An Obie’s Guide to Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexandre Tharaud
The French cello-piano duo, who have been playing together for three decades, celebrate their deep friendship with an Artist Recital Series performance on November 3.
October 26, 2026
Stephanie Manning ’23
Jean-Guihen Queyras (right) with his 30-year performing pal, Alexandre Tharaud.
Whether in music or in any other field, one chance meeting can change the course of a whole career. Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud experienced such a meeting in the 1990s—and they’re celebrating 30 years of playing together this year.
“We really feel like we are two brothers,” Queyras says. “We enjoy our differences while being a perfect match somehow.”
While maintaining their extensive individual careers, the two French musicians also have kept up their artistic endeavors as a duo. Their joint recordings have earned multiple Diapason d’Or and Gramophone Editor’s Choice honors—high praise from two of Europe’s most famous music magazines.
The duo’s current international tour, which celebrates three decades of music-making, arrives in Oberlin's Finney Chapel on Tuesday, November 3, as part of the Artist Recital Series.
Campus connections
Thaurad has appeared on the Artist Recital Series before, although under unusual circumstances: When scheduled pianist Piotr Andreszewski fell ill in 2019, Thaurad stepped in on short notice to play J.S. Bach’s epic Goldberg Variations.
Queyras, on the other hand, will be making his Oberlin debut—though he already has a good friend on campus: Professor of Cello Darrett Adkins ’91, whom he met on the competition circuit in his 20s.
Coming full circle in Cleveland
Queyras also feels a strong connection to the Cleveland Orchestra through the conductor Pierre Boulez, whom he describes as “a very important mentor in my life.” Boulez founded the groundbreaking, avant-garde group Ensemble intercontemporain, with which Queyras performed for many years. And the conductor held a longstanding partnership with the Cleveland Orchestra that lasted almost a half-century.
The cellist remembers hearing Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra put on an “absolutely stellar” performance in Paris in the 1990s—and he thought about that night when he made his solo debut with the orchestra in 2024.
Music that represents a friendship
Through his work with Ensemble intercontemporain, Queyras has a passion for modern music and an affinity for experimentation. Tharaud shares this adventurous spirit, so the two have assembled a touring program as a distinct combination of pieces that feel meaningful to their partnership.
The more conventional first half includes Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in E Minor, a piece that “probably every cellist in the world not only knows, but has played,” Queyras says. They’ll also be playing Francis Poulenc’s Suite française, which appeared on the duo’s acclaimed 2008 album.
We like to connect these pieces from different countries and different times and see how they resonate together. It's like what happens in our subconscious: You listen to different pieces and travel from one place to the other, a bit like in dreams.” —Jean-Guihen Queyras
Unique combinations
After intermission, the program expands to encompass a variety of time periods and styles, combining individual movements from different pieces by composers like Alban Berg, Franz Schubert, Benjamin Britten, and Marin Marais.
“We like to connect these pieces from different countries and different times and see how they resonate together,” Queyras says. “It's like what happens in our subconscious: You listen to different pieces and travel from one place to the other, a bit like in dreams.”
This 40-minute section, which includes transcriptions written by the musicians themselves, creates a unique experience. “I would be pretty sure that this is a configuration that people will never have heard before.”
Teaching the next generation
A dedicated pedagogue and professor at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, Queyras will also be teaching a public master class in Oberlin. He sees the interaction between teacher and student not as a one-sided, hierarchical relationship, but as an exchange that goes both ways.
“I share my experiences to these young people, and they give us an incredible, fresh energy,” he says. “Their vision is going to bring something new to the world, which is wonderful.”
Learning from a longtime inspiration
Cellist Stine Adkins ’29, who will be performing in the master class on November 3, says she was lucky enough to hear Queyras’ “magical” performance with the Cleveland Orchestra in 2024. “He is one of the most exciting, imaginative cellists of our time,” she says. “He teaches with vivid kindness and interest in whatever he’s listening to.”
A student of Dmitry Kouzov, Adkins fondly remembers listening to some of Queyras and Tharaud’s recordings as a young student. “It’s a dream come true that we at Oberlin get to be part of a little bit of their artistry.”
Event details
Artist Recital Series: Jean-Guihen Queyras & Alexandre Tharaud
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 3
Finney Chapel (90 N. Professor St.)
Be a part of it: Get tickets online or contact Central Ticket Service at 440-775-8169. Oberlin students can attend for free through the #ClaimYourSeat program.
Shop ’Til Showtime too: Get discounts from downtown Oberlin businesses all day November 3. Made possible by the Oberlin Business Partnership.
Public Master Class: with Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 3, in Kulas Recital Hall (77 W. College St.).
Stephanie Manning ’23 completed her bassoon performance degree at Oberlin while finding her way into journalism as a classical music critic. She returned to Cleveland after finishing a graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University in Montreal. A regular contributor to ClevelandClassical.com, she has also published articles with Signal Cleveland, the Montreal Gazette, and Carnegie Hall.
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