The Corsican musician Jean-Christophe Spinosi leads a double life, as both violinist and conductor.
The point of intersection between his two passions dates back to 1991, when, aged only twenty-six, he founded the Quatuor Matheus with which, as first violin, he was a prizewinner at the International Van Wassenaer Competition at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1993. This quartet, with the addition of other instruments, became the Ensemble Matheus, with which he has since freely explored the most varied repertoires.
He has conducted many instrumental and vocal works - symphonies, concertos, masses, cantatas, oratorios, etc. - featuring such soloists as Sandrine Piau, Verónica Cangemi, Matthias Goerne, Philippe Jaroussky, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Nathalie Stutzmann, Jennifer Larmore, Sara Mingardo, Marjana Mijanovic. His recordings have won several international prizes, including the Diapason d'Or, Choc de l'année du Monde de la Musique, Premio internazionale del disco Antonio Vivaldi in Venice, Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros, Prix Caecilia in Belgium, Victoire de la Musique Classique, and the BBC Music Magazine Award for 2006.
He has appeared as soloist and conductor with his ensemble in the major festivals and venues in France (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Paris, Toulouse's Grands Interprètes, Festival d'Ambronay, du vieux Lyon) and abroad, in major cultural cities of Europe (Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus in Berlin, in Wien, Opera de Madrid, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, etc.), and worldwide (debuting at Carnegie Hall, NYC, February 08).
After conducting The Magic Flute at the Parma Opera in February 2006, Jean-Christophe Spinosi scored a great success at the head of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in a Mozart program in March of the same year; from this very event, he is an annual guest of this orchestra (in 2008 : Gluck's Orfeo in a concert version). During the 2006-07 season he is back to this composer with the Ensemble Matheus in the Requiem at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, followed by a new production of The Magic Flute in Bilbao (staging: D. Abbado). For the ensemble's first residence at the Théâtre du Châtelet, debuting 2007, he just conducted - with a huge success - Rossini's opera La pietra del paragone (staging: G. Corsetti / P. Sorrin), as well as the 2007/08 season opening production at the prestigious Teatro Reggio da Parma, Italy, December 2006.
Jean-Christophe Spinosi will soon make his conducting debuts with the Orchestre National de France and the Madrid National Orchestra. In August 2007, he conducted Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in the opening week-end of the Edinburgh International Festival, which will also be recorded by the BBC.
Next Autumn, at the head of his own orchestra, he is debuting at the Opéra de Paris, in 12 representations of Handel's Alcina and in the summer of 2008 he will conduct the Wiener Symphoniker in the Magic Flute at the Theater an der Wien.
Jean-Christophe Spinosi was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture in 2006. He was just awarded "Best Opera Conductor 2007" by the Académie du disque lyrique.
Jean-Christophe Spinosi is represented by Intermusica.
September 2007 / 507 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.