The freedom, the presence and the imagination of Laurent Korcia’s playing, only a handful of violinists - living or dead - have it. Korcia has it all: the majestic style, the technique, the charisma, the ideas, the charm. (Le Monde)
His recordings of Ysaÿe and Bartok make it clear: Laurent Korcia is an outstanding violinist. One of those whose passion and instinct just grab you from the very first bars. Just like those turn-of-the-century virtuosos, Elman, Heifetz, Ysaÿe or Kubelik, whose style, sound and vibrato were a real trademark, you can’t mistake Korcia for another. For this reason, he stands out among his contemporaries. (Diapason)
Taken under the wing of Pierre Barbizet from his early age, Laurent Korcia studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Michèle Auclair, herself pupil of Jacques Thibaud and George Enesco. He is considered one of the most distinctive violinists of his generation.
Awarded ‘Instrumental Soloist of the Year’ by Victoires de la Musique, ‘Chevalier des arts et lettres’, he also received the George Enesco Prize of the SACEM and the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles Cros.
Laurent Korcia performs regularly with conductors such as Yuri Ahronovitch, Philippe Bender, Semyon Bychkov, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Valéry Gergiev, Emmanuel Krivine, Kurt Masur, John Nelson, Michel Plasson, Manuel Rosenthal, Yutaka Sado, Tugan Sokhiev, Vladimir Spivakov, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Heinz Wallberg, Walter Weller, …
He is one of the rare contemporary violinists to include solo violin recitals in his concert repertoire, with programmes ranging from Bach to contemporary music or all six Ysaÿe sonatas which he recorded as his first CD.
His recordings of Ysaye Sonatas and BartoKorcia (Concerto n°2 with CBSO and Sakari Oramo, sonata for solo violin, Contrastes, sonata n°1) are recognized as standard reference works. Laurent Korcia also records discs that reach large audiences (Danses, Doubles Jeux, with Michel Portal, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Tatjana Vassilieva, Michael Wendeberg… as well as Stabat Mater by Bruno Coulais with Guillaume Depardieu).
After recording for Sony BMG and NAÏVE, Laurent Korcia has just signed an exclusive contract with EMI.
Since 1999, Laurent Korcia has been playing on the Zahn Stradivarius (1719), a violin on loan by the prestigious French group LVMH, Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy.
© Andres Reynaga
