Intro
Biography
Jean-Guihen Queyras
Biography
Full version
Jean-Guihen's extensive repertoire includes more recent works, which he performs internationally: he gave the world premieres of Ivan Fedele's cello concerto (Orchestre National de France, Leonard Slatkin) and Gilbert Amy's concerto (Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at Suntory Hall, Tokyo). He also premiered Bruno Mantovani's concerto with the Saarbrücken Radio Sinfonieorchester and Phillippe Schoeller's Wind's Eyes with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg. The last three appear together on a CD for harmonia mundi
His particular focus on repertoire for solo cello, which brilliantly demonstrates the exceptional narrative and expressive force of the monodic instrument, led him to devise and perform several series of concerts featuring the Suites by J.S Bach alongside contemporary works at the Triphony Hall in Tokyo and the Théâtre du Châtelet. He also commissioned six composers (Kurtag, Harvey, Mochizuki, Amy, Nodaïra & Fedele) to write an ‘echo' to each of the six Bach Suites for solo cello, in a project called ‘Six Suites, Six Echos', which he has performed in such prestigious venues as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Hamburg's Musikhalle and the Cité de la Musique in Paris.
In 2008, Jean-Guihen made his BBC PROMS debut to unanimous acclaim (Haydn in C) and performed Britten's Symphony for cello and orchestra at the Aldeburgh Festival. He has been invited as a resident artist of the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and De Bijloke in Gent. Regular chamber music partners include the pianists Alexander Melnikov and Alexandre Tharaud and the violinist Isabelle Faust. He is a member of the Arcanto Quartet with Tabea Zimmermann, Antje Weithaas and Daniel Sepec, and performs regularly with Zarb specialists Kevan and Bijan Chemirani.
His solo engagements with orchestras include the Philharmonia, Orchestre de Paris, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Zürich, Gewandhaus orchestra, Radio-Sinfoniorchester Saarbrücken, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Berlin Konzerhaus orchestra, Radiosinfonieorchester Wien,Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande, Münich Chamber Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, DeFhilharmonie Antwerpens, Sao Paulo State Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, BBC Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Heinz Holliger, Franz Brüggen, Günther Herbig, Günther Herbig, Gerd Albrecht, Ivan Fisher, Hans Graf, Philippe Herreweghe, Marek Janowski, Denis Russell Davies, Jiří Bělohlávek, Ed Gardner, David Stern, Leonard Slatkin, Olivier Knussen, Roger Norrington, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Muhaï Tang, John Neschling and Andras Ligeti. Jean-Guihen made his debut in the main hall at Carnegie Hall in New York with Concerto Köln in March 2004.
Jean-Guihen was the solo cellist of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, with whom he recorded the Ligeti Cello Concerto for Deutsche Grammophon, conducted by Pierre Boulez (Gramophone Contemporary Music Award). For harmonia mundi he also released Britten's suites for solo cello and a collection of Hungarian works by Kodaly, Kurtag and Veress, which was awarded a Diapason d'Or. Jean-Guihen has also recorded Dutilleux's Tout un Monde Lointain for Arte Nova/BMG and Boulez's Messagesquisse for Deutsche Grammophon (Gramophone Contemporary Music Award).
In November 2002, Jean-Guihen Queyras received the City of Toronto Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize in Music, awarded to him by Pierre Boulez and the Glenn Gould Foundation, and was recently made ‘Instrumental Soloist of the Year' at the French Classical Music Awards as well as ‘Artist of the Year' for readers of the Diapason magazine.
Jean-Guihen Queyras is Professor at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, Germany and one of the Artistic Directors of the ‘Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence' which take place in Forcalquier in July each year.
He plays a cello made by Gioffredo Cappa in 1696, on loan from Mécénat Musical Société Générale since November 2005.
October 2009
Not to be altered without permission. We update our biographies regularly. Please destroy all previous biographical material
Full version French
Le répertoire joué par Jean-Guihen est à la mesure de sa curiosité musicale: il a créé les concertos d'Ivan Fedele, de Gilbert Amy, de Bruno Mantovani et de Philippe Schoeller, réunis sur un CD harmonia mundi paru au printemps 2009. Ses récitals solos offrent un écho contemporain au répertoire plus ancien qu'il présente au Triphony Hall à Tokyo ou au Théâtre du Châtelet à Paris, comme les Suites de Bach et les Echos qu'il a commandés auprès de Kurtag, Amy, Fedele, Nodaïra, Mochizuki et Harvey sous le titre ‘Six Suites, Six Echos' dont l'interprétation a connu un succès remarqué au Konzerthaus de Berlin, à la Musikhalle de Hambourg et à la Cité de la Musique de Paris.
Jean-Guihen est invité par les orchestres du monde entier parmi lesquels le Philharmonia de Londres, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre du Gewandhaus et de la Konzerthaus de Berlin, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Sinfoniorchester de Saarbrücken, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia de Prague, Tonhalle de Zürich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre de Chambre de Münich, Sinfonietta d'Amsterdam, DeFilharmonie d'Anvers, l'Orchestre Philharmonique d'Etat de Sao Paulo, The Hallé et City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra avec lesquels il a joué sous la direction de Heinz Holliger, Franz Brüggen, Günther Herbig, Gerd Albrecht, Ivan Fisher, Hans Graf, Philippe Herreweghe, Marek Janowski, Denis Russell Davies, Jiří Bělohlávek, Leonard Slatkin, Oliver Knussen, Ed Gardner, Jean-Claude Casadeus, Roger Norrington, Muhaï Tang, John Neschling, Andras Ligeti et David Stern, sous la direction duquel il a fait ses débuts dans la grande salle de Carnegie Hall à New York en mars 2004 avec Concerto Köln.
Passionné de musique de chambre, il fonde avec Tabea Zimmermann, Antje Weithaas, et Daniel Sepec le quatuor à cordes Arcanto. Les séries de concerts pour lesquelles il est l'invité d'exception à la Philharmonie d'Utrecht, au Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam, et enfin au Bijloke de Gand en Belgique lui permettent de réunir un grand nombre de ses partenaires dont Emmanuel Pahud, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Alexandre Tharaud et, dans un autre registre, les frères Chemirani, maîtres du zarb reconnus avec qui il improvise sur des thèmes de musique orientale.
Son premier enregistrement solo consacré aux suites pour violoncelle seul de Britten chez harmonia mundi lui a valu les éloges de la presse britannique qui le cite depuis en référence. Il est suivi d'un magnifique récital ‘Magyar' composé d'une sélection d'œuvres de Kurtag, Veress et Kodály qui a obtenu un Diapason d'Or. Sa discographie comprend également le concerto pour violoncelle de Ligeti et Messagesquisse de Pierre Boulez (Deutsche Grammophon) et Tout un Monde Lointain... d'Henri Dutilleux réalisé avec l'Orchestre de Bordeaux-Aquitaine pour Arte Nova.
Jean-Guihen est Professeur à la Musikhochschule de Stuttgart et co-directeur artistique des Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence qui ont lieu chaque année au mois de juillet à Forcalquier.
