Geneva

Pianoforte

Led by its professor, Pierre Goy, a renowned soloist and chamber musician, the pianoforte class accompanies its students in their apprenticeship in the main repertoires of this instrument.

The pianoforte class at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) prepares its students for a multifaceted career in music, ranging from the interpretation of the soloist repertoire to that of polyphonic and orchestral works, but also to the teaching and passing on of knowledge.

The class has a particularly rich inventory of instruments to call on, including exact replicas of instruments made by Andreas Stein (Augsburg, 1783), Anton Walter (Vienna, 1805) and Johann Fritz (Vienna, approx. 1830). These instruments make it possible to work with a repertoire ranging from the second half of the 18th century to 1830. A square pianoforte made by Erard Frères (Paris, 1802) provides the opportunity to explore the French repertoire, about which too little is known even today.

Our students are encouraged to take part in numerous activities arranged by the HEM’s department of early music, which regularly invites eminent performers and researchers from all over the world to give Masterclasses and seminars.  The goal is to encourage the development of a thoughtful approach, with a view to achieving a deeper contextualization of the practice and repertoire of their instrument.

The pianoforte class regularly collaborates with the HEM’s other departments, and with internationally acclaimed Swiss ensembles, on ‘side-by-side’ artistic projects, which constitute a real gateway to the professional world.

Teachers

Pierre Goy

Professor of Fortepiano, Clavichord, and Historical Keyboards

Pierre Goy studied piano with Fausto Zadra, Edith Murano, Esther Yellin, and Vlado Perlemuter, and attended masterclasses with Jörg Demus and Nikita Magaloff. A laureate of several competitions, he has performed concerts in Europe and the United States. Passionate about the expressive possibilities of historical instruments, he attended seminars by Paul Badura-Skoda and Jesper Christensen on rubato. Pierre Goy strives to render the music of each era with the corresponding instrument. He forms a duo with Nicole Hostettler, performing on two fortepianos, the harpsichord and fortepiano, or two clavichords. They recorded the keyboard works of J. G. Müthel (Cantando 2016). He also recorded Liszt's "Années de Pèlerinage: Première année: Suisse" on a Richard Lipp piano from 1870 (Cantando 9814). For the Lyrinx Srumenti label (LYR 247), he recorded Chopin's early works on a replica of an 1826 Graf fortepiano, a recording unanimously praised by critics (five Diapasons, a Coup de cœur - Revue du son). His recording "Claviers mozartiens" (LYR 2251) won a Diapason d’or, a Coup de cœur, and an Opus d’or – Opus Haute Définition. Recently, with Nicole Hostettler, he recorded the two-keyboard works of Armand Louis Couperin on the Taskin fortepiano and the Ruckers-Taskin harpsichord at the Musée de la Musique. In chamber music, he collaborates with members of "Il Giardino Armonico," the Quatuor Mosaïques, and the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges. He has published various articles on performance practice and instrument making. Pierre Goy is the instigator of the Rencontres Internationales Harmoniques de Lausanne, which has gathered instrument makers, musicians, musicologists, and museum curators around historical instruments every two years since 2002. Learn more about Pierre Goy.

pierre goy

Departments and associated courses