Biography

“Ardent, moving violinist with a luminous sound, elegance of phrasing, sensuality of sound, twirling virtuosity” Classica Repertoire

“Voluptuous, breathtakingly captivating sound…absolutely captivating.” The Strad Magazine – (UK)

“Marie Cantagrill is not only brilliant: she has a full and warm sound.” Diapason

“What Marie got out of her violin was simply sensational… You would have thought that this devilish violinist was the reincarnation of Paganini…” Der Zürcher Oberländer – Journal Suisse

“…Extraordinary sound equality, a way of making your violin sing, of making it speak, of making it tell stories…” RTL-Alain Duault-Classic Classique sur RTL

“Even the most enlightened performers do not always succeed completely in “shaking” the vestiges of the virtuoso tradition of the 19th century, in these pieces which represent an infinite challenge. Then arrives Marie Cantagrill, former winner of the Vieuxtemps Competition, who plays with a captivating freshness and an ease and spontaneity which are the complete opposite of the school of “chisel bows. ” Strad-Magazine-(UK)

“Let us give him thanks for thus raising Bach to his true level as a musician-poet and with him, for conveying the breath of the rarest of artistic emotions.” CMF J.Malraye

“An immense talent and unparalleled generosity!” Paris Match

After studying violin in France and achieving First Prize in Violin and Chamber Music at the Conservatories of Grenoble and Boulogne-Billancourt, Marie Cantagrill continued her training at the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium, where she earned an Advanced Diploma in Violin with great distinction. She also studied under Zoria Chickmoursaeva at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and Igor Oistrakh at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Cantagrill divides her time between performing concerts, recording albums, and participating in charitable endeavors, and her award-winning musical achievements have been recognized at international forums such as the Pierre Lantier, Claude Langevin, and Vieuxtemps competitions.

A virtuoso with exceptional sensitivity, Cantagrill performs in a manner described by Classica Répertoire as “fiery, moving, and with a luminous sound.” Paris Match proclaimed her an “astonishing” artist “who knows how to make her violin vibrate as much as our soul.” UK magazine The Strad dubbed her a “magician of the violin . . . high-flying virtuoso . . . extraordinary . . . captivating,” with a “voluptuous, enchanting sound that takes your breath away.” The Strad compared her to Itzhak Perlmann and Isaac Stern. According to Der Zürcher Oberländer, “What Marie drew from her violin was simply sensational.” And the Swiss Journal proclaimed that “One would have thought that this devilish violinist was the reincarnation of Paganini.” RTL-Alain Duault-Classic Classique on RTL remarked “ an extraordinary sound equality, a way of making her violin sing, speak, and tell stories.”

Cantagrill has released two violin-piano albums featuring virtuoso and romantic repertoire (Marie Cantagrill – Romantic and Virtuoso and Récital Slave [Slavic Recital]). At the Radio Hungary studios in Budapest, she recorded an album with the Budapest Concert Orchestra, conducted by Tàmàs Gal, which includes the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and the Rimsky- Korsakov Fantasy on Russian Themes).

After taking a two-year professional break to recover from health issues, Cantagrill released a solo violin album of Bach’s Partitas Nos. 2 and 3 as the first part of her series of albums Complete Works for Solo Violin by Bach. It was followed by the 2nd part (Sonata No. 1 and Partita No. 1), and the 3rd and final part (Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3), released in February 2015. On this series, The Strad declared that “even the most enlightened performers do not always succeed in completely ‘shaking off’ the remnants of the virtuoso tradition of the 19th century, in these pieces that represent an infinite challenge. Enter Marie Cantagrill, a former laureate of the Vieuxtemps competition, who plays with a captivating freshness and ease that are the opposite of the ‘chiseled bows’ school.”In The Confereration Musicale de France Jean Malraye lauds the series as well: “Let us be thankful for [Cantagrill’s] raising Bach to his true level as a musician-poet and, with him, for conveying the breath of the rarest of artistic emotions.” Guillemet quote

In 2011, Cantagrill founded the Chamber Orchestra of Ariège (OCA) and has performed continusouly with them, including multiple national tours. She continues to serve as the artistic director of the OCA. More recently in 2019, Cantagrill also founded Les Grands Rendez-vous annual festival, where she regularly invites and performs with renowned international artists.

As much a contemporary artist as she is a master of the classics, Cantagrill regularly interprets modern works by composers who have written especially for her, performing for both artist residencies and one-time concerts. Notable premiers include new works by Nimrod Borenstein, Louis Babin, Xavier Armenter, Omar Yagoubi, Vincent Kennedy, Charly Mandon, Jean-Cristophe Rosaz, and Naji Hakim.

Cantagrill regularly participates in charitable causes such as Restos du Cœur, Autism 09 for children with Asbergers, Caritas Fight Against Illiteracy, the League Against Cancer, and since 2013 she has served as the face of the Y’Arrivarem Association, which supports people with disabilities. As a believer in the positive impact classical music can have on individuals and communities, she organizes multiple events through the OCA to bring public rehearsals, educational rehearsals, and concerts to rural communities, schools, care centers for people living with disabilities, and other audiences who have not always had access to classical music culture. Paris Match has acknowledged her musical prowess paired with her community involvement as “immense talent and unparalleled generosity!”

 

To support the upcoming generation of young violinists, Cantagrill formed an international violin competition in 2013 to encourage emerging young musical talent from around the world. The thirteenth annual competition took place in early July 2024. In addition, Cantagrill launched the Academie de Musique Marie Cantagrill to offer master classes for promising young musicians in the countryside of Ariège.

For the last 10 years, she has been living in Taurignan-Vieux, a village in Ariège, where her family has resided for many generations.