French pianist given a piano by Coldplay’s Chris Martin on escaping an abusive childhood, his nightmare in LA and finding success in Britain
- Riopy, who topped the US Billboard classical chart with his album Tree of Light in January, grew up in a sect enduring beatings and other forms of torment
- He fled to Los Angeles, where he slept on the street and a priest tried to rape him, before his luck changed in the UK – but his demons were never far behind
From a violent French sect to living on the streets of Los Angeles to the top of the music charts, pianist Riopy’s incredible journey is the epitome of the idea that music can save your life.
The 38-year-old, whose real name is Jean-Philippe Rio-Py, wrote the trailer music for award-winning films The Shape of Water and The Danish Girl, spent three weeks at the top of the US classical charts in January with his album Tree of Light, and is streamed by millions around the world via meditation and yoga apps.
But it has been a hard road to success.
“I had some bad luck that transformed into an opportunity,” he says. That is quite an understatement.
The “bad luck” was a sect in the Deux-Sèvres region of western France, where he was raised by his mother along with two brothers and two sisters.
