About Christophe Desjardins

Christophe Desjardins (viola) strives to expand his instrument’s repertoire as well as cultivating its traditional literature.

As a soloist, Desjardins has premiered works by Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Emmanuel Nunes, Philippe Manoury, Jörg Widmann, Marco Stroppa, and Wolfgang Rihm. He has performed with orchestras such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the National Orchestra of Lyon, the symphony orchestras of the broadcast networks NDR, WDR, and SWR in Germany, as well as many other ensembles throughout Europe. He has been a member of Ensemble intercontemporain in Paris since 1990.

His numerous recordings, including works by composers such as Philippe Boesmans, Luciano Berio, and Morton Feldman, have been widely praised by critics. Desjardins seeks new approaches to music in combination with poetry, dance, and video.

He plays an instrument built in 1720 by Francesco Goffriller in Venice. Chris­tophe Desjardins teaches at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold as well as at the Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse (CNSM) in Lyon.