Antoine Tamestit
viola
Antoine Tamestit, considered one of “the best violists in the world” (Deutschlandfunk), plays the very first viola built by Antonio Stradivari – a honey-coloured instrument: “It sounds hardly higher or lower than a violin, even though it is very wide and large. I think the sound is unique and particularly warm, like that of an Italian opera singer,” says Tamestit.
The son of violin teacher and composer Gérard Tamestit, Antoine Tamestit began taking violin lessons at the age of five. Because he wanted to play Bach’s cello suites at the age of nine, he first tried his hand at the cello before finally deciding on the viola. Tamestit, who immediately fell in love with the sound of the viola, studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Jean Sulem, was a student of Jesse Levine at Yale University and was a member of the Tokyo String Quartet before completing his studies under Tabea Zimmermann in Berlin. Today, he is an acclaimed soloist and chamber musician who performs at the leading concert venues, where he is admired for his remarkable technique and the beauty of his vibrant tone. Together with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Christian Poltéra, Antoine Tamestit is a founding member of the Trio Zimmermann, with which he has performed at Europe’s most famous concert halls. He also regularly performs with leading orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, premiering many new works, including Jörg Widmann’s Viola Concerto. Tamestit also made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Daniel Harding with this work in January 2024.
