Léo Ispir is a French cellist, prizewinner of major international competitions and named Révélation Soliste Instrumentale at the Victoires de la Musique 2026.
Named Révélation Classique de l’ADAMI in 2023 at the age of 21, Léo Ispir is a prizewinner at several international competitions, including awards at the prestigious Bach Competition in Leipzig, the International Cello Competition “Tremplin,” and the Gustav Mahler International Cello Competition.
He began studying cello at the age of 7 with Isabelle Loubaresse at the Conservatoire de Rouen. After three years at the CRR of Paris in the class of Hélène Dautry, he entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris to study with Jérôme Pernoo.
Léo has benefited from the guidance of Anne Gastinel—at the Académie Jaroussky—and from masters such as Steven Isserlis, Frans Helmerson, Sol Gabetta, Julian Steckel, Christophe Coin, and the Quatuor Ébène.
As a soloist, he has appeared with various orchestras, including Orchestre Appassionato, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Orchestre de Picardie, and Pauliner Barokensemble. He has also collaborated in chamber music with numerous distinguished partners such as Quatuor Modigliani, Gautier Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, Pierre Fouchenneret, Claire Désert, Franck Braley, Lucas Debargue, Raphaël Pidoux, Emmanuel Strosser, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, and Anne Gastinel.
He has performed at major festivals including the George Enescu Festival, Les Folles Journées de Nantes, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Schiermonnikoog Festival, and Festival Ravel.
Léo Ispir is a laureate of the Fondation Gautier Capuçon, through which he recorded in 2024 a duo album with his violinist brother Luka Ispir, released on the Warner Classics/Erato label. In January 2025, the Ispir brothers recorded another album with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien under the direction of Howard Griffiths, released on the Berlin Classics label.
Passionate about early music, Léo also studies the viola da gamba in Philippe Pierlot’s class at the Conservatoire of Brussels.
He plays a cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, generously loaned by Michael Guttman.
Since 2023, Léo Ispir has been an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under the guidance of Gary Hoffman.
