Pierre Amoyal (1992) by Erling Mandelmann

Pierre Amoyal (born 22 June 1949 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a French violinist and is the artistic director of the

Conservatory of Lausanne The Haute école de musique de Lausanne (HEMU, known as Institute of Advanced Musical Studies prior to 2010, founded in 1861 as Conservatoire de Lausanne) is a Swiss music school located in Romandy, the French-speaking western part of Switzerland ...

. He owns the "Kochanski"

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...

of 1717. It was stolen from him in 1987 and recovered in 1991.

Life and career

He studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, graduating at age 12 with a First Prize (in 1961). He then won the

Ginette Neveu Ginette Neveu (11 August 191928 October 1949) was a French classical violinist. She was killed in a plane crash at the age of 30. Early life Neveu was born on 11 August 1919 in Paris into a musical family. Her brother Jean-Paul became a class ...

Prize in 1963, and the Paganini Prize in 1964. At age 17, he traveled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for five years of study with

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

, which culminated in participating in chamber-music recordings with Heifetz. During this time he won the

Enescu Prize The Enescu Prize is a prize in music composition founded by Romanian composer George Enescu, awarded from 1913 to 1946, and afterwards by the National University of Music Bucharest. Enescu is regarded by many as Romania's most important musician. W ...

(1970). He has toured extensively, made numerous recordings and played with many major conductors, such as

Sir Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

, with whom he made his European debut at the age of 22,

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

, and

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

He was violin teacher at the

and then at the

, until June 2014. Then he was teacher at the

Mozarteum University of Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

and in Japan. He is the artistic director of the

. In 2002, he founded th
Camerata de Lausanne
a string orchestra. He also created and organised the "violin and piano master-classes" of the Music Academy of Lausanne since 1991. He was made a

Chevalier of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...

in 1985 and promoted to Knight of the National Order of Merit in 1995. He also received the ''Prix du rayonnement de la Fondation vaudoise pour la culture'' in 2002, and the ''Prix de Lausanne'' in 2006.

External links

Official website

Académie de musique de Lausanne

Académie internationale d'été de Nice profile
* http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Amoyal-Pierre.htm 20th-century French male classical violinists Conservatoire de Paris alumni Living people 1949 births Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 21st-century French male classical violinists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Academic staff of Mozarteum University Salzburg Academic staff of Lausanne Conservatory Musicians from Paris Enescu Prize winners {{France-classical-musician-stub