French Strings: Tribute to Maurice Ravel

Gabriel Richard has been tenured first violin successively at the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine, as violin solo at the Opéra de Lyon and at the Paris Orchestra as first violin, as well as the first violin of the Thymos String Quartet. He tours regularly in Japan, Korea, China, America, and Europe. With the Thymos Quartet, Richard has been invited to perform at the Paris International String Quartet Biennial many times and to tour Europe, the USA, Brazil, China and Japan. He has recorded three CDs with the Thymos String Quartet, accompanied by the pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach. The Quartet’s recording of Dvorak with the label AVIE was awarded the Editor’s Choice by Gramophone in 2012. The Washington Post described the performance of the Thymos Quartet at the Kennedy Center as “detailed down to the last atom, and overflowing with human experience”. The last recording in 2020 on Schubert with the Trout Quintet was awarded Critic’s Choice of the review Gramophone and BBC Chamber Choice. Steve Reich declared Richard’s interpretation of his own Violin Phase at the Cité de la Musique « probably the best performance of the piece I have ever heard ».

Gabriel Richard has been appointed as Associate Research Professor in the Romance Studies and Music Department at Duke University. He is the Artistic director of the Festival Fougères Musicales in Brittany in France.

A concert cellist and educator of international renown, Jesús Castro-Balbi has performed extensively across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Asia – including at Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Suntory Hall, and on 15 occasions at Carnegie Hall. He has been a featured soloist with the Aarhus, Dallas, and Fort Worth symphony orchestras; the Leipzig and the Norwegian radio orchestras; and the China, Louisiana, and Mexico City philharmonic orchestras. A passionate advocate of contemporary music, he has presented 72 premiere performances and the world premiere recording of 19 works, and he is the dedicatee of 29 compositions. He taught at The Juilliard School (Pre-College Division) before developing a sought-after cello program at Texas Christian University. He has given masterclasses and has adjudicated competitions worldwide, including the Carlos Prieto and the Lutoslawski international competitions. Of Peruvian heritage and raised in France, Dr. Castro-Balbi graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique at Lyon, Indiana University Bloomington, the Yale School of Music, and holds a doctor of musical arts degree from The Juilliard School. He is currently a professor of music at Kennesaw State University in metro Atlanta. Please visit www.jcbcello.com.