Gaëtane Prouvost

At a time when interpretation tends to be standardized, Gaëtane Prouvost is the heiress of the Franco-Belgian violin school. Trained in Paris by Roland Charmy and Jean Hubeau, she joined Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School, as did many contemporary virtuosos. But her real master was Zino Francescatti, one of the great violinists of the previous century and heir to Paganini's technique. She has dedicated a biography to him (Ed. de l'Harmattan) and a CD featuring his original compositions and transcriptions (Ed. l'Empreinte Digitale).

Endowed with solid technique and a rare tone, hallmarks of the Paganini tradition, Gaëtane Prouvost’s playing suits both the lightness of the Baroque repertoire and the grandeur of the great Romantic works. Dedicatee of numerous contemporary pieces, including Michel Rateau’s Concerto and Olivier Greif’s Sonate et Variations, she is frequently invited by the Ensemble Intercontemporain, performing under the baton of Kent Nagano, Gary Bertini, and Pierre Boulez. Selected by Olivier Messiaën, she performed the Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps at its USSR premiere.

With the Prague Camerata Bohemiana Orchestra, under her direction, she premiered Rémi Gousseau’s Concerto in 2015. As a guest professor at the Prague Academy and Conservatory, she regularly gives masterclasses, particularly on French music. Passionate about chamber music, she collaborates with artists such as Abdel Rahman el Bacha, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Pascal Amoyel, Laurent Cabasso, Emmanuel Ceysson, Valérie Aimard, Jean-Paul Sevilla, Damien Lehman, Jun Kanno, the Enesco Quartet, Yovan Markovitch, Diana Ligeti, and Dana Ciocarlie.

Each of her albums has been praised by the critics. For instance, the Prokofiev violin and piano sonatas with Abdel Rahman El Bacha received top honors from Gramophone and the Choc du Monde de la Musique. She recorded the complete chamber music of Gabriel Pierné and the works of Louise Farrenc with Laurent Cabasso, both albums earning awards from the specialized press. Her recording with Eliane Reyes on piano focuses on the Franco-Belgian school, featuring sonatas by Vincent d’Indy, Ermend Bonnal, and Albert Dupuis. This recording was among the five nominees for the 2021 Octaves de la Musique — the Belgian equivalent of the Victoires de la Musique. To mark the centenary of Gabriel Fauré’s death, her latest recording celebrates the French composer and his renowned students Enesco, Boulanger, and Ravel. Recorded with Dana Ciocarlie and Mara Dobresco, the album was released in November 2023 under the EnPhases label.

Gaëtane Prouvost has conceived and created several shows intertwining music and literature: Vol de nuit, based on the texts of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; La Princesse et le Musicien, exploring the correspondence between Gabriel Fauré and the Princesse de Polignac; and Alma Mahler, La Confusion des Sentiments. For 2025, she presents a new show, Amoureuse Colette. She shares the stage with prominent actors, including Didier Sandre, Marie-Christine Barrault, Julie Depardieu, and Lambert Wilson.