Henri Demarquette

The French cellist Henri Demarquette has had an international career, often focusing on contemporary works as a soloist while playing a wide range of music in chamber groups. Demarquette was born in 1970 and could be called a prodigy. By the time he was 13 he had already entered the Paris Conservatoire, and he began concertizing the following year. His teachers in Paris were Philippe Muller and <a href="spotify:artist:74EFeorGF9yFaG4rS9rXEP">Maurice Gendron</a>. Winning first prize by unanimous jury decision, he continued his studies with top-level players <a href="spotify:artist:36MnOrp3WlHJ6CYc5HstxX">Pierre Fournier</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0KFS74u9OFu7tDyCajs9cF">Paul Tortelier</a>, also traveling to the U.S. for studies with <a href="spotify:artist:6D7itIGHznFfHx3ZDqCk3j">Janos Starker</a> at the University of Indiana. Demarquette gave various concerts even in his mid-teens and made his official debut at 17 with a recital at the Théâtre du Chatelet. Soon after that, a duet recital with pianist <a href="spotify:artist:0VkQgzGZUmazUc7ouT5S79">Hélène Grimaud</a> was broadcast on the France 3 radio network. These performances brought Demarquette to the attention of violinist/conductor <a href="spotify:artist:32i0ni9RO8Q7T7T7ZqkGU2">Yehudi Menuhin</a>, who invited him to perform the <a href="spotify:artist:6n7nd5iceYpXVwcx8VPpxF">Dvorak</a> cello concerto in two concerts under his own baton. From there, Demarquette was launched on a solo career that has included performances not only with orchestras around France but also the <a href="spotify:artist:4vPl9qrPOZ1pMJNPXIPAzk">Sinfonia Varsovia</a> in Poland, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the <a href="spotify:artist:1Xw28dK9PzkDagTyuRRnGd">St. Petersburg Philharmonic</a>, and the <a href="spotify:artist:7aEZ4wPWZg1X5NzZVt2Yre">Tokyo Symphony</a>, among many others. As a chamber musician, Demarquette has been active in his own Demarquette Trio and in a string quartet with <a href="spotify:artist:3opEhp6tLG4SOgtt8Z9atz">Augustin Dumay</a>, Svetlin Roussev, and Miguel de Silva, and with duet partners <a href="spotify:artist:36qooOkbokPscdOGWHPFk7">Boris Berezovsky</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:38mceDz890rw1ci5pcTyk5">Vanessa Benelli Mosell</a>, Fabrizio Chiovetta, <a href="spotify:artist:5gjbJH4uF12lqYaPJfLygo">Jean-Bernard Pommier</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1hzIjeYlO245tJ5hS50dUJ">Michel Dalberto</a>. Another duet partner has been French accordionist <a href="spotify:artist:6yXri0y0q95UDiAyLzTM1y">Richard Galliano</a>, with whom he has performed music from <a href="spotify:artist:5aIqB5nVVvmFsvSdExz408">Bach</a> to the present, including a concerto by <a href="spotify:artist:6yXri0y0q95UDiAyLzTM1y">Galliano</a> for cello, accordion, and orchestra. Demarquette has given the premieres of many contemporary works and was part of a well-publicized 2006 performance on the occasion of <a href="spotify:artist:3A5qNDgaeTFBD5pDxSvlJ0">Henri Dutilleux</a>'s 90th birthday. Much of Demarquette's recording catalog has appeared on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Timpani%22">Timpani</a> label; he also recorded the Cello Concerto of <a href="spotify:artist:1EtE0iSY6iFlN9L9c53ETy">Michel Legrand</a> for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony+Classical%22">Sony Classical</a> in 2017. In 2018, Demarquette released the album Portrait with Orchestra, featuring works by <a href="spotify:artist:3KSFGteIQYY5pgE3veclRk">Jacques Ibert</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0Ue3NLul9q4zg3NVV8wn19">Philippe Gaubert</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:46ogc4ghPoxhfxvj3ahDNL">Florent Schmitt</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2gClsBep1tt1rv1CN210SO">Gabriel Fauré</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4s9NK8oBZvGFo7n4GNtFGx">Jean Cras</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5dPR5LYM2CxXWlZGwntQ5C">Guy Ropartz</a>.