Curious and insatiable artist, musician with a passionate commitment and multiple facets, Sébastien Surel strives to create links between music and cultures, posing as a provocateur of encounters. His luminous and lively playing, at the service of a wide repertoire, is unanimously acclaimed by his peers and by critics.

 

Born in 1975, from a family of musicians, he was admitted at the age of 15 to the classes of Sylvie Gazeau and Christian Ivaldi at the CNSM in Paris where he won two first prizes. He then perfected his skills with Shlomo Mintz, Pavel Vernikov, Georgy Sebök and the Ysaye Quartet. At the same time, he studied harmony, orchestration and composition.

 

He had the enriching experience of the symphony orchestra as concertmaster of various orchestras and then as a member of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2003, before devoting himself entirely to his activity as a concert performer and chamber musician.

 

In 2004, he founded the Talweg trio. This formation, which he particularly likes, marks an important turning point in his musical life. Supported by Martha Argerich, they are invited to numerous festivals in Europe and Asia.

 

Their first album dedicated to Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich received a golden tuning fork.

 

A complete set of Johannes Brahms' trios was released in May 2014 by Pavane Records.

 

Many projects mark Sébastien Surel's career, from the Parisian musical season "La Chambre d' Amis" of which he is co-founder and artistic director, to his collaborations with artists such as Roland Pidoux, Henri Demarquette, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Michel Moraguès, the musicians of the Wanderer trio or Paul Radais and Aurélien Sabouret in string trio, the last record of Jean-Sébastien Bach's Variations Goldberg transcription having just been released.

 

His repertoire ranges from the vast field of chamber music to concertante music, playing the complete Mozart concertos, the concertos of Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Sibelius, Barber and Chausson's Poem.

 

Sébastien Surel is invited to perform on stages around the world, including the Barbican Center (London), the Théâtre des Champs Élysées, the Théâtre de la Ville and the Théâtre du Chatelet (Paris), the Concertgebow (Amsterdam), the Santa Cecilia (Rome), the Palais des beaux-arts in Brussels, the Dresden Opera House, the Kioi Hall and the Metropolitan Art Center (Tokyo) or at the Montreux, Vienna, Montreal, Marciac and Nice jazz festivals.

 

A chameleon violinist, he is equally committed to working alongside musicians from different worlds, as a guest artist or founder of new ensembles, such as Juanjo Mosalini, Tomás Gubitch, Jean-Philippe Viret, Vincent Segal or Richard Galliano with whom he has already given more than 500 concerts throughout the world.

 

Sébastien Surel also attaches great importance to the teaching of violin and chamber music. He has been a holder of the violin B.A. since 2011.

 

He plays a Giuseppe Guadagnini violin from 1788.