“Augustin Dumay is one of the most striking representatives of the great European classical tradition. International critics compare him to the great violinists of the XXth century and his distinctive position as “a great classical stylist” is corroborated by outstanding recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon label: Beethoven’s complete sonatas recorded with Maria João Pi- res “must surely be ranked alongside the likes of Grumiaux-Haskil, Menuhin-Kempff or Perl- man-Ashkenazy” (Record Review), Brahms’ trios in which “Milstein’s legacy is admirably clear in Dumay’s playing” and also Mozart’s concertos with the Camerata Academica Salzburg “without exaggeration one of the most beautiful recor- dings of Mozart’s concertos for violin ever made” (Classic CD) in which he “confirms that he is an exceptional interpreter of Mozart as were Stern or Grumiaux before him” (Classica).
Augustin Dumay was first discovered by the public thanks to his meeting with Herbert von Karajan, his concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and his recordings for EMI (Concertos by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns and Lalo). Subsequently he performed regularly with the best orchestras in the world under the direction of the greatest conductors of our times.
Over the last ten years, in parallel to his work as a violinist, he has applied himself intensively as a conductor. In addition to his position as Musical Director of the Royal Chamber Orche stra of Wallonia, which he has held since 2003, he was appointed Musical Director of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra (Osaka) in 2011. He is re- gularly invited to conduct orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the New Jersey Sym- phony Orchestra or the Sinfonia Varsovia.
Since 2004 he has been one of the masters in residence at the Queen Elizabeth Music Chapel (Brussels) where he coaches a select group of highly talented young violinists most of whom have seen success in the main international competitions.
The film-maker Gérard Corbiau (Le Maître de Musique, Farinelli) made a documentary film about him – Augustin Dumay, laisser une trace dans le coeur.
His discography – some forty recordings of which most have received prestigious awards (Grammophon Awards, Auiophile Audition, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Grand Prix du Disque, The Record Academy Award) – is available under the EMI, Deutsche Grammophon and Onyx Classic labels.
Conducting the Kansai Philharmonic Orche- stra he has recently recorded a Saint-Saëns CD for Onyx and, together with Louis Lortie, the pianist, the album Franck & Strauss Violin Sonatas by “one of today’s great violinists” (The Strad).
His next recordings will be devoted to the Bartók, Brahms, Beethoven and Mendelssohn con- certos with the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.”
