Philippe Tondre

French oboist Philippe Tondre has secured a place among the finest musicians of his generation. «Master of the oboe » (Bonner General Anzeiger), his music-making is packed with emotional sensitivity and stunning virtuosity. The powerful expressiveness of his interpretations connects with all audiences and has brought him great critical acclaim : « This young musician with his wonderful noble tone, much rounder and fuller than we are used to hearing, is simply amazing » Pamina Magazin Klassik

There have been several unforgettable events which have marked Philippe Tondre’s career. Undoubtedly one of his greatest moments was winning the ARD Music Competition as well as the Audience Prize and the prize for the best interpretation of Liza Lim’s commissioned composition in Munich in 2011. In 2012 Philippe Tondre received the « Beethoven Ring » a musical honour given by the Beethoven Fest in Bonn, thus joining the prestigious list of previous recipients including Julia Fischer, Lisa Batiashvili and Gustavo Dudamel. Philippe Tondre’s invitation to appear in the ARTE television Programme « Stars of Tomorrow », hosted by Rolando Villazon, was an exceptional and exciting moment.Principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Philippe Tondre is also a member of the Mito Chamber Orchestra, the newly-founded Kammer Ensemble Paris and Principal Oboe of the Saito Kinen Orchestra Matsumoto. From 2014 until 2020 he was Solo Oboe of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and from 2016 until 2017 Solo Oboe of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig.

He has appeared as soloist with many prestigious orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, l’Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra , the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the New Mozart Orchestra London, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Soloists. He made his Debut in the Berlin Philharmonie in June 2013 playing Bohuslav Martinu’s Concerto for Oboe, accompanied by the German Symphony Orchestra conducted by Clemens Schulz.He has worked with eminent conductors, amongst others Seiji Ozawa, Yannick Nezet-Séguin, Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Ivan Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Teodor Currentzis, Franz Welser-Möst, Sir Roger Norrington, Fabio Luisi, Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen und Daniel Harding.

His attachment to contemporary repertoire led to his highly acclaimed performance of the German Premiere of James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto, conducted by the composer, accompanied by the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony orchestra, and the unforgettable Japanese Premiere of György Ligeti’s Double Concerto for Flute, Oboe and Orchestra, with Jacque Zoon (flute) and the Saito Kinen Orchestra conducted by Kazushi Ono.

Philippe Tondre is a passionate chamber musician and is regularly invited to the Kissinger Sommer Festival, the Boswiller Sommer Switzerland, the Molyvos International Festival Greece, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, the Tokyo Spring Festival, the Mozart Fest Würzburg, the Winter Arts Festival Sotchi Russia, the Festival de Besançon France and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New-York. He performs with international artists including Yuri Bashmet, Heinz Holliger, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maximilian Hornung, Radek Baborak, Maurice Bourgue, Olga Watts, the ARD Quintet, the Lotus String Quartet, the CHAARTS Ensemble and the Modigliani Quartet.

As principal oboe, he plays with leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Paris Orchestra, the Zurich Opera and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.Philippe is prizewinner of all the major international competitions, namely the 65th Geneva International Music Competition Switzerland (3rd Prize), the Sony Music Foundation’s International Oboe Competition Karuizawa Japan (2nd Prize), the Fernand Gillet- Hugo Fox Oboe Competition USA (1st Prize) and the Prague Spring International Music Competition (3rd Prize). As youngest finalist in Prague, he was awarded the Gustav Mahler Prize by the Mahler Association 2000 Vienna.

One highlight of the last season was Philippe’s collaboration with leading pianist Danae Doerken which bloomed into CD recordings with SWR Classic and Klarthe Label France, proposing rediscovered German repertoire, a Schumann cycle, French and Slavonic repertoire. Born in Mulhouse France in 1989, Philippe played in the French National Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. After studying ten years with Yves Cautrès, he joined David Walter’s class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and followed the teaching of masters such as Heinz Holliger, Maurice Bourgue, Nathalie Stutzmann, Jacques Tys, Jean-Louis Capezzali, Ingo Goritzki and Dominik Wollenweber. At the age of 18, while studying in Paris, he was appointed principal oboe of the South West Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart.In November 2015 Philippe Tondre was nominated Professor for Oboe at the Hochschule für Musik Saar. He gives masterclasses in China, Taiwan, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and Germany.

We are proud to welcome Philippe Tondre as he has joined the Buffet Crampon family in 2020.