Frédéric VAYSSE-KNITTER
"This instrumentalist is already a real master in the art of nuances, shaped transitions and in the quasi-magical breadth of half-
Martin ETTER, Der Bund Bern
French pianist of Polish origin, Frédéric VAYSSE-KNITTER was at the age of thirteen admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where he studied with VENTSISLAV YANKOFF and MICHEL BÉROFF. In 1992, he obtained a first prize in piano and chamber music; later he took a postgraduate course.
On KRYSTIAN ZIMERMAN’S advice, he continued his studies with WIESLAW SZLACHTA, professor at the Higher Academy of Music at Katowice (Poland). In 1994, he was admitted to the Musikhochschule Freiburg (Germany), where he obtained his diploma as a soloist.
Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter has followed the master classes of such eminent musicians as DMITRI BASHKIROV, GYÖRGY SEBÖK (Banff Institute, Canada), ALEXIS WEISSENBERG, LEON FLEISHER, FOU TS’ONG, and ALICIA DE LARROCHA. He was resident at the prestigious International Piano Foundation Theo Lieven at Lake Como (Italy) and Laureate of the Festival Juventus in Cambrai (France). MARIA JOÃO PIRES noticed him during a workshop and invited him to the Piano(s) Festival 2004 in Lille (France), which she attended as guest of honour.
He has frequently performed in Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, and Canada, and in such prestigious venues as the Auditorio de Murcia, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra d’Avignon, at the Festival Radio-France Montpellier, at the Herkulessaal Munich, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Lille Nouveau Siècle, and the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, where he was awarded the Classical Revelation ADAMI at the MIDEM 1997. He also took part in various musical programmes on radio and television with France Musique, Radio Classique, Bayrischer Rundfunk, Radio Suisse Romande, TV Polonia, and FR3.
As a soloist, he has appeared with the orchestra of the Opéra d’Avignon-Provence, the Toulouse chamber orchestra, the chamber orchestras of Auvergne and of the Opéra de Paris, and the Colonne orchestra, under such eminent conductors as Arie Van Beek, Alain Moglia, F.X Bilger, Michael Schmidtsdorff, Gilbert Amy, and Peter Gülke.
Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter's most frequent chamber music partners have been (among others) David Grimal, Alexandre Tharaud, Edna Stern, Ronald Van Spaendonck, Alissa Margulis, Virginie Robilliard, Péter Szabó, Gionata Sgambaro, Ferenc Vizi, and the Iturriaga Quartet.
The combined book and CD Monsieur Satie, l'homme qui avait un petit piano dans la tête, recorded with Ed. Didier Jeunesse in 2006, has been awarded both the Prix Jeunesse ADAMI and the Grand Prix of the Academy Charles Cros. Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter's CDs also comprise a recording of Haydn's Sonatas (Integral Classic, 2005) and works of Chopin and Liszt (Polskie Nagrania Ed.), the latter being recommended in Le Monde de la Musique's Best Recordings Guide 1998.
Among his current projects are the artistic direction of the Festival Las Canals and a Europe-wide tour with Bach's Goldberg Varations starting in April 2007.