Lionel Cottet joined the Orchestra as Principal Cello on 1 September 2022.

Born in Geneva into a family of musicians, Lionel Cottet studied at the Juilliard School in New York, the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the Zurich University of the Arts and the Geneva Conservatory, with Joel Krosnick, Clemens Hagen, Thomas Grossenbacher and François Guye.

Appointed Principal Cello of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2016 under Mariss Jansons, he has also pursued a career as a soloist and chamber musician, performing at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie and the Vienna Musikverein. He has appeared with ensembles including the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra and the Musikkollegium Winterthur.

A passionate chamber musician, he has appeared at major international festivals including Marlboro, Bergen, Verbier and Gstaad, alongside artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida and Igor Levit, as well as in duo with Louis Schwizgebel-Wang. He has also performed with the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and with the Berlin Philharmonic itself.

A prizewinner at numerous international competitions, including the Lutosławski Competition in Warsaw, the Brahms Competition in Austria and the Astral Artists Auditions in Philadelphia, he was also a finalist at the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition. His other distinctions include the Swiss Ambassador’s Award and recognition as a Migros Culture Percentage soloist, as well as scholarships from the Leenaards and Wilsdorf Foundations.

A committed ambassador for music, Lionel Cottet takes part in outreach programmes around the world, working with schools and communities with limited access to classical music.

He plays a 1700 Giuseppe Guarneri “filius Andrea” cello made in Cremona.