Jean-François Taillard

Jean-François Taillard is a very active musical arranger, providing arrangements for diverse brass or chamber ensembles, as well as for renowned orchestras such as the Baltimore Symphony, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Bolshoi Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kammerorchester Basel, the Cappella Gabetta and the Sinfonieorchester Basel. He also provided arrangements for well known soloists like the cellist Sol Gabetta and the famous female singers Montserrat Caballé, Elena Mosuc, Vesselina Kasarova, Simone Kermes, Vivica Genaux and Cecilia Bartoli.
Mr. Taillard's arrangement of Maurice Ravel's «Le Tombeau de Couperin» is featured on a Sinfonieorchester Basel's CD dedicated exclusively to the works of Ravel. An entire CD of Jean-François Taillard's arrangements for very large brass ensemble (six trumpets, four horns, four trombones, two tubas, and percussion) has been released under the direction of Fred Mills (formerly of the Canadian Brass). In 2013, Mr. Taillard has arranged pieces for the CD «Russie éternelle», GECA brass.

Jean-François Taillard began his musical studies with Robert Faller at the Conservatoire de Musique in La Chaux-de-Fond (Switzerland), his hometown. He continued his studies at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique in Geneva under the tutelage of Gregory Cass, where he was awarded the First Prize in French Horn performance in 1985. Mr. Taillard has received the Swiss Youth Musical Award, the Bela Siki Prize, and is a laureate of the Skene Aberdeen Festival Competition (Scotland).
In 1984, Jean-François Taillard was named Second Horn of the Radiosinfonieorchester Basel, before finishing his studies. Two years later he was appointed Principal Horn in the same orchestra. He is currently Principal Horn of the Sinfonieorchester Basel.
Jean-François Taillard also performs regularly with the Cappella Gabetta and the Kammerorchester Basel.
Mr. Taillard was long playing on a Reto Spada Horn (unique model) ; now he plays on instruments build by Engelbert Schmid (from august 2017 onwards). He is also playing on a historic Courtois natural horn (1820) and a Jungwirth Vienna horn. On his request, Rainer Egger has build a baroque natural horn after Eichentopf and a copy of a Raoux natural horn (2020).

Samples

Gustav Malher, Kindertotenlieder No 1 with the GECA brass
Johannes Brahms, Trio für Klavier, Violine und Waldhorn with Brigitte Garzia-Capdeville and Axel Schacher
Wolfgang A. Mozart, Marcia alla francese, KV 251 with the Swiss Baroque Soloists
Ludwig van Beethoven, Septet for Winds and Strings
Georg Friedrich Haendel, from Riccardo Primo with the Kammerorchester Basel (Mark Gebahrt, Second Horn)
Anton Bruckner (Hanns Eisler), Symphony No 7 with the Sinfonieorchester Basel (at minute 22:00)