Born in La Seyne-sur-Mer, Pradier won the grand prix of the city of Marseille in Pierre Barbizet's class, in conjunction with law studies at the Faculty of Aix-en-Provence.
Various encounters then with Pierre Bernac, Henri Sauguet, and Vladimir Jankélévitch influenced him a lot, as well as the advice of Gyorgy Cziffra and Emil Gilels.
He also participated in the recording of film music, notably René Allio's, and television programs including Le Grand Échiquier [fr] devoted to Gyorgy Cziffra.
In addition, Pradier has collaborated on several ballet creations by Roland Petit, such as Parisiana 25, Les amours de Franz, Soirées Debussy n°2, Ma Pavlova, Charlot danse avec nous, as guest solo pianist with Dominique Khalfouni, Zizi Jeanmaire, Maya Plisetskaya, Patrick Dupond, Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Several students in his class have joined the Conservatoires nationaux supérieurs of Paris and Lyon, and the Brussels and Geneva conservatories.