Biography
The Swiss accordionist Viviane Chassot stands among the rare performers on her instrument to have forged a sustained path in the classical concert world. Born in Zurich in 1979, she committed herself to the accordion at age 12 out of a consuming desire to interpret Bach’s music on it, though she has yet to commit any of those works to disc. She pursued her training at the University of the Arts in Bern, Switzerland, under Teodoro Anzellotti and captured the Kranichstein Music Award among other distinctions by 2004 before completing her accordion performance degree there in 2006. A subsequent crisis of confidence prompted her to set the instrument aside for a full year, after which she remarked to Der Sonntag that “Life began again in 2007.” Within two years she issued her debut recording, devoted to Haydn piano sonatas, on the German Genuin label.
An album of Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin followed in 2011, and New Horizons, containing newly commissioned pieces, appeared on the same label in 2014; the latter disc presented music by Stefan Wirth, Heinz Holliger, Rudolf Kelterborn, Bernhard Lang, and Helena Winkelman and earned a nomination for the German Record Critics’ Award. An ardent advocate for contemporary repertoire, Chassot has also championed scores by Beat Furrer, Michael Pelzel, Toshio Hosokawa, Roland Moser, Henri Dutilleux, Jörg Widmann, Friedrich Cerha, and Arman Gushchyan. Her 2016 release Objets Trouvés was recorded with zither player Martin Mallaun, and she has collaborated in both concert and studio settings with various chamber ensembles as well as dancers, among them members of the Cincinnati Ballet in appearances at New York’s Guggenheim Museum.
Mounting critical recognition brought Chassot a contract with Sony Classical, rendering her the sole accordionist ever featured on that historic roster. Her first Sony album paired Haydn keyboard concertos with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, which she led from the keyboard; the recording drew widespread praise well outside German-language circles. Chassot serves as professor of accordion at the Basel Music Academy.
An album of Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin followed in 2011, and New Horizons, containing newly commissioned pieces, appeared on the same label in 2014; the latter disc presented music by Stefan Wirth, Heinz Holliger, Rudolf Kelterborn, Bernhard Lang, and Helena Winkelman and earned a nomination for the German Record Critics’ Award. An ardent advocate for contemporary repertoire, Chassot has also championed scores by Beat Furrer, Michael Pelzel, Toshio Hosokawa, Roland Moser, Henri Dutilleux, Jörg Widmann, Friedrich Cerha, and Arman Gushchyan. Her 2016 release Objets Trouvés was recorded with zither player Martin Mallaun, and she has collaborated in both concert and studio settings with various chamber ensembles as well as dancers, among them members of the Cincinnati Ballet in appearances at New York’s Guggenheim Museum.
Mounting critical recognition brought Chassot a contract with Sony Classical, rendering her the sole accordionist ever featured on that historic roster. Her first Sony album paired Haydn keyboard concertos with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, which she led from the keyboard; the recording drew widespread praise well outside German-language circles. Chassot serves as professor of accordion at the Basel Music Academy.
Albums
