2025 - COMPLETE NOCTURNES
In 2023 I moved to Warsaw for a month. I wanted to throw myself completely into Chopin’s world — to live in his country, walk his streets, and study every single one of his Nocturnes. Each day I worked on one Nocturne and recorded a small podcast episode about what I was learning. It was just meant for myself at first, but it grew into something much bigger, eventually winning the Belgian Podcast Award for Best Independent Story.
That month became the start of a much longer journey. Over the next two and a half years I played the complete Nocturnes in concerts and try-outs, letting them settle, breathe, and change with time. By the end of 2024 I finally recorded them on a beautiful Yamaha CFX — an instrument I’m genuinely proud to play as a Yamaha Artist.
This album isn’t just “my version” of these pieces. It’s the whole path I took with them. Learning how to let every note speak. Finding my own way in the nocturnal world where I’ve always felt most at home.
2024 - AMITIE MUSICALE A QUATRE MAINS
Together with my dear friend and wonderful pianist Simon Adda-Reyss we’ve recorded Fauré’s Dolly Suite and Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye. Four-hand music is about so much more than just the music—it’s about the moments we spend with a dear friend, the spontaneity, the laughter, and the conversations that happen around the piano. It’s an intimate, human experience, and that’s the feeling we wanted to capture… As if we’re playing it in your living room. The cover art holds a special place in our hearts. During a visit to our family friends, I asked their 12-year-old son Hugo, “What would four hands on a piano look like for you?” His drawing on my iPad captured the spirit of this music so perfectly that it became the cover of this recording. Simon and I recorded on a stunning Yamaha CFX at Motormusic Studio’s and we cannot wait for you to hear it the result!
2019 - ECLECTIC/BEING ME
I recorded my debut in 2019 in the studios of MotorMusic on a beautiful old Steinway from Maene’s collection. It was released by Challenge Records International.
2021 - MEMORIES OF TOMORROW
Exactly one year ago I recorded my EP, Memories of Tomorrow, at the Concertgebouw in Brugge with MotorMusic. That day was and is still very special to me. Trying to create something beautiful in mid pandemic and feeling as free as I could have ever felt on that amazing stage of this wonderful concert hall. But at the same time I felt helpless after hearing the incredibly sad news that the mother of someone very dear to me had passed away too young. I thought of her and her family while playing that day, and that is -unfortunately- all I could have done. Music will not change the terrible things that happen to us. But I hope it will bring you, the listeners, love and beauty.
First Yamaha Artist in the Benelux
“Belgian pianist Marie François has performed in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Flagey in Brussels, the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp and The Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. Now, she takes on one of the most iconic repertoires in classical music: Chopin’s Nocturnes, recorded entirely on the Yamaha CFX Concert Grand. As a Yamaha Artist, Marie collaborates with renowned musicians and is committed to making classical music more accessible. Her highly anticipated Nocturnes album was released in July 2025.”
This mini doc called Eigendraads tells us more about Marie.
« The Belgian pianist, Marie François, is a young artist with a strong vision about classical music and a catchy enthusiasm in her playing and being. She brings across her deep love for music such an ease -so it seems- to her listeners and live audiences. But love and enthusiasm would not be enough to make it as a concert pianist. You also need to be a big talent. And that she is! She sees herself as a bold artist who thinks that it is very important to stay true to yourself AND also treat the music which the composers wrote with respect. Marie has a lot of guts and we totally fall for her pureness and spirit! »