Biography

Refined virtuosity, a richness of sound and a penchant for unusual programmes are the hallmarks of the duo founded in 2006 by the pianists Yseult Jost and Domingos Costa.

Winner of the Grieg Competition for Piano Duos in Oslo (first prize and three special prizes, including one for the interpretation of contemporary music), the duo has performed at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Schwetzinger SWR Festival, the Lille Piano(s) Festival (FR), the Beethovenfest in Bonn, the International Piano Festival in Tübingen (DE), the En Blanco y Negro Festival in Mexico City, Casa da Música in Porto (PT), the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (PT) and the Zingster Festival Klaviertage, the Festival Internacional de Música de Espinho (PT), the Mein Klang Festival in Seoul (KR), the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg, at Palazzo Albrizzi in Venice (IT), the Festival Camino al Tagliamento (IT), the Festival International de Musique de Besançon (FR), the Stravinski Auditorium in Montreux (CH), the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, the TAPS Theatre in Strasbourg (FR), the Maison Heinrich Heine in Paris, and the theatres of Montbéliard,  Besançon, and Dôle (FR), at the Wilhelma Theatre in Stuttgart, the Consol Theatre and the Klangraum Flora in Gelsenkirchen, at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo (NO), the Schouwburg in Almere (H), at the International Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd, and at the ‘Fruchtkasten’ State Museum in Stuttgart, amongst others.

As curious and passionate musicians, Yseult Jost and Domingos Costa have devised a variety of events in which musicand dance, music and poetry, or music and painting come together.

Deeply convinced of the power of music in society, they have performed concerts in social care settings and in prisons such as Stammheim and Heimsheim.

Inspired by the variety of sound, the virtuosity and the telepathic interplay of the Jost Costa Duo, contemporary composers have created new works for the duo and dedicated them to it, including: John Palmer (UK), Paulo Bastos (PT), Daniel Basomba (ES), Nicolas Jacquot (FR), Theo Herbst (ZA), Riccardo Vaglini (IT) and Michael Walter (DE).

Their keen interest in the repertoire for two pianos and orchestra has led Yseult Jost and Domingos Costa to collaborate with the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne (FR), the Schwäbisch Gmünd Orchestra (DE), the Möhringen Orchestra Association (DE), the Collegium Musicum Aalen (DE) and the Plochingen Chamber Orchestra (DE).

As sought-after lecturers, they have given lectures, workshops and masterclasses at the University of Hamburg, the Venice Conservatory of Music (IT), the Conservatório de Braga (PT), the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental du Grand Belfort Henri Dutilleux (FR), the University of Cape Town (ZA), the University of the Witwatersrand (ZA) and the University of Pretoria (ZA).

The Jost Costa Duo regularly commissions work from young choreographers and directors. This has resulted in a number of new productions of great 20th-century masterpieces for the original piano duo versions and dance, including a new choreography of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, Erik Satie’s “Parade”, and Darius Milhaud’s “La Création du Monde”. The performances were received with enthusiasm by audiences and critics alike.

With performance formats such as “Edgar’s Children’s Concert Adventure”, “Whispers of the Sea” and the “Children’s Cultural Walk”, the Jost Costa Duo is setting new trends in music education, particularly for young audiences.
In collaboration with the Württemberg State Museum and the City of Stuttgart, the duo developed a series of children’s concerts that enabled more than 9,000 primary school pupils in the greater Stuttgart area to attend a classical concert.

From 2022 to 2025, the duo curated the “Salon Europa”, a concert and discussion series at the ICFA in Tübingen, which explores socio-artistic issues within a European context.

After studying in Paris (Sorbonne), Porto, and at the conservatoires in Stuttgart, Basel and Detmold – under the tutelage of, amongst others, Prof. Friedemann Rieger, Prof. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Prof. Nicolas Hodges and Prof. Adrian Oetiker – they went on to study in Prof. Hans-Peter Stenzl’s masterclass in Stuttgart, graduating in 2013 with a Master’s degree in piano duo performance.

Yseult Jost and Domingos Costa have recorded programmes for Südwestrundfunk (Swr2), Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Wdr3), Deutsche Welle (DW), Radio BFC Classique (F) and RTP Antena 2 (PT).

They have been honoured by the Portuguese government for their achievements and cultural commitment.