An undisputed figure of the viola in France and worldwide, Gérard Caussé has developed, in parallel to a career as a soloist, in recital and as a concert performer with the greatest conductors and the most prestigious ensembles, a chamber music activity unanimously recognized for the musical generosity of who is considered, since Mozart, a “mediator” between the high and low voices of the string quartet.
A sought-after partner by the greatest, such as Gidon Kremer (Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ), Dimitry Sitkovetsky (world premiere of Sitkovetsky’s transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations), Mischa Maisky, Michel Portal, Paul Meyer, François-René Duchâble, Renaud Capuçon, Franck Braley, Nicholas Angelich… Gérard Caussé has influenced, with his unique playing and charisma, several generations of musicians, who, inspired by him, have chosen the viola as a vocation.
With an instrument of intimate voice and discreet repertoire, not especially predisposed to attract attention, Caussé has managed to make his voice one of the most particular and recognizable, inspiring the greatest composers of his time: Henri Dutilleux, Philippe Hersant, Michaël Lévinas, Pascal Dusapin, Hugues Dufour, Betsy Jolas, Wolfgang Rihm, Gérard Pesson…
His defense of contemporary repertoires, since the founding of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, where Pierre Boulez appointed him solo viola, is accompanied by an innovative pedagogical activity recognized, from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris to the Reina Sofía School of Madrid, as well as in numerous master classes in Verbier, Salzburg, Siena, Villecroze, Lisbon, Havana or Caracas…
Musical director of the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra and the Camerata of the Caja Duero Foundation of Salamanca, Gérard Caussé embodies all facets of a life as an exceptional and unique violist, testified by a discography, on the most prestigious labels, with more than 60 recordings praised by the public and critics, such as the recent transcription of Bach’s Cello Suites for viola, intertwined with poems by Rilke recited by Laurent Terzieff, under the Erato label.
He shares the stage with his magnificent Gasparo da Salò viola, from 1560.