Jean-Guihen Queyras

Who is Jean-Guihen Queyras?

Jean-Guihen Queyras is a French cellist. He was born in Montreal, Canada on 11 March, 1967, and moved with his parents to Algeria when he was 5 years old; the family moved to France 3 years later. He is a professor at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and artistic co-director of the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence. He won the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in Toronto in 2002.

Queyras has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, including the Dvorak cello concerto and 'Dumky' piano trio, and the complete cello suites of both Johann Sebastian Bach and Benjamin Britten. He recorded Haydn's and Monn's cello concertos on a period instrument with the Freiburger Barockorchester. He has also recorded the complete Vivaldi cello concertos with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. His recordings have won distinctions such as Top CD - BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d'Or, CHOC du Monde de la Musique, 10 de Classica/Répertoire, and Editor's Choice from Gramophone.

His repertoire also encompasses more recent works, which he performs internationally: he gave the world premieres of Ivan Fedele's cello concerto and Gilbert Amy's concerto.