He also works closely with pianist Mariane Marchal, exploring the many facets of music for viola and piano, mixing essential classics, little-known works and original creations commissioned from contemporary composers, revealing all the versatility and creativity of this instrumental duo. Together, they have signed the album ‘La Datcha de Chosta’, to be released in spring 2025 by Paraty. This recording features Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, his last work, completed shortly before his death in 1975, just 50 years ago. This recording also celebrates Fyodor Druzhinin, the violist who dedicated the sonata, and is enriched by contemporary creations that extend this legacy.
Maxime Desert plays a viola made in 1952 by Italian luthier Amedeo Simonazzi. He teaches at the music school in Wiltz, Luxembourg.
His career
As violist with the Quatuor Tana between 2010 and 2019, Maxime Desert recorded with these pioneers of contemporary creation the complete quartets of Jacques Lenot, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, each of which was praised by the press, including Choc Classica and Coup de cœur de l’Académie Charles Cros. He has forged close ties with daring composers such as Yann Robin, Raphaël Cendo, Franck Bedrossian, Yves Chauris, Ondrëj Adamek, Karol Beffa, Jean-Paul Dessy, David Achenberg and Philippe Boesmans. Concerts, prestigious festivals and a cascade of premieres punctuate his tours and encounters. In 2013, he was awarded the HSBC prize at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
In 2017, his performance of Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel with the ensemble Les Métaboles, ‘subtly measured in dynamics, colour and vibrato’ (Michèle Tosi, Res Musica), was a turning point in his approach to music. The desire to explore new horizons, following his own rhythm through increasingly personal projects, was affirmed.
His extensive experience has enabled him to work alongside many prestigious orchestras. He has worked with the Orchestre national de Belgique, the Orchestre philharmonique de Liège and the renowned Vienna Klangforum, renowned for its commitment to contemporary music.
After taking his first steps on the piano, entering the Valenciennes Conservatoire at the age of 7 and winning a gold medal as a violinist at the Douai Conservatoire, Maxime Desert went on to study the viola at the Conservatoire National de Région de Rueil-Malmaison in 2005, in Françoise Gneri’s class, where he was awarded the Prix d’Excellence. He also benefited from the guidance of Tasso Adamopoulos and Pierre-Henri Xuereb. He obtained his Master’s degree with Great Distinction from the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles in 2010, studying with Thérèse-Marie Gilissen. Throughout his apprenticeship and musical career, he has benefited from the advice of masters such as the Jerusalem Quartet, Alfred Brendel, Gabor Takacs, Andrés Keller, Nicholas Kirchen and David Alberman.
