Musical Masterworks 2007-2008 - Gilles Vonsattel

Gilles Vonsattel

Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Swiss-born pianist Gilles Vonsattel, winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation's 2002 International Piano Competition, made his Lincoln Center debut that year at Alice Tully Hall, and has appeared as soloist with the Utah Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the National Symphony of Ireland, and the Boston Pops. With repertoire that ranges from Bach’s Art of the Fugue to Xenakis, Mr. Vonsattel is an artist of uncommon breadth equally at home in solo and chamber music. He has performed in major venues such as Boston’s Symphony Hall, Cleveland's Severance Hall, Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the Benedict Music Tent at the Aspen Music Festival, and Tokyo’s Opera City Hall. Most recently, he was the top prizewinner at the 2006 Geneva International Music Competition, leading to numerous European engagements in the 2007-08 season and an upcoming recording with L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève. Mr. Vonsattel was also a prizewinner at the Cleveland and Dublin Piano Competitions. He has been heard frequently on National Public Radio's Performance Today, and gave the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s Sound Points at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

Recent chamber music appearances include debuts at the Musée du Louvre in Paris and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He has participated in the Aspen Music Festival and the Music Academy of the West. Mr. Vonsattel has appeared in recital at the Caramoor International Festival and was one of the festival’s Rising Stars series in 2006. He is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Chamber Music Society Two residency for young artists, and has collaborated with artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, David Shifrin, Gary Hoffman, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Mr. Vonsattel has shown a significant interest in expanding the conventional classical concert experience, appearing alongside pop and rock groups, most recently opening for Eluvium and Amiina at New York’s Wordless Music Series. He has been deeply involved in classical music outreach in the United States, giving masterclasses at universities and schools. His 2007-08 season includes recitals at La Roque d'Anthéron, at the Musée d'Orsay, Zürich's Tonhalle, Warsaw's Chopin Festival, and at Atlanta's Spivey Hall, as well as numerous appearances at New York's Lincoln Center. His recording of Bartók's Contrasts for Deutsche Gramophon is available for download on iTunes.

Mr. Vonsattel has studied with pianist David Deveau in Boston, received his B.A. in political science and economics from Columbia University and his M.M. from The Juilliard School, where he worked with Jerome Lowenthal.