Philippe Bernold, flute

Philippe Bernold began his musical studies in his home town of Colmar, studying flute, then harmony and orchestral conducting with René Matter, disciple of Münch. Having entered the National Music Conservatory of Paris, he obtained a brilliant First Prize in flute and was appointed the following year, aged 23, as first solo flute of the National Opera Orchestra of Lyon.

In 1987, he won the first prize at the International Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition. This distinctive award helped him to begin his solo career in the company of most famous artists and orchestras. He played with Rostropovitch and Rampal, with orchestras from Paris and Tokyo under the direction of Gardiner, Maazel, Bychkov and Menuhin. He came back to orchestral conducting in 1994 when he founded, encouraged by his Master John Eliot Gardiner, ‘Les Virtuoses de l’Opéra de Lyon’ which was highly acclaimed. Since then he has directed ensembles such as the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Caracas, the Philharmonie of Baden-Baden, the Chamber Orchestras of Paris and Geneva, the Kanazawa ensemble in Japan, Bucheon in Seoul and the Cappella Istropolitana, of which he is the first guest conductor since 2003. His first disc in 1989 was rewarded with the Grand Prix of the Charles Cros Academy. Since then, Philippe Bernold has recorded more than 20 discs for Harmonia Mundi and EMI. With pianist Alexandre Tharaud, he has made recordings which have been crowned with ‘Choc’ (World of Music) and with the ‘Golden Tuning Fork’.

Philippe Bernold is Professor of Chamber Music and Flute at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris.