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, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Wigmore Hall London.

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. In addition to the first CD from the “Invisible Stream” ensemble featuring Jean-Guihen Queyras, Raphaël Imbert, Pierre-François Blanchard and Sonny Troupé, the recording of the Kraft and CPE Bach cello concertos with Ensemble Resonanz under Ricardo Minasi was released simultaneously with his new version of Bach’s Cello Suites, which won a Diapason d’or.

Jean-Guihen Queyras records exclusively for harmonia mundi.

This season, he will be artist-in-residence at the Philharmonie de Paris, with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and guest artist with numerous orchestras (Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Orchestra of the 18th Century, etc.), l’Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado São Paulo, l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the SWR Symphonieorchester, among others) under the direction of Andris Poga, Karina Canellakis, Anja Bihlmaier, Riccardo Minasi, Michael Schønwandt and Giedrė Šlekytė. Chamber music concerts with his usual partners – Isabelle Faust, Antoine Tamestit, Alexandre Tharaud, Tabea Zimmermann, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Alexander Melnikov – from Paris and Hamburg to Vancouver, Seattle and Tokyo, via Vienna, London and Amsterdam, complete his season.

Jean-Guihen Queyras plays on a Stradivarius dating from 1705, courtesy of Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Quebec.