Isabelle Faust, Anne-Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov
Biography Isabelle Faust, Anne-Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov
Isabelle Faust
captivates her audience with her compelling interpretations. She dives deep into every piece considering the musical historical context, historically appropriate instruments and the greatest possible authenticity according to a contemporary state of knowledge. Thus, she manages to constantly illuminate and passionately perform the repertoire of a wide variety of composers.
After winning the renowned Leopold Mozart Competition and the Paganini Competition at a very young age, she soon gave regular performances with the world’s major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Baroque Orchestra Freiburg.
"To fully appreciate such exquisite softness, such clarity wedded to such fragility, one needs to hear Faust live. Trust a listener who’s heard countless performances: this was Beethoven’s Violin Concerto as Cleveland rarely gets to hear it." (Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, Februar 2020)
This led to close and sustained cooperation with conductors like Claudio Abbado, Giovanni Antonini, Frans Brüggen, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons and Robin Ticciati.
Isabelle Faust’s vast artistic curosity includes all eras and forms of instrumental cooperation. Thus she never considers music as an end in itself but rather advances the piece’s essence in a devoted, subtle and conscientious way. In addition to big symphonic violin concertos this includes for instance Schubert’s octet with historical instruments as well as György Kurtág’s "Kafka Fragments" with Anna Prohaska or Igor Stravinsky’s "L’Histoire du Soldat" with Dominique Horwitz. With great commitment she renders an outstanding service to the performance of contemporary music, recent world premieres include works by Péter Eötvös, Brett Dean and Ondřej Adámek.
Numerous recordings have been unanimously praised by critics and awarded the Diapason d’or, the Grammophone Award, the Choc de l’année and other prizes. The most recent recordings include Arnold Schönberg’s violin concerto with Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio symphony Orchestra, published in 2020, followed in 2021 by Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Alexander Melnikov, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Isabelle Faust presented further popular recordings among others of the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo by Johann Sebastian Bach as well as violin concertos by Ludwig van Beethoven and Alban Berg under the direction of Claudio Abbado. She shares a long- standing chamber music partnership with the pianist Alexander Melnikov. Among others, joint recordings with sonatas for piano and violin by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms have been released.
Anne Katharina Schreiber
During her studies in Freiburg with Rainer Kussmaul, violinist Anne Katharina Schreiber became a member of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra in 1988, with whom she has given concerts around the world and recorded numerous CDs. She also continues to be active as a soloist, concertmaster and director of her own projects. She collaborates regularly with ensembles in both the Baroque and modern repertoire, including ensemble recherche, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Basel Chamber Orchestra and Collegium Vocale Gent under conductors such as René Jacobs, Pablo Heras-Casado, Marcus Creed and Philippe Herreweghe.
She also has a great love of chamber music. For over 20 years, she has been a member of Trio Vivente, with whom she has recorded numerous highly acclaimed recordings. As well as works by Haydn and Schubert, her discs include piano trios by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, released in 2013, and a 2017 CD of piano trios by the long-forgotten Romantic composer Emilie Mayer, which demonstrated the Trio’s commitment to rediscovering neglected repertoire, as well as contemporary music. Anne Katharina Schreiber is also a sought-after chamber music partner for various other groups, collaborating with musicians such as Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Daniel Sepec and Roel Dieltiens.
Anne Katharina Schreiber is frequently asked to conduct guest projects with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz and the Norsk Barokkorkester Oslo. She is also the concertmaster of the Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent. She has been teaching at the University of Music in Freiburg since 2007.
Antoine Tamestit
has achieved the rare distinction as a violist, playing at the highest level as a soloist and in constant demand as a chamber musician and recitalist. He is recognised for his peerless technique and his profound, natural musicianship, and known too for the beauty of his sound with its rich, deep, burnished quality.
Tamestit’s repertoire ranges from the Baroque (he has arranged and recorded Bach’s Cello Suites for Viola) to the contemporary. He has performed and recorded several world premieres and in the 2015/16 season gave the world premiere of the viola concerto by Jörg Widmann with the Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi. The work, which was composed especially for Tamestit, pushes the boundaries of the solo concerto genre and was met with great acclaim: “One of the most gifted French musicians of the era... The work is made to measure for Tamestit, his style of playing, his tone, his personality.” Le Figaro. Tamestit gave subsequent performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding. In the 2016/17 season he will perform the concerto with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Joshua Weilerstein.
Engagements in 2016-17 season include concerto performances with the London Symphony Orchestra and François-Xavier Roth at the Barbican and on tour, with the Philharmonia and Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine. Tamestit will also play/direct the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.
Antoine Tamestit has also worked with the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Czech Philharmonic, Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchestra Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and with the several BBC symphony orchestras. He made his Russian debut at the Stars of the White Nights festival in 2014.
Tamestit plays in the string trio with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Christian Poltera with whom he has recorded Mozart Divertimento and Beethoven Trio Op.9 for Bis Records. This season the Trio Zimmermann will perform in Amsterdam, Zürich, Graz, Luxembourg, Warsaw, Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Milan. Other chamber engagements in the 2016/17 season include trio performances with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Mark Simpson at the Edinburgh International Festival, Salzburg Festival, Cologne Philharmonie and Festival de Musique de Strasbourg, recitals at Konzerthaus Berlin and Wigmore Hall with Cédric Tiberghien, and in a solo recital at The Frick Collection in New York.