Depuis novembre 2005, Jean-Guihen Queyras joue un violoncelle de Gioffredo Cappa de 1696 prêté par Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
Octobre 2009
Nos biographies sont remises à jour régulièrement. Merci de bien vouloir détruire tout document marqué d'une date antérieure.
Short version
Jean-Guihen performs extensively with internationally renowned orchestras in the most prestigious venues worldwide, and made his BBC PROMS debut in 2008 to great acclaim. He is regularly invited for special concert series including Leif Ove Andsnes' chamber music series at the Carnegie Hall in May 2005, ‘Jean-Guihen and friends' at the Vredenburg in Utrecht (2004/2005 season), ‘Carte Blanche à Jean-Guihen Queyras' at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in May 2007 and at the Bijloke Concert Hall in Ghent this season. He has also formed the Arcanto Quartet with Tabea Zimmermann, Antje Weithaas and Daniel Sepec.
In November 2002, Jean-Guihen Queyras received the City of Toronto Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize in Music from both Pierre Boulez and the Glenn Gould Foundation, and was recently made ‘Instrumental Soloist of the Year' at the French Classical Music Awards as well as ‘Artist of the Year' for the readers of the Diapason magazine.
Since November 2005, he plays a cello made by Gioffredo Cappa in 1696, on loan from Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
October 2009
Not to be altered without permission. We update our biographies regularly. Please destroy all previous biographical material
Short version French
Jean-Guihen Queyras a créé les concertos d'Ivan Fedele, Gilbert Amy, Bruno Mantovani et Philippe Schoeller qui ont fait l'objet de son plus récent enregistrement, et propose un écho contemporain au répertoire plus ancien dans son projet Bach ‘Six Suites, Six Echos', commandés à Gyorgy Kurtag, Gilbert Amy, Ivan Fedele, Ichiro Nodaïra, Misato Mochizuki et Jonathan Harvey.
Les lieux de concerts les plus prestigieux d'Europe, du Japon et des Etats-Unis l'ont accueilli ; Royal Albert Hall (BBC PROMS), Carnegie Hall de New York, Salle Pleyel, Royal Festival Hall de Londres, Suntory Hall de Tokyo, Philharmonie de Cologne et le Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam. Soliste des plus grands orchestres internationaux, il cultive pour la musique de chambre un goût qu'il partage avec les membres du quatuor Arcanto (Tabea Zimmermann, Daniel Sepec et Antje Weithaas).
Jean-Guihen Queyras est Professeur à la Musikhochschule de Stuttgart.
Depuis novembre 2005, il joue un violoncelle de Gioffredo Cappa de 1696 prêté par Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
Octobre 2009
Nos biographies sont remises à jour régulièrement. Merci de bien vouloir détruire tout document marqué d'une date antérieure.
Discography
Jean-Guihen Queyras
Discography
2009
Mantovani, Schoeller, Amy: XXIst Century Cello Concertos
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 901973
2008
Debussy/Poulenc
Debussy
Sonate no.1
Valse "La plus que lente"
Intermezzo
Poulenc
Sonate for Cello and piano
Bagatelle D Major
Serenade
Suite Francaise
Harmoni Mundi
HMC 902012
Alexandre Tharaud - Piano
*Diapason d'Or de l'Année* - Diapason
*Classical CD of the Week* - Daily Telegraph
2007
Bach, Cello Suites
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 901970/71
Diapason d'Or and CD of the Month - Diapason
FFFF - Télérama
CHOC - Monde de la Musique
Bartók, String Quartets No.5 & 6
Arcanto Quartet: Antje Weithaas & Daniel Sepec, Violins, Tabea Zimmermann, Viola
Harmonia Mundi
HMC901963
Editor's Choice - Gramophone
2006
Schubert, Arpeggione sonata
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata D.821
Webern: 3 Little Pieces, op.11
Schubert: Die Vögel D.691, Sonatine
Schubert: Nacht und Träume
Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 901930
Editor's Choice - Gramophone
Chamber Choice - BBC Music Magazine
Strad Selection - The Strad
***** - The Independent
Excellentia - Pizzicato (Luxembourg)
Excepcional - Scherzo
2005
Dvořák, Cello Concerto op.104, "Dumky" Trio, op.90
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano
The Prague Philharmonia
Jiří Bělohlávek, conductor
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 801867
Classical CD of the Year 2005 - Daily Telegraph
*****The Independent
Disc of the Week - BBC Radio 3 (19th November 2005)
2004
Dvořák, Violin Concerto, Piano Trio
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano
Harmonia Mundi
HMC901833
Haydn, Cello Concertos
Haydn: Cello Concertos Hob.VIIb: 1 & 2 in C and D major
Monn: Cello Concerto
Freiburger Barockorchester
Petra Müllejans, conductor
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 901816
Diapason d'Or - Diapason
CHOC - Monde de la Musique,
****The Independent
Classique d'Or RTL
***** Top CD of the Month - BBC Music Magazine
Fedele, Concerto per Violoncello
Orchestre Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai
Pascale Rophé, Conductor
Stradivarius
STR 33650
2002
Dutilleux, Tout un Monde lointain for cello and orchestra
Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine
Hans Graf, conductor
Arte Nova
74321 92813 2
2001
Kodály, Veress, Kurtág: works for solo cello & piano
Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 901735
Diapason D'Or - Diapason
10 - Classica Répertoire
2002 Golden Ear Award
2000
Boulez, Messagesquisse for solo cello and six cellos
Ensemble de Violoncelles de Paris
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Deutsche Grammophon
DG 463 475-2 2000
2001 Contemporary Music Gramophone Award
***** - BBC Music Magazine
1999
Mozart, Flute Quartets
Emmanuel Pahud, flute
EMI Classics
5 56829 2
1998
Britten, Suites for solo cello
Harmonia Mundi
HMN 911670
1994
Ligeti, Concerto for cello and orchestra
Ensemble Intercontemporain
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Deutsche Grammophon
DG 439 808-2
1995 Contemporary Music Gramophone Award
Repertoire
Jean-Guihen Queyras
Repertoire
Concertos
| G. AMY | Concerto (world premiere - Gilbert Amy - Tokyo Symphony Orchestra - Suntory Hall - 2000) |
| S. BARBER | Concerto |
| L.V. BEETHOVEN | Triple Concerto |
| L. BERIO | “Il Ritorno degli Snovidenia” |
| E. BLOCH | “Schelomo” |
| L. BOCCHERINI | Concertos No 6 in D major, G 479 No 8 in C major, G 481 |
| P. BOULEZ | Messagesquisse for solo cello and cello ensemble |
| B. BRITTEN | Sinfonia for Cello and Orchestra |
| D. CHOSTAKOVICH | Concertos 1 and 2 |
| F. DONATONI | “Le Ruisseau sur l’Escalier” |
| A. DVORAK | Concerto op.104 Rondo op.94 |
| H. DUTILLEUX | “Tout un monde lointain” |
| E. ELGAR | Concerto op.85 |
| I. FEDELE | Concerto (world premiere – Leonard Slatkin - Orchestre National de France - 1997) |
| A. GLAZUNOV | Song of the Menestrel |
| J. HARVEY | Concerto |
| J. HAYDN | Concertos in C and D major |
| P. HINDEMITH | Concerto (1940) |
| E. LALO | Concerto in D minor |
| G. LIGETI | Concerto (1966) |
| W. LUTOSLAWSKI | Concerto |
| B. MANTOVANI | Concerto (world premiere – Günther Herbig – Saarbrücken RadioSinfonie Orchester - 2005) |
| G. M. MONN | Concerto in G minor (with chamber orchestra/continuo) |
| M. PINTSCHER | Study 1 for Treatise on the Veil (for cello and violin) |
| S. PROKOFIEV | Sinfonia Concertante op.125 |
| K. SAARIAHO | “Amers” |
| C. SAINT-SAENS | Concerto no 1 in A minor op.33 |
| Concerto No 2 in D minor op.119 | |
