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 captivates and holds the attention of his listeners, critics and peers with his profound musicality, dazzling energy, sensitivity and particular power of expression.
Zoltán performs as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician on the most illustrious stages and festivals, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, the Auditorio Nacional de Musica Madrid, the Luxembourg Philharmonie, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Auditori Barcelona, the Oslo Konserthus and the Basel Stadtcasino, the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Casino in Berne, the Bozar in Brussels, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the National Music Forum (nfm) in Wroclaw, the Grieghallen in Bergen, the Harmonie in Heilbronn, the Warsaw Philharmonie, the Budapest Music Center, the Rodolfinum in Prague and many others. He has also been invited to make his debut at the renowned Lucerne Festival.
As a chamber musician, he has performed with musicians such as Ilya Gringolts, Andrey Baranov, Joë Christophe, Thomas Reif, Benjamin Engeli, Yulia Miloslavskaya, Jérémie Conus, Isabel Pfefferkorn, Thomas Grossenbacher and Richard Kogima. A special focus is on the duo formation with pianist Vesselin Stanev.
In addition to his concert activities, Zoltán is invited as a lecturer to teach masterclasses. In May 2024, he gave a masterclass to professional students and young talents from the IFF section (Institut zur Früh-Förderung musikalisch Hochbegabter) at the Hanover University of Music.
The Swiss cellist, born in 1992, took his first cello lessons at the age of 10 years old in the class of teacher Pierre-Bernard Sudan in his home region of Gruyère, at the Bulle music school. For his Bachelor’s degree, he then joined the class of Sine Nomine quartet cellist Marc Jaermann at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (hemu), before joining the renowned musician and teacher who has always inspired him so much: cellist Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zurich University of the Arts (zhdk). With him he developed through two successive Masters: the concert Master’s degree and the soloist’s Master’s degree. Alongside his studies, the young cellist cultivates his curiosity by attending the masterclasses of cellists Franz Helmerson, Antonio Meneses, Christophe Coin, Giovanni Sollima, Martin Ostertag and Enrico Dindo.
zoltandespond.com
