Isabelle Faust
Violinist Isabelle Faust emerged in the 1990s and has become one of the most versatile players on the scene, playing both modern and historical instruments, with a large repertory stretching from the Baroque to new works. In the 2010s, she was especially noted for fresh interpretations of violin-and-piano repertory with her duet partner, Alexander Melnikov.
Faust was born in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, then in West Germany, on March 19, 1972. She accompanied her father to his violin lessons when she was five, and while the father's talents were ordinary, teachers noticed that the daughter quickly mastered whatever challenges she was given. A family string quartet (her brother Boris Faust is a noted violist), as well as lessons with Denes Zsigmondy and Christoph Poppen, honed her skills. After winning first prize at the International Leopold Mozart Competition in Augsburg in 1987, Faust moved to Paris for nine years to gain experience in new contexts rather than enrolling in a conservatory. Musing that her French first name might have led people to believe she was French, she began to find major engagements, making her U.S. debut in 1995 with the Utah Symphony and appearing with many of Germany's top orchestras, including the Hamburg Philharmonic under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin. In the later part of her career, she has performed with top orchestras internationally. In 1997, Faust released her first album, a set of Bartók violin sonatas recorded with pianist Ewa Kupiec; the album earned a Gramophone magazine award for Young Artist of the Year, and further recordings earned other major prizes, including the prestigious Diapason d'Or de l'Année for a cycle of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in 2010. Most of her albums have been released on the Harmonia Mundi label. In 2004, Faust joined the faculty of Berlin's University of the Arts.
In the early 2000s, Faust began performing and recording violin sonata repertory with pianist Alexander Melnikov; their historically informed recording of Mozart violin sonatas, released on Harmonia Mundi in 2018, earned wide critical acclaim. She has also issued a set of Mozart violin concertos with the historical performance group Il Giardino Armonico; these won Gramophone Awards for Recording of the Year and Best Concerto Recording. Faust is unusually prolific as a recording artist, having issued more than 50 albums in all, including four in 2021 alone, all on Harmonia Mundi, featuring music by composers ranging from Mozart to Peter Eötvös.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano & Violin
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 24 Aug 2009
Gramophone Award24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Violin Concertos
Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Forck, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Concertos - Released by harmonia mundi on 15 Mar 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 / Schumann: 3 Romances / F-A-E Sonata
Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust
Duets - Released by harmonia mundi on 17 Sep 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas with Bach
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Philippe Herreweghe, Isabelle Faust
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 10 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 26 Jun 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps - Eötvös: "Alhambra" Concerto
Pablo Heras-Casado, Isabelle Faust, Orchestre de Paris
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 9 Apr 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Violin Concertos
Christoph Poppen, Isabelle Faust, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling, Unknown Artist, Muriel Cantoreggi
Classical - Released by haenssler CLASSIC on 12 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Horn Trio, Op.40
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Teunis van der Zwart
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 23 Sep 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Die Geschichte vom Soldaten (Deutsche Fassung). Élégie. Duo concertant
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 27 Aug 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hartmann: Funèbre
Isabelle Faust, Paul Meyer, Christoph Poppen, Münchener Kammerorchester, Petersen Quartett
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on 1 Aug 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Violin Sonata Nos. 1-3
Isabelle Faust, Silke Avenhaus
Chamber Music - Released by CPO on 15 Aug 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Duos pour violon et alto (Alessandro Rolla)
Classical - Released by Pan Classics on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ondřej Adámek: Follow Me & Where Are You?
Isabelle Faust, Magdalena Kožená, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Peter Rundel, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by BR-Klassik on 21 Jan 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
In aller Stille
Isabelle Faust, Roger Willemsen
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Tacheles! on 19 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Joseph Haydn: Violin Concertos
Violin Concertos - Released by Pan Classics on 1 Nov 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: Reconstructed Violin Concertos BWV1052R,1056R,1064R & BWV1045
Isabelle Faust & Muriel Cantoreggi & Christoph Poppen & Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Isabelle Faust, Muriel Cantoreggi, Christoph Poppen, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Classical - Released by CFClassic on 1 Jul 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Complete Piano Quartets
Derek Han, Isabelle Faust, Bruno Giuranna, Alain Meunier
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 5 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concertos BWV1041-1043
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart & Christoph Poppen & Isabelle Faust, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Christoph Poppen, Isabelle Faust
Classical - Released by CFClassic on 1 Jul 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lancino: Violin Concerto & Prelude and Death of Virgil
Isabelle Faust, Orchestre National de France, Matteo de Monti, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg , Gerard Schwarz, Arturo Tamayo
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thorsten Encke: A Portrait (Live)
musica assoluta, Paavo Järvi, Isabelle Faust, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam
Classical - Released by Cavi-Music on 14 Jul 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo