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Bruno Procopio

Jul 13
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Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra

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The Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra) is a Venezuelan orchestra.

The economist José Antionio Abreu established the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar on 12 February 1975. Gustavo Dudamel has been the orchestra’s artistic director since 1999. The orchestra has worked with many famous conductors including Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle.

 

Rameau in Caracas

The Soloists of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela invited Bruno Procopio to conduct a programme dedicated entirely to Jean-Philippe Rameau. Discovering French Baroque music was an astonishing adventure for the Venezuelan musicians, and it marks their first foray into 18th century French classical music. This recording is also a foretaste of the celebration to come in 2014: the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Above all, I wanted to spark the curiosity of the orchestra’s musicians for a kind of music which they never would have discovered on their own. I also wanted to work with an orchestra that had no experience of French Baroque music, in order to build a musical identity from scratch. This allowed me to search for my own vision of this music. To my delight, I found fertile ground.

During the break at one of the rehearsals, a musician came up to me and whispered: “Maestro, this is the best music I’ve ever played!” I could not have received a better reward. B.P

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Jul 13
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Quatuor Tana

Quatuor Tana

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Quatuor Tana

The Tana String Quartet was formed in 2010 to promote contemporary repertoire and enhance the relationship between composer and performer; they place no boundaries when selecting style or genre and often present classical repertoire alongside contemporary works.

The quartet is recipient of an array of international awards from the Pro Quartet – CEMC foundation in Paris, the Verbier Festival Academy, the Union of Belgian Composers (Fuga Prize) and received the Octave for best exponents of contemporary music.   In 2013, they were honoured at the HSBC European Music Academy Awards and premiered a cycle, Oracion, a major cross-over project featuring both world and contemporary music, produced by the Abbaye de Royaumont in collaboration with the Aix-en-Provence festival.

The Tana String Quartet has been invited to appear at prestigious festivals and concert series worldwide including La Philharmonie of Paris, d’Aix-en-Provence, Berlioz, MUSICA à Strasbourg, La Folle Journée, Saint-Denis, Albi, IRCAM/Manifeste, Musiques du GMEM, Controtempo, Verbier, Ars Musica, Klara, Darmstadt, Faithful in Berlin, Vale of Glamorgan, Girona, San Sebastian, Mostra Sonora/Valencia, Auditorium du Louvre, Cent-Quatre/Radio-France, Villa Medici in Rome, Pharos Foundation in Cyprus, Wigmore Hall, Conway Hall, BOZAR, Auditorium de Dijon, Abbaye de Royaumont…

They will soon present new major works especially written for them to include Aracne, by Spanish composer Hector Parra, to be premiered in Paris (Louvre), and repeated at the Girona Festival, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Wigmore Hall in London and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, and the third quartet by French Rising Star composer, Yann Robin, at the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall in London and Concertgebouw in Bruges.

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Jul 13
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Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra

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On 25 March 2009 the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra made its Parisian début at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, just weeks after its first performance in Washington DC. It was an entirely new orchestra created two years previously under the impetus of internationally-renowned conductor Lorin Maazel.  An international recruitment drive was put in place to build the orchestra from scratch. From Europe to Cairo, more than 2,000 candidates applied, of whom a hundred and one were retained to form the new orchestra. Its mission is to be a cultural ambassador, bringing Orient and Occident closer together, with a repertoire stretching from Beethoven to Ravel, composers whose works they performed during their inaugural concert in Paris. The orchestra is also a bridge between Occidental and Arab musicians, and their repertoire includes multiple premieres of contemporary works.

The orchestra is a long-term project well-tuned to Qatar’s cultural development, and works towards the education of the young through music, poetry, literature and the arts. Thus Haydn, Weber and Tchaikovsky echo through the Kingdom of Qatar, played and conducted by the finest international soloists and conductors, while the members of the orchestra also perform in chamber ensembles. Most concerts take place at the Doha Opera House, whose auditorium recalls that of Milan’s La Scala.

