Emmanuelle Bertrand

‘Emmanuelle Bertrand is among the cellists who have most impressed me (...) I appreciated the sensitivity and intelligence with which she translated the styles of each composer, bringing out their originality. I was immediately overwhelmed by her interpretation, with its transparent sound, rhythmic rigour, technical perfection and brilliant playing’.
- Henri Dutilleux

A radiant and generous personality, Emmanuelle Bertrand is recognised as a leading figure on the European cello scene. Trained at the Conservatoires Nationaux Supérieurs de Musique et de Danse in Lyon and Paris in the classes of Jean Deplace and Philippe Muller, and the winner of numerous international awards and competitions, she has been voted ‘artist of the year’ in France by Diapason magazine and France Musique listeners (2011), and Diapason d'Or of the year on three occasions for her recordings for Harmonia Mundi. In 2017, the Académie des Beaux-Arts awarded her the prestigious Prix d'Interprétation Simone et Cino Del Duca. She has won two Victoires de la Musique awards, ‘instrumental revelation’ in 2002, and ‘instrumental soloist of the year’ in 2022.

At the age of 25, she met the composer Henri Dutilleux, who described her as a ‘true revelation’. Since then, she has dedicated works by Nicolas Bacri, Thierry Escaich, Édith Canat de Chizy, Bernard Cavanna, Janez Matičič, David Lampel, Pascal Amoyel and Benoît Menut. She also gave the world premiere of Luciano Berio's Chanson pour Pierre Boulez. 

It was during this period that she formed a duo with the pianist Pascal Amoyel, her partner both on stage and in the city, with whom she fervently defends both forgotten works and the great repertoire.

She performs regularly as a soloist, notably with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, the Ukrainian National Orchestra, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Busan Symphony Orchestra (Korea), Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Wuhan Symphony Orchestra (China), Orchestre Philharmnique de Radio France, Orchestres Nationaux d'Ile de France, de Lille, de Lorraine, Orchestres Philharmoniques de Strasbourg, de Monte Carlo..

Passionate about the links between music and words, she works closely with Laurent Terzieff on texts by Jean-Pierre Siméon. In 2005 she co-wrote and performed with Pascal Amoyel Le Block 15 ou la Musique en résistance directed by Jean Piat, based on the testimonies of musicians saved by music in the death camps. In 2011, she created Le violoncelle de guerre, a tribute to Maurice Maréchal and his cello, made just a stone's throw from the trenches in 1915. She will be touring this programme until 2018 with Didier Sandre, Christophe Malavoy, Francis Perrin, François Marthouret and Richard Bohringer.

In 2020, Robin Renucci entrusted her with the role of Agafia in Goncharov's Oblomov (Tréteaux de France), giving her the opportunity to combine the roles of actress and musician.

She teaches chamber music and cello at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. In 2022 she became the first woman to be appointed cello professor in the history of the institution, which was founded in 1795. 

September 2024