Charl du Plessis

Charl du Plessis made his international debut in 1999 and rose to fame when he was the youngest pianist in Africa to be named a Steinway Artist in 2010. His international performing and teaching career is a testimony to his versatility, working simultaneously as classical and jazz pianist.

Du Plessis is active as recitalist, soloist, composer and arranger and has collaborated with many pre-eminent musicians abroad. He has performed at esteemed music festivals in China, Japan, Switzerland and The Netherlands as well as soloist with South Africa’s most prestigious orchestras such as the Johannesburg and Cape Town Philharmonic. After debut performances in London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie (with Chick Corea) and Shanghai’s Oriental Arts Centre, Du Plessis became the first pianist to perform on top of Table Mountain in 2017. In the same year he was also invited to perform at the opening of Steinway Hall (Beijing). Concert tours to the USA, Europe and the Far East have contributed to the press hailing him as a “cult pianist”, an “edutainer” and a pianist with the “x-factor”.

In April 2018 Du Plessis made his US debut as the soloist with The Florida State Youth Orchestra and recorded for Steinway & Sons’ prestigious Spirio catalogue in New York's Steinway Hall.

In 2006 he formed the Charl du Plessis Trio with bassist Werner Spies and drummer Hugo Radyn. The Trio has recorded 9 award-winning albums and 3 DVDs. Du Plessis is the recipient of 2 SAMA (South African Music Award), Ghoema and Fiësta Award.


For the past 19 years he has performed in more than 60 concerts per year with singer and iconic South African entertainer Nataniël. Charl du Plessis is also a recording artist for the Swiss record label Claves. Du Plessis holds a doctorate in piano performance from the University of Pretoria, where he has been part of the piano faculty for the past 12 years.