| P. SCHOELLER | Wind's Eyes (world premiere – Peter Hitrsch -Donaueschingen Festival - SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg - 2005) |
| R. SCHUMANN | Concerto in A minor op.129 |
| P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY | Variations on a Rococo theme |
| J. WOOLRICH | Cello concerto (1998) |
| B.A. ZIMMERMANN | Concerto |
Recitals
| J.S. BACH | Six Suites Six Suites, Six Echos* |
| (*Six Echos by J Harvey, G Amy, I Nodaïra, M Mochizuki, G Kurtag, I Fedele) | |
| L. BERIO | “Les mots sont allés...” (4’) |
| B. BRITTEN | Suites 1, 2 and 3 |
| G. CASSADO | Suite en ré mineur (12’) |
| G. CRUMB | Sonate (11’) |
| L. DALLAPICCOLA | Ciaccona, Intermezzo e Adagio (12’) |
| H. DUTILLEUX | Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher (9’) |
| A. GINASTERA | Punena Nr 2 (8’) |
| J. HARVEY | Curve with Plateaux (10’) |
| P. HINDEMITH | Sonate op 25, No 3 (13’) |
| T. HOSOKAWA | Sen II (13’) |
| S. IMAÏ | Materials for a cellist (9’) |
| Z. KODALY | Sonate op 8 (30’) |
| G. KURTAG | 5 pièces brèves (6’) |
| H. LACHENMANN | Pression (10’) |
| G. LIGETI | Sonate (10’) |
| M. LINDBERG | Stroke (5’) |
| T. MAYUZUMI | Bunraku (9’) |
| Y. PAGH-PAAN | Aa-Ga I (8’) |
| R. SESSIONS | Six pieces (7’) |
| M. STROPPA | Hey, there is the rub (8’) |
| S. VERESS | Sonate (10’) |
| B.A. ZIMMERMAN | Sonate (15’) |
Cello and Piano
| The complete works for cello and piano of the following composers | ||
| J.S. BACH | S. BARBER | B. BARTOK |
| L.Van BEETHOVEN | J. BRAHMS | B. BRITTEN |
| E. CARTER | F. COUPERIN | C. DEBUSSY |
| G. FAURE | C. FRANCK | A. GINASTERA |
| P. HINDEMITH | Z. KODALY | F. LISZT |
| B. MARTINU | F. MENDELSSOHN | F. POULENC |
| S. PROKOFIEV | S. RACHMANINOV | A. SCHNITTKE |
| F. SCHUBERT | R. SCHUMANN | D. SHOSTAKOVICH |
| R. STRAUSS | I. STRAVINSKI | A.WEBERN |
reviews
Jean-Guihen Queyras
reviews
Concerts
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Queen Elizabeth Hall - BBC Symphony Orchestra's Double premiere “Earlier, Jean-Guihen Queyras had played Haydn's D major Cello Concerto, a nuanced account, the soloist's cadenzas pertinent and not too extravagant. What impressed most was Haydn's so-inventive music! The finale explores possibilities of contrasts in pitch and dynamics, Queyras bringing out Haydn's experimentation.” |
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Manchester Art Gallery - Manchester International festival/Bach Cello Suites "He conveyed the luminosity of the courtly dance movements with open-hearted ease, was poetically engaging in the preludes and vibrantly alert in the volleys of notes that spun off his modern bow and strings in the brisk courantes and driving gigues." "He is a wonderfully nimble and delicate performer, and in this intimate space every inflection and shadow of his interpretation could be heard clearly. The sound was ideal, utterly clear without sacrificing warmth."
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Norway - Haydn Concert with the Kristlansand Symfoniorkester |
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Stuttgart RSO - BBC Proms/Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major "More refined music-making arrived with the French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and Haydn's C major cello Concerto. For this the orchestra slimmed and configured itself like an apple, with Queyras at the stem... Queyras's thoughtfulness and shining tone soared out."
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BBC Proms 2008: Geoffrey Norris's top 5 proms
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CBSO/Britten's Cello Symphony |
| Proms 2008/Sir Roger Norrington Diary
"...Later a rehearsal alone with the outstanding cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who will play the Haydn C major with us at the Proms in July. It wounds great; he is one of the few 'modern' players who understands that vibrato was not a universal sauce but a decoration during the 18th and 19th centuries..." Sir Roger Norrington, Gramophone, July 2008
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| Pianist Tharaud, cellist Queyras hit unexpected marks Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud are one of Europe's best chamber music duos: Witness their crackling, spontaneous new recording of the Debussy Cello Sonata on Harmonia Mundi. In Philadelphia, Queyras played the sunny, straightforward Haydn concerto as if it were the greatest thing in the repertoire (which it's not). Past live encounters with Queyras never quite revealed his immense technical security. He can do everything - playing soft and high as well as soft and low, with infallible intonation. Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer - Dvorák Cello Concerto Concertgebouw Amsterdam – 26 March 2008 |
| Queyras is the saving angel – Replacement of Wispelwey impresses deeply "Fischer and Queyras had never worked together before and there was hardly any time to rehearse Dvorák’s masterpiece, but none of this was noticable. On the contrary. The performance became a triumph of listening and telepathic music making by soloist, orchestra and conductor. Afterwards the public, which had witnessed a miracle, deservedly cheered Queyras, the saving angel." |
| Erik Voermans, Het Parool, March 2008 |
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Cheering reactions after cello concerto
"Pieter Wispelwey had bad luck. He was to play the cello concerto by Dvorák, but cancelled during the morning due to flu. The young French master Jean-Guihen Queyras appeared available.He arrived at the end of the day in Amsterdam and after a brief rehearsal flew onto the stage and triumphed. His effortless playing was entirely focused on the inner side of Dvorák’s music, whereby he found Fischer as a loyal companion at his side. Here spoke the intention of chamber music, presented with a wide view … … This Bruckner light received a lukewarm applause which sharply contrasted with the cheering reactions after the cello concerto. And yet we would not have wanted to miss a single note. Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra showed a disarming openness and sincerity. To experience this is in any case refreshing." |
| Thiemo Wind, De Telegraaf, March 2008 |
| "Take for example the very well-known cello concerto of Antonín Dvorák. Pieter Wispelwey was programmed as soloist, but due to illness he needed to cancel. Fischer and Wispelwey made a CD recording of this concerto last year. For the solo part a worthy replacement was found in the French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who, just like Fischer, is also a musician for whom the composition comes first. A magical cello concerto was heard on Wednesday, with Fischer and Queyras as refined kindred spirits. Naturally Dvorák sounded melancholy where it had to, sang the cello lyrically its melodies and competed as always with the orchestra and its members. Just like Fischer Queyras took time for his phrasing, his sound was not big in a show-off way but was finely nuanced, listening to Fischer’s movements – and so a conversation between two poets developed." |
| Anthony Fiumara, Trouw, March 2008 |
| Liedertafel Tilburg, The Netherlands |
| "Cello strings like laser beams for master cellist Queyras ... A musician of breeding who feels at home with contemporary music as well as with the classical repertoire... In Tilburg, Queyras was accompanied by his old friend, the pianist Alexandre Tharaud, another young French musician who conquered the classical music market with his stormy hands. ... the duo literally transports us in Francis Poulenc’s brilliant ‘Cellosonate’. Over a rich carpet of piano notes Queyras’ cello sings as never heard before. A gratifying highlight in the rich history of the Liedertafel." |
