Christian-Pierre La Marca

Larsen Strings for Cello

About Christian-Pierre

Hailed by Gramophone as ‘a master of his instrument and a musician of lyrical elegance and good taste’ and by Le Monde as belonging to ‘the French cello elite’, Christian Pierre La Marca has, in a few years, distinguished himself by his radiant presence in the world’s leading concert halls and his award-winning recordings.

After making his debut in Aix-en-Provence, he studied in Paris with Jean-Marie Gamard and Philippe Muller, before continuing with Frans Helmerson in Cologne and Steven Isserlis in London. He rounded off his training with masterclasses under Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schiff, Anner Bylsma, Natalia Gutman and Gary Hoffman, and benefited from the advice and encouragement of such musical personalities as Itzhak Perlman, Philippe Jaroussky, Thomas Quasthoff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Maria João Pires, the Artemis Quartet, Menahem Pressler and Seiji Ozawa. His trajectory was crowned with success at international competitions in Osaka, Frankfurt, London (Philharmonia), New-York (YCA) and Vienna (Haydn). He has several times been invited to appear at the French Grammies and in different radio and television programs.

Christian-Pierre has performed in prestigious venues across the world : Paris (Philharmonie, Radio France, Louvre, Champs Elysées, Seine Musicale), Londres (Southbank Center, King’s Place, St Martin in the Fields) , Bruxelles (Bozar, Flagey), Vienna (Musikverein, Konzerthaus), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Berlin (Philharmonie), Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie, Laeizshalle), Frankfurt (Alte Oper), Schwarzenberg (Kaufmann Hall), Genève (Victoria Hall), Monaco (Opéra Garnier), Venice (La Fenice), Bilbao (Guggenheim), Saint-Petersburg (Mariinsky Concert Hall), Moscow (Conservatory), New York (92nd), Delhi (Imperial), Osaka (Izumi Hall), Tokyo (Oiji Hall), Melbourne (Arts Center) and Sydney (Angel Place) among others.

In concerto, he plays with leading orchestras : Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, musicians from Orchestre de Paris, Les Siècles, Brussels Philharmonic, Münchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Sinfonia Varsovia, Oviedo Symphony, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Kunming Symphony, to name few… and collaborates with François-Xavier Roth, Emmanuel Krivine, Augustin Dumay, Jacques Mercier, Oksana Lyniv, Gérard Korsten, Christopher Warren-Green, Clemens Schuldt.

An accomplished baroque cellist, Christian-Pierre has performed alongside the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightments (OAE) Le Concert de la Loge (Julien Chauvin), Les Ambassadeurs-La Grande Ecurie (Alexis Kossenko), Les Siècles (François-Xavier Roth) and soon with Il Pomo d’Oro (play-conduct), Arcangelo (Jonathan Cohen) and Concerto Italiano (Rinaldo Alessandrini). He also collaborates with Justin Taylor, Jean Rondeau or Theotime Langlois de Swaarte.

Christian-Pierre has appeared in major festivals (Verbier, Ravinia, Santander, Schleswig Holstein, Bad Kissingen, Meklenburg-Vorpommern, Schwetzingen, Trondheim, Oxford, Monte Carlo Printemps des Arts, Pablo Casals in Prades, Aix-en Provence summer and easter festivals, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Grange de Meslay, La Folle Journée in Nantes, Saintes, Radio
France in Montpellier, Menton…). He actively promotes contemporary music collaborating with composers including Jörg Widmann, Peteris Vasks, Gyorgy Kurtag, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Hersant, Olivier Greif, Jean-Louis Florentz.

Equally at ease on the chamber music platform, Christian-Pierre plays regularly with prestigious artists : Itzhak Perlman, Veronica Eberle, Vilde Frang, Marc Bouchkov, Barnabas Kelemen, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, Didier Lockwood, Alice Sara Ott, Igor Levit, Kit Armstrong, Nicholas Angelich, David Fray, Jose Gallardo, Itamar Golan, Lise de la Salle, Jean Frédéric Neuburger, Adam Laloum, Cédric Tiberghien, David Kadouch, Lawrence Power, Maxim Rysanov, Michel Portal, Andreas Ottensamer, Ksenja Sidorova, Félicien Brut, Thierry Escaich, Thibaut Garcia, Milos, Mischa Maïsky, Kian Soltani, Istvan Vardai and Quatuors Ebène, Van Kuikj, Modigliani, Carducci, Hermès, Danel. His love for voices led to collaborations with singers Sabine Devieilhe, Philippe Jaroussky, Thomas Hampson, Roberto Alagna, Benjamin Appl, Bernarda Fink, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Julie Fuchs, Karine Deshayes or Patricia Petibon (with who he recorded on DG « La Belle Excentrique »)

His discography reflects his curiosity as well as his loyalty to the great repertoire. It has won numerous international awards including the prestigious Gramophone Award for his album Cello 360. Christian-Pierre La Marca records exclusively for naïve, a label of Believe Group. His latest concerto album (2023) « Legacy » shows the classic filiation of his instrument, featuring concerti by Porpora, both Haydn and Mozart rare Sinfonia Concertante. His upcoming album around Clara and Robert Schumann’s music will be released in 2024 with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Christian-Pierre La Marca is a socially committed artist who initiated in 2018 the ‘Concert for the Planet’ with the GoodPlanet Foundation and photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a solidarity event intended to raise funds for the environment. He teached for several years at cello masterclasses of the Jaroussky Academy and has a class at the Paul Dukas Paris Conservatory XIIe for advanced students.

Christian-Pierre La Marca is a Larsen Strings Official Artist and an ambassador for Gewa and Henle Verlag. He is wearing clothes by stylist ‘Agnès b’. He plays a unique Neapolitan cello (ca1830) with a rare J. Eury cello bow (thanks to Vocation Foundation) and a F.L. Lamy cello bow from the legendary André Navarra (thanks to Anima Foundation). Original images by Marco Borggreve.