Xavier de Maistre

Born in Toulon, Xavier de Maistre studied the harp with Vassilia Briano at his local conservatoire, before perfecting his technique with Catherine Michel and Jacqueline Borot in Paris. He also studied in Sciences-Po Paris and then at the London School of Economics. In 1998 he was awarded first prize (and two interpretation prizes) at the prestigious USA International Harp Competition (Bloomington) and in the same year became the first French musician to be admitted at the Wiener Philharmoniker.

As a soloist, Xavier performs under the baton of many conductors, including Sir André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Daniele Gatti, Philippe Jordan, Kristjan Järvi, Bertrand de Billy, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Daniel Harding and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. He has recently been invited by important orchestras such as Chicago, Montreal, São Paulo, Birmingham and Finnish Radio Symphony orchestras; London and China Philhamonic orchestras; Tonhalle-Orchestre Zürich, Mozarteum Salzburg, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He has also performed in recitals at KKL Lucerne, Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Lierderhalle in Stuttgart, Boulez Saal in Berlin and on the main stage of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.

Additonally he plays in major festivals: Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Salzburger Festspiele, Wiener Festwochen, Verbier Festival, Spring Festival in Budapest, Würzburg Mozartfest, Mostly Mozart in New York. Passionate about chamber music, he performs with Diana Damrau, Arabella Steinbacher, Daniel Müller-Schott, Baiba Skride, Antoine Tamestit, Mojca Erdmann, and Magali Mosnier.

In France he regularly plays with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre national de Lyon, and philharmonic orchestras of Radio France, Monte-Carlo, Montpellier, Lille, and Nancy. He gives recitals in venues such as Opéra Garnier, auditoriums of Lyon, Bordeaux, Nice, Poitiers, Opéra-Théâtre in Avignon, and Opéra de Lille.

In 2008 Xavier de Maistre became an exclusive Sony Music artist and recorded his first album Nuit d’Etoiles with them, which was dedicated to Debussy. He was subsequently awarded an "Echo Klassik Award" for "Instrumentalist of the Year". Albums Hommage à Haydn (2009) and Aranjuez (2010) then followed, performed with Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and Bertrand de Billy, and Notte Veneziana (2012), which was dedicated to the important pieces of the baroque repertoire. 2013 saw the release of a DVD of his performance with Diana Damrau and a recording of Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No.19, with Mozarteum Salzburg under the baton of Ivor Bolton. After Moldau (2015), a mix of solo harp pieces of the Slavic repertoire, Xavier recorded with Arts Florissants and William Christie.

In March 2018 he launches a duo album with legendary Lucero Tena (castanets) in a programme solely revolving around Spanish repertoire.

Since 2001 he teaches at Musikhochschule in Hambourg.
Xavier de Maistre plays on a Lyon-Healy instrument.