“In the wake of Pierre Lenert’s marvellous bow”
— Jacques Doucelin, Le Figaro
Praised for “his high-flying interpretations, with pure intonation, even tone, and astonishing ease” (Costin Cazaban, Le Monde de la Musique), Pierre Lenert founded the Lenert-Hirose Duo in 2020, uniting two musicians of exceptional artistry. Etsuko Hirose and Pierre Lenert first met in 2015 around Brahms’ Op. 120 sonatas. Their musical affinity and complicity were immediately evident. Their debut recording, Passion, naturally blossomed from these two masterpieces.
In 2015, Pierre Lenert also founded the Lenert-Fantasy-Group, bringing together musicians of remarkable human and musical qualities. With this ensemble, he sought to revisit lyrical repertoire masterpieces and share original interpretations of works by Aznavour, Trenet, and Brassens, arranged in unique versions by Frédéric Sans and Régis Prudhomme.
“His natural sense of Bel Canto, superb instrumental mastery and radiant tone colour bring charm and brilliance to each piece… With an elegant style, full of wit and good humour” (Diapason), Pierre Lenert is currently the only violist in Europe to have recorded Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices on viola, released by Paraty — the first such recording since Emmanuel Vardi’s 1965 version on Epic.
His discography includes the complete works for viola and piano by Henry Vieuxtemps, along with several recital albums dedicated to the music of Carl Reinecke, Niccolò Paganini, Felix Mendelssohn, Georges Enescu, Jean Françaix, Darius Milhaud, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim.
“With Pierre Lenert, the music is elevated, thanks to the splendid interpretation of the French violist — confident, lyrical, and capable of giving his phrasing continuous perfection.” (El Periódico, Barcelona).
His encounter with Yehudi Menuhin was a turning point: under Menuhin’s baton, he performed Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and Bartók’s Viola Concerto, and became a soloist with the Menuhin Foundation. Pierre Lenert is also a laureate of the Philipp Morris Foundation, and of major international competitions including Lionel Tertis, Markneukirchen, and Maurice Vieux.
Pierre Lenert is Artistic Director of the Sérénade International Chamber Music Festival and the Le Goût de la Musique Festival.
He has been Professor at the École Normale de Musique–Alfred Cortot since 2015.
Pierre currently plays a Philippe Mahu viola (2018), after performing for nearly 30 years on the magnificent Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume viola (1865), “Comte Cheremetièv”, from 1994 to 2023.
📎 www.pierrelenert.net
📎 www.niccolopaganini.fr
📎 Homepage – Lenert Fantasy Group
📎 Paganini’s Complete Caprices