Pierre Lénert (born in 1966) is a French

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

. An international concertist, he is first solo violist of the

Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris The Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris is a French Symphonic Orchestra dating from 1672. Since the opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989, the orchestra has also been called the ''Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille''. History In 1672, the Pari ...

Biography

Pierre Lénert regularly performs in large concert halls: the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

in London, the

Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels The Centre for Fine Arts (, ; , ) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary ...

, the Tchaikovski hall in Moscow, the Brick Hall in Nagasaki, the

salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

, the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

, the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

, the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

in Paris, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam etc. Born in France to a family of musicians, Pierre Lénert had his own father Jean Lenert as his first master. He then studied with

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She has spent her career in the U.S. and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. She i ...

in Luxemburg,

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Abram Borisovich Bashmet and Maya Zinovyeva Bashmet (née Kri ...

in France and Hatto Beyerle in Germany. Pierre Lénert has won major international competitions: "

Markneukirchen Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It lies in the Elster Mountains (part of the Fichtel Mountains), southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...

" (Germany), Maurice Vieux International Viola Competition (France) and

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English viola, violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born ...

competition (Isle of Mann, Great-Britain). He was sponsored by the Philipp Morris foundation and the Yehudi Menuhin foundation. Pierre Lénert plays with outstanding orchestras such as the Orchestre National de Paris, the Hungarian Radio Orchestra, the

Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra The Sofia Philharmonic (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Софийска филхармония) was founded in 1893. The current music director is Nayden Todorov. The Sofia Philharmonic includes the National Philharmonic Orchestra, National Ph ...

, the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Camerata of Athens, the Orchestra of the Gran Teatro del Liceu, etc.... under the direction of Philippe de Chalendar,

Frédéric Chaslin Frédéric Chaslin (; born 1963, in Paris) is a French conductor, composer and pianist. Early life and education The son of an architect, Chaslin studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prizes in harmony, counterpoint, fugue ...

, Myung Wung Chung, Edmon Colomer,

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. Early years Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...

Armin Jordan Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner. Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ful ...

, Jacques Mercier, Fumiaki Miyamoto... he also played the ''

Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (Mozart) The Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E major, K. 364 (320d), was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At the time of its composition in 1779, Mozart was on a tour of Europe that included Mannheim and Paris. He had been ...

'' alongside

Augustin Dumay Augustin Dumay (born 17 January 1949) is a French violinist and conductor from Paris. Biography Dumay was invited as a soloist to appear with Yo-Yo Ma in Paris by Herbert von Karajan. Later on, he performed Béla Bartók's ''Second Concerto'' with ...

. His international career as a chamber musician began with the

Marlboro Music School and Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in ses ...

(in the U.S) where he played alongside

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in ...

Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he bec ...

David Soyer David Soyer (February 24, 1923February 25, 2010) was an American cellist. He was born in Philadelphia and began playing the piano at the age of nine. At 11, he started the cello. One of his first teachers was Diran Alexanian. Later on he stud ...

, and

Isidore Cohen ''For the composer born with this name, see Isidore de Lara'' Isidore Cohen (December 16, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York – June 23, 2005 in Bronx, New York) was a renowned chamber musician and violinist and member, at different times, of both the Ju ...

. Since then he appeared at the Georges Enesco festival (Bucarest),

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu regions of Finland, region. The municipali ...

(Finland), BBC Proms Chamber Music London), at the

Schubertiade A Schubertiade (also spelled Schubertiad) is an event held to celebrate the music of Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Modern Schubertiades also include concert series and festivals, such as the Schubertiade Vorarlberg. History During Schubert's li ...

(Austria) alongside

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

, Jeff Cohen,

Martin Fröst Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor. As a clarinetist, he performs internationally and is considered one of the most renowned instrumental soloists ever. He is the first clarinetist to be awarded ...

Isabelle Faust Isabelle Faust (born 19 March 1972) is a German violinist who has worked internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She has received multiple awards. Life and career Faust was born in Esslingen am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg, on 12 Mar ...

Alban Gerhardt Alban Gerhardt (born 25 May 1969) is a German cellist. Since his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1991, he has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras. Early life and education Born to a musical family, Gerhardt's mother sang ...

, , , Hervé Joulain, Patrick Messina,

Viktoria Mullova Viktoria Yurievna Mullova ( rus, Виктория Юрьевна Муллова, , vʲɪˈktorʲɪjə ˈmuləvə; born 27 November 1959) is a Russian-born British violinist. She is best known for her performances and recordings of a number of v ...

, Nicolas Stavy,

Alexandre Tharaud Alexandre Tharaud (born 9 December 1968) is a French pianist. He is active on the concert stage and has released a large and diverse discography. Life and career Born in Paris, Tharaud discovered the music scene through his mother who was a danc ...

, Cédric Tiberghien, the

Danel Quartet The Danel Quartet (or Quatuor Danel) is a French/Belgian string quartet established in June 1991. Known for classical, early modern and contemporary repertoire, they tour internationally and have an extensive discography. They have both recorded ...

... In 2005 Pierre Lénert founded the chamber music festival "Sérénade" at

Surgères Surgères () is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department, southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race. History Middle ages The site of Surgères was occupied in Neolithic tim ...

