2024/25 ECHO Rising Star

2023 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) ‘Young Artist of the Year’


Prize Winner
Prague Spring International Competition
Tokyo International Viola Competition
Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition
International Max Rostal Competition
Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition
International Johannes Brahms Competition


Viola Professor
Mozarteum University in Salzburg




CONTACT
Dacian Predan-Hallabrin
dacian@predan-hallabrin.com


REPRESENTATION
European management

Franco-Dutch violist Sào Soulez Larivière has established himself as a distinctive voice on the international stage, recognised for his expressive depth, stylistic versatility and imaginative programming.

His rapid ascent has been marked by major international recognition, including ‘Young Artist of the Year’ at the Inter national Classical Music Awards (ICMA), and being named an ‘ECHO Rising Star’ for the 2024/25 season by the Euro pean Concert Hall Organisation, nominated by leading venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, MÜPA Budapest and the Barbican Centre London. These honours follow major competition successes, including First Prize at the 2023 Prague Spring International Competition.

As a soloist, he collaborates with orchestras such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Prague Philharmonia and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, with a repertoire spanning the major viola concertos to rarely performed works.

An advocate for expanding the viola repertoire, Sào is engaged with promoting contemporary music and the creation of his own arrangements. Collaborations with composers including Fazıl Say, Thomas Adès, Olli Mustonen and Julia Wolfe have played an important role in shaping his artistic voice and creative approach to music-making.

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Chamber music lies at the heart of his musical identity, rooted in early music-making with his sister, violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière, with whom he continues to perform regularly. This spirit of dialogue and collaboration shapes his approach to sharing music, fostering meaningful connections with fellow musicians and audiences alike.

Recent and forthcoming highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Konzerthaus Berlin, BOZAR Brussels, Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Verbier Festival, alongside partners including Janine Jansen, Lisa Batiashvili, Sir András Schiff, Kirill Gerstein, Alice Sara Ott, Antoine Tamestit, Julia Hagen and Steven Isserlis.

Born in Paris in 1998, he began his musical journey on the violin before discovering the viola through chamber music at the Yehudi Menuhin School. He later studied with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy.

Alongside his performing career, teaching has formed an important part of his musical life. Beginning with 2023, he held a professorship at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

Sào plays a viola made by Frédéric Chaudière in 2013.