Recently described in the international press as a ‘virtuoso at the pinnacle of harp playing’ (RTL, Le Point, La Croix, TV5 Monde), Agnès Clément is one of the most prominent harpists of her generation. ‘The vigour of her tone and the rich colouring of her sound, as well as her astonishing finesse and technical bravura, are nothing short of phenomenal’ (Badische Zeitung).
In September 2016, Agnès Clément won the prestigious First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, as well as the Audience Prize and the Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Contemporary Work (Meyer). She had previously won numerous competitions, including First Prize at the USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington, the Gisèle Tissier-Grandpierre Prize from the Institut de France, Second Prize at the Valentino Bucchi International Competition in Rome, and Third Prize at the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in Paris.
Since her debut as a soloist at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Berlin Philharmonic, Wigmore Hall in London and the Lyon & Healy Concert Hall in Chicago, she has performed concertos on the international stage with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Münchner Kammerorchester, the Colombian National Orchestra, the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, the Orchestre Victor Hugo France-Comté, the Orchestre d’Auvergne, the New Europe Chamber Orchestra, the Rouen Opera Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen Orchestra, the Georgischen Kammerorchester, the Hunan Philharmonic Orchestra (China), the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester, etc.
In 2019, Flemish composer Wim Henderickx dedicated his new Concertino for harp to her, which she premiered at Bozar in Brussels with the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alain Altinoglu. Committed to developing the contemporary repertoire for her instrument, she has also premiered works by Olivier Massot, Toshio Hosokawa, Michael Maganuco and Krzysztof Meyer. Passionate about chamber music, she regularly performs with renowned musicians such as Tabea Zimmermann, Adam Walker, Magdalena Hoffmann, Sébastien Jacot and the Carousel Ensemble.
Born in France in 1990, Agnès Clément studied harp at the Conservatories of Clermont Ferrand and Boulogne Billancourt before perfecting her skills with Fabrice Pierre in the harp class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, where she obtained the highest distinction at the age of 22. She also took German bassoon lessons with Carlo Colombo and Jean Pignoly.
Since 2013, Agnès Clément has been principal harpist with the Royal Opera of La Monnaie orchestra in Brussels, and since 2021 she has been teaching at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels.
She has recorded two solo harp albums, Dance with Lyon & Healy Records, and Le Rossignol en Amour with Genuin Classics, which was nominated for an Opus Classics Award.