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The French cellist, Jean-Guihen Queyras, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and moved with his parents to Algeria when he was 5 years old; the family moved to France 3 years later.
Voted “Artist of the Year” by readers of the Diapason and “Best Instrumental Soloist” for the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2008, Jean-Guihen Queyras is distinguished by a musical eclecticism that is dear to him. Long time soloist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain where his work with Pierre Boulez has a profound influence (this one will choose him to receive the Glenn Gould Protected Prize in Toronto in November 2002), he has since flourished in a repertoire that testifies its varied and ambitious discography.
Curiosity, diversity and a firm focus on the music itself characterize the artistic work of Jean-Guihen Queyras. Whether on stage or on record, one experiences an artist dedicated completely and passionately to the music, whose humble and quite unpretentious treatment of the score reflects its clear, undistorted essence. The inner motivations of composer, performer and audience must all be in tune with one another in order to bring about an outstanding concert experience. He learnt this interpretative approach from Pierre Boulez, with whom he established a long artistic partnership. This philosophy, alongside a flawless technique and a clear, engaging tone, also shapes Jean-Guihen Queyras’ approach to every performance and his absolute commitment to the music itself.
His approaches to early music - as in his collaborations with the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin - and to contemporary music are equally thorough. He is noted for his exceptionally wide range of repertoire: he has recorded cello concertos by Haydn, Monn, and Antonio Vivaldi on a period instrument with the avove mentiones ensembles, but also champions the music of Luigi Dallapiccola, György Kurtág, Ligeti, Anton Webern, and others.He has given the world premieres of Ivan Fedele's Cello Concerto (Orchestre National de France, Leonard Slatkin) and Gilbert Amy's Cello Concerto (Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at Suntory Hall in Tokyo); in September 2005, he premiered Bruno Mantovani's Cello Concerto with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken and Phillippe Schoeller's Wind's Eyes with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden & Freiburg. He also gave the world premieres of Thomas Larcher's Ouroboros in 2016 and Tristan Murail's De Pays et d'Hommes Étranges (Of Strange Lands and Strange Men) in 2019. Other worls prremieres include works by, among others, Michael Jarrell and Johannes-Maria Staud. Conducted by the composer, he recorded Péter Eötvös’ Cello Concerto to mark his 70th birthday in November 2014.
Jean-Guihen Queyras was a founding member of the Arcanto Quartet Queyras is part of the Arcanto Quartet with Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec and Tabea Zimmermann. He forms a celebrated trio with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov; the latter is, alongside Alexandre Tharaud, a regular accompanist. He has also collaborated with zarb specialists Bijan and Keyvan Chemirani on a Mediterranean programme.
The versatility in his music-making has led to many concert halls, festivals and orchestras inviting Jean-Guihen to be Artist in Residence, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Vredenburg Utrecht, De Bijloke Ghent, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Wigmore Hall London.
Jean-Guihen Queyras often appears with renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonieorchester, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, working with conductors such as Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, François-Xavier Roth, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Roger Norrington.
Jean-Guihen Queyras’ discography is impressive. His recordings for Harmonia Mundi of cello concertos by Edward Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Philippe Schoeller, Gilbert Amy, Ligeti and others; the complete cello suites of both J.S. Bach (BWV 1007-1012) and Benjamin Britten; L.v. Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano (with Alexander Melnikov); and many piano trios with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov, have been released to critical acclaim. As part of a harmonia mundi project dedicated to Robert Schumann, he has recorded the complete piano trios with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov and at the same time Robert Schumann's Cello Concerto with the Freiburger Barockorchester under Pablo Heras-Casado. The recording “THRACE - Sunday Morning Sessions“ explores, in collaboration with the Chemirani brothers and Sokratis Sinopoulos, the intersections of contemporary music, improvisation and Mediterranean traditions. In 2018, two highly acclaimed recordings with works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Antonio Vivaldi have been released. His recordings have won distinctions such as Top CD - BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d'Or, CHOC du Monde de la Musique, 10 de Classica/Répertoire, and Editor's Choice from Gramophone.
Highlights in the 2019-2020 season include concerts with Münchner Philharmoniker, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Mozarteum Orchestra, as well as performances of “Mitten wir im Leben sind” with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, the opening of Beethoven-Woche Bonn, the Beethoven String Trio cycle with Tabea Zimmermann and Daniel Sepec. Last but not least, solo recitals in Buenos Aires, Riga, Taipei, Prague, Freiburg, Leipzig, London and New York.
Jean-Guihen Queyras holds a professorship at the Musikhochschule Freiburg Freiburg and is Artistic Director of the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence festival in Forcalquier. He plays a cello made in 1696 by Gioffredo Cappa, made available to him by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale.. He uses two bows: a heavier one by Thomas Gerbeth in Vienna, for 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, and a lighter Tourte.
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