Franco-Swiss violist Mathis Rochat is fast becoming recognized as "one of the most promising and creative violists of his generation" (concerti.de). As a soloist, Mathis has performed with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Camerata Schweiz and the Norddeutschland Philharmonic.
Praised for his "rich, subtle viola sound" and "...a marvellous power of poetic imagination" (Bieler Tagblatt), he set out to rediscover forgotten original works, while enriching the viola repertoire with his own transcriptions.
Passionate about chamber music, he performs regularly throughout Europe in a variety of formations. He has also been a guest artist at the Schleswig Holstein (DE), Tsinandali (GR), Deauville (FR) and Davos (CH) festivals, as well as at the Kronberg and Krzyzowa Music CMCW programs. Rochat has collaborated in chamber music with Fazil Say, Pinchas Zuckermann, Augustin Dumay, Christian Tetzlaff and Lynn Harrel.
His debut album, L'alto Parnassie*, dedicated to Impressionist French music, was voted "coup de coeur du mois" by Klassik Radio (DE, 2018), and he plans to release his second album, Rachmaninoff Stories, in June 2022, including 7 new transcriptions for viola.
Rochat studied in the "young talent program" with Antoine Tamestit in Cologne and obtained his Bachelor's degree at the Hochschule Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig under Tatjana Masurenko. He completed his Artist-in-Residence diploma at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Élisabeth in Waterloo, under the guidance of Miguel Da Silva.
Rochat is professor at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and co-founder and artistic director of the TARA Chamber Concerts in Brussels.
