»He’s as extraordinary to watch as to hear, seeming to lose himself completely in his instrument as though his cello is an extension of himself.« (The Times)
Curiosity, variety, and a firm focus on the music itself characterize the artistic work of Jean-Guihen Queyras. Whether on stage or on record, on listening one experiences an artist dedicated wholly and ardently to the music, whose humble and unpretentious treatment of the score reflects its clear, undistorted essence.
Three key elements contribute towards a successful performance – the alignment of the inner worlds of composer, performer and audience alike: Jean-Guihen Queyras learnt this interpretative approach from none other than Pierre Boulez, with whom his artistic partnership spanned many years. This philosophy, alongside a flawless technique and a clear, decisive sound, shapes Jean-Guihen Queyras’ approach to every performance and his absolute commitment to the music itself.
This intensity comes to the fore too in his approach to historical and contemporary repertoire – visible notably in his collaborations with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. He has also given world premieres of works by, amongst others, Ivan Fedele, Gilbert Amy, Bruno Mantovani, Michael Jarrell, Johannes-Maria Staud, Thomas Larcher and Tristan Murail. Conducted by the composer, he recorded Peter Eötvös’ Cello Concerto to mark his 70th birthday in November 2014.
Jean-Guihen Queyras was a founding member of the Arcanto Quartet and performs as part of a trio with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov; on the piano, Melnikov and a further collaborator, Alexandre Tharaud, feature too as regular duo partners. In addition, he has collaborated with specialists of the Iranian drum zarb Bijan and Keyvan Chemirani on a programme featuring music of the Mediterranean.
This versatility of his practice has led to numerous concert halls, festivals and orchestras inviting Jean-Guihen as an Artist in Residence, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Vredenburg Utrecht and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.
Jean-Guihen Queyras often appears with renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, working with conductors such as Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, François-Xavier Roth, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Roger Norrington.
Regarding discography, the quality of Jean-Guihen Queyras’ output is well established: His recordings of the cello concertos of Edward Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Philippe Schoeller and Gilbert Amy were met with critical acclaim. His Schumann project spans three albums worth of works by the composer Robert Schumann. He also released a new recording of the complete cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach, 17 years after the first complete recording in 2007. Jean-Guihen Queyras records exclusively for harmonia mundi.
Jean-Guihen 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 on the »Kaiser« Stradivarius made in Cremona in 1707, kindly made available to him by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.
