Sào Soulez Larivière
Viola
Franco-Dutch violist Sào Soulez Larivière is quickly building himself a thriving career as a versatile musician. Captivating audiences with his playing and original programming, he endeavours to broaden the accessibility and understanding of classical music. At the age of 24, he is already a top prizewinner of several international competitions, including the Tokyo Viola Competition, Oskar Nedbal Competiton , Max Rostal Competition, Cecil Aronowitz Competition and Johannes Brahms Competition. He has been featured at numerous renowned academies such as the Verbier Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Ozawa Academy and IMS Prussia Cove.
Chamber music has always been at the heart of his musical upbringing, sharing his love for music with his sister, violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière, with whom he still frequently performs. Sào is a member of the Frielinghaus Ensemble, which released an acclaimed album in 2020, featuring sextets by DvoÅ™ák and Tchaikovsky. As a much sought-after chamber musician, he has appeared at various festivals such as Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Krzyzowa-Music Festival and ‘Chamber Music Connects the World’ in Kronberg.
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An advocate for expanding the horizons of the viola repertoire, he enjoys arranging works for his instrument, as well as promoting contemporary music. Working with accomplished composers has offered him an unparalleled opportunity to delve deeper into the creative side of music. Notably, Sào received the prize for his interpretation of the commissioned
work both at the Tokyo Competition and the Max Rostal Competition.
Born in Paris, Sào originally started playing the violin under the tutelage of Igor Voloshin, before receiving a scholarship to study with Natasha Boyarsky at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. Having discovered the viola whilst playing chamber and orchestral music there, he decided to devote himself fully to the instrument towards the end of his studies. Furthermore, his musical development has been deeply enriched by working with many esteemed musicians such as Jean Sulem, Boris Garlitsky, and Steven Isserlis.
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He currently resides in Berlin, where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’. Since autumn 2022, he has been pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Kronberg Academy.
In 2019, Sào was awarded the Ritter Preis on behalf of the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation. Additionally, he received the Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis, which enabled him to release his debut album ‘Impression’ in 2021. He is generously supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Yehudi Menuhin ‘Live Music Now’ e.V. and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz Foundation.
Sào plays on an instrument made by Fréderic Chaudière in 2013.
