» Pierre Hantaï
Harpsichord
Biography
Born in 1964, Pierre Hantaï became passionately attached to the music of Bach around the age of ten. Thanks to the influence of Gustav Leonhardt, he began to study the harpsichord, alone at first, then guided by the American teacher Arthur Haas. He gave his first concerts at an early age, alone or with his brothers Marc (Traverso) and Jérôme (Viola da Gamba). He then spent two years studying in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt, who subsequently invited him to perform under his direction. In the years that followed he collaborated with many musicians and directors of ensembles, among them Philippe Herreweghe, the Kuijken brothers or Marc Minkowski.
Nowadays, he mostly performs as a soloist arouund the world. He often appears as a guest with Jordi Savall, and he also enjoys being reunited with friends such as Skip Sempé, Amandine Beyer, Olivier Fortin, and Jean-Guihen Queyras to play chamber music.
His extensive discography includes recent recordings for Mirare : Five discs devoted to Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas, and a highly praised recording of Bach sonatas featuring his brother Marc (traverso), that has been awarded a Diapason d'Or.
"(...) Playing a bright German-style harpsichord with quick decay but plenty of colour and depth, Hantaï shows what can be achieved by a virtuoso who commands perfect technical control in which nothing is rushed or scrambled, a touch at the keys from which every note speaks clearly, and an emotional eloquence in which melodies sing and a subtle strategy of spread chords, hesitations, accents, displacements and articulations leads your ear to the music’s important notes, harmonies and rhythms, even in the most challenging passages. What extra ornamentation there is brings variety rather than show, and the beauty of the package is that it all sounds perfectly natural, the sublime result of artistic mastery committed to the task of communicating Scarlatti’s ever delightful genius."
Gramophone UK - Lindsay Kemp
Upcoming concerts
19.05.2024
Int. Händel Festspiele Göttingen
Scarlatti, Händel, J.S. Bach
Read more...