Lillian Gordis, born on July 12, 1992, in Berkeley, California, is an American-born harpsichordist who moved to France when she was 16.

Biography

Lillian Gordis began studying the harpsichord at age 9 with Katherine Roberts Perl and then Arthur Haas in New York City. At the encouragement of Pierre Hantaï, she moved to France at age 16 to study privately with him as well as with Bertrand Cuiller and

Skip Sempé Skip Sempé (born 1958 in New Orleans) is an American harpsichordist and conductor of the ensemble Capriccio Stravagante. Selected discography * Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an ...

. In 2018, she obtained a joint master's degree in musicology and early music performance at the

Université Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

. As a soloist, she has been invited on the radio show Génération Jeunes Interprètes on

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz. Hist ...

and has participated in festivals in Europe and the United States, such as Sinfonia en Périgord, the Printemps de

Lanvellec Lanvellec (; br, Lanvaeleg) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in north-western France. Culture The commune has a rich architectural and cultural heritage. The parish church of Saint-Brandan was rebuilt between 1852 and 1 ...

, Jeunes Talents, Paris Clavecin Festival, Clavecin en Fête, Festival de

Richelieu Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to: People * Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister * Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal * Louis François Armand ...

, Voyage dans l’Hiver (Moulin d’

Andé Andé () is a commune in the Eure department and Normandy region of France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in t ...

), Petits Concerts dans les Copeaux, L’Art de la Fugue, Oude Muziek Utrecht Fringe, and at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ, Museo Musica Bologna, and MusicSources Berkeley; she was also invited to play with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroque in 2017 under the direction of

Rinaldo Alessandrini Rinaldo Alessandrini (born 25 January 1960) is a virtuoso on Baroque keyboards, including harpsichord, fortepiano, and organ. He is founder and conductor of the Italian early music ensemble Concerto Italiano, performing music of Monteverdi, Vivaldi ...

and with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris under the direction of

Giuliano Carmignola Giuliano Carmignola (born 7 July 1951, in Treviso) is an Italian violinist. Born in Treviso, he studied with his father, then with Luigi Ferro at the Venice Conservatory and afterwards with Nathan Milstein and Franco Gulli at the Accademia Chigia ...

and Fabio Biondi with Vivica Genaux and

Sonia Prina Sonia Prina (born 30 November 1975) is an Italian operatic contralto who has had an active career in concerts and operas since the mid-1990s. She is particularly known for her appearances in Baroque operas and for her performances of the Baroque c ...

. In 2018, she formed the Duo Gordis-Hantaï with

Jérôme Hantaï Jérôme Hantaï (born 1961) is a viola da gamba player and fortepianist. Biography Son of the painters Simon Hantaï and Zsuzsa Hantaï, Jérôme Hantaï grew up outside Paris. He was initially self-taught and played the recorder, harpsichord, ...

( viola da gamba). She maintains regular activity as a chamber musician. She is a four-time laureate of the Fondation Royaumont (in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017) and is supported by the Fondation d’entreprise

Safran Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...

. In 2019, her first solo album, ''Zones'', dedicated to the sonatas of

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, also known as Domingo or Doménico Scarlatti (26 October 1685-23 July 1757), was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the deve ...

, was released on the label Paraty ( Harmonia Mundi-

PIAS PIAS or Pias may refer to: * PIAS Group, a UK music company ** PIAS Recordings (Play It Again Sam), an independent record label based in London and owned by the PIAS Entertainment Group * PIAS Group, a Japanese cosmetic company * Protein inhibitor ...

). Lauded as "a Martha Argerich of the harpsichord," she is the first woman in France in 43 years—since

Blandine Verlet Blandine Verlet (27 February 1942 – 30 December 2018) was a French harpsichordist and a harpsichord teacher, who is known internationally for her recordings of works by François Couperin. Career Born in Paris into a musical family of art hist ...

( Philips, 1976)—to have released a solo recording of Scarlatti sonatas on the harpsichord.

Discography

2019: ''Zones: Domenico Scarlatti''. Harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. Label: Paraty PTY 919180 (Harmonia Mundi-PIAS).

References

External links

Official site"L'eau et le feu ou les Scarlatti interprétés par Pierre Hantaï et Lillian Gordis," Maciej Chiżyński, ''ResMusica'' (2019)

"Sonates pour clavecin de Domenico Scarlatti par Lillian Gordis," Jean-Christophe Pucek, ''Notulae'' (2019)

Lillian Gordis, harpsichord; Jérôme Hantaï, viola da gamba - Marin Marais, Couperin, Bach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordis, Lillian 1992 births American classical musicians American harpsichordists Classical musicians from California Living people Musicians from Berkeley, California Women in classical music