Alexis Descharmes, solo cellist of the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine
Selected by Diapason magazine to represent the French cello, along with a dozen colleagues of his generation, Alexis Descharmes is an active ambassador of many cello repertoires.
Born in 1977, he trained at the Paris Conservatory in the classes of Michel Strauss and Philippe Muller, then joined the Court-circuit ensemble in 1998, where he worked alongside its artistic director Philippe Hurel. At the same time, he regularly collaborates with IRCAM and the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
In 2006 he joined the orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris, while continuing to work on the current repertoire. He is the dedicatee of about fifty contemporary works, concertos or soloists. Alexis Descharmes has made some fifty recordings, both solo and with the above-mentioned ensembles, with whom he has performed in some thirty countries. For the æon label, he has notably recorded the cello works of Kaija Saariaho, the cello works of Franz Liszt (Diapason d’Or of 2007), and a selection of Schubert’s Lieder, with his faithful partner Sébastien Vichard (Ensemble Intercontemporain), the cello works of Klaus Huber (Grand Prix de l’académie Charles Cros), and more recently monographic albums devoted to the cello works of Roger Reynolds (mode records), Philippe Hurel (motus) and Ricardo Nillni (l’empreinte digitale).
Since January 2016, Alexis Descharmes has joined the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, as principal cellist. Alexis Descharmes is sponsored by D’Addario, a string manufacturer (USA).
