THIERRY SCHERZ PRIZE 

Sponsored by the Pro Scientia et Arte Foundation and the Friends of the Sommets musicaux de Gstaad. One of the main goals of the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad has always been to give young talents a chance, to help and guide them, reason for which, from the very start, the festival included into its programme a series of concerts given in the Gstaad chapel by promising young musicians of diferent nationalities playing the same instrument. 

Every year, this Prize aims to reward one of these young musicians with the opportunity of recording a CD with an orchestra, produced by Claves Records, ensuring a wide distribution. This Prize gives the laureate experience with microphones, collaboration with a conductor, with orchestra musicians, an artistic director, sound engineers… and finally the joy of an extensive distribution.

Our laureates’ success reminds us of the importance of supporting a promising career in its early days. We ofer our sincere thanks to our sponsors who enable us to continue in this direction. The Thierry Scherz Prize is an homage to the co-founder and artistic director of the Festival.

2016 Prize: Guillaume Bellom and Kevin Jansson, ex-aequo, Piano

The Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad's website: site

Guillaume Bellom

Born in 1992, Guillaume Bellom started studying both piano and violin at the age of six at the Besançon Conservatoire (CRR), graduating in 2008 with prizes for piano, violin and chamber music.  In 2009 he was accepted unanimously to the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP), in Nicholas Angelich and Romano Pallottini’s piano class. He also studied with Franck Braley, Marie-Françoise Bucquet, Dominique Merlet, Leon Fleisher and Jean-Claude Pennetier. Having obtained his Master’s Degree in Hortense Cartier-Bresson’s class, he started an Artist Interpreter Diploma course in September 2014. 

In 2011, he auditioned and was accepted unanimously into Roland Daugareil’s violin class at the same Paris Conservatoire. His keen interest in chamber music led him to perform with various ensembles, for instance at the Deauville Festival de Pâques and Août Musical.

He is regularly invited to play at the Singer-Polignac Foundation where he has been artist in residence since 2012, at the Festival des Arcs, Pianos aux Jacobins, Bel-Air Keyboards Festival in Chambéry, the Ravel Days in Monfort l’Amaury, the Palazzeto Bru Zane in Venise, the Besançon Orgue en ville Festival, the Printemps Musical in Saint-Côme, the Printemps Musical des Alizés in Essaouira, the Vacances de Monsieur
Haydn at La Roche-Posay...

In 2014 he made his début at the Champs-Elysées Theater with Saint-Saëns’ Carnaval des Animaux, and became laureate of the Or du Rhin Foundation.

In 2015 he won First Prize at the Epinal International Piano Competition, playing Schumann’s Concerto with the Orchestre National de Lorraine and Jacques Mercier in the Finals. That year he was also finalist in the Clara Haskil Competition and won the « Modern Times » Prize for the best interpretation of the contemporary piece. In 2016 Guillaume Bellom also won the Thierry Scherz Prize at the Sommets Musicaux in Gstaad.

Guillaume Bellom has recorded two CDs with pianist Ismaël Margain for the Aparté label, the first one dedicated to Schubert’s repertoire for piano four hands and the second to Mozart, published in April 2014.