During a performance of Mozart’s Concerto K314, Leonard Bernstein noticed him and, upon hearing him play the Adagio, exclaimed: “It’s Pan himself!”
Following this artistic encounter, Leonard Bernstein composed a cadenza for Jean Ferrandis.
After earning his prize in Maxence Larrieu’s class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon in 1985, Jean Ferrandis went on to win several international competitions, including the “Maria Canals” competition in Barcelona and the “Young Concert Artists” competition in New York. In 1986, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Prague Spring International Flute Competition. In 1998, he was named “Artist in Residence” at the Lotos Club in New York.
This was followed by numerous concerts across Europe, Asia, and North America, where he performed in recital, chamber music, or as a soloist with orchestra in some of the world’s most prestigious venues: Salle Pleyel and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Vigadó of Budapest, Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Taipei Arts Center, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Hamarikyu Hall in Tokyo, Wigmore Hall in London, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, La Fenice in Venice, and Carnegie Hall, under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, Tibor Varga, Laurent Petitgirard, and Yoram David.
He is also regularly invited to take part in major festivals, including the Lanaudière Festival in Canada, the Sion Festival, the Budapest Spring Festival, MIDEM in Cannes, and the Berlioz Festival. Jean Ferrandis performs chamber music with exceptional artists such as Jean-Philippe Collard, Henri Demarquette, Ivry Gitlis, Jean-Marc Luisada, Emile Naoumoff, Marielle Nordmann, Gérard Poulet, Caroline Sageman, and Dominique de Williencourt.
He also pursues a career as a conductor, collaborating with ensembles such as the Saint Petersburg Camerata and the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra of Vilnius. His recordings include works by Honegger and d’Indy, as well as the complete Mozart concertos with Marie-Pierre Langlamet (Principal Harpist of the Berliner Philharmoniker). He has also recorded a CD of Schubert’s Sonatinas and Arpeggione with pianist Emile Naoumoff, and the complete concertos of C.P.E. Bach with the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra. With the same orchestra, he recorded the complete works for flute by Yuko Uebayashi.
His latest albums include Debussy Live at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Bach’s trio sonatas with Lela Katsarava, and the complete Mozart quartets with the Goldberg Trio, released on October 23, 2022.
A strong advocate of contemporary composers, Jean Ferrandis has premiered numerous works, including Pelléas et Mélisande by Alexandre Desplat. Other composers who have written for him include Benoît Menut, Yuko Uebayashi, Rudolf Hakan, Gilles Silvestrini, and Dominique de Williencourt.
In parallel with his concert career, he is a professor at the École Normale Supérieure de Musique in Paris and at California State University, Fullerton (USA). He regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Japan, Korea, and the United States, where he teaches at institutions such as Juilliard School, Rice University (Texas), Indiana University Bloomington, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Jean Ferrandis is a regular guest at flute conventions in the United States, Tokyo, and Adelaide (Australia).
In 2018, Jean Ferrandis received the “Annasilaos Award in Science and Art” for his contribution to music.