Born in Reims, Heidsieck gave his first recital at the age of nine and his first concert with orchestra a year later.He studied with Marcel Ciampi then Alfred Cortot and followed Wilhelm Kempff's lessons on Beethoven.In 1959, he won the Grand Prix du Disque (EMI) for the recording of Mozart's Concerto No. 21 and No. 24. The following year, he and his wife Tania, also a pianist, founded a duo that shone on stages around the world.