‘Fall in love with a composer’s universe’ - Jean-Guihen Queyras’s life lessons

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Wonderful creative images come to mind when I think of my first teacher, Claire Rabier. About bow hand shape I remember her saying, ‘Imagine you have a little bird nested in your hand and you don’t want to crush him.’ The idea of the shape and warmth of the bird made me want to create something soft, not only in my hand but also in my sound. She was an extraordinary woman with a real pedagogical sense for children. She also taught me that music is sharing. After lessons her students would all go into the adjacent room, filled with sheet music for two or three cellos. Regardless of level, we would all play together. Even when I became more advanced than the others, this helped make that process less isolating. I believe it’s a big reason why chamber music has always been at the centre of my own career…