Ophélie Gaillard

Ophélie Gaillard (born June 13, 1974) is a French cellist.

Gaillard was born in Paris. While studying at the Paris Conservatory, she obtained three first prizes in music: one in chamber music in the class of Maurice Bourgue, one in cello in the class of Philippe Muller, and one in baroque cello in the class of Christophe Coin. A recipient of a Certificate of Aptitude in cello pedagogy and a license in musicology from the Sorbonne, Gaillard has been teaching since 2000.

In 1998, she won third prize in the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition, and was voted "Revelation: Solo Instrumentalist of the Year" at the Victoires de la musique classique in 2003. She is a recitalist and champion of the solo cello repertoire, from the Bach suites to contemporary music.

Her recordings from the Ambroisie label of the solo Bach cello suites, Britten's cello suites, and his cello sonata with pianist Vanessa Wagner were noticed by music critics internationally. Her recent disk dedicated to Gabriel Fauré's works for cello and piano, recorded with pianist Bruno Fontaine, was notably distinguished by the Strad magazine.

Collaborations

Since 2004, she has worked with accordionist Pascal Contet. She also collaborates with dancers, in particular Daniel Larrieu and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

In 2005, Ophélie Gaillard founded Pulcinella, a chamber ensemble dedicated to playing Baroque music on period instruments. Pulcinella's recording of the Vivaldi complete cello sonatas were acclaimed by the international press.

Instruments

Ophélie Gaillard plays a cello made by Francesco Goffriller in 1737. She also owns an 1855 Bernardel cello, which she uses for romantic and modern music.