French violist Erwan Richard has performed extensively throughout Europe and Asia. His chamber music partners includes Mihaela Martin, Joel Smirnoff, Lawrence Lesser, Thomas Brandis, Georg Faust, Daejin Kim, Kyung Sun Lee, Ik-Hwan Bae, Renaud and Gauthier Capucon, Aleksandar Madzar. As a soloist, Richard has performed with the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Hwaum Chamber Orchestra, Camerata alla Francese, Lituanian Music Academy Orchestra, Madri Ensemble and Gauting Ensemble under conductors Alexandar Markovic, Kim Min and Jacques Gandard among others. He took part in numerous recordings for Deutsche Gramofon, Emi, Naive, France Musique, Bayerische Rundfunk and Korean Broadcasting System.
After being a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Academy, Erwan Richard played as Sub-Principal Violist with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London before becoming first Principal Violist of the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared with major European orchestras including Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Bavarian State Opera, among others. On many occasions he has played with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Muti, Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He is regularly invited wordwide as guest principal by orchestras such as Munich Symphony Orchestra, Rouen Opera Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony orchestra, Daejeon Philharmonic orchestra.
His passion for contemporary music has led him to perform frequently with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Ensemble Cairn, and he has worked with major composers such as Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, Jérome Combier, Beat Furrer, and Vinko Globokar. He has premiered many solo pieces by major Korean composers including Dongjin Bae, Jiesun Lim, Changwon Park and Kyu-Yung Chin.
Currently Erwan Richard is Professor for Viola at the University of Suwon in Korea, after having held the same position at the « German School of Music » in Kangnam University, South Korea. He is frequently solicited to give masterclasses in Korea and abroad. Willing to develop the viola repertoire, he has published arrangements for his instrument of works by Marin Marais, Henri Duparc, Bela Bartok and Jacques Ibert.
Erwan Richard is currently a member of the Koreana Chamber Music Society, of the Sori Ensemble , Hwaum Chamber Orchestra, and Erato Ensemble and of the ensemble “La Mer et l”ile”.
He performs regularly recitals with the japanese pianist Shunji Hirota, and with the begium guitarist Denis Sungho.
Erwan Richard graduated from Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris, where he studied viola with Jean Sulem and chamber music with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Jean Guihen Queyras. He subsequently moved to Germany to study viola with Wolfram Christ in Freiburg in Breisgau and Chamber Music in Munich with Christoph Poppen and Walter Nothas.
Erwan Richard plays a viola made by Stephan von Baehr in Paris, 2005.