Anne Gastinel

Anne Gastinel took up the cello at the age of four. At eleven years of age she entered the Lyon Conservatoire. After being awarded her Premier Prix there in 1986, she went on to postgraduate studies at the Paris Conservatoire. Her teachers there, YoYo Ma, János Starker and Paul Tortelier, had a profound influence on her personal and musical development. She won numerous prizes in major international competitions (Scheveningen, Prague, Rostropovitch) and began to appear all over Europe.

Her career now takes her to the leading venues in Europe, as well as Japan, China, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, and the United States. She has appeared there with such great masters as Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Kurt Sanderling. During her travels she enjoys exchanging ideas and experiences with distinguished musicians and composers, including Henri Dutilleux, Vladimir Spivakov, Pinchas Steinberg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michel Plasson, Yuri Bashmet and Michael Schønwandt.

For nearly fifteen years now, her recordings have received the highest distinctions. In 2006, Anne Gastinel was awarded the Victoire de la Musique in the category ‘Soloist of the Year’.

Unanimously recognized as the ambassador of the French cello school, she was selected to play for one year the legendary Matteo Gofriller cello that once belonged to Pablo Casals. She now performs on a Testore instrument of 1690, combining the standard repertoire with regular performances of new works.