Franck Chevalier: Life Lessons

I have more childhood memories of my musical environment than of my viola lessons. In my home town of Caen, Normandy, we had a fantastic contemporary music festival and at the age of eight I was lucky enough to meet people like Stockhausen, Berio and Xenakis. It definitely had an impact on my professional career, seeing as I now frequently play premieres with Diotima. During the 1980s in France there was also a revolution in Baroque music as it came into ordinary musical life. I was deeply affected by the group Les Arts Florissants and their brilliant leader William Christie, who were in residence in Caen. Having both the Baroque and contemporary styles around me gave me a well-rounded start to my musical life…