Xavier de Maistre (FR)

About

Few harpists have carved out a career quite like Xavier de Maistre. The French musician from Toulon made history in 1998 when he became the first French musician to join the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and then pulled off another first in May 2002 as the only harpist ever to perform as soloist at one of the orchestra's subscription concerts. His competition record is equally striking, with wins across Paris, Cardiff, Munich, Vienna and Jerusalem before taking first prize and two interpretation prizes at the USA International Harp Competition. On stage he has shared the spotlight with conductors such as Riccardo Muti and Simon Rattle, and performed alongside singers Diana Damrau and Kathleen Battle at venues including La Scala, the Paris Opera and the Vienna Musikverein. He has taught at the Hamburg Academy of Music since 2001 and gives regular masterclasses at the Juilliard School and Tokyo's Toho University, making him as influential in the classroom as he is in the concert hall.