| Mark van de Voort, Brabants Dagblad, 4th April 2007 |
| Elverum Music Festival |
| "This was one of the greatest opening concerts in the history of the festival…Yesterday evening we learned to love Haydn’s Concerto in C-major Concerto, thanks to Jean-Guihen Queyras and his playing…We loved his energetic style from the first bar. This was a top class soloist who was a great intermediary. His playing was so relaxed… In the calm music he found excitement and power and he was given room to strike in the difficult technical challenges which he handled wonderfully…" |
| Bodvar Lotsberg, Ostlendingen, August 2006 |
| "The balance between orchestra and soloist was perfect, and with an unbelievable technique and dedication Queyras presented the solo cadenzas with sincerity and confidence… Haydn is one of the classical masters in all that includes rules of form. But the musicians were able to release passion in the third movement, although in a controlled way… The music was well received by the enthusiastic audience who gave Queyras a standing ovation and would not give in until they were presented with an encore, a movement from Haydn’s 13th Symphony…" |
| Marit Elise Lyngstad, Hamar Arbeiderblad, August 2006 |
| CBSO/Knussen – John Woolrich’s cello concerto – Aldeburgh Festival – Snape Maltings Hall – 17 June 2006 |
| "In John Woolrich’s 1998 cello concerto…, and the ways-in which the solo cello (played here with vivid commitment by Jean-Guihen Queyras)…." |
| The Guardian, June 2006 |
| The Music Room, Halifax, Canada |
| "He appears to hear a wide array of timbres in each tone, and by means of impeccably accurate intonation and a sure instinct for where each note fits into a line, he pains with sound… It was a remarkably cogent performance." |
| The Chronicle Herald – 24 November 2005 |
| Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, Canada, with Alexandre Tharaud |
| "Elegance is the duo’s keyword. Queyras’s tone is silky, focused yet sweet, not particularly large but with beautifully graduated dynamics… The cello’s great range of colour added new intensity to these already painfully expressive pieces [Alban Berg’s Four Pieces, Op.5]… Here everything was integrated [Foulenc’s Sonata]: the exquisite lux of the Cavatine, the swagger of the Ballabile, the theatricality of the finale, and the overall underpinning of classicism redefined – all in meticulous balance." |
| The Vancouver Sun – 23 November 2005 |
| Risor Festival at Zankel Hall – Leif Ove Andsnes invites…., New York, May 2005 |
| "In the three elusive movements of Janacek's "Pohadka" ("Fairy Tale"), for cello and piano, recurring riffs and quizzical fragments convey a sense of radical discontinuity. Yet as played by Mr. Andsnes and the rhapsodic French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, the music seemed strangely inevitable." |
| The New York Times – 9 May 2005 |
| With Concerto Köln |
| Perleman Theater, Philadelphia, PA |
| "The Schumann concerto was more viable than usual. Written in broad strokes that leap widely over the solo cellist's fingerboard, the achingly lyrical piece is a nest of balance problems, often solved by sheer musical urgency. That wasn't such an imperative with the inventive young soloist, Jean-Guihen Queyras, who had less competition from Concerto Köln's gentler sound and was sped along with more pointed, accompanying rhythms. Queyras' instrument had both gut and steel strings, all the better to blend with the orchestra when necessary and to step out in front when not. The usual feverish heroics weren't missed." |
| Philadelphia Inquirer - 16 March 2004 |
| Mechanics Hall, Worcester MA |
| "Solo cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras joined Concerto Köln for a lyrical reading of Schumann's Cello Concerto. Capturing the music's ardor while still outlining its structure, Queyras demonstrated why Schumann's masterwork became the Romantic model for subsequent concerted works for cello. In the process, he imbued the concert with an introspection distinctly German. After a spacious opening Allegro, he tossed off the middle movement with spiffy double stops and delighted in the witty finale." |
| Sunday Telegram, Worcester MA - 14 March 2004 |
| Opéra-Théâtre d'Avignon |
| "Considered one of the best cellists of his generation, Jean-Guihen Queyras fully justified his reputation. The sincerity of his expression, the intelligence of his playing, as well as the beauty and depth of the sonorities that he has the power to extract from his instrument have placed his interpretation of Shostakovich's First Concerto for Cello and Orchestra at an extraordinary level." |
| La Provence - 20 January 2003 |
| Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo |
| "His programme, as well as every detail of the performance, left the audience full of ideas. He is a cellist of striking individuality who exploits a totally new music." |
| Ongaku Gendai - January 2003 |
| "The extreme delicacy of Queyras' performance, which was linked with a heavenly openness, entirely dominated the large space of the concert hall....The most impressive oeuvre in this evening was Stroppa's 'Ay, there's the rub'... The composer piles up unique and original sounds, such as trills on different harmonics, and creates a sound-world just like an elaborate holography. It was indeed a precious experience for me to listen to this music as performed by Queyras." |
| The Asahi Shimbun - 27 November 2002 |
| Concert Hall, Zagreb |
| "The most interesting part of the evening was Dutilleux's piece which was performed for the first time in Croatia. The performance of Jean-Guihen Queyras possessed a series of brilliantly balanced intensities and articulations, executed by carefully formed and focused sound, thus defining the spaces of the interpretative whole of the piece, as well as those of the audience's reception." |
| Vjesnik - 11 November 2002 |
| La Folle Journée, Nantes |
| "The explosive applause which congratulated the cellist JGQ, after the last note fell, is a proof of this tension, this attention that took the audience in front of a heart-to-heart shining with grace, jubilation and joy. Janos Starker has a successor!" |
| Le Monde - 28 January 2002 |
| Oxford Chamber Music Festival |
| "Luckily Jean-Guihen Queyras (one of the real revelations of the festival) saved the day with an intensely realised performance of Britten's Third Cello Suite." |
| The Independent - 09 July 2001 |
| Concertgebouw, Amsterdam |
| "That Queyras can be counted amongst an elite group of extraordinary cellists he has proved with an unparalleled interpretation of Kodály's Sonata for solo cello....not one phrase of Kodály's soul searching remained untouched. As a result of this piece, Queyras quite rightly carries the 'quality-control' label of the European Concert Hall." |
| De Volkskrant - 21 May 1999 |
| Wigmore Hall |
| "From the powerful opening of Debussy's Sonata, Queyras seemed an ideal custodian of this work, his lyrical playing enabling him to capture the ever-changing moods" |
| The Strad - April 1999 |
| South Bank |