Other chamber music partners include a trio with Jörg Widmann and Francesco Piemontesi, Leonidas Kavakos, Gautier Capucon, Emmanuel Ax, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Emmanuel Pahud, Martin Fröst, Nicholas Angelich, Shai Wosner and Ebene and Hagen Quartets.
Antoine Tamestit’s distinguished discography includes Berlioz’s Harold en Italie, which was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev and released in 2015 by LSO Live. For Naive he has recorded three of the Bach Suites, Hindemith solo and concertante works recorded with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Paavo Järvi, and an earlier recording of Harold en Italie with Marc Minkowski and Les Musicians du Louvre. In 2016 he appeared with Frank Peter Zimmermann and the Chamber Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on a new recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante (Hännsler Classic).
Other notable recordings include solo works by Bach and Ligeti (Naive/Ambroisie), Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Renaud Capuçon, Louis Langrée and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Virgin Classics) and the Schnittke Concerto with Warsaw Philharmonic and Kitajenko (Naive/Ambroisie).
Tamestit’s world premiere performances and recordings, in addition to Jörg Widmann’s Viola Concerto, include George Benjamin’s Viola, Viola with Tabea Zimmermann for Nimbus Records, the Concerto for Two Violas by Bruno Mantovani written for Tabea Zimmermann and Tamestit, and Olga Neuwirth’s Remnants of Songs.
Together with Nobuko Imai, Antoine Tamestit is co-artistic director of the Viola Space Festival in Tokyo, focusing on the development of viola repertoire and a wide range of education programmes.
Born in Paris, Antoine Tamestit studied with Jesse Levine at Yale University and with Tabea Zimmermann. He was the recipient of several coveted prizes including the William Primrose Competition and the first prize at the Young Concert Artists (YCA) International Auditions, BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme, Borletti- Buitoni Trust Award and the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2009.
Antoine Tamestit plays on a viola made by Stradivarius in 1672, loaned by the Habisreutinger Foundation.
Jean-Guihen Queyras
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.
Jean-Guihen Queyras 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 Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – and to contemporary music are equally thorough. He has given world premieres of works by, among 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 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 and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.
Jean-Guihen Queyras often appears with renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, 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.
Jean-Guihen Queyras’ discography is impressive. His recordings of cello concertos by Edward Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Philippe Schoeller and Gilbert Amy have been released to critical acclaim. As part of a harmonia mundi project dedicated to Schumann, he has recorded the complete piano trios with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov and at the same time the Schumann cello concerto with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra 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. The 2022/23 season includes CD releases for the recording of works by composer Marin Marais with Alexandre Tharaud, as well as a release of the first recording by the "Invisible Stream" ensemble consisting of Jean-Guihen Queyras, Raphaël Imbert, Pierre-François Blanchard and Sonny Troupé. Jean-Guihen Queyras records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi.
Highlights in the 2022/23 season include concerts with his ensembles "Invisible Stream" and "Thrace", concert tours to Australia, Japan and Canada, invitations from the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Residentie Orkest Den Haag, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, as well as chamber music concerts with Alexander Melnikov, Jörg Widmann, the Belcea Quartet, the Quatuor Modigliani and Isabelle Faust. Alongside Yuja Wang, Jean-Guihen Queyras has been selected as Spotlight Artist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the upcoming season and will also be Resident Artist at the Cello Biennale Amsterdam.
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 a 1696 instrument by Gioffredo Cappa, made available to him by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
Alexander Melnikov
graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov. His most formative musical moments in Moscow include an early encounter with Svjatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded important prizes at eminent competitions such as the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau (1989) and the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (1991).
Known for his often-unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Alexander Melnikov developed his career-long interest in historically-informed performance practice early on. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov. Melnikov performs regularly with distinguished period ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Aeterna and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
As a soloist, Alexander Melnikov has performed with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Russian National Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and the NHK Symphony, under conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi and Valery Gergiev.
Together with Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov recorded a unique all-Schubert programme of four-hand pieces, which they have also performed in concert. An essential part of Melnikov’s work is intensive chamber music collaboration with partners including cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.
Alexander Melnikov’s association with the label harmonia mundi arose through his regular recital partner, violinist Isabelle Faust, and in 2010 their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano won a Gramophone Award. This album, which has become a landmark recording for these works, was also nominated for a Grammy. Their most recent releases feature the Brahms and Mozart sonatas for violin and piano.
Melnikov’s recording of the Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Award, Choc de classica and the Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In 2011, it was also named by the BBC Music Magazine as one of the “50 Greatest Recordings of All Time.” Additionally, his discography features works by Brahms, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Scriabin. Along with Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester, Melnikov recorded a trilogy of albums featuring the Schumann Concertos and Trios. Other releases include a recording of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas, a recording released in June 2017 with Chausson and Franck repertoire and “Four Pieces, Four Pianos”, which has been released in 2018 and has since then been highly acclaimed by critics.
In the 2020/21 season Alexander Melnikov will tour his project “Many Pianos”, where he performs a solo recital on different instruments reflecting the periods in which the works were written. In addition to concerts with Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, he continues his close collaboration with Tapiola Sinfonietta.
Further highlights include performances at Bozar Brussels and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, recitals in Paris, Dortmund and Tokyo, as well as concerts with Cuarteto Casals, Isabelle Faust and Jean-Guihen Queyras.
