Biography
« At the instant he begins to slide his bow on the strings, the light shines. His undeniable and immediately recognizable artistic potential, combined with his fabulous technique, allows him to express his musical temperament to the full. In my opinion, Zoltán Despond is one of the finest cellists of his generation. »
Peter Hagmann, music critic Zurich
Zoltán Despond, born in 1992, is a Swiss cellist from French-speaking part of Switzerland. He has been praised by the international press and critics, as well as by his former teacher for his particular sensitivity and particular expressiveness.
His first professors were Pierre-Bernard Sudan in Fribourg and Marc Jaermann in Lausanne, then he joined the class of Thomas Grossenbacher in Zurich, where he obtained his « master concert » in 2015 and his « master performance specialized soloist » in 2018. He also studied with Enrico Dindo at the Pavia cello academy and attended masterclasses with Franz Helmerson, Christophe Coin, Antonio Menenses and Giovanni Sollima.
As a concert artist, he performs in seasons and festivals as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe. On stage he plays alongside musicians such as Ilya Gringolts, Thomas Reif, Silvia Simionescu, Andrey Baranov, Richard Kogima, Benjamin Engeli, Yulia Miloslavskaya, Thomas Grossenbacher. Duo chamber music with pianist Vesselin Stanev is one of the highlights of his musical development.
Despond performs at venues including Musikverein in Vienna, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Oslo Konserthus, the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, L’Auditori Barcelona, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Luxembourg Philharmonie, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Budapest Music Center and the Rodolfinum in Prag.
In summer 2022, he made his debut at the Lucerne Festival.
zoltandespond.com