| "The brilliant verve of Jean-Guihen Queyras in the [Debussy] cello sonata marked him instantly as a performer we want to hear again and again." |
| Financial Times - 16 May 1996 |
Recordings
| Debussy / Poulenc (2008) - CD HMC 902012 *Diapason d'Or de l'Année* - Diapason *Classical CD of the Week* - Daily Telegraph *Disc of the month* - Classic Today "Tant de choses rapprochent Poulenc de Debussy ! Mais aussi Jean-Guihen Queyras et Alexandre Tharaud, si l'on en croit cette magnifique lecture en miroir, sensible et malicieuse. Le rapprochement des deux musiciens n'avait jamais été défendu avec autant de cohésion que dans ce nouvel album de Jean-Guihen Queyras et Alexandre Tharaud. Une merveille!" "The performances are wholly remarkable. It combines spontaneity and flexibility of tempo with supernaturally accurate ensemble in a way that's absolutely jaw-dropping. Toss in perfectly warm, ideally balanced engineering, with none of the grunting and groaning that sometimes disfigures HM's chamber music recordings, and the result is a disc that belongs in every collection, plain and simple." "Jean-Guihen Queyras and his eloquent pianist Alexandre Tharaud catch this subtle spirit superbly. One of the great pleasures of this performance is the way that Queyras and Tharaud can use their spectrum of tonal colour and their intimate affinity with the music to switch mood in a split second. The element of surprise is winningly deployed." "Jean-Guihen Queyras's latest disc with the pianist Alexandre Tharaud deliberately pits two very different French composers against each other. Yet the cello sonatas by Debussy and Poulenc are both, in many ways, atypical of their creators. Debussy's work, from 1915, was the first of an intended set of six sonatas for different instruments (only three were written) in which he returned to a sparer, more classical ideal. Poulenc's, completed in 1948, turns its back on the sharp, sometimes cynically witty language of the prewar years. Both concentrate on elegant, direct expression. Queyras and Tharaud play these works with characteristic intelligence, affection and lucidity, though Tharaud's timbre is perhaps a little hard. The fillers - the sonatas together occupy little more than half an hour - are equally convincing." |
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| "Queyras, playing a modern instrument (although he's also an experienced period player), eschews asceticism in this music, seeing Bach's 'intellect and his concern for architecture' as creating 'an exhilarating life force'. His tone is lusher than Isserlis's, the recorded sound more resonant, and the manner more consistently outgoing." |
| Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, 1st February 2008 |
| "Of all Bach's major solo pieces, the cello suites perhaps allow the interpreter more latitude than any others, and Queyras takes full advantage of that in his tonal variation, wide dynamic range and expressive nuances. Compared with Steven Isserlis's recent accounts on Hyperion, for instance, Queyras is much more interventionist, less inclined to allow the music to speak for itself. But what he does add to the printed text is often very exciting: sometimes he pushes the tempos to extremes, whether to generate more excitement or to squeeze out the maximum amount of expressive juice. Yet his liberties never seem wilful, because he maintains a steady tempo in the most ornate passages, or those in which Bach pushes cello technique beyond its normal limits. Queyras is always in command of what he does, and how he wants this elusive music to speak." |
| **** Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 1st February 2008 |
| "One of a cellist's supreme challenges is met with exceptional artistry by Jean-Guihen Queyras, who brings his trademark sensibility and interpretative strengths to the six solo suites by Bach. Courtly restraint in the slow sarabandes is contrasted with the more bucolic vigour of the famous gigue in the Third Suite, but there is an overriding sense that Queyras appreciates the crucial architectural and expressive perspective of this music. With no hankering after effect for its own sake, he uses his glorious 1696 Gioffredo Cappa instrument and his own intelligence to convey the organic shape of these extraordinary masterpieces, shrewdly delineating the harmonic framework and gracing the melodic lines and rhythms with subtle, natural inflections. On the fascinating DVD about the making of the recording, Queyras speaks of the suites as an 'anthology of inventions' in terms of harmony, rhythm and technique; elsewhere he talks about their 'exhilarating life force'. These are defining qualities of this outstanding set." |
| Geoffrey Norris , Daily Telegraph, 26th January 2008 |
| "In a promotional DVD accompanying this release Jean-Guihen Queyras cites the abundance of excellent Bach Cello Suites cycles on the market as one reason he waited until 2007 to commit his interpretations to disc. Queyras needn't have worried, for his playing is never less than beautiful, eloquent, and thoroughly world-class. It fuses the most apparent characteristics distinguishing certain memorable editions: Schiff's shapely melodic parsing, Pergamenschikov's infectious feeling for the dance, Bylsma's period-performance innovations, and Tortelier's purity of tone. Queyras possesses an all-encompassing, supple, and effortless technique equal to Truls Mørk's, yet he avoids the latter's arch and self-conscious tendencies. In fact, the array of colours and articulations Queyras obtains always bypass the instrument en route to the music. The Sixth Suite is a good example. Because the work's notoriously high-lying tessitura poses no problems for Queyras, he can sustain the Sarabande with whispering deliberation or, by contrast, make the Gavottes lighter and more bracing than usual. The latter also applies to the E-flat suite's Gigue and the C major's zesty Bourées. In Queyras' hands, each Suite's opening Prelude amounts to a master class in how to intelligently scale dynamics and inflect a basic pulse with a sense of proportion and controlled freedom, such as in the D minor Prelude's insidious build. An ideal church acoustic and Cécile Lenoir's sensitive engineering make Queyras' Bach all the more recommendable." |
| *Artistic Quality 10, Sound Quality 10* Jed Distler, Classics Today |
| "there's an open-minded expressiveness that sounds not as though it results from an attempt at extra-musical interpretation or understanding but, quite simply, a heartfelt reaction to the music itself. Recorded in March 2007 at the church of St. Cyriak in Sulzburg, the acoustic is slightly reverberant but not distractlingly so. In fact it serves to emphasise the glorious sound Queyras gets out of his cello, a rich and sweet sounding instrument by Gioffredo Cappa from 1696 (it comes into its own, particularly, in the more expansive sixth suite). The top is expressive and honeyed, the lower range rich and fruity. Comparing these performances with those of Isserlis, it strikes the listener as a far more physical and sensual experience, rather than a more overtly intellectual one; although Hyperion's sound for Isserlis is beyond reproach, he is given a drier acoustic… It says something about the recording that I constantly had to discipline myself not simply to get seduced by the the sheer beauty of the cello playing. That's not to say, though, that there isn't ample evidence of a keen musical intelligence at play, just that it seems - in my view, correctly - to have been subordinated to musical requirements." |
