Aurélien Pascal

“… The cellist Aurélien Pascal surprise audiences with his breathtaking technique and astonishing depth of musicality.” - Resmusica

Laureate of numerous prestigious international competitions, Aurélien Pascal’s remarkable talent has earned him significant accomplishments including the Second Prize at the 2013 International Paulo Competition, the Grand Prize Audience Award, and the Best Performance of the Toch concerto at the 2014 Emanuel Feuermann Competition as well as Fourth Prizewinner and youngest finalist at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition. He was chosen as the Adami Revelation Classique in 2013 and most recently, the Revelation Instrumental Soloist at the Victories of Classical Music in 2023.

Aurélien Pascal collaborates with orchestras across the world, such as the Orchestre de Paris, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Hangzhou Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphonic, Taipei National Symphonic, Hiroshima Symphonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Cyprus Symphonic, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Chamber, Luxembourg Chamber, Nuremberg Symphonic, Kammerakademie Postdam, Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphonic … under the baton of Christoph Poppen, András Schiff, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Okko Kamu, Lawrence Foster, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Clemens Schuldt, Corinna Niemeyer, Gilbert Varga, Emil Tabakov or Marcus Bosch. In the realm of chamber music, Aurélien Pascal has shared the stage with artists such as Alexandre Kantorov, Liya Petrova, Renaud Capuçon, András Schiff, Augustin Dumay, Tabea Zimmerman, Pavel Kolesnikov, Clara Jumi-Kang, Emmanuel Pahud, as well as ensembles like the Modigliani Quartet, Hermes Quartet or Arnold Trio, amongst others.

He has been invited to renowned festivals including La Roque d’Anthéron, Chaise Dieu, Easter Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Bonn Beethovenfest, Folle Journée in Nantes, Tokyo, Warsaw, Pianopolis in Angers, Festival Internacional de Musica de Marvao, Les Rencontres Musicales in Nîmes and in Calenzana or Festspiele of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where he was awarded the Audience Prize in 2015.

In 2016, he recorded Franz Danzi’s Cello Concerto with Munich Chamber Orchestra and Howard Griffiths for the Sony Classical Label. This recording received critical acclaim, with Pizzicato praising his playing as “wonderful natural” and his interpretation as “flawless both musically and technically”, and The Strad acknowledging his “unique virtuosity and intuitive musicality”. His CD of Kodaly’s Cello sonata for La Musica label also received a Choc Classica and a Diapason discovery in 2019. Aurélien Pascal has also recorded works by Brahms, Schubert, Ravel, Nino Rota, Enesco, with Augustin Dumay, Henri Demarquette, Eric Le Sage, Paloma Kouider, Svetlin Roussev, Paul Meyer, for various labels like Onyx Alpha.

Born in 1994 into a musical family, Aurélien Pascal studied at the CNSMDP with Philippe Müller and attended masterclasses with János Starker. 

He plays a French Adolphe Gand cello from 1850.

From 2015 to 2019, Aurélien Pascal studied at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman. These studies were funded by the Angela Winkler Scholarship.