Maxime Pidoux

Born in Paris in 1994, Maxime began studying piano at the age of five, then

switched to percussion two years later at the Hector Berlioz Conservatory in Paris,

in the class of Nicolas Martynciow (Orchestre de Paris). At the same time, Maxime studied Marimba with Eric Sammut (Orchestre de Paris), timpani with Jean-Claude Gengembre (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France), jazz-vibraphone with David Patrois and drums with François Merville. His desire to discover new approaches, sounds, and techniques led him in 2013 to enter the class of Raymond Curfs (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks) at the University of Music and Theater in Munich. He furthered his education by participating in various youth orchestras, including the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchester and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Sanderling, Christoph Eschenbach, Kristof  Urbański, Manfred Honeck and Daniel Harding. 

In 2016, he became a member of the Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and has thus collaborated with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin,

NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Münchner Kammerorchester, Gärtnerplatz Theater,

Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt and Münchner Symphoniker under the direction of

Kirill Petrenko, Klaus Mäkelä, Vladimir Jurowski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Paavo Järvi, Ivan Fischer, Kazuki Yamada, François-Xavier Roth, Vassili Petrenko, Daniele Rustioni, Thomas Hengelbrock and Ingo Metzmacher.

From 2018 to 2022, Maxime was principal percussionist of the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra under the direction of Kirill Petrenko. Since 2022, Maxime has been principal timpani of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra in Milan and the Filarmonica della Scala Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Chailly. He performs regularly with Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, Andris Nelsons, Fabio Luisi, Daniele Gatti, Simone Young, Gianandrea Noseda, and Philippe Jordan.

From 2022 to 2024, he was Senior Lecturer for Timpani at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg.