A solo violist with an international career — between the stage, the recording studio and teaching. And, under another name, writing.
A violist with an instantly recognizable tone — the warmth of song, precision of phrasing, restrained intensity —, Pierre Lenert pursues an international career that brings together the stage, recording and teaching.
His encounter with Yehudi Menuhin would prove decisive: under his baton he performed Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and the Bartók Concerto, going on to become a soloist of his Foundation. A laureate of the Philip Morris Foundation, he has also won prizes at the Lionel Tertis, Markneukirchen and Maurice Vieux international competitions.
In 2017 he took on a challenge no one in Europe had dared since Emmanuel Vardi: recording the complete 24 Caprices of Paganini on the viola (Paraty). Awarded a “5 Diapason” and a favourite of Christian Merlin on France Musique, this project became one of the signatures of his art; with Éditions Billaudot he also published the viola adaptation, together with a study method for younger generations.
A sought-after chamber musician, his faithful partners include the pianist Etsuko Hirose — with whom he founded the Duo Lenert-Hirose in 2020 (album Passion) — and Cécile Leblond, in the Duo Shadow Strings. With the Lenert-Fantasy-Group (2015), he revisits French song in original arrangements. His discography, spanning more than thirty years, has taken him to Arion, Chandos, EMI Classics, Erato, Paraty and Syrius.
Pierre Lenert has recorded for Arion, Chandos, EMI Classics, Erato, Intégral Classic, Paraty, Saphir, Syrius, Sonogramme and Continuo Classic — a discography spanning more than thirty years, from concerto to recital.
High-flying interpretations, with purity of intonation, evenness of tone and bewildering ease.Le Monde de la MusiqueCostin Cazaban
An elegant style, full of fantasy and good humour — charm and brilliance in every piece.Diapason
A splendid interpretation — assured, lyrical, with unfailing perfection of phrasing.El PeriódicoBarcelona
Teaching, finally, holds an essential place in his life: a professor at the École Normale de Musique Alfred-Cortot and the CRR de Créteil, he guides young violists towards the stage, and serves as artistic director of the “Sérénade” and “Le Goût de la Musique” festivals.
A professor at the École Normale de Musique Alfred-Cortot and the CRR de Créteil, Pierre Lenert guides young violists from the first cycle to the threshold of a career.
To question rather than dictate the gesture, to seek the inner voice of each work: the student learns to listen, to decide and to trust themselves.
With Éditions Billaudot, he has produced an arrangement of Paganini’s Caprices for viola, accompanied by a study guide designed for younger generations.
A few notable paths taken by Pierre Lenert’s students.
“One must work regularly for it to be always good. And sometimes, it will be very good…”— Pierre Lenert
Beyond the bow, Pierre Lenert practises and teaches Hoshin Moosool, a Korean martial art built on balance of the body, mastery of the breath and economy of movement.
A 3rd-dan black belt, trained within the academy of his master Lee Kwan Young, he is today an instructor and teaches at the dojang of the Academy of the Paris National Opera.
The discipline is aimed at security and close-protection professionals, as well as anyone wishing to learn self-defence while developing their physical and mental capacities.
Cardio, strength, agility, better sleep, awareness of nutrition.
Concentration, fighting spirit, control, self-knowledge and self-mastery, humility.
The techniques rest on a deep knowledge of anatomy and vital points. Sparring is practised in semi-contact and full-contact — including throws and sweeps — with the aim of real effectiveness in the field, without refereeing.
The same demand as on the viola, in the end: grounding, release, true intention. The precision of the gesture as of the sound.
Under the pen name Peter Lane, Pierre Lenert writes espionage thrillers in which secret codes hidden in musical scores become the stakes of an international struggle. A world where music, martial arts and geopolitics intersect — a taut, meticulously researched trilogy, driven by the same sense of tempo as on stage.
Vienna, a November evening. At the Café Landtmann, a man is shot dead with a silenced bullet; in his hand, a single scrawled word: Orphée. The one who inherits the secret is no spy but a musicologist, Martin Voss — suddenly thrown into an affair far beyond him.
Since the Cold War, coded messages have lain dormant in musical scores, hidden in the inflections of a bow and the silence between two notes. Someone has just reactivated the Orphée Protocol. From Vienna to Isfahan, Voss uncovers the part played by his father and a secret society — and learns that his hands, trained in Hoshin Moosool by Master Lee, know things his mind does not yet grasp.
A thriller in which music is a weapon — and silence, the greatest of lies.
Order on Amazon →
An espionage thriller on the edge of noir.
After Le Protocole Orphée, Peter Lane delivers the second volume of a trilogy where music, espionage and memory meet in the silence of things that can no longer be undone.
From Viennese cafés to the snowbound farms of Vermont, from the Carso of Trieste to Mount Auburn Cemetery, Le Protocole Meridian reveals, layer by layer, what the State hides behind the men it sacrifices — and what fathers sometimes owe to children they believed they had kept safe.
“The best fight is the one the other side never knows took place.”— Iosif Brennan, Trieste, November 2026Order on Amazon →
published under the pen name Peter Lane
“He did not know it was impossible, so he did it.”
Frédéric Lodéon · France Musique
Paganini, a revolution. The 24 Caprices transcribed for viola.
“Pierre Lenert, or Paganini’s Caprices as heard on the viola” — a favourite of Christian Merlin, France Musique.
Admired for the finesse and poetry of her playing, Cécile Leblond is a sought-after musician, invited to perform both in chamber-music ensembles and prestigious orchestras.
At the École Normale de Musique Alfred-Cortot, in Paris. If you wish to study in Pierre Lenert’s class, you may apply.
For a concert, a recital, a masterclass, an educational project, or a question about the novels.