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Jul 13
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Patrick Bismuth

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The continuity and diversity of his personal history are reflected in Patrick Bismuth’s art of the violin : Improvisation, folk traditions, gypsy music are as much a part of his world and artistic life as Western classical music, and particularly the Baroque violin. This rich tapestry of interests and experiences lends his playing of Classic, Romantic and Contemporary repertoire an unusual and arresting flair ; musical critics the world over laud his intensity, virtuosity and grip ping stage presence as he turns each concert into a musical voyage of cathartic expression.

Patrick Bismuth was teacher of Baroque Violin at the National Superior Conservatory of Music from 1993 to 1998. His pedagogical skills are very much in demand, and he currently teaches his instrument at the Conservatories of Paris and Versailles, he conducts his ensemble La Tempestaand often plays with organist Louis Thiry, and singers James Bowman and Gerard Lesne. He is also one of the founders of the AtlantisString Quartet on historical instruments, and composes for violin and other ensembles (“Unnuami”, 2001, Takannaaluk, a vocal and scenic piece in progress, after an genuine libretto written in Inuit language)

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Jul 13
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Marie Vermeulin / Pianiste

Marie Vermeulin

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Marie Vermeulin / Pianiste

A First Prize winner of the International Music Tournament (Italy, 2004), and Grand Prize winner at the Maria Canals International Music Competition (Barcelona, 2006), and the Concours International Olivier Messiaen (Paris, 2007), Marie Vermeulin is undoubtedly a major discovery of recent years. In recent years her playing has been noticed for its technical temerity, finesse, and exceptional maturity.

Despite her youth, Ms. Vermeulin boldly engages with demanding works such as Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka, Schubert’sWanderer-Fantaisie, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. She also plays major contemporary works (Boulez, Murail, Messiaen…), revealing an appetite to play and immerse herself in the widest possible repertoire.

Ms. Vermeulin’s phrasing, her colorful and poetic touch, and her taste for theatrical expression all contribute to an artistic temperament that is distinguishable from the very first notes. Her concerts are greeted by unanimous praise, and listeners are delighted to discover a complete artist with a tonal palette of remarkable richness.

Before her thirtieth birthday, the pianist has already worked with the greatest conductors, (Pierre Boulez, Paul Goodwin…) and has performed in many of the finest festivals and venues in France (Cité de la Musique, Opéra Bastille…) and abroad (Spain, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium, Algeria, Moldova, Montenegro, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines…)

After her musical studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale of Imola, Ms. Vermeulin developed a special affinity with French music, including the work of Olivier Messiaen. Her interest in Messiaen has been encouraged by the great Messiaen interpreter Roger Muraro with whom she has performed Visions de l’Amen for two pianos.

Coinciding with Olivier Messiaen’s centennial in 2008, Ms. Vermeulin became known for her performances of a large number of works by the composer. Since then she continues to perform Messiaen’s work regularly throughout the world, sometimes coupling her recitals with master-classes and conferences. A regular guest at the Messiaen Festival in Meije, she chose to record this album at the Church of La Grave, known for its exceptional acoustics which were an inspiration for the composer.

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Jul 13
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Magdalena couverture

Magdalena Baczewska

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Born in Poland, Magdalena Baczewska has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a pianist, harpsichordist, educator, recording artist, producer, and an administrator. She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, China National Symphony, among others. She has also appeared in concert with violinist Joshua Bell. Baczewska has toured Europe performing Bach’s Goldberg Variationson the piano and the harpsichord. She recorded the Variations together with R. Strauss’ Sonata op. 5, as a part of her critically acclaimed album, “A Tribute to Glenn Gould.” As artistic director of BlueSleep Music, Baczewska produced music for MetroNaps EnergyPod®, popularized by Google. In collaboration with BlueSleep®, a medical team specialized in research and treatment of sleep disorders, Baczewska recorded best-selling albums Music for Dreams (over 20,000 copies sold). Performances have taken her to Carnegie Hall (NYC), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), National Center for Performing Arts (Beijing), Salle Cortot (Paris), Moores Opera House (Houston, TX), Merkin Hall (NYC), Steinway Hall (NYC), among others. As an avid educator, Baczewska has given piano master classes in the Central Conservatory (Beijing, China), Grassland International Music Festival (Hohhot, Inner Mongolia); International Keyboard Institute and Festival (NYC); New York Piano Festival (NYC). She is professor at Accademia Europea Villa Bossi in Varese, Italy. Baczewska is a laureate of international piano competitions (Chopin Competition at the Kosciuszko Foundation, Dorothy McKenzie Recognition Award, Prix du piano Ecoles d’Art Américaines Fontainebleau, Grand prix European American Music Alliance Paris, as well as the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Polish Minister of Culture. Baczewska holds degrees from Mannes College The New School for Music (BM, MM), and Manhattan School of Music (DMA). She is currently Director of the Music Performance Program and Lecturer in Music at Columbia University in the City of New York.

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Jul 13
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Knut Jacques

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Pianist and fortepianist Knut Jacques studied at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMD), where he was awarded three degrees (diplômes de formation supérieure).

Mr Jacques continued his studies with Denis Pascal and Ruben Lifschitz (modern piano) and Bart van Oort (fortepiano) at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague.

Over the course of his musical life he also worked with renowned musicians Paul Badura-Skoda, Malcolm Bilson, Eric Hoeprich, Alessandro Moccia, and Kenneth Weiss.

Mr Jacques is an active performer both as a soloist and chamber musician. His career has taken him to Japan, Austria, Spain, India, Italy, the Netherlands, and throughout France.

A regular guest at festivals, he has performed at the Kyoto International Festival, the Académies Musicales de Saintes, and the Festival ‘Les Chants de la Dore’, among others.

Mr Jacques tours as a piano soloist, as fortepiano soloist with orchestra, and performs chamber music with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées. He regularly gives lecture-recitals at the Musée de la Musique in Paris.

In addition to his active performance schedule, Knut Jacques is a dedicated teacher. Having earned the CA, the French nationally accredited teaching certificate, Mr Jacques teaches at several regional conservatories in Paris. He is also Associated Professor at the Pôle Supérieur d’Etudes Musicales in Burgundy.

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Jul 13
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Juliana Steinbach

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Praised by the critics for her fiery temperament, exceptional charisma and great command of her instrument in the romantic and modern repertoires, as well as for the elegance, subtlety and intelligence of her classical interpretations, Brazilian-born pianist Juliana Steinbach is considered as one of the most gifted artists of the young generation.

In the past few years, Juliana Steinbach has performed extensively throughout Europe, as well as in North and South America, Israel and Asia. Following her debut in 2002 with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, she has appeared as a soloist with the Rundfunk Blasorchester Leipzig, Budapest Mav Symphony Orchestra, Freiburg Youth Orchestra, Paris Symphony and Lyric Orchestra, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris ConservatoryLaureates Orchestra… collaborating with conductors such as Mendi Rodan, Jan Cober, László Kovács, Théophanis Kapsopoulos, Michael Cousteau, Sergio Monterisi and François-Xavier Roth. Her performances have taken her from Paris (Auditorium du Louvre, Cité de la Musique, Opéra Bastille, Opéra Garnier, Théâtre Mogador,Théâtre Marigny) to several major European venues (Leipzig Gewandhaus, Hamburg Musikhalle, München Gasteig, Budapest Liszt Academy, Prag Rudolfinum, Firenze Teatro della Pergola and Teatro Comunale, LisbonTeatro São Luis), as well as to many distinguished festivals (such as Périgord Noir in France, Salzburg in Austria, Bologna Festival and Lago Maggiore in Italy, Santander in Spain, Farsund in Norway). She has performed at the Tel-Aviv Museum in Israel, Lincoln Center in New York, Calgary’s Rozsa Center in Canada, Sala Cecilia Mereiles in Rio de Janeiro and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In 2005 she made her first tour in Asia, with concerts in major venues of Seoul, Manila, Bangkok, Hong-Kong, Yokohama and Tokyo, alongside with a series of master classes given at different universities. Her performances have been broadcasted on such European radio and television channels as France Musique, France Culture, Radio France Internationale, France 3, Arte, Rai.

Laureate of Cziffra, Natexis, Umberto Micheli, Reinhold and Meyer foundations, Juliana Steinbach has been awarded top prizes in several international piano competitions, such as the Artlivre International Piano Competition in São Paulo (Brazil, 2001), the Tel-Hai Performance Prizes (Israel, 2000 and 2001) and the International Young Pianists Competition in Meknès (Morocco, 1996). In France, she has been awarded the FLAME Prize of the UNESCO, the Zonta International Music Scholarship and the Great and Special Prizes of the Forum Musical de Normandie. An avid chamber music player, she won in 2002 the First Prize at the ‘Premio Vittorio Gui’ International Chamber Music Competition in Firenze (Italy) and in 2005 the Beethoven Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition ‘Trio di Trieste’ (Italy), in a duo with French cellist Guillaume Martigné. She also performed these last years with violinists Marina Chiche, Amaury Coeytaux, Stéphanie-Marie Degand, Ivry Gitlis, Saténik Khourdoian, Nemanja Radulovic, Svetlin Roussev, Sayaka Shoji and Ayako Tanaka, cellists Eric-Maria Couturier, Sol Gabetta, Pavel Gomziakov and Béatrice Reibel, flutists Sarah Louvion, Jaime Martin and Virginie Reibel, clarinettists Jérôme Comte and Tibi Cziger, fagottist Klaus Thunemann, pianist Jonas Vitaud, as well as with the Accord, Bennewitz, Kuss, Psophos and Sine Nomine string quartets.

Very interested in contemporary music, she gave various premieres and collaborated with composers Jean-Louis Agobet, Yves Chauris, Guillaume Connesson, Thierry Escaich, Balázs Horváth, Fabio Nieder, Matan Daniel Porat and François Sarhan. In 2010, the French festival ‘Aspects des Musiques d’Aujourd’hui’ in Caen entrusted her the performance of Philippe Manoury’s Chryptophonos and Pierre Boulez’s Structures.

In 2003 and 2004 she made two chamber music debut recordings produced by Cultures France, Radio Franceand the BNP-Paribas Foundation, and she has been supported since then by the French Ministery of Foreign Affairs’ program for the promotion of French musicians around the world. Her discography – which includes three other recordings made for German and French labels between 2001 and 2009 – features various works by Schumann, Brahms, Franck, Ravel, Shostakovich and Messiaen. Her new solo album, ‘Tableaux’, wasreleased in May 2010 by French label Paraty/Integral and presents piano works by Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition) and Debussy (Estampes, L’Isle Joyeuse). In August 2005, Juliana Steinbach launched the ‘Musique en Brionnais’ piano and chamber music festival in France (www.musique-en-brionnais.com). An annual event,it draws an international audience to the exquisite Romanesque churches of Southern Burgundy. A full week of performances and workshops, the festival allows the young pianist to build original programs and to present new projects, in recital and with some of her finest music partners.

Juliana Steinbach began her piano studies in France, having left Brazil when she was only three years old. Following her first years at Lyon Conservatory (CNR), she became a private student of Greek-American pianist Christine Paraschos. After earning a Litterature Baccalaureate, she studied at Paris Conservatory (CNSM), where she graduated with First Prize in piano (2000) and chamber music (2003). In 2002 she was admitted by unanimity into the post-graduate program (Troisième Cycle) as a student of Jacques Rouvier. At this occasion, the Alfred Reinhold Foundation awarded her a Blüthner grand piano. Following her studies in France, she worked regularly with Franco Scala at the Accademia Internazionale del Pianoforte ‘Incontri col Maestro’ in Imola (Italy), with Maria João Pires at her home in Belgais (Portugal), and Pnina Salzman in Tel-Aviv (Israel), besides attending master classes with musicians such as Dmitri Bashkirov, Christoph Eschenbach, Emanuel Krasovsky and Alicia de Larrocha. In May 2007 she graduated from The Juilliard School in New York, where she had been a piano student of Joseph Kalichstein, also receiving regular chamber music coaching from clarinettist Charles Neidich and the members of the Juilliard String Quartet. She currently resides in Paris

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Jul 13
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Nicolas Stavy

