CONCERT & RECITAL SERIES
Ensemble Intercontemporain
Friday 26 February 2010, 8.30pm
PASYDY Auditorium, Nicosia
Under the
Auspices of the First Lady of Cyprus, Mrs Elsie Christofia
The Pharos Arts Foundation is proud to present a concert with soloists of
the legendary Ensemble intercontemporain, an ensemble created by Pierre
Boulez thirty-four years ago and which nowadays, is considered one of the
world's finest contemporary music groups. The concert will take place at
PASYDY Auditorium, on Friday 26 February 2010, 8.30pm, and will include
works by Pierre Boulez, Gérard Grisey, Olivier Messiaën, Gérard Pesson,
Tristan Murail, as well as a world-premiere by Cypriot composer, Vassos
Nicolaou.
While in Cyprus, the artists will also offer an educational concert to
students of secondary education, as part of the Pharos Arts Foundation's
Music-Education Programme, which is developed in collaboration with the
Ministry of Education and Culture.
Ensemble Intercontemporain
In 1976, Pierre Boulez founded the Ensemble intercontemporain with the
support of Michel Guy, who was Minister of Culture at the time, and the
collaboration and Nicholas Snowman. The Ensemble's 31 soloists share a
passion for the music of 20th and 21st centuries. The fact that they are
employed on a permanent contract enables them to fulfill the major aims of
the Ensemble: performance, creation and education for young musicians and
the general public. Under the artistic direction of Susanna Mälkki, the
musicians work in close collaboration with composers, exploring instrumental
techniques and developing projects that interweave music, dance, theatre,
film, video and visual arts. New pieces are commissioned and performed on a
regular basis. These works enrich the Ensemble's repertory and add to the
corpus of contemporary masterworks. The Ensemble is renowned for its strong
emphasis on music education: concerts for kids, creative workshops for
students, training programs for future performers, conductