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Performances / Recordings

Reviews

Rising stars feature strongly with Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain
Two Canadian soloists, violinist Kerson Leong and cellist Stéphane Tétreault stole the show. Most impressive was the musicality they exuded in their respective cadenza-like solo passages in the Brahms’ Double Concerto. Both players were on fire. Their technical mastery was beyond reproach, their sounds easily filling the large hall. Both Leong and Tétreault were sensitive to one another’s phrasing, thereby fostering an interpretative synergy that resulted in stellar music making.
Ian Cochrane, Bachtrack (December 2021)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin hosts Stéphane Tétreault – Haydn’s Cello Concerto no. 1 in C major
Tétreault’s performance was the highlight of the concert, his execution impressively clean. Both soloist and orchestra provided a pleasing dance-like effect for the initial theme. Rubato was both judiciously deployed and expertly synchronized with the orchestra. Just prior to the first movement cadenza, the melody was lovingly passed from soloist to first violins – sublime music-making. The initial cello entry in the second movement, comprised of a gently floating sustained note which subsequently takes over the melody from the violins, was exquisitely handled. The second movement cadenza was impressively rhapsodic. The rapid string crossing required of the soloist in the final movement was adroitly handled. Tétreault plays with a maturity beyond his years. His talent looms large.
Ian Cochrane, Bachtrack (November 2020)

 

Stéphane Tétrault in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto
Tétrault does everything right when it comes to big romantic concertos like this one. His musicality is so intrinsically obvious that the orchestra never struggles to follow him and his pure dynamism on stage implores the audience to engage and follow his every move. Technically, he jumped through the many hoops of Dvorak’s work with apparent ease and his well-rounded tone was a welcome contrast to the more bruising approach that other cellists seem to think the work demands.
Eric Burge, Saskatoon StarPhoenix (September 2019)

 

Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra
Stéphane Tétreault gave a passionate tour-de-force with Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor. Written in 1919 after the composer had stopped writing music for several years during the war, the concerto demands technique and passion from the cellist, and Tétreault delivered both.

The 25-year-old, who plays a 311-year-old Stradivarius, showcased his impeccable skills and his responsiveness to the colourful music. In the second movement, his fingers danced up and down the strings, making the difficult work look easy. In the third movement, which slowed to more of a lullaby, the cello’s rich vibrato revealed Tétreault’s sensitive connection to the music. As he lifted his bow after the final movement, audience members were immediately on their feet for a long ovation, lauding his impressive performance.
Sarah Macdonald, Saskatoon StarPhoenix (November 2018)

 

Dancing with a pedigreed cello at Stratford Summer Music
Tétreault has tremendous technique, making his playing seem effortless. His approach is notable for the thinking that has gone into shaping musical lines and giving the music momentum.
John Terauds, Toronto Star (June 2018)

 

Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) 2018 – Maison Symphonique, Montréal
Québec cellist Stéphane Tétreault played an exquisite rendition of Méditation from Thaïs
Joseph So, Ludwig Van Toronto (June 2018)

 

Tétreault conquers Barber cello concerto with mature, convincing performance
For a music critic, few things are more satisfying than watching a young prodigy bloom into a complete, mature artist. Quebec cellist Stéphane Tétreault has been making the classical music world sit up and take notice since he was a teenager. At 24, he’s fulfilled every prediction for a dazzling international career, while losing none of his passion and expressive charm.

On Monday night, Tétreault played the Samuel Barber Concerto with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra at Southam Hall. The concerto remains an obscure rarity, a work that pushes both technique and emotion to extreme limits. Tétreault’s performance was mature, organic, free of constraints, and utterly convincing. This has every indication it will become his signature piece.
Natasha Gauthier, Arts File (March 2018)

 

Philharmonie de Paris – Orchestre Métropolitain – Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Tétreault’s Elgar, delivered as always with deep expression and speaking tone. Varied phrasing in the finale offered a microcosm of what makes this 24-year-old so special.
Arthur Kaptainis, La Scena Musicale (December 2017)

 

Concertgebouw – Orchestre Métropolitain – Yannick Nézet-Séguin
The Cello Concerto by Elgar became a compelling romance between the 24-year-old Stéphane Tétreault and the orchestra. With a full, creamy tone, the Canadian cellist invited his colleagues in the orchestra to play freely and convincingly.
Biëlla Luttmer, de Volkskrant (December 2017)

 

Concertgebouw – Orchestre Métropolitain – Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Cellist Stéphane Tétreault, 24 years old was a great revelation in Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
Peter van der Lint, Trouw (December 2017)

 

Concertgebouw – Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Tétreault combined expressive phrasing and plangent tone to create a personal interpretation of a work that requires nothing less. The 24-year-old was styled a “daredevil” by Concertgebouw general manager Simon Reinink after the performance for his wide dynamic range. Rhythms also were remarkably free, and touches of portamento, where appropriate, were provided.

None of this sounded appliquée. Indeed, Tétreault’s instinct for applying and withholding vibrato was so natural that it took an act of critical effort to notice it. “You play even better, rather than being intimidated,” Nézet-Séguin told the cellist, referring to the all the ghosts occupying the Concertgebouw. “And this is the sign of the greats.” The OM accompaniment was suitably warmhearted.
Arthur Kaptainis, La Scena Musicale (December 2017)

 

Concertgebouw – Orchestre Métropolitain – Yannick Nézet-Séguin
The beginning of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the young Canadian soloist Stéphane Tétreault went under the skin. The impressively sensitive tone he managed to elicit from his Stradivarius cello filled the great hall effortlessly. Scattered chords, pizzicati and even the highest notes came from the podium warm and elegant and were pleasantly supported by the orchestra.
Michael Klier, Bachtrack (December 2017)

 

Concertgebouw – Orchestre Métropolitain – Yannick Nézet-Séguin
In Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Nézet-Séguin had willingly left the field to his very young countryman Stéphane Tétreault, who designed this elegiac swan song up to the highest altitudes in a flowery, flowing tone, as passionate as technically controlled.
Stefan Rütter, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (November 2017)

 

Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto – Philadelphia Orchestra – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Tétreault played with a youthful energy and ripe sound. In the second movement, he showed a gorgeous legato touch. In the racing finale, he easily tackled a series of tricky double stops. Together the cellist and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin also played about with some indulgent swings in tempo.
Joseph Dalton, Times Union (August 2017)

 

Haydn, Schubert & Brahms – Gramophone Critics’ Choice 2016
What a delightful discovery this disk was; and unflashy cover, an a young cellist whose name was completely unknown to me. Yet, after no more than four bars Tétreault had my full attention, so charmed was I by his elegance, lyricism and faithful yet personality filled readings. Beautiful partnering from Scarfone, too.
Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone (December 2016)

 

Generation Next Showcases at Koerner Hall, Toronto
Cellist Stéphane Tetreault followed with Schumann’s Fantasiestücke for cello and piano, Op. 73. Originally for clarinet and piano, Schumann arranged a version for cello. Tetreault has always had a gorgeous, singing tone, perfect in the Romantic repertoire. His lightness of touch, warm, soft yet vibrant and full-bodied tone was a pleasure, fully capturing the Romanticism of the piece.
Joseph So, Musical Toronto (November 2016)

 

Stéphane Tétreault performance of Schumann’s Fantasiestück for cello and piano, Op. 73 displayed warm, lyrical soaring phrases and the turbulence of Schuman’s inner strife. He and collaborative pianist Philip Chiu created a duet of playful imitation and transcendent beauty. The Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62 of Tchaikovsky was a wondrous display of tonal warmth from the 1707 “Countess of Steinlein, Ex-Paganini” Stradivarius he has on loan by Mrs. Jacqueline Desmarais. The virtuosic spicatto section was played with pin-point accuracy and blinding speed.
David Richards, Toronto Concerts Reviews (November 2016)

 

2016 Gstaad Menuhin Festival
…the brilliant young cellist, Stéphane Tetreault gave a stupendous morning concert, playing each note as if his life depended on it. He interpreted works by Schubert and Shostakovitch, giving meaning to each phrase of the music and justly received a standing ovation from the excited audience.
Patricia Boccadoro, Culturekiosque (October 2016)

 

Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto – Philadelphia Orchestra
Next, an altogether engrossing performance of Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto composed in 1872, and still sounding innovative as a challenging single movement concerto. The orchestral drive and interlocks by soloist Stéphane Tétreault, in his debut performance with the Philadelphians, impressed from every angle. At age 23, Tétreault possesses commanding interpretive and illuminating the modernist merits of this concerto. His eyes rarely left Nézet-Séguin’s conducting and he smiled frequently at the sound of the orchestra, his body reacting with little spasms, reflective to the thrust of the orchestra. In fact, Tétreault was rapturously inside the architecture of this music and his playing exemplar of French lyrical line, passionate and unsentimental, its musicality utterly human.
Lewis Whittington, ConcertoNet (October 2016)

 

Haydn, Schubert & Brahms – Music for cello and piano
Tétreault’s disc charmed me from the off; from his Haydn Divertimento (originally for the viola da gamba-like baryton), through Schubert’s A minor Arpeggione Sonata and on to the Brahms, this is just pure, lyrical, unadulterated playing of the highest order, with a maturity that belies his 22 years, and matched impeccably by his duo partner, Marie-Ève Scarfone. I can’t wait to hear more from him.
Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone (Février 2016)

 

Stéphane Tétreault : A young cellist with a lot of expression
Stéphane Tétreault is certainly not driven by a superficial juvenile temperament, his performances are emotional and deep as he works out the shifting moods of the works, always perfectly supported by pianist Marie-Eve Scarfone. There is much to admire in terms of colours too, and Tétreault’s precious Stradivarius Countess von Steinlein Ex Paganini has a truly marvellous sound.
Remy Franck, Pizzicato (December 2015)

 

Cellist Stéphane Tétreault is heartfelt in the opening Adagio’s melodies, still achieving classical poise with pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone. The duo’s reading is impassioned, its expression tasteful. Dramatic arpeggios and leaps suggest agitation and crying. The Adagio’s emotional opening cello melody carries forward into a well-shaped long line. There is plenty of colour in Tétreault’s playing, with flexibility of tempo and perfect ensemble by the duo. After the Schubert, I was struck by this piece’s analogous leaping cello cries in the first movement’s opening theme. And Brahms-like Schubert is a master at mixing major- and minor-key inflections that evoke shifting moods. The performers are neither routine nor precious in their expressive reading of the Menuetto. And Scarfone comes to the fore in the finale, playing its contrapuntal passages with fire and conviction.
Roger Knox, The WholeNote (October 2015)

 

First Play: Stéphane Tétreault and Marie-Ève Scarfone, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms
From the first quiet notes of Haydn’s Divertimento, through Schubert’s Sonata, to the final chords of the Brahms, Tétreault and Scarfone deliver an enthralling performance full of spirited energy and virtuosity.
Robert Rowat, CBC Music (September 2015)

 

For his second Analekta album, cellist Stéphane Tétreault along with pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone, celebrate the music of Vienna. Their performance transports us from the grace of a Haydn divertimento to Schubert’s divine “Arpeggione”, to say nothing of the depth of Brahms’ Cello Sonata No.1. Nothing less than sublime!
Resmusica (August 2015)

 

Soloist Stéphane Tétreault, now 21 (and looks more like 14), delivers a truly ardent performance of this introspective, wrenching piece. There was much intense eye contact between soloist and conductor, and between soloist and concertmaster Yukari Cousineau. The listener felt both exhilarated and drained by the end.
Michael Johnson, ConcertoNet (May 2015)

 

Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo Capriccioso had the audience gasping (accompanied superbly by Marie-Ève Scarfone), the Divertimento in D Major by Haydn was a dream of subtlety and ensemble and Alexina Louie’s Bringing the Tiger Down From the Mountain II (1991), my personal favourite performance of the day, was a workshop on extended techniques under the watchful eye of an Olivier Messiaen sound world. This was knockout stuff.
Anthony Kershaw, Audiophilia (May 2015)

 

Tétreault’s interpretation of Massenet’s “Méditation” from Thaïs was exquisite in every sense of the word. The piece in itself is beautiful but hearing it performed live just evoked such a depth of emotions. I actually saw other audience members wipe tears from their eyes. This is how you know it is more than the music, it is also the artist who uses his instrument to move us.  is not only a gifted musician but has a way of playing the cello that is a delight to hear and watch. He clearly loves the instrument.
BeMused Network (May 2015)

 

Twenty-year-old cellist Stéphane Tétreault, the soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, was the evening’s revelation. The elegiac solo cello theme grew more forthright as it rose and broadened out in the full orchestra in classic romantic style. The slow movement shone with a chamber-music sensibility aided by the warm Koerner Hall acoustics; the finale’s jaunty theme with its dynamic contrasts was well brought out. And the subtle moments of quiet beauty where the cello sings above everyone else were memorable for the colour and tone of the young soloist.
Paul Ennis, The WholeNote (May 2015)

 

…it was hard not to pay special attention to Tétreault, the OM soloist in residence, with his intense tone and sure sense of line. Every time this young player engages his 1717 Stradivarius (held at an angle, à la Rostropovich) you think to yourself: It does not get better than this.
Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette (April 2015)

 

Another gifted young Quebecer, cellist Stéphane Tétreault, was featured as the soloist for Tchaikovsky’s irrepressible Rococo Variations. Tétreault plays with stylish elan and secure virtuosity… Above all, he plays with a dancer’s sense of flexible rhythm and phrasing, fluid and free without ever losing a stable centre. The orchestra and its conductor accompanied conversationally – the dialogue between the cello and the clarinet had all the trembling melancholy of an Onegin duet.
Natasha Gauthier, Ottawa Citizen (April 2015)

 

After the opening came Elgar’s Cello Concerto — a work composed as a last-ditch effort to turn the composers’ declining popularity around. The 1919 premiere was a total flop, and largely ignored until cellist Jacqueline du Pré got hold of it in 1960, turning it into a cornerstone of the cello repertoire. In the hands of young virtuoso cellist Stéphane Tétreault, it was nearly as impressive. He electrified the four movements with an exceedingly shiny cello, which reflected the hall’s stage lighting like a Hollywood searchlight. His gaze leaned between Nézet-Séguin and concertmaster Yukari Cousineau, and each exchanged playful and mischievous grins. The tempo was consistent throughout, and intensified the music’s underlying sense of loss. It marked a fairly unusual reading that moved beyond the notes and towards the intricate details of the phrasing.
Michael Vincent, Musical Toronto (April 2015)

 

Elgar’s Cello Concerto is intimate in rhetoric from first to last and had a stunning advocate in Stéphane Tétreault. His vibrato consistently defined the centre of the note and his curvature truthfully followed the demands of the music. Interplay with the conductor, expressed in part through eye contact, was as close as it could be. The rapidfire whimsy of the Scherzo brought hushed gasps of admiration from the crowd. Yes, Tétreault has fingers and a bow arm and a great Stradivarius instrument from which he extracts a handsome tone. But it is the purity of his musicianship that makes him such a mesmerizing performer.
Arthur Kaptainis, The Montreal Gazette (April 2015)

 

Richness, transparency and virtuosity
Stéphane Tétreault proved to be a most formidable soloist, a genuine virtuoso and an immaculate musician. The young soloist’s upper register in particular was astounding, particularly in the cadenza-like fifth variation. But the true success of this performance – orchestra and soloist – was that it encouraged listeners to sit back, relax and enjoy rather than analyse or indulge in even positive critique.
Charles Pope Jr., ConcertoNet (April 2015)

 

This was followed by the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor performed by Stéphane Tétreault. At 20 years of age, Tétreault is a homegrown Montréal favourite. He managed technical challenges with attention to detail, singing out lyrical passages and also effectively allowing the strummed chords to ring out in the dark, mysterious first movement. The second movement was an impressive demonstration of bow control with rapid runs up and down the neck of the cello while a steady tremolo was maintained. The third movement was a display of musicality with the solo passages entering like soft sighs. In the fourth movement, Tétreault’s playing became quite physical with quick passages and aggressive strumming, the cello in dialogue with the orchestra.
Christina Volpini, Bachtrack (April 2015)

 

I was intrigued to hear this young man play and frankly wanted to know what the fuss was all about without being tainted by a Youtube video – I wanted to see it for myself, and boy was I pleasantly amazed. The label “virtuoso” fits him very well for he not only plays the music, he’s profoundly immersed in it, and brings us along with him.
Myriam Richard, Paperplanes.ca (July 2014)

 

…and François Dompierre, the composer/conductor whose “Improvisation nocturnes pour Philou” with cellist Stéphane Tétreault has the stuff of a hit single
Peter Goddard, Toronto Star (May 2013)

 

Stéphane Tétreault shines in Britten
The expression on his face and the one he gave to the sound of his cello merged into one single absolutely troubling reality. As someone else, transfigured by the music, Stéphane Tétreault brought Britten’s work to a degree of eloquence Rostropovich himself has not quite reached. At age 20, it’s scary.
Claude Gingras, La Presse (July 2013)

 

Saint-Saens. Tchaikovsky – Cello Works
From the very first bars of Saint-Saëns’s First Cello Concerto you sense that this disc is going to be exhilarating and rewarding. The performers launch the concerto with terrific passion and positive intent, and thereafter call into play a discriminating, captivating spectrum of interpretative sensibility. The solo playing is astonishingly mature not merely in its technical attributes but also in its warmth, brilliance and subtlety of colour and inflection, so it comes as a shock to realise that Stéphane Tétreault is 19 years old. His is a name to watch.

Let’s not forget the first-rate support from the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec under Fabien Gabel, who bring their own power, polished phrasing and finesse to the music, but it is difficult not to be attracted particularly by what the young Tétreault does here. Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme is played with uncommon poise, discreet and poignant lyrical allure as well as the lustre the piece needs. The lovely orchestral flutes in the third variation attest to the care with which Gabel approaches the score. They do the Fitzenhagen version, so the Variations ends with thrilling joie de vivre, but that does not overshadow the eloquence and insight with which Tétreault tackles the entire piece. With the three short fillers beautifully done, this is a disc to cherish.
Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone (March 2013)

 

Immaculate accounts of cello warhorses
Stéphane Tétreault’s playing – he is technically commanding yet musically stylistic and sensitive. His vibrato and tone are varied, his bowing techniques immaticulate and his awareness of harmony and consequent shading omnipresent (…) the ubiquitous Swan is given a sumptuously refined performance and the Allegro appassionato is full of verve.
Joanne Talbot, The Strad (March 2013)

 

Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata is night music if there ever was, and received the most combustible performance of the evening with remarkable powerful playing from both men…the gracious young Canadian performed the Bach once again, with burnished tone and even deeper feeling than earlier in the day.
Lawrence A. Johnson, The Chicago Classical Review (September 2012)

 

…this came with an obbligato from Stéphane Tétrault, a young cellist included in the roster for no reason other than his talent. The Méditation from Massenet’s Thaïs, pure in tone and direct in emotional appeal, earned Tétrault the first and longest standing ovation of the afternoon.
Arthur Kaptainis, The Montreal Gazette (June 2012)

 

The eighteen-year-old cellist Stéphane Tétreault mesmerized the audience with a haunting, sensitive rendition of the “Méditation” theme from Massenet’s Thaïs.
Earl Arthur Love, ConcertoNet.com (June 2012)

 

… the highlight of the evening was 17-year-old Montreal cellist Stephane Tetreault, who impressed in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, opus 33, with impressive tone and sensitive musicality. A student of Yuli Turovsky, Tétreault was a member of last year’s YouTube Symphony. The audience (1,000 strong) broke out in a spontaneous ovation, compelling an encore, The Ride of the Cello-Vello Buffon for cello and orchestra by Airat Ichmouratov.
Wah Keung Chan, The Montreal Gazette (October 2010)

 

« Stéphane is a great talent and we very much look forward to working with him. He plays with great heart and great skill. He shows tremendous maturity in his playing and I was quite surprised when I found out his age ».
Michael Tilson Thomas, YouTube Symphony Orchestra (March 2009)