Régis Pasquier © DR
Régis Pasquier © Nina Adler
Régis Pasquier © Alvaro
Born in an illustrious family of musicians, Régis Pasquier is rocked by music from his early years on. This complicity proves from the start to be highly fruitful, as he wins his First Prizes in violin and chamber music at the age of 12, before flying to the United States two years later.
This journey will be decisive: there he meets Isaac Stern, David Oïstrakh, Pierre Fournier and Nadia Boulanger. Seduced by his playing, Zino Francescatti invites him to join him within the prestigious American concerts agency Columbia Artists Management Inc.: Régis Pasquier is soon demanded as a soloist by all great North-American orchestras, in particular by the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, then regarded as the best orchestra worldwide, as well as the Pittsburgh Orchestra.
A few years later, Zino Francescatti invites Régis Pasquier to record at his side for Deutsche Grammophon, Bach’s “Concerto for two violins” BWV 1043.
His reputation spreads largely beyond the United States and his « frank and wide tone, his thorough care of phrasing, his outstanding technical ease, his perfect sound accuracy » (Le Figaro) are soon distinguished by the most famous orchestras, who invite him to France as well as to Japan, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic....
Régis Pasquier performs under the most prestigious conductors: in the first place under Lorin Maazel, with whom he tours in the US, but also under Georges Prêtre, Leonard Bernstein, Alain Lombard, Michel Plasson, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Jean Fournet, Marc Soustrot, Rudolf Baumgartner, George Szell, Matthias Bamert, Edo de Waart, Michael Tilson Thomas, Charles Dutoit, Tamas Vasary, Yoël Levi, Seiji Ozawa, Louis Langrée, Neeme Järvi, Eugen Jochum, Emmanuel Krivine…
Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Menahem Pressler, Leonard Rose, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Murray Perahia, Paul Tortelier count among his widely renowned chamber music partners.
To the recognition by his peers, he adds recognition by the audience: in 1991 he is chosen as the « Best solist of the year » by the « Music Victories » and is awarded the « Special Prize » by the New Record Academy.
Recording attests indeed to his strong presence, in particular in the area of chamber music. After concertante works with the Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra under Alain Lombard, as well as Berg and Bartók Concertos with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra under Erich Bergel, Régis Pasquier records Prokofiev and Brahms Concertos. He also records the integral Paganini Capricci (Auvidis).
His highly praised recording of Mozart Concertos with the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra under Pierre Bartholomée (Auvidis) precedes a recording dedicated to Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano, which he records alongside his long-standing partner Jean-Claude Pennetier and which is awarded another « Music Victory ».
For the Calliope label, he records the Beethoven and Tchaïkovsky Concertos with the Baltic Chamber Orchestra under Emmanuel Leducq-Barôme.
The Assaï label also publishes a disc recorded alongside the Picardie Orchestra under Edmon Colomer: Bernstein’s « Sérénade » and Kurt Weill’s Concerto for violin and winds.
Together with the Pennetier-Pasquier-Pidoux Trio, a beautiful recording dedicated to Ravel is issued with Saphir Productions, as well as an additional one dedicated to Rachmaninov.
Far from being high on his success, concerned with ensuring transmission of his knowledge as well as the education of young generations, Régis Pasquier teaches violin at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique from 1985 to 2011.
Régis Pasquier regularly travels around the world and performs chamber music concerts (particularly with the Pennetier-Pasquier-Pidoux Trio), as well as concerts alongside orchestras in Australia, Japan, Canada, the United States, Central and South America, New Caledonia, Russia, not to mention Europe: Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden etc.
Régis Pasquier also has a passion for jazz and was invited by Stéphane Grapelli to participate in several jazz concerts with his band.
Since 1998 Régis Pasquier has been playing a beautiful violin by Joseph Guarnerius (Del Gesu) Cremona 1734.