Amoyal, Pierre
Amoyal, Pierre
Amoyal, Pierre, distinguished French violinist and teacher; b. Paris, June 22, 1949. He entered the Paris Cons, at the age of 10 and took the premier prix when he was only 12. In 1963 he won the Ginette Neveu Prize, in 1964 the Paganini Prize, and in 1970 the Enesco Prize. From 1966 to 1971 he pursued intensive studies with Heifetz in Los Angeles. In 1971 he made his debut as soloist in the Berg Concerto with Solti and the Orchestre de Paris, and thereafter was engaged as a soloist with major orchs. on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1985 he made his auspicious Carnegie Hall recital debut in N.Y. From 1977 to 1987 he taught at the Paris Cons., and then was on the faculty of the Lausanne Cons. In 1991 he founded, with Alexis Weissenberg, the Lausanne Summer Music Academy, which he subsequently served as artistic director. In addition to his appearances with orchs., he has given many recitals and has played much chamber music. His repertoire ranges from Bach to the contemporary era. His concerto repertoire embraces not only the standard works, but also scores by Schoenberg, Respighi, and Dutilleux.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire