When he last came to ENF, Jean-Guihen Queyras played all 6 of Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello intermingled with miniatures by György Kurtág – a characteristically beautiful and imaginative pairing which reflects his wider music-making. At one extreme he enjoyed a long artistic rapport with Pierre Boulez, and has given many premieres; at the other he collaborates with such prestigious early music ensembles as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. In chamber music he was a founding member of the Arcanto Quartet, plays trios with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov; and duos with Melnikov and Alexandre Tharaud. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester, working with conductors such as Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, François-Xavier Roth, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Roger Norrington. Queyras records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, and his discography ranges from the core repertoire (including concertos by Elgar, and Dvořák) to a major project dedicated to Schumann, to his recent releases of Marin Marais with Alexandre Tharaud and the first recording by his jazz ensemble “Invisible Stream”. Queyras holds a professorship at the University of Music Freiburg and is Artistic Director of the “Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence” festival in Forcalquier. He plays a 1696 instrument by Gioffredo Cappa, made available to him by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
This year, Queyras appears in 3 ENF concerts. He opens the festival with a typically wide-ranging solo recital before joining the Belcea Quartet to play both of Brahms’ Sextets. We are particularly thrilled that his solo recital includes a piece that really deserves to reach a much wider audience, the Partita for Cello, Op. 31 by Turkish composer, Adnan Saygun. WE cannot find a video of Queyras playing it but you can heAR Yo-Yo Ma play a movement HERE
Discover more about Jean-Guihen Queyras HERE
Browse Queyras’ recordings HERE
