An undisputed leading figure of the viola in France and worldwide, Gérard Caussé has, alongside a distinguished career as a soloist, recitalist, and concerto performer with the greatest conductors and most prestigious ensembles, developed a chamber music activity universally acclaimed for the musical generosity of an artist who, since Mozart, sees himself as a “bridge” between the low and high voices of the string quartet.

A sought-after partner of the finest musicians—Gidon Kremer (The Seven Last Words of Christ by Haydn), Dmitry Sitkovetsky (world premiere of Sitkovetsky’s transcription of Bach’s Goldberg Variations), Mischa Maisky, Michel Portal, Paul Meyer, François-René Duchâble, Renaud Capuçon, Franck Braley, and Nicholas Angelich—Gérard Caussé has, through his unique playing and personal charisma, influenced several generations of musicians, many of whom were inspired to take up the viola as a vocation in his wake.

An instrument with an intimate voice and a discreet repertoire, the viola is by nature little inclined to attract attention; yet Gérard Caussé has succeeded in making this highly distinctive voice instantly recognizable, inspiring many of the leading composers of his time, including Henri Dutilleux, Philippe Hersant, Michaël Lévinas, Pascal Dusapin, Hugues Dufourt, Betsy Jolas, Wolfgang Rihm, and Gérard Pesson.

His advocacy of contemporary repertoire, dating back to the founding of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, where Pierre Boulez appointed him principal viola, has gone hand in hand with a widely recognized and innovative pedagogical activity, from the Paris Conservatoire to the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, as well as numerous masterclasses in Verbier, Salzburg, Siena, Villecroze, Lisbon, Havana, and Caracas.

As conductor and music director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse and the Camerata of the Caja Duero Foundation in Salamanca, Gérard Caussé embodies all the facets of an exceptional and singular life as a violist. This is reflected in a discography of more than sixty recordings released on major labels and acclaimed by both public and critics alike, including the recent transcription of Bach’s Cello Suites for viola, interwoven with poems by Rilke recited by Laurent Terzieff, released on Erato.

He shares the stage with his magnificent Gasparo da Salò viola, dated 1560.