Described as “one of the most natural performers one is likely to hear on a classical music stage” by the Washington Post, Jean Rondeau is a veritable global ambassador for his instrument. His outstanding talent and innovative approach to keyboard repertoire have been critically acclaimed, marking him out as one of today’s leading harpsichordists.
Rondeau’s 2022/23 season begins with the completion of his extensive tour of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Having met with acclaim in several dozen major European venues throughout Spring 2022, Rondeau rounds off the European portion of his tour with appearances in Spain and Germany before crossing the Atlantic for highly anticipated performances in Washington DC, Boston, Michigan, Santa Barbara, Vancouver, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Rondeau’s schedule also includes numerous performances of Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Tapiola Sinfonietta, and Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, as well as engagements with Freiburger Barockorchester and the English Concert in programmes dedicated to J. S Bach, with Rondeau directing from the harpsichord. A notable season highlight is Rondeau’s upcoming “artist portrait” at the Wiener Konzerthaus, featuring him as a soloist with Radio- Symphonieorchester Wien under Marin Alsop, as a chamber musician alongside his fellow co-founders of the Nevermind Quartet, and as a recitalist with his new solo programme Gradus ad Parnassum. Rondeau also performs this new programme in multiple halls across Europe including the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, the Tonhalle Dusseldorf, and other venues across Germany and Spain, to coincide with the eponymous album’s upcoming release by Erato in Spring 2023. Rondeau also continues various chamber music projects with long-term collaborators such as Nicolas Altstaedt, with whom Rondeau shares the stage at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the Nevermind quartet of which his is a co-founding member.
more
In June 2022, Rondeau unveiled the world premiere of UNDR at La Grange au Lac d'Evian, an event described as "explosive" by the national press. Inspired by the Goldberg Variations and composed by Rondeau in collaboration with percussionist Tancrède Kummer, this new creation conceived around two pianos and percussion will also be performed in 2022/23 at the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Musikfest Stuttgart. UNDR is Rondeau’s latest foray into the world of new music, following the 2016 premiere of his first original film score for Christian Schwochow’s Paula at Locarno Film Festival. Contemporary music is important for Rondeau; in 2018, he performed the world premiere of Eve Risser’s Furakèla for solo harpsichord at the BBC Proms.
Rondeau is signed to Erato, with whom he has recorded several albums championing ancient music. His 2022 release of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations with its brand-new approach to the harpsichord masterpiece was met with international critical acclaim, described by Gramophone as “mesmerising”, and earned a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine. His previous album Melancholy Grace (2021) was acclaimed as “soulful [...] varied, [and] wonderful” by the NY Times and “sublime” by Le Devoir. Barricades (2020), recorded with Thomas Dunford, likewise garnered widespread critical acclaim, as did his 2019 Scarlatti Sonata recording, which won that year’s Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Earlier publications include his debut album Imagine (2015, winner of the Choc de Classica), Vertigo (2016, winner of that year’s Diapason d’Or), and Dynastie (2017).
In addition to his engagements as a soloist, recitalist and conductor, Rondeau is in high demand as a teacher and has given masterclasses worldwide from the Gstaad Academy to the University of Hong Kong. Jean Rondeau returns the Juilliard School in New York for a masterclass as part of his North American tour at the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
Rondeau studied harpsichord with Blandine Verlet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, followed by training in continuo, organ, piano, jazz and improvisation, and conducting. He completed his musical training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2012, he became one of the youngest performers ever to take First Prize at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges (MAfestival 2012), aged 21.
https://www.jean-rondeau.com/
As of Season 2022/2023
Please use this by Weigold & Böhm authorized Biography only.
