Beatrice Berrut

Piano

© Olivier Lovey

2023 Artist-in-Residence for the Festivals de Wallonie, the Swiss pianist and composer Beatrice Berrut a été qualifiée par l’Irish Times d’« artiste qui se révèle calmement dans de multiples couches de génie et de beauté » et de « remarquable musicienne dans toutes les catégories, qui a donné des interprétations électrisantes des œuvres de Chopin et de Bach » par le Cleveland Plain Dealer. S’inspirant de la déclaration de Mahler « la tradition n’est pas l’adoration des cendres, mais la préservation du feu », elle a écrit sur l’œuvre majeure d’Arnold Schoenberg, la Nuit transfigurée, une paraphrase saluée par le fils du compositeur et qui est aujourd’hui recherchée par lacommunauté des pianistes. Son travail en tant que soliste, compositrice, arrangeuse et directrice artistique du festival qu’elle a fondé en Suisse, « Les Ondes », l’a positionnée comme une personnalité dynamique sur la scène artistique européenne.

Her adventures have taken her as a soloist on major European stages with orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra on a Mozart tour, which included stops at, amongst others, the Cadogan Hall, London and at the Victoria Hall, Geneva, and to perform at concerts sold out broadcast live on German radio station NDR from the Hannover Staatsoper, featuring the Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester conducted by the legendary conductor Mario Venzago, or even to give recitals featuring his transcriptions of Mahler’s symphonies in prestigious venues such as the Vienna Konzerthaus or the Wigmore Hall, London.

His ability to transform Mahler’s colossal orchestral works into rich and lush piano arrangements is highly regarded by his peers and the press alike, as evidenced by these lines from the newspaper Le Monde : « son traitement des symphonies de Gustav Mahler consiste à transformer l’or solide de l’orchestre en or liquide du piano ». His upcoming engagements His work as a soloist includes concertos with the Copenhagen Phil as well as with the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra.

His recordings draw inspiration from the traditions of European spirituality and mysticism and explore the vast musical landscape of composers such as Bach and Liszt. His award-winning discography and his new collaboration with the French record label La Dolce Volta have a strong media presence and have played a major part in establishing her as a leading figure in the European arts scene, enabling her to be invited to give interviews and appear on television programmes such as Deutsche Welle’s news programme, TV5 Monde’s cultural programme, the Victoires de la Musique, RTS, Classic FM or ARTE.

Convinced that there is only good and bad music, Beatrice is at ease with a variety of compositional genres and has been commissioned to write works for classical music concerts as well as for films. Her music is rooted in the European tradition – with a distinctive touch of Ravel and colours reminiscent of Scriabin in their devilish virtuosity – and blends with the ethereal influences of American minimalism and the heroic rhetoric of film music. Her love of music has also led her to rework songs by MUSE and classics from Walt Disney pour les faire sonner comme des pièces virtuoses pour piano de compositeurs romantiques tels que Rachmaninov, Chopin ou Liszt. Comme l’aurait dit Mark Twain : « Ils ne savaient pas que c’était impossible, alors ils l’ont fait ! » His works are published by the Japanese publisher Muse Press and his upcoming engagements include a composer’s residency as part of the season of the Wernigerode Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra in Germany, as well as’a residency at the Tours Opera House in France.

Both an iconoclast and a passionate champion of classical tradition, Beatrice’s desire to make classical music more accessible and to break down the barriers between genres led her to create its own festival, the Ondes Festival, in Monthey, where traditional classical music concerts are held alongside klezmer, jazz and rock.

She collaborates with artists from other fields, such as the world figure skating champion Stéphane Lambiel pour un spectacle sur le thème de la magie qui explore le parcours initiatique d’un enfant, ou avec la compagnie de danse contemporaine Cocoon Dance based in Bonn for a performance centred on the Trio Ghosts by Beethoven at the Beethovenfest. She was chosen by the University of Geneva Observatory and the European Space Agency (ESA) to play herself in a short film showcasing the GAIA mission, in which parallels are drawn between the work of a concert pianist and that of an astrophysicist.

Beatrice Berrut has been a Bösendorfer artist since 2013. This long and fruitful collaboration between the Viennese label and the Swiss pianist is what gives Beatrice’s recordings their slightly different sound.

After Art Nouveau, his debut album for La Dolce Volta, Beatrice Berrut concocts Abracadabra!, a programme that is by turns flamboyant and poetic, released in January 2025.

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Eva Zavaro’s recording of the Sonata for violin and piano by Oskar C. Posa, published in September 2025, was met with great international critical acclaim: Choc de Classica, 4T of Télérama, Record of the Year for Alex Ross (The New Yorker), Selection Le Monde, Golden Key of the Year ResMusica, Album of the Month Scherzo, Limelight Editor’s Choice.