Violaine Despeyroux

“I consider music as a journey, a suspended moment that transforms with each interpretation. Thus, 
the audience is drawn, without detours, into a story that we create together.”

This vision of musical interpretation as an immersive and shared experience lies at the heart of Violaine Despeyroux. A French violist trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, and the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, she stands out on stage through a singular presence and incandescent energy. Her passion and determination have led her to perform in prestigious European and international venues, including the Victoria Hall, the Seiji Ozawa Hall, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Grand Théâtre de Provence.

She has shared the stage with renowned partners such as Renaud Capuçon, Alexandre Kantorow, the Modigliani Quartet, and Pierre Fouchenneret. A prizewinner of several competitions, she notably received First Prize unanimously at the National Young Violists Competition, as well as Second Prize and the Prize for Best Bach Interpretation at the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition.

A musician of many facets, Violaine Despeyroux thrives both in chamber music and as a soloist. Her upcoming season will feature the recording of an album dedicated to English music, Mozart's double concerto at the Salle Gaveau, as well as new chamber music collaborations alongside leading artistic partners.

Three new concertos will enter her repertoire, reflecting her desire to enrich and renew her musical journey. Her insatiable curiosity is fueled by a deep passion for chamber music and the dialogue it creates between musicians and audience.

She can be heard at major musical events such as the Festival de Pâques d'Aix-en-Provence, the Festival de La Roque d'Anthéron, the Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, and the Folles Journées de Nantes. She is also regularly invited to perform with major ensembles such as the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris, the Orchestre de Paris, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and the Kölner Kammerorchester.

Violaine Despeyroux also enjoys surprising audiences, breaking conventions, and exploring unexpected paths. For her, so-called classical music remains above all a living art: a vibrant art whose colors and emotions she continually explores, in a constant search for nuance, encounters, and intensity, in perfect harmony with her instrument - a 1863 Jacquot viola.