| ***** Hugo Shirley, Musical Criticism, January 2008 |
| Schubert: Arpeggione (2006) - Harmonia Mundi HMC 901930 |
| "The aristocratic duo of Queyras and Tharaud give a subtle, serious performance, unusually wide in its range of expression and colour. … Enjoy the duo’s wonderfully imaginative performances, whether in the eerie, evanescent Webern miniatures or Berg’s unique mix of yearning Romanticism and Expressionist violence." |
| The Daily Telegraph, January 2007 |
| "In chamber music, I was impressed by cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud’s imaginative recital of Schubert, Webern and Berg (HMC901930)." |
| Anna Picard, The Best Discs of 2006, The Independent, 31st December 2006 |
| "…arrestingly effective. The short pieces come and go like gusts of wind; Webern hangs in space, Berg swirls tempestuously. But most interesting is Schubert’s Sonatina, with grave formality in the first movement, Mozartian elegance in the second, and gravity in the vivace finaly. All beautifully played." |
| Sound ***** Performance ***** BBC Music Magazine, December 2006 |
| "Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, generally viewed as an enchantingly sunny work, reveals an underlying anguish in the hands of this much-recorded French duo... The transcription of Schubert’s straightforward violin Sonatine is entirely successful…The pieces by fellow-Viennese composers Berg and Webern reveal the duo’s attention to every nuance of expression – only enhanced by the disc’s sparklingly clear recorded sound. They have the ability to create a feeling of absolute stillness and serenity…" |
| The Strad, December 2006 |
| "Romance seems to be the watchword in this accomplished duo’s treatment of Schubert, though the album also includes works by Berg and Webern which act as something of a counterweight. Queyras and Tharaud blend beautifully in a most enjoyable disc." |
| *Gramophone Editor’s Choice* James Inverne, Gramophone, December 2006 |
| "The idea of placing Schubert alongside more recent Viennese music is most imaginative, and the Webern pieces, played with magnificent control of dynamics, tone-colour and line, are effectively firmed by song arrangements, taking us, after the expansive Arpeggione, into a more intimate environment…. And to follow the Berg’s dark denouement with the rapt solemnity of Nacht und Träume is masterstroke of programme planning." |
| Gramophone, December 2006 |
| "Queyras’s honeyed tone is breathtaking, while Tharaud’s accompaniment is a model of delicacy and thoughtfulness. A ravishing recital." |
| The Independent on Sunday, October 2006 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras, a fine cellist, begins here with a distinctive, thoughtful account of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata (1824) with the pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Everything about the reading is unhurried, so even the flowing passages seem weightier than they often do. And if the players show themselves capable of endearing straighforwardness, in Webern’s microscopic 3 Little Pieces, Op 11, and Berg’s 4 Pieces, Op 5, they combine a necessary exactitude of execution with an intuitive feel for contrasting dramatic styles that serves both composers perfectly." |
| **** The Sunday Times, October 2006 |
| "…the French cello and piano duo of Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexandre Tharaud play it with just the right kind of rangy, loose-limbed lyricism. They've also found a fascinating programmatic setting for it…This endlessly fascinating, highly imaginative disc amounts to much more than the sum of its parts." |
| The Irish Times, December 2006 |
| DVORÁK Cello Concerto; Trio No. 4 "Dumky" - Harmonia Mundi-HMC 901867(CD) Isabelle Faust (violin); Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello); Alexander Melnikov (piano). The Prague Philharmonia, Jirí Belohlávek |
| "What a joy to encounter cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, where every phrase sings or sparkles." |
| The Independent – 25 October 2005, ***** |
| "Given the excellent recording quality, I would certainly cite this as one of the finest recordings ever made of this well-worn concerto." |
| The Strad Selection – November 2005 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras gives a ravishing and inspired account of this supreme concerto… I rate this among the best versions of the work on disk." |
| The Sunday Telegraph – 13 November 2005 |
| "a performance that is at once exhilaratingly fresh and warmly responsive to the music's mix of autumnal glow and vernal passion." |
| Classical CD of the Week, The Daily Telegraph – 22 October 2005 |
| "Glorious" |
| Classic FM Magazine – December 2005 |
| "The clarity and bite of the cellist is most refreshing, with consistently clean attack. Perhaps even more remarkable is his imagination in phrasing melodic writing, subtly individual yet never self-conscious, and as in the Trio he adopts a daringly wide dynamic range with pianissimi that have you catching your breath." |
| The Gramophone – November 2005 |
| "superb: involved, passionate and always infectious. The accompanying performance of the Dumky Trio is completely captivating; indeed their rendition of the four middle movements is among the finest available." |
| BBC Music Magazine – November 2005 |
| "glorious, and so different from the numerous others available that it more than justifies the inevitable duplication. Jean-Guihen Queyras is a supremely gifted performer seemingly incapable of making an unattractive noise…" |
| Classics Today – 31 October 2005 |
| Haydn - Cello Concertos Hob.VIIb: 1 & 2 in C & D major, Monn - Cello Concerto in G minor- 2004 - Harmonia Mundi 901816 |
| "In well-upholstered, modern-instrument performances, even by the likes of Du Pré and Rostropovich, Haydn’s D Major Cello Concerto can be a lumbering bore. Not here, though…The young French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras refreshes this over-familiar music with his clean, resinous tone, delicacy of colour and supple, lyrical phrasing. He conjures magical pianissimo shadings in the adagio, and tears gleefully into the potentially tedious bravura passages in the finale…If you want these concertos on period instruments, look no further." |
| The Saturday Telegraph – 17 July 2004 |
| "It’s difficult to know what to admire more about that. Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras is wonderfully agile and super-articulate at that breakneck speed. All right, the lighter 18th century bow helps, but the same time there’s that rounded, full tone – not what one immediately associates with ‘period’ string playing. That’s the finale of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major – a stunning performance, of what is perhaps the finest all Haydn’s instrumental concertos. But Queyras is just as convincing in the more easy-going D major Concerto. The expression is so vivid, and again there are plenty of opportunities for Queyras to display that extraordinary agility. Music than can sound a trifle sedate here springs to life. It all adds up to a very repeatable disc." |
| BBC Radio 3 – CD Review - 10 July 2004 |
