"A genius…the beauty of his sound, a transcendent technique, impeccable phrasing…everything is united so that Pierre Amoyal touches and profoundly moves us as soon as his bow touches the strings of his Stradivarius."
   
   

"He played with enormous confidence, beautiful precision and a big, sumptuous sound…"
   
   

 

"Pierre Amoyal…an elegant virtuosity which we rarely hear from today’s breed of high strung violinists. Musicians who bring real intelligence and refinement to their jobs seem to constitute a select group these days, but the Pittsburgh Symphony was fortunate to welcome such an artist to Heinz Hall last night."

  
   
   

 

"One had to admire the violinist’s big, darkly vibrant tone and effortless technique…passionately intense."

  
   
   

 

"Amoyal soared and dazzled in his best style."

  
   
   

 

"A supremely confident and brilliantly displayed performance."

  
   
   

"Amoyal, lyricism and mystery…an artist full of grace and refinement."

  
   
   

 

"An astonishing lyrical sensibility characterizes the playing of Pierre Amoyal, who achieves a sonority which assimilates the violin’s expressive qualities with the abstract qualities of the human voice…His sound is extremely pure – almost virginal."

  
   
   

 

"Amoyal is a lyric, animated musician…his performances were exciting, engaging and alive."

  
   
   

"Amoyal plays with an exceptional sonority…and proved to be an amazingly skillful virtuoso."

  
   

STAYING ON TOP: Extracts from an interview in the Strad Magazine with Jessica Duchen
   
   
   

Pierre Amoyal:

  

"Heifetz told me that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get to the top. It’s how long you stay there that counts"

  

Amoyal has been at the top for 20 years now, "And if I am still there after so much time it is because I learned from him (J. Heifetz) that it is not fashion that is important, but the profound qualities of the human being and the artist. There is not one concert I’ve played when I haven’t asked myself afterwards: What would he have thought of that? – not technically or violinistically, but in terms of my personal involvement in the music making. Because of this I’ve never played a concert that was not 100% sincere. That’s the best thing that he has given me."

  
   

Extracts from an interview with Pierre Amoyal by Dominique Simmonet
   
   
   

Pierre Amoyal:

  

"Each person is responsible for the talent he has received"

  
   

L’Express:

  

"Talent is a gift, but also a burden, a responsibility?"

  
   

Pierre Amoyal:

  

"Yes, talent is an empty bottle, which should be filled with all of the ingredients which make up an artist: curiosity, sensibility, openness, culture and a huge amount of work. Talent is a fragile quality which seems to fall by chance on a certain person – sometimes that person is unworthy. Thus there are immense talents on this planet which have produced nothing. But also people with modest gifts who have worked so hard that they manage to create masterpieces. And then there are artists like Horowitz and Heifetz, who possessed both talent and an extraordinary personality. Each one of is responsible for what he has received."

  
   
   

Excerpts from another interview with Pierre Amoyal; this issue was devoted to exploring different forms of intelligence

  
   

L’Express:

  

"Some people, like you, live in a world of music…How would you characterize this form of intelligence?"

  
   

Pierre Amoyal:

  

"It is first of all rational and physical. Playing the violin demands good coordination, an understanding of the instrument and a mastery of technique. But there is also what I would call intelligence of the heart: to understand the emotions which a composer is trying to communicate and to try to bring out similar feelings in our playing.

This is a form of intelligence which fascinates me, and it is what the public is looking for. Each concert forces us to re-examine ourselves and our playing…this is, in fact, another form of intelligence which serves to liberate our emotions."