Age: 24
“I’m a very curious person, always in search of new inspirations, whether artistic or human.”
Thomas Briant is a graduate of the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne in the class of Renaud Capuçon, and of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he studied with Stéphanie-Marie Degand and Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian. He has also worked closely with great masters such as Augustin Dumay, Vladimir Spivakov, Nemanja Radulović, as well as with members of the Trio Wanderer and Quatuor Ébène.
Thomas first started taking violin lessons at the age of five. “It was a really inspiring discovery which soon transformed into a passion.” Today, he is inspired by multiple performers, among them violinist Christian Ferras: “I admire the intensity of his playing, his profound artistic sincerity and the poetry that resonates from his instrument.”
A prizewinner of the Concours Appassionato Joël Klépal, of the Maurice Ravel Foundation, and of the Concours d’interprétation musicale de Lausanne, Thomas has already established himself as a compelling soloist and chamber musician. Recent highlights include a performance of Brahms’s Double Concerto with Anne Gastinel at La Seine Musicale, collaborations with Kit Armstrong and Anneleen Lenaerts, and invitations to prestigious internships such as those of the Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence, the George Enescu Festival, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and the Festival de La Roque d’Anthéron. The Concours 2026 marks Thomas’s debut in North America.
An avid chamber musician, he is a founding member of the Trio Zarathoustra, in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac, and performs regularly with accordion player Julien Beautemps, exploring new dialogues between classical and contemporary expression.
Thomas plays a 1735 Gagliano violin, generously loaned by Roger Zilber through the Talents & Violon’celles endowment fund.
programme
FIRST ROUND
WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI
Subito for Violin and Piano
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Sonata for Violin and Keyboard No. 3 in E major, BWV 1016
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Adagio ma non tanto
- Allegro
EUGÈNE YSAŸE
Caprice d’après l’étude en forme de valse de Camille Saint-Saëns, Op. 52, No. 6
SEMIFINAL
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D major, Op. 94a
- Moderato
- Presto
- Andante
- Allegro con brio – Poco meno mosso – Tempo I – Poco meno mosso – Allegro con brio
LUNA PEARL WOOLF
L’inconnu.e bouleversant.e
OLIVIER MESSIAEN
Thème et variation
- Thème – Modéré
- Première variation – Modéré
- Deuxième variation – Un peu moins modéré
- Troisième variation – Modéré, avec éclat
- Quatrième variation – Vif et passionné
- Cinquième variation – Très modéré
MAURICE RAVEL
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G major, M. 77
- Allegro
- Blues – Moderato
- Perpetuum Mobile – Allegro
FINAL – MOZART ROUND
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
- Allegro
- Adagio
- Rondeau – Allegro
GRAND FINAL
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVITCH
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77/99
- Nocturne – Moderato
- Scherzo – Allegro
- Passacaglia – Andante – Cadenza
- Burlesque – Allegro con brio – Presto
The presence of Thomas Briant in Montreal is generously sponsored by
Abzac Canada
