Hélène Mercier-Arnault - Musicians, Family and Childhood

Hélène Mercier was born in 1962, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Francoise and Lucile Mercier. Hélène grew up with three older siblings.

Her interest in music became evident when she was a child. She was a natural at creating music.

She began training in music at the age of 6, when she joined the ‘Vincent-d'Indy Music School’ in Montreal. Following this, she won awards at the Quebec and Canadian music competitions.

At the age of 15, Mercier joined Dieter Weber’s class at the ‘University of Music and Performing Arts’ in Vienna. After finishing her education in Vienna, she moved to New York to attend ‘Juilliard School of Music’ with Sasha Gorodnitsky.

She won a scholarship after her audition for the ‘Juilliard School of Music.’ She continues to study under Pierre Sancan of the ‘National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Paris.’

She also studies with Germaine Mounier at the ‘École Normale de Musique.’

While she continues to educate herself in her art, Hélène continues to perform as a soloist, a pianist, and a chamber musician all over the world. She has collaborated with artists such as Maria Curcio, Stanislav Neuhaus, Gidon Kremer, and Henryk Szeryng from time to time.

In 1990, she collaborated with Canadian–French pianist Louis Lortie on the works of legendary musicians Ravel, Schubert, and Mozart. Their work was recorded under the label ‘Chandos.’

In 2008, she collaborated with violinist Vladimir Spivakov to work on a CD dedicated to Ernest Chausson, under the label ‘Capriccio.’

In 2012, she collaborated with virtuoso pianist and composer Cyprien Katsaris on the works of Schumann and Brahms.

From 2015 to 2017, Mercier worked again on various recordings with Louis Lortie. In 2014, they worked with the ‘BBC Philharmonic.’

In 2015, they focused on Rachmaninoff’s ‘Symphonic Dances.’ The next two years, they worked with the ‘Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.’

Their work achieved both critical and commercial success. The Ernest Chausson disc received the disk “Choc” of “Le Monde de la Musique”.

She has also collaborated with pianists such as Boris Berezovsky and Frank Braley. As a performing pianist, soloist, and musician, Mercier has traveled all over the world for her shows.

In Europe, she often performs at the ‘Théâtre des Champs-Elysées,’ the ‘Théâtre du Châtelet,’ and the ‘Salle Pleyel’ in Paris. She also performs at the ‘South Bank Centre’ in London, UK, and the ‘Konzerthaus’ of Berlin and the ‘Gewandhaus’ of Leipzig in Germany.

She also performs at the ‘Rudolfinum’ in Prague, the ‘Conservatory and Flagey Hall’ in Brussels, the ‘Megaron Hall’ in Athens, and the ‘Villa Medici’ and the ‘Lingotto Auditorium’ in Italy. She has performed in Geneva, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Moscow, Warsaw, and Sofia.

She has performed in Bergen, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, and New York, too. She has delivered memorable performances under the direction of Zubin Mehta and the ‘Israël Philharmonic Orchestra.’ She has also worked with Kurt Masur at the ‘Champs-Elysées Theater’ in Paris.

She has performed with Vladimir Spivakov and the ‘Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra.’ She has also performed with orchestras such as the ‘Prague Philharmonia,’ the ‘RAI National Symphony Orchestra,’ the ‘Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra,’ the ‘Minnesota Orchestra,’ and the ‘Forth Worth Symphony.’

In Canada, she has performed under the direction of Charles Dutoit, Trevor Pinnock, and Long Yu, in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Montreal. She has also performed with the Chinese orchestra ‘Shanghai with the Shanghai Symphony’ in China.

During her Japan tour, she made her debut with the ‘New Japan Philharmonic,’ under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. She has performed ‘Beethoven's Triple Concerto’ with Natalia Gutman and Salvatore Accardo, in association with the ‘Orchestre de Paris,’ under the direction of Semyon Bychkov.

She has also performed with Vladimir Spivakov at the ‘Festival de Colmar’ and the ‘Rencontres Musicales d'Evian.’ She has worked with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich in Copenhagen and Paris.

In 2009, she published her autobiography, ‘Over the Notes.’

She won the ‘Prague International Chamber Music Competition’ as a child. She has also been awarded with the ‘Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters’ (‘Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’) honor.

On September 23, 1991, Hélène married businessman Bernard Arnault, who is one of the richest men in the world. Arnault is the chairman and CEO of the luxury goods conglomerate ‘LVMH,’ which owns brands such as ‘Louis Vuitton,’ ‘TAG Heuer,’ and ‘Benefit Cosmetics.’

The couple has a huge age gap of 21 years. Mercier was only 21 at the time of her marriage, and her family was concerned about her.

However, with time, everyone came to terms with the fact that the couple was happy and in love. Her family later accepted their relationship. Mercier and Arnault have three sons, Alexander, Frederick, and John.

Their sons also love to make music and are exceptional in their chosen art.