Hanna Salzenstein: 'With Le Consort, my ears were in overdrive'

Hanna Salzenstein: ‘With Le Consort, my ears were in overdrive’

Whether performing solo or with Le Consort, on a modern cello or a period instrument, Hanna Salzenstein carves out her own path across repertoires, guided by both her sensitivity and musical rigor.

Equally at ease with both modern and baroque cellos, Hanna Salzenstein is now closely associated with the success of Le Consort, where she performs alongside Théotime Langlois de Swarte and Justin Taylor. Today, she is forging her own path, both on stage and in the recording studio, exploring the early 18th-century Italian repertoire, juxtaposing Vivaldi’s concertos with forgotten treasures from his contemporaries.

What has been your journey so far?

Hanna Salzenstein: My parents are not musicians, but my mother insisted that all her children learn to play an instrument. Since my brother and sister were already playing the violin and the piano, I started the cello. I studied at the CRR in Paris and followed the usual path to the CNSM, where I was accepted at the age of 16 into Michel Strauss’s class. I then completed my first Master’s degree with Raphaël Pidoux, which was a decisive encounter—not only for my cello playing but also musically and personally. After two years, he encouraged me to pursue a Master’s in baroque cello in Christophe Coin’s class.

What was your relationship with early music at that time?

H. S.: I used to listen to it and play it occasionally, but I didn’t see it as something radically different from what I was already doing. Switching to a period instrument felt quite natural because I think my playing was already well suited to that repertoire. For example, not using an endpin didn’t really throw me off. The hardest part was actually tuning with wooden pegs, but that’s just a matter of practice. More than anything, I discovered a whole repertoire that absolutely fascinated me!