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The Franco-American pianist and harpsichord, Justin Jonathan Taylor, ever since childhood, has played both the piano and the harpsichord with passion. After studying both instruments in Angers, his hometown, he continued his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Paris, with Roger Muraro (piano), and with Olivier Baumont and Blandine Rannou (harpsichord). In 2015, aged only 23, he won 1st Prize at the prestigious International Musica Antiqua Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, obtaining in addition the Audience Prize, the Alpha Prize, and the EUBO Developing Trust Prize awarded to the most promising young European musician. He was later nominated as one of the three finalists in the “Instrumental Soloist Revelations” category at the 2017 “Victoires de la Musique”. That same year, the Professional Critics Association awarded him the “Musical Revelation of the Year” Prize.
Justin Taylor has already made more than ten recordings. His first solo disc, "La Famille Forqueray: Portrait(s)" (Alpha Classics, 2016), received international acclaim and was awarded a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, a “Choc de l’année” from Classica magazine, and a Grand Prix from the Charles Cros Academy. His second solo disc, "Continuum" (Alpha Classics, 2018), devoted to Scarlatti and Ligeti, was chosen by the daily newspaper Le Monde as one of the top 5 classical discs in 2018. As gifted on fortepiano as harpsichord, he has recorded W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 (K 453) with Le Concert de la Loge (a disc that received a “Choc” from Classica). He was also chosen to record a double disc of previously unknown or lesser-known works J.S. Bach for the BACH 333 compilation, issued by Deutsche Grammophon in 2018. He now records exclusively for Alpha Classics and is sponsored by the Safran Foundation. His most recent album, La Famille Rameau, has been praised for his “triumphant virtuosity, tender poetry, and downright miraculous touch” (Classica, May 2021) and has received much additional recognition: FFFF Télérama, CHOC Classica, a “5” from Diapason, a France Musique “Choice”, Le Monde, Le Figaro, L’Obs...
Highlights include appearances at LSO St Luke’s, London (for the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Series); l’Auditori, Barcelona; the Philharmonie, Louvre Auditorium, and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris; BOZAR in Brussels; DeSingel in Antwerp; the Roque d’Anthéron Festival; “Folles Journées”, Nantes among many others. In addition, he has been invited to perform with numerous orchestras, including the Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National d’Île- de-France, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Orchestre de Picardie, Mannheim Philharmoniker, Duisburg Philharmoniker, Concert de la Loge, and Concerto Köln. In October 2020, he performed J.S. Bach harpsichord concertos with Le Consort as part of the Radio France Bach Weekend at L’Auditorium de Radio France; and in 2021, he made his debut tour in Japan and Korea. In Japan, where his debut in January 2021 at the Oji Hall in Tokyo attracted much attention; and in the USA, in New York and in Washington (Library of Congress, Opéra Lafayette). He is famed for his “virtuoso, sensitive, and gourmand interpretations” (Sophie Bourdais, Télérama, 2021).
Justin Taylor’s ensemble Le Consort, created with his violinist-friends Sophie de Bardonnèche and Théotime Langlois de Swarte, won the 1st Prize in 2017 at the Loire Valley International Early Music Competition, whose jury president is William Christie. With mezzo-soprano Eva Zaïcik, the ensemble recorded its first disc for Alpha Classics, "Venez chère ombre", devoted to French cantatas, a disc that received a “Choc” from Classica and was made “Le Choix” of France Musique. The ensemble’s second disc, the collected trio sonatas of Jean-François Dandrieu, OPUS 1, was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’année 2019, as well as being listed among “Le Choix” of France Musique. Le Consort is in residency at the Singer-Polignac Foundation. |
