Thanks to her longevity and tenacity, classical pianist Colette Maze became the darling of social media. Born Collet Saulnier in Paris, France on June 16, 1914, she grew up in a musical family. The granddaughter of a pianist and the daughter of a violinist, she began playing piano at the age of five and studied at the École normale de musique, where her renowned teachers included Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger, and Jeanne Blancard. Her ambition was to become a concert pianist, and she practiced on a Pleyel piano given to her on her 18th birthday. Because of her parents’ disapproval and a failure to pass the final exam, she abandoned her dreams of performing and began a career teaching at the École Normale de Musique in Paris and at the Conservatoire de Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine. In 1958, she married musician Émile Maze and raised her son Fabrice. However, she never gave up on her dream of becoming a concert pianist, and with the help of her son, Collette Maze recorded her first album in 2001 at the age of 87. Her fourth album, 2018’s 104 Ans de Piano, caught the attention of the public. The album was released to mark the centenary of Debussy’s death, and featured works by the composer alongside pieces written by Mompou, Piazzolla, and Ginastera. Colette Maze became popular on social media and recorded three more albums - 105 Ans de Piano (2019), Un Siècle avec Debussy (2021) and 109 Ans de Piano (2023) - before her death on November 19, 2023, at the age of 109.
