Christoph Rousset
Founder of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques and an internationally acclaimed harpsichordist, Christophe Rousset is a musician and conductor inspired by his passion for opera and the rediscovery of Europe’s musical heritage.
Studying the harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum in Paris with Huguette Dreyfus, then at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Bob van Asperen (at the age of 22 he won the prestigious 1st Prize at the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition), followed by the creation of his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991, gave Christophe Rousset a perfect grasp of the richness and diversity of the Baroque, Classical and pre-romantic repertoires.
Christophe Rousset is now regularly invited to perform with Les Talens Lyriques throughout Europe: Opéra National de Paris, Opéra-Comique, Théâtre du Châtelet, Netherlands National Opera, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra de Lausanne, Theater an der Wien, Staatsoper de Vienne, Opéra Royal de Versailles, La Monnaie de Bruxelles, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Center in London, Bozar Brussels. …as well as tours all over the world to Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, etc.
At the same time, he pursues an active career as a harpsichordist and chamber musician, performing and recording on the finest historical instruments. His recordings of works for harpsichord by Louis and François Couperin, Rameau, D’Anglebert, Royer, Duphly, Forqueray, Balbastre, Scarlatti and the various recordings devoted to works by J. S. Bach (Partitas, Goldberg Variations, Harpsichord Concertos, English Suites, French Suites, Klavierbüchlein, Well-Tempered Clavier) are considered to be benchmarks.
The educational dimension is of paramount importance to Christophe Rousset, who conducts and leads masterclasses and academies: CNSMDP in Paris, Académie d’Ambronay, Fondation Royaumont, Opera Studio in Ghent, OFJ Baroque, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Amici della Musica in Florence, Piccola Accademia in Montisi, and the Britten-Pears Orchestra.
Christophe Rousset also pursues a career as a guest conductor: Liceu de Barcelona, San Carlo de Naples, Scala de Milan, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, London’s Royal Opera House, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and others.
He also devotes himself to musical research and writing, through critical editions and the publication of monographs devoted to Rameau (2007, Actes Sud) and François Couperin (2016, Actes Sud). His book of interviews on music conducted by Camille de Rijck (2017, La Rue Musicale / Philharmonie de Paris) was published under the title L’impression que l’instrument chante.
One of his latest recordings, L’art de la Fugue (Aparté, 2023), was hailed by the critics: “ Rousset, who has already recorded large parts of Bach’s piano works, masters this pinnaclework of polyphonic art with astonishing aplomb.“. (Concerti, January 2024).
Other recent Aparté releases include Le manuscrit de Madame Théobon (Lully and others), Pièces de Viole with Atsushi Sakai and Marion Martineau (Marin Marais), and The Sphere of Intimacy with Cyrille Dubois (François Couperin and Others).
This season will see the release of a superb digital reissue of the complete François Couperin harpsichord works (Harmonia Mundi – August 2024), and Christophe Rousset will conclude his exploration of J.S. Bach’s keyboard corpus with the Complete Toccatas (Aparté – October 2024).
Christophe Rousset is a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and Officier de l’Ordre national du Mérite.
