The duo formed by violinist Marie Bégin and pianist Samuel Blanchette-Gagnon was founded in 2015 when the pair had the opportunity to work together during competitions and summer festivals. They have been working together since then, giving very personal interpretations of a large diversity of repertoire and creating concerts of a unique quality. The duo recently released an album devoted to Debussy, Szymanowski and Franck that was acclaimed by critics.

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MARIE BÉGIN

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Named on CBC’s "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30" 2020 edition, violinist Marie Bégin has performed in recitals in Canada, the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and China. She was soloist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the National Art Center Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and the Agora Symphony Orchestra, among others. She is frequently invited to perform in several renowned ensembles, notably as assistant concertmaster of the Hulencourt Soloist Chamber Orchestra for concerts in Milan, Brussels and Spain. A passionate chamber player, she collaborates with renowned artists such as Charles Richard-Hamelin and Andrew Wan. At age 26, she was appointed first violin of the Saguenay Quartet (Alcan) as well as concertmaster of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Symphony Orchestra. She also forms a permanent duo with pianist Samuel Blanchette-Gagnon, a group that has been heard at the Riviera Music Academy in Switzerland, among others. The duo is currently working on a recording of 20th century works for violin and piano.

 

A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, she studied with Andrée Azar, Jean Angers and Darren Lowe. She then pursued her studies in Europe with Zakhar Bron, at his academy in Switzerland, but also at the Menuhin Academy, the Kronberg Academy and the Mozarteum University. She receives advices and support from several great musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, Pierre Amoyal, Mauricio Fuks, Christian Tetzlaff, Augustin Dumay, Miriam Fried and Rodney Friend, among many others.

 

Marie Bégin has been selected in several major international competitions, including the Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poland and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition. She won several prizes including the grand prize at the Festival-Concours Pierre-de-Saurel and the international ROTARY “Douja d'Or” prize awarded by Switzerland, France, Germany and Italy . She is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Quebec Council for the Arts and Letters. She plays on a violin J.B. Vuillaume (1850) graciously loaned by CANIMEX INC.

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