Jean-Guihen Queyras

Curiosity, variety, and a firm focus on the music itself characterize the artistic work of Jean-Guihen Queyras. His interpretative approach was learned 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 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 the composer’s 70th birthday in 2014.

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 Alexandre Tharaud feature as regular duo partners. In addition, he has collaborated with zarb specialists Bijan and Keyvan Chemirani on a program 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, De Bijloke Ghent, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

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 Residentie Orkest Den Haag, 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 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, spanning three albums worth of works by the composer Robert Schumann, includes the complete piano trios recorded with collaborators Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov, as well as the Schumann cello concerto alongside the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado.

In his album THRACE—Sunday Morning Sessions he explores, in collaboration with the Chemirani brothers and Sokratis Sinopoulos, the intersections of contemporary music, improvisation, and Mediterranean musical tradition. In addition to the first CD of the “Invisible Stream” Ensemble 2022, consisting of Queyras, Raphaël Imbert, Pierre-François Blanchard, and Sonny Troupé, the recording of the cello concerti from Kraft and CPE Bach with the Ensemble Resonanz under the direction of Riccardo Minasi was released in 2024. He also released a new recording of the complete cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach, 17 years after the first complete recording in 2007. Queyras records exclusively for harmonia mundi.

In the 2025–26 season, Queyras will perform under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Dima Slobodeniouk, Andris Poga, Juraj Valcuha, Duncan Ward, Karina Canellakis, Aziz Shokhakimov, and Christian Reif with renowned orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre Métropolitain, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights of the season include a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Seguin, and Veronika Eberle, with concerts in Prague, Luxembourg, Paris, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as tours to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Together with Tharaud he will première a new double concerto by Oscar Strasnoy.

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.