(France), of which he is the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

. He participates in the creation of new scores, such as those of

Michiru Oshima Michiru (満, みちる, ミチル) is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, 1970s J-Pop artist *, Japanese composer *, Japanese pop singer and songwriter *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese anime scriptwriter *, Japane ...

(Concerto for viola "Voix de la Vie"), Marc Bleuse,

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. Biography Denisov was born in Tomsk, Siberia. He studied math ...

Antoine Duhamel Antoine Duhamel (30 July 1925 – 11 September 2014) was a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher. Life and career Born in Valmondois in the Val-d'Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel was one of the three sons of the Fren ...

Thierry Pecou Thierry is a French language, French male given name, derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic "Theodoric". It is the cognate of German language, German "Dietrich (disambiguation), Dietrich" and "Dieter (disambiguation), Dieter", Italian langu ...

, and Ian Wilson. Pierre Lénert has recorded for

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

Arion Arion (; ) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Although notable for his mu ...

, Syrius, Sonogramme and Intégral Classic. His CD Classic-Sonogramme "Rhapsodie" with Cédric Tiberghien (2008) has been widely rewarded by the press (9 stars of '' Classica'', 5 keys in '' Diapason'', 4 stars of the Monde de la Musique.) Pierre Lénert won the

Académie Charles-Cros An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

prize at EMI and the

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

of the year 2000 at Arion. In 1988, he was appointed to the position of "First Alto SuperSoloist". of the Orchestraof the Opéra national de Paris, of which he is still the incumbent. Pierre Lénert played a

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (; 7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. He was one of the finest French luthiers of the 19th century and a key figure in the world of violin making. ...

dated 1865 from 1993 until 2023 when it was sold to the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation via Tarisio private sales.

Discography

Publications by the labels,

, Integrale Classic, Syrius, Arion, Saphir, Chandos and Sonogramme, the following recordings: * 2017: Paganini's Complete Caprices, Pierre Lenert viola (Paraty) * 2013: Mélodies, works by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Debussy - Jeff Cohen, piano (Continuo Classic) * 2012: Shostakovitch, Sonatas for viola, Op. 147; Sonata for cello, opus 40 - Éliane Reyes, piano (Integral Classic) * 2010:

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

- with Patrick Gallois, Jeff Cohen and the soloists of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

(Integral Classic) * 2008: Rhapsodie, works by Enesco, Françaix, Milhaud - Cédric Tiberghien, piano (Sonogramme/Integral Classic) * 2006: "Tribute to

", works by Paul Tortelier with Paul Tortelier… (Chandos) * 2001: Paganini, works by Paganini - Cyril Lacrouts,Cyril Lacrouts
on Conservatoire de Paris cellist; Nelly Decamp, guitar (Syrius) * 2000:

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

, Integral of the flute work -

Mathieu Dufour Mathieu Dufour (born 28 December 1973 in Paris) is a French classical flutist. He is a former principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early life Dufour began playing the flute at the age of 8. He studied under Madeleine Chassang and Maxenc ...

, flute… (Saphir) * 2000: "Reinecke" - Carol Robinson, clarinet; Jeff Cohen, piano (Syrius) * 1999: Camille Saint-Saëns, ''

Le Carnaval des Animaux ''The Carnival of the Animals'' () is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. About 25 minutes in duration, it was written for private performance by two pianos and chamber ...

'' -

, piano; Claude Pieplu, narrator, etc. (Arion) * 1999: "Hummel-Mendelssohn-Schubert" recital - Jeff Cohen, piano (Syrius) * 1997:

Henri Vieuxtemps Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps (; 17 February 18206 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th c ...

, Integral of the work for viola and piano - Jeff Cohen, piano (Syrius) * 1993: "Musique française pour harpe" -

Markus Klinko Markus Klinko is an international fashion/celebrity photographer. and director, Klinko has photographed Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will ...

, harp and the soloists of the Paris Opera (

) * 1992: "Merry Christmas" -

Simion Stanciu Simion Stanciu (23 December 1949 - 6 July 2010), also known by his stage-name Syrinx, was a Romanian Pan flute player and composer, who lived and worked in Switzerland. Simion Stanciu was born in Bucharest, Romania, into a musical family. His fath ...

Alexandre Lagoya Alexandre Lagoya (29 June 1929 – 24 August 1999) was a French classical guitarist and composer. His early career included boxing and guitar, and as he cites on the sleeve of a 1981 Columbia album, his parents hoped he would outgrow his predile ...

, Marielle Nordmann (Erato)

References

External links

Pierre Lénert
alto et Direction Artistique
Pierre Lénert
on Paraty
Pierre Lénert, profession : ambassadeur de l’alto
on ResMusica
Pierre Lénert's official website

Discographie Pierre Lénert

Écouter des extraits musicaux de Pierre Lénert

Festival sérénade

Site de Paraty

Pierre Lenert – Un « supersoliste » en récital

Entretien sur ResMusica.com -Pierre Lénert- Profession : ambassadeur... de l’alto

Pierre Lénert
on Opéra de Paris
Pierre Lénert
on Pierre Pernet website
Pierre Lénert
on Opera musica
Pierre Lenert Niccolo Paganini Caprice Op. 1 N°5
on YouTube
Pierre Lénert
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenert, Pierre French classical violists 1966 births Living people Players of the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris