.
Finalist and prize winner in the Clara Haskil and the Santander Competitions, he was invited by the Yokohama Piano Festival before he was twenty years old, and was then engaged as a soloist by several Japanese orchestras such as the New Japan Philharmonic.

Collaborations with musicians from Eastern Europe, such as the USSR State Symphony Orchestra or the Moscow Soloists conducted by Yuri Bashmet, launched him on several concert tours in the former USSR, including Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Ekaterinburg and Kiev. Critics have often praised his natural sense of phrasing and colour, as well as his ability to bring the music to the foreground, rather than himself.
In search of musical truth through sometimes unusual paths, he is not afraid to blend Bartók and jazz standards, like in his piano duo with the American composer Christopher Culpo. The great jazz pianist and composer Martial Solal also trusted him with being the soloist of his unpublished concerto “Echanges “, mixing written and improvised sections.

EFN’K is also an avid performer of chamber music and has performed with eminent players/composers like Heinz Holliger or Michel Portal. He forms an unconventional duo with the French violonist Gilles Apap. The two have recorded works of Enesco, Debussy and Ravel in a cd praised by the American Record Guide.

Eric Ferrand-N'Kaoua often gives broadcast recitals in Europe and has performed in prestigious concert halls like the Theâtre du Châtelet (Paris) or Wigmore Hall (London).He has recorded the Liszt Sonata, a recital of french music, and a Bach cd including the Goldberg Variations. With the soloists of the Ensemble of Corsica, he has recently formed a piano and strings sextet, playing concertos in “pocket orchestra” versions. For Liszt’s anniversary in 2011, he offers a program named “Berlioz and Wagner according to Liszt”, featuring Liszt’s transcription of the Symphonie Fantastique, seldom played (DVD soon to be released).