Description

Born in 1986, Pierre Génisson is one of the finest representatives of his generation from the French wind school. Winner of the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition, he took the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the Jacques Lancelot International Competition in Tokyo. He then recorded his debut album Made in France with pianist David Bismuth under the Aparté label. Hailed by the press, the CD received accolades such as the Diapason d’Or and the highest rating of “ffff” from Télérama magazine. Pierre Génisson pursued his musical studies in Marseille, his hometown, before joining the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in Michel Arrignon’s clarinet class and in the chamber music classes of Claire Désert, Amy Flammer, and Jean Sulem. He graduated with unanimous First Prizes in clarinet and chamber music before furthering his studies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles under the renowned professor Yehuda Gilad, where he obtained his Artist Diploma. At 21, Pierre Génisson was appointed principal clarinet of the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne under Olari Elts. With the OSB, he participated in numerous festivals and recordings. He left the ensemble in 2013 to focus fully on his solo career. Concurrently, Pierre Génisson made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonic performing Debussy’s Rhapsodie and Bruch’s Double Concerto. Since then, he has been regularly invited as a soloist by major European and international orchestras (Deutsches Symphonie Orchester-Berlin, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège…) under the batons of conductors such as Emmanuel Krivine, Olari Elts, Krystof Urbansky, Darell Ang, Sacha Goetzel, Krysztof Penderecki, Charles Dutoit, Lionel Bringuier, and Yannick Nézet-Seguin. Pierre Génisson has also been invited as a soloist to prestigious venues such as the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Auditorium of Radio France, the Odense Konzerthus, the Philharmonie and Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Salle Gaveau, and the Art Center in Yokosuka. In December 2017, he performed two concerts with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about chamber music, Pierre Génisson has numerous collaborations and regularly performs at festivals with partners or ensembles such as Thierry Escaich, Marielle Nordmann, Camille Thomas, Geneviève Laurenceau, David Bismuth, François Chaplin, Nicolas Dautricourt, François Dumont, Karine Deshayes, Delphine Haidan, the Ébène Quartet, Modigliani Quartet, Hermès Quartet, Hanson Quartet, Voce Quartet, and the Elégiaque Trio… Pierre Génisson has been dividing his time between France and the United States for several years. He regularly performs as a soloist in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Seattle… He is frequently invited to give masterclasses in Asia. With the BBC Orchestra, Pierre Génisson recently recorded a complete program Tribute to Benny Goodman dedicated to the classical and jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman; the CD features works by Copland, Bernstein, Stravinsky, and pieces by Goodman. Pierre Génisson is the dedicatee of Eric Tanguy’s Concerto for Clarinet, a work premiered in late 2017 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. He has recently performed with the Düsseldorf Orchestra and given numerous concerts in Japan and China. The summer of 2018 was very busy for him with over 40 concerts in many venues and festivals in France, Germany, Hungary, Austria, and the United States, as well as masterclasses in China. His new recording with the BBC Orchestra, dedicated to Benny Goodman, will be released in the fall of 2019. Pierre Génisson is the recipient of the Bourse Jeunes Talents de Musique et Vin at Clos Vougeot, the Fondation Banque Populaire, and the Prix Cino del Duca from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He is an active representative of the Buffet Crampon brand and plays “Tradition” clarinets.