| "One of a generation of players for whom gut strings are merely another colour to explore, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras makes a seamless transition to Classical style. With the bright, intelligent sweep of Freiburg Baroque’s glorious sound behind him, Queyras gives a lovely account of both Haydn concert: clean and soft and supple in the slow movements. Georg Matthias Monn’s G minor concerto is, if anything, even finer. Perfect listening for an early summer morning and another reminder of Freiburg Baroque’s absolute fluency in Haydn’s orchestral writing." |
| The Independent - 16 May 2004**** |
| Dutilleux - Tout un Monde lointain - 2002 - Arte Nova 74321 92813 2 |
| "...Jean-Guihen's commitment to Dutilleux's cello concerto Tout un monde lointain determines a memorable interpretation of the piece which combines calligraphic expression with poetic inspiration." |
| Le Monde - 1 February 2003 |
| Kodály, Veress, Kurtág - works for cello - 2001 - Harmonia Mundi 901735 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras infuses all this technically demanding music with ardent expressiveness and dazzling rhythmic drive. He has an alert, vibrant tone which seems at first to steer him clear of sentiment, but the final track reveals a player with plenty of heart as well... Altogether an intelligently laid-out disc, with interesting repertoire and magnificent playing and recording." |
| BBC Music Magazine - March 2002 Performance***** Sound***** |
| "...Jean-Guihen Queyras' performances are as impassioned and committed as technically mellifluous. He is sensitive to the tiniest inflection, playing with a lightness and clarity that fits hand in glove with the music's essential spirit." |
| The Strad - April 2002 |
| "Today, listening to the same piece performed by Jean-Guihen Queyras, I have again the feeling that another era in the history of cello playing is opening up....Queyras plays Kodály's sonata, and in particular the last movement, with an intensity and a powerful furore which verges on madness. Only one word: Magnificent!" |
| The Record Geijutsu - April 2002 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras has already been hailed for his 'unparalleled' interpretation of the work and listening to this superbly engineered recording you can easily hear why. In sum, this is a good Op. 8 [Kodály], witty, stylish, and for the most part extremely polished... All this music makes considerable demands on Queyras, who rises to each challenge with confidence and formidable skill." |
| Gramophone - February 2002 |
| "This CD offers one of the best renditions of Kodály's great Sonata for Solo Cello. Queyras plays the many technical tours de force with enviable flexibility and lets his beautiful instrument shimmer with passion... The result is an impressive programme, a classic example of how a stimulating cello recital should be built up. And a release which very clearly brings to light the unsuspected relationship between these three composers." |
| Luister - January 2002 |
| "… a very pure timbre, a transparent sonority, fascinating contrasts of tension and relief, a broad range of nuances, and inexhaustible resources of intensity and expressivity..." |
| Diapason - December 2001 |
| Britten - Suites for Solo Cello - 1998 - Harmonia Mundi 911670 |
| "…led, as far as complete cycles are concerned, by the outstanding Jean-Guihen Queyras." |
| BBC Music Magazine – June 2004 |
| "...Queyras has such a sense of phrase that the slower speeds do not normally sound unconvincing, and his playing - technically superb - has an impressive consistency of style." |
| Gramophone - January 1999 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras meets their challenge with lucid, expressive playing. His 17th-century Milanese cello doubtless adds to the welcome Gallic lightness of gesture and timbre. He is equally secure in grasping the firm harmonic craftsmanship of the First Suite's 'Canto primo' as in drawing a unity from the mosaic pattern of the Third. The fugue, a miracle of suggesting many voices, is delivered without blemish, a tribute to Queyras' playing as a whole." |
| BBC Music Magazine - December 1998 Performance**** Sound**** |
Concerts French
| Bach – Six Suites, Six Echos – Cité de la Musique, Paris – mai 2006 |
| "On reste confondu par l’assurance et l’originalité d’un artiste aussi jeune qui se promène littéralement dans ces labyrinthes de l’âme. Il ne les sollicite jamais, mais y trouve sans cesse de nouvelles nourritures dont il nous régale. Sans rupture – en tous cas volontaire et recherchée – sans souci ni de stricte observance baroque, ni de nouveauté à tout prix, Jean-Guihen Queyras avance en s’éclairant à la lumière de sa sensibilité propre et de son expérience de toute la musique issue de celle de Bach. Ce n’est pas la négation de la tradition, mais son exaltation au terme d’une remontée raisonnée à la source par une prise en compte de l’influence exercée, parfois inconsciemment, par ces chefs-d’œuvre immémoriaux. Une belle leçon par un jeune maître." |
| Jacques Doucelin, Le Concert Classique - Mai 2006 |
| "….Pour le Français, solo ne signifie pas forcément monologue, et l’Allemande le prouve comme une conversation animée par deux voix. Les autres danses paraissent tout aussi légères et éloquentes. Jean-Guihen Queyras… joue Bach par cœur et les yeux fermés….La Quatrième Suite sera interprétée avec une étonnante fraîcheur d’esprit ;, qualité encore présente quatre heures et demis (entractes compris) après le début du titanesque récital de Jean-Guihen Queyras. (Les compositeurs) auront réservés le meilleur accueil à Bach mais pas autant que le violoncelliste, qui l’aura transcendé en gardant des forces pour un bis (création), de Philippe Schoeller, à la brûlante intériorité." |
| Pierre Gervasoni, Le Monde - Mai 2006 |
| Symphonie Concertante de Prokofiev – Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse – janvier 2006 |
| Raretés russes pour archet d’exception "… mais sous les doigts de Jean-Guihen Queyras, une œuvre passionnante !...tout, chez l’ancien soliste de l’InterContemporain, n’est que fluidité, élégance et poésie. Simplicité et générosité aussi, avec une précision infaillible dans les nombreux passages virtuoses, mais surtout le contant souci d’un cantabile toujours digne et émouvant." |
| L’Alsace - janvier 2006 |
| "… Jean-Guihen Queyras séduit par la générosité épanoui de son propos. Avec autant de simplicité que d’esprit, ce remarquable musicien a livré une vision vivante et raffinée de cette symphonie qui lui a valu une longue ovation." |
| Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace - janvier 2006 |
| Théâtre Mogador – Orchestre de Paris – Dvorak concerto |
| "Dans le Concerto pour violoncelle (1895), l’une des dernières à se rattacher à la période américaine du compositeur, Jean-Guihen Queyras se montre égal à lui-même: sonorité privilégiant la finesse et la pureté sur le grand son ou la puissance, technique très solide qui n’est pas pour autant mise en avant, sens du phrasé, hauteur de vue, autorité et intelligence. Ouvrant des abîmes qui vont bien au-delà du caractère nostalgique ou lyrique de la partition, mais sans excès d’introversion, le soliste confère au discours une portée quasi mystique, notamment dans l’Adagio ma non troppo central ou, même si le reste du Final n’en est pas moins héroïque et enlevé, dans une conclusion qui semble porter le violoncelle hors de ce monde. Généralement attentif et contrôlé, l’accompagnement tend à s’ébrouer dans des tutti trop bruyants.
