To say Grether has met her brief is an understatement. This is easily my favourite solo recital in quite some while. » C. Gardner, Gramophone, Nov 2017
“Grether’s playing is technically outstanding, dynamic and vivid, with a silky timbre. »
Pizzicato Magazine, September 2017
Biography:
French violinist Elsa Grether is regularly invited to prestigious festivals and venues in France and abroad. As a soloist with orchestra, she has played concertos from Bach to Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Tomasi among others, with the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, Orchestre National de Cannes, Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Briansk Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Philharmonic, Deutsch-Tschechicher Chamber Orchestra…
She has given recitals at Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Weill Hall in New-York, Folle Journée de Nantes, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Menton Festival, Festival de Sully et du Loiret, Festival de Rocamadour, Festival des Forêts, Festival des Abbayes en Lorraine, Festival de Musique sacrée de Perpignan, Festival Berlioz, Grandes Heures de Cluny, Pâques à l’Abbaye de Fontevraud, Musicales de Normandie, Festival d’Arténétra, Festival Lille Clef de Soleil, Salle Cortot, Invalides and Petit Palais in Paris, Bozar and Flagey in Brussels, Radio Suisse Romande and Festival Musiques en Eté in Geneva, Altmark Festspiele, Ido Festival Düsseldorf, Palazzetto Bru-Zane in Venice…
Her recent and coming engagements in 2022/23 include a debut recital at the Berlin Philharmonie, Sibelius Violin Concerto with François-Xavier Roth and La Jeune Symphonie de l’Aisne, return invitations with the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse under Jacques Lacombe in Tomasi Violin Concerto, recitals in Flagey Brussels, Paris Invalides, Paris Petit Palais, Salle Cortot, Arsenal de Metz, Montauban, Avignon, Mulhouse, Orléans, Reims, Liège (Belgium), KonzertGut Concert Series (Germany), Festival des Abbayes de Lorraine, Festival de la Lucerne, Escapades Musicales d’Arcachon, Festival Stras’Orgues.
Her 3 CDs “Poème mystique” (Bloch and Pärt) with pianist Ferenc Vizi, “French Resonance” (Pierné, Vierne and Fauré) with François Dumont and “Kaleidoscope” for solo violin (Bach, Ysaye, Honegger, Tôn-Thât Tiet, Khatchaturian, Albeniz) were released in 2013, 2015 and 2017 by Fuga Libera/Outhere. All three CDs received unanimous acclaim and were awarded the highest distinctions: “5 Diapasons”, “4 stars” in Classica Magazine as well as excellent reviews from Gramophone, Pizzicato Magazine, La Libre Belgique…
Her 4rth CD, dedicated to the work of S. Prokofiev together with pianist David Lively, was released in 2019 (Fuga Libera/Outhere) and received great reviews (“CD of the week” and FFFF in Télérama, 5 Diapasons, 5 stars in Classica Magazine, 5 from Pizzicato Magazine, Musikzen, Concertclassic, Classiquenews, Crescendo Magazine…).
Her latest CD, dedicated to Maurice Ravel’s complete works for violin and piano as well as rare transcriptions and arrangements (World Premiere recordings), with pianist David Lively, was released in September 2022 on Aparté label.
It has already received great acclaim: FFFF Télérama, 5 stars in Classica Magazine, 5 stars from Pizzicato Magazine (Luxembourg), « CD of the week » in Rondo Magazine (Berlin) as well as wonderful reviews in The Strad Magazine, Gramophone Magazine, Musikzen…
Elsa won the Pro Musicis Award in Paris by unanimous decision of the jury. She has held scholarships from a number of foundations such as Fondation Natixis Banque Populaire, Fondation de France (Prix Oulmont), Fondation Cziffra, Fondation Bleustein-Blanchet pour la Vocation, Fondation Safran pour la Musique. She was awarded the Josef Gingold full scholarship at Indiana University. In 1993 she was prizewinner at the Young Soloists’ Competition organized by the RTBF in Brussels.
In October 2022, France Musique dedicated an hour-long program to her work in « Stars du Classique » presented by Aurélie Moreau. She is regularly heard France Musique and other radios such as Europe 1, Musiq3 and RTS Suisse and was the subject of a program in Alain Duault’s television program « Toute la musique qu’ils aiment » (France 3).
Elsa was born in Mulhouse, France. After being awarded a Premier Prix in violin by unanimous decision of the jury at the Conservatoire de Paris-CRR on her fifteenth birthday, her lively curiosity prompted her to continue her training abroad, with Ruggiero Ricci at the Salzburg Mozarteum in Austria, in the United States with Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University Bloomington and later with Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Upon her return in Paris, she subsequently received guidance from Régis Pasquier in Paris.
NEW: Ravel CD release, September 9th, 2022 on Aparté ! https://aparte.lnk.to/Grether_Lively_Ravel https://www.fnac.com/a17202390/Maurice-Ravel-Ravel-Complete-Works-For-Violin-And-Piano-CD-album
Some reviews in English:
Wonderful review in The Strad Magazine ! https://www.thestrad.com/reviews/elsa-grether-ravel/15461.article
–First review for Ravel CD in German/ English from Pizzicato Magazine !
Read here: https://www.pizzicato.lu/elsa-grether-und-david-lively-mit-inspirierten-ravel-interpretationen/
–« CD of the week » in Rondo Magazin, Germany (10/16 september) ! https://www.rondomagazin.de/cd_zum_sonntag.php
–Great presentation of the Ravel CD in BBC Radio 3′ s « Record Review », by Tasmin Little and Andrew Mc Gregor ! https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bz9w
Previous reviews:
Elsa GRETHER 