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In his native France and around the world, audiences are moved by the sensitivity of the playing of this artist who “makes the piano sing so wonderfully” (La Lettre du Musicien). Nicolas Stavy performs in prestigious international contexts such as the Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron, the Festival Piano aux Jacobins, the Chopin festivals at Nohant and Bagatelle, the Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux, the Piano(s) Festival of Lille, the Festival Berlioz, the Musée d’Orsay, the Salle Pleyel, the EuroArt Praha Festival, the International Granada “Fex” Festival, the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Casals Hall (Tokyo), ), the Romanian Athenaeum (Bucharest), Victoria Hall (Geneva), the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, 92nd Street Y (New York), etc. He has performed with major orchestras such as the Suisse Romande Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, the Sinfonietta de Lausanne, the Bucharest Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine, etc.

Ever avid for discovery, Nicolas Stavy performs chamber music with such colleagues as Patrick Messina, Tatiana Vassilieva, Daniel Hope, Cédric Tiberghien, Tedi Papavrami, Karine Deshayes, the Quatuor Ebène, the Quatuor Psophos, etc. He alternated with Mikhail Rudy performing for the stage play “The Pianist” (after the book by Wladyslaw Szpilman), featuring actor Robin Renucci. He has also participated in other projects with well-known actors, including Didier Sandre, Brigitte Fossey and Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt.

After studies with Gérard Frémy and Christian Ivaldi at the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique in Paris, where he won 1st prizes for Piano and Chamber Music, Nicolas Stavy went on to study with Dominique Merlet at the Geneva Conservatoire (where he was awarded a 1st prize with distinction) and participated in master classes with György Sebök. He has also received guidance from Alfred Brendel. He is a prizewinner of several international competitions: the Special Prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2000, 2nd Prize in the Geneva International Competition in 2001, 4th Prize in the Gina Bachauer Competition in the U.S. in 2002, 2nd Prize in the Young Concert Artists competition in New York in 2003, etc.

His two recent CDs published by Hortus, dedicated to Brahms and Liszt, were both greeted with an FFFF rating by France’s Télérama magazine. The Liszt CD was also rated **** by Classica magazine. This year, 2015, sees the release of two new discs: the Concertos for left hand by Britten and Korngold, with the Orchestre Nationale de Lille, conducted by Paul Polivnick (Hortus) and Boris Tishchenko’s Sonatas nos. 7 and 8, under the Bis label.

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Jul 13
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Maxence Pilchen

Maxence Pilchen

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 Maxence Pilchen

Beginning piano at a very early age, Maxence Pilchen won his first prize when he was eleven, at the televised RTBF Young Soloists competition in Brussels. He went on to study with well-known pianists Bernard Ringeissen and Janusz Olejniczack, and benefitted in particular from the teaching of the renowned Byron Janis in the United States, with whom he has a great affinity, performing with him in New York in early 2015. Already in 2010, Maxence had presented the European première of the film The Byron Janis Story. His vast repertoire for solo piano and piano and orchestra takes him from Bach to Rachmaninov, and from Mozart to Debussy, Beethoven, and Prokofiev, not forgetting contemporary music, whilst his painstaking approach has prompted him to delve deeper into his conception of the works of Chopin, with whom he nurtures a close relationship and to whom he is devoting his first CD. The winner of the Prix Maurice Lefranc for young musicians in Brussels and a prize laureate at international competitions in Oporto, Barcelona, Rome, and Épinal, this young Franco-Belgian musician, hailed by international critics, and much in demand in France and elsewhere, has performed with leading orchestras including the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,  and the Oporto National Orchestra, under the baton of prestigious conductors and in the some of the world’s great concert halls, from the Salzbourg Mozarteum to the Théâtre de la Monnaie and Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw and the Salle Gaveau in Paris. Maxence Pilchen’s performances have also been broadcast in the media from France to the United States and Asia.

In 2012, he also took part in a feature film by Philippe Claudel, Before the Winter Chill. Open to all types of music, his varied tastes have made him a popular performer at leading music festivals, including the Festival Chopin in Nohant, where he has been a regular guest since 2004. Maxence Pilchen has also worked with original 19th century pianos, exploring the subtlety of their nuances and their rich colours in order to develop them subsequently on modern instruments. He is supported by the Safran Foundation, where he was a prize laureate in 2014.

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