The Compassionate French Pianist - Vanessa Wagner (vegan), Part 1 of 2

Vanessa Wagner is a highly acclaimed, award-winning French pianist who frequently performs at major venues and festivals, collaborates with world-class musicians and orchestras, and has released multiple albums. With deep roots in classical music, Vanessa also embraces contemporary minimalist composers, and boldly experiments with electronic musicians such as Murcof and Molécule, thus pioneering new frontiers for music interpretation and enhancing its understanding among people of different ages and backgrounds. In 2020, Vanessa received the highest order of merit in France, the Knight of the Legion of Honor.

In February 2022, our Supreme Master Television team had the pleasure of sitting down with Vanessa and chatting with her about her life and music. The conversation started with the beginning of her piano training and her first teacher and mentor, Pierre Fremont. Vanessa then discussed the classical composers who have influenced her the most. “So Schubert, I've loved him actually since I was a kid. He has always followed me and in fact Schubert’s music is a music of intimacy, of melancholy, of nostalgia.”

Being sensitive to the pain of her fellow human beings, she brought music to the disadvantaged people outside of the concert hall. Because of her tender heart, Vanessa has opened her home to young refugees who came to France without the company of adults. She accommodated them for lengthy periods of time, from several months to a few years. Her sensitivity also compelled her to make the compassionate vegan dietary choice and stand up for the innocent and meek. She has worked with the animal-people defense organization L214 Ethics & Animals and presented their video about the slaughterhouse in Limoges.

Vanessa continued to discuss other classical musicians who played important roles in her music, from the Russian post-romantics to Mozart and then to Liszt. In 2018, Vanessa released the album “Liszt, Pärt: Vanessa Wagner,” bringing together two highly spiritual yet different composers.