Jonathan Fournel

Pianist Jonathan Fournel won several major competitions, including Belgium's Concours Reine Elisabeth in 2021. He has already recorded for the prestigious Alpha and Onyx Classics labels. Fournel was born in Sarrebourg in the east of France on October 2, 1993. He took up the piano at seven in his hometown and was then admitted for lessons at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. Fournel matriculated at 12 at the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken in western Germany, in the studios of Robert Leonardy and Jean Micault. He also took lessons from Gisèle Magnan, whom he still regards as a mentor and with whom he continues to study. At 16, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSM), where he studied with Brigitte Engerer, Bruno Rigutto, Claire Désert, and Michael Dalberto. Graduating with honors, Fournel began a residence at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2016. Joining the studios of Louis Lortie and Av Kouyoumdjian, he remained there for five years, at the conclusion of which he won the Concours Reine Elisabeth. Fournel's performances in that competition were compiled into an album that was released in 2021 as his album debut on the Queen Elisabeth Competition's own label. Fournel has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie, the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra in China. He has appeared at leading venues, including the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, and the Auditorium Gustav Mahler in Milan. His many chamber music collaborators include cellist Gautier Capuçon, violinist Augustin Dumay, and the Modigliani Quartet. Fournel has a strong commitment to contemporary music, having given the world premiere of the Piano Sonata No. 3 of Nicolas Bacri, and programming such composers as Bruno Mantovani, Thomas Adès, and Rory Boyle. He made his studio debut on the Onyx label in 2021 with a performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Sonata in F major, MWV 26, backing Dumay, and later that year, he moved to Alpha for a recording of keyboard works by Brahms and Handel. Fournel returned on Alpha in 2024 with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, issuing an album of Mozart piano concertos.
© James Manheim /TiVo