Bertrand Cuiller, harpsichord

Born in 1978 into a musical family, Bertrand Cuiller began studying the harpsichord with his mother, Jocelyne, at the age of 8. He studied the instrument for many years following with Pierre Hantaï as well as with Christoph Rousset at the CNSM in Paris.  Also interested in the sound of the horn, he learned to play both Baroque and modern horn.

In 1998, at age 19, he won the 3rd prize of the Bruges International Harpsichord Competition.  Retained the following year by William Christie, he participated in some productions of Les Arts Florissants.  As an orchestral musician, he also played with conductors Hervé Niquet, Vincent Dumestre and his father, Daniel Cuiller.

Mostly interested until the present by working in smaller groups, he has developed a great affection for chamber music, an affection which he has nourished with his friends at La Rêveuse as well as with Les Basses Réunis, since his meeting the cellist Bruno Cocset.  He also plays in duo with Sophie Gent, Marine Sablonnière and Jana Semerádová.

Deeply interested in instrumental playing, Bertrand Cuiller has devoted himself to the solo repertoire for harpsichord, in particular the English William Byrd and John Bull.  He has twice recorded these composers:  Pescodd Time (on Alpha) and M. Tomkins his lessons of worthe (on Mirare). He has also recorded Johann Sebastian Bach’s harpsichord concerti for Mirare with his father Daniel on the violin leading the ensemble Stradivaria, as well as a disk consecrated to Scarlatti and Soler. His recordings have received a very warm reception from both the critics and the public.

Bertrand Cuiller has created several productions with the comedian Louise Moaty.  La lanterne magique de Monsieur Couperin; Mille et une Nuits ; as well as D’Anglebert - Les Lettres Portugaises.  His theatrical collaborations have lead him to play with Nicolas Vaude and Nicolas Marié in le Neveu de Rameau of Diderot.

Bertrand Cuiller made his first sortie as a conductor in the winter of 2012-2013, conducting the ensemble and choir of Les Musiciens du Paradis from the harpsichord, in a production of the opera Venus and Adonis by John Blow, with soloists Céline Scheen and Marc Mauillon. This production of the Théâtre de Caen, staged by Louise Moaty, with performances at the Opéra de Lille, the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, MC2 Grenoble, Opéra Comique Paris, Opéras d’Angers et Nantes, gave him the desire to conduct again.  He will conduct the same ensemble in orchestral works by Jean-Philippe Rameau in 2014.


‘Like only a very few harpsichordists of his generation, Bertrand Cuiller possesses in the highest degree the ability to give musical ideas their most accomplished form.’ Diapason

Bertrand Cuiller (photo: Jean-Baptiste Millot)