"En bis, la Sarabande de la Cinquième suite de Bach démontre la capacité de Queyras d’obtenir beaucoup malgré la grande simplicité des moyens employés. Le simple jeu sur les timbres, les phrasés et les intensités suffit à créer une dimension expressive dépourvue de pathos mais fondant une recréation d’une folle subjectivité, évoquant la désolation ou l’errance typiques de la dernière manière de Britten ou de Chostakovitch." |
| Concertonet.com - May 2004 |
| Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord |
| "...on le doit d’abord au jeu de Queyras: sonorité fine et élancée, nette et précise, plus que grasse ou ronde, mais non dépourvue de puissance ou de legato, articulation d’une clarté exemplaire, phrasés remarquablement construits…Au-delà de ces immenses qualités, c’est l’approche des œuvres qui force l’admiration. En effet, le Beethoven de jeunesse est ici poussé dans ses derniers retranchements et résolument tourné vers la modernité…Précédé des brévissimes Trois petites pièces (1911) d’Anton Webern – où l’on admire la capacité du violoncelliste, entre subtilité arachnéenne et violence éruptive, à susciter autant de poésie avec si peu de notes – le Beethoven de la maturité, en l’espèce celui de la Troisième sonate (1808), est traité avec une autorité et un naturel qui combinent un engagement total avec une parfaite intelligence du texte. Offerte en bis, la troisième et dernière partie du Conte (1910) de Leos Janacek vient couronner un récital d’exception." |
| Concertonet.com – mai 2004 |
| Opéra-Théâtre d'Avignon |
| "Considéré comme l'un des meilleurs violoncellistes de sa generation, Jean-Guihen Queyras a pleinement justifié sa jeune renommée. La sincérité de l'expression, l'intelligence de son jeu comme la beauté et la profondeur des sonorités qu'il a le pouvoir d'obtenir de son instrument ont placé l'interpretation du Premier Concerto pour violoncelle et orchestre de Chostakovitch à un niveau exceptionnel." |
| La Provence - 20 janvier 2003 |
| La Folle Journée, Nantes |
| "L'explosion d'applaudissements qui aura salué le violoncelliste Jean-Guihen Queyras, la dernière note tombée, témoigne de cette tension, de cette attention qui se sont emparées du public devant un corps-à-corps étincelant de grâce, d'allégresse, de joie. Janos Starker a un successeur!" |
| Le Monde - 28 janvier 2002 |
| QUAND LE CONTEMPORAIN COULE DE SOURCE (DEVIENT EVIDENCE) "Un interprète qui traverse les styles et les domaines d'expression les plus divers avec une virtuosité pleine d'élan et un élégance ludique, tout en commentant avec justesse et naturel les structures souvent complexes mais aussi les éléments chatoyants du répertoire contemporain pour violoncelle, tout cela est très rare. Jean-Guihen Queyras en est capable et il adore çà.…Avec ce " violoncelliste-charmeur " français, pas de lutte laborieuse avec un matériau jusqu'alors réputé ingrat. Au contraire, les lignes et couleurs musicales se dessinent clairement et naturellement, servies par une technique parfaite et une intonation immaculée….Même lorsqu'il utilise des modes de jeu extrêmes pour les effets sonores les plus étranges (sons grattés, pincés, arrachés, sifflants…), le raffinement et l'élégance sont toujours présents….Avec Jean-Guihen Queyras, la nouveauté se présente avec une évidence si convaincante qu'on ne peut que le suivre avec curiosité tout au long de son parcours musical de la soirée. Chapeau bas !" |
| Badische Zeitung - 1 novembre 1999 |
| South Bank |
| "...Roger Vignoles avait rassemblé quelques interprètes essentiels pour jouer sa musique (Debussy). Les plus remarquables étaient français...:la verve brillante de Jean-Guihen Queyras dans la sonate pour violoncelle a fait immédiatement de lui un de ces interprètes que l'on veut entendre maintes et maintes fois encore." |
| Financial Times - 16 mai 1996 |
Recordings French
| Haydn - Cello Concertos Hob.VIIb: 1 & 2 in C & D major, Monn - Cello Concerto in G minor - 2004 - Harmonia Mundi 901816 |
| "Car, parodiant Boileau, on pourrait dire : « Enfin Queyras…. » Intellectuellement ou moralement digne d’admiration. » Il serait difficile de mieux définir ce que nous entendons sur ce CD…Rarement, on a entendu un violoncelle sonner de cette façon ; le timbre en est tout à la fois somptueux, vibrant, épanoui, raffiné, puissant et large. Peu d’artistes…ont su faire preuve dans ces œuvres d’une telle limpidité, d’une telle candeur; tout est simple, tout semble coule de source et chaque phrase prononcée semble être la suite logique de la précédente…Si vous ne devez avoir dans votre discothèque qu’une seule et unique version des Concertos de Haydn, n’allez pas chercher plus avant." |
| Classica/Répertoire - Juin 2004 Evènements CD
|
| "Et quel style ! Quel son ! Epices et miel au menu avec le beau concerto de Monn au dessert !...Pour Haydn, à placer tout en haut du podium des versions sur instruments anciens, entre Bylsma et Wyspelwey…" |
| Diapason - mai 2004 |
| "“Dans le grand nombre d’enregistrements des concertos pour violoncelle de Haydn paraissant chaque année, en voici un à marquer d’une pierre blanche." |
| Le Monde de la Musique - mai 2004 |
| Dutilleux - Tout un Monde lointain - 2002 - Arte Nova 74321 92813 2 |
| " … l'investissement de Jean-Guihen dans le concerto pour violoncelle Tout un monde lointain détermine une prestation d'anthologie qui allie expression de calligraphe et inspiration de poète." |
| Le Monde - 1 fèvrier 2003 |
| Kodály, Veress, Kurtág - works for cello - 2001 - Harmonia Mundi 901735 |
| "En écoutant cette même œuvre jouée par Jean-Guihen Queyras aujourd'hui, j'ai à nouveau le sentiment que s'ouvre une nouvelle page de l'histoire de l'interprétation violoncellistique....Queyras joue la Sonate de Kodály, en particulier le dernier mouvement, avec une intensité et une fureur puissante qui confinent à la folie. Un seul mot : Magnifique !" |
| The Record Geijutsu - avril 2002 |
| "Soloiste de l'Ensemble Intercontemporain depuis 1990, le violoncelliste Jean-Guihen Queyras n'a pas choisi la facilité. Créations des concertos Fedele et Amy, premiers disques consacrés, certes à Britten, mais aussi Ligeti et Boulez, cet artiste exigeant défend une fois de plus le répertoire moderne pour son nouvel enregistrement....Queyras se frotte à ses musiques d'un coup d'archet royal, d'une justesse sans faille, et avec une sonorité à l'homogénéité idéale. Le violoncelle chante, même dans les austères pieces de Kurtag, il raconte une histoire, personnelle, intime, généreuse…Un disque au gout corsé qu'on n'oublie pas facilement." |
| Altamusica - décembre 2001 |
| Britten - Suites for Solo Cello - 1998 - Harmonia Mundi 911670 |
| "Le jeune Jean-Guihen Queyras signe l'une des toutes meilleures versions de ce triptyque: sonorité chaleureuse, inspiration de tous les instants, précision d'intonation." |
| Le Monde - 21 décembre 1998 |
| "Jean-Guihen Queyras fait montre d'une parfaite maîtrise technique et s'investit complètement dans cet univers insolite, grave et complexe… L'interprétation du jeune violoncelliste français diffère sensiblement et à maints égards de telles versions de référence: remarquablement interiorisée, voire décantée, mais étonnante de précision poétique, elle fait preuve d'une virtuosité au seul service de la musique." |
| Le Monde de la Musique - novembre 1998 |
| "Retenez bien le nom de Queyras: il serait étonnant que nous n'ayons pas à reparler de lui " |
| Classica - novembre 1998 |
| "Les trois suites pour violoncelle seul… trouve ici une interprétation nouvelle et vibrante dans le jeu du jeune violoncelliste français Jean-Guihen Queyras.… Le jeu de Queyras possède une riche palette sonore et un éventail kadéoscopique de nuances et de touchers." |
| The Daily Telegraph - 3 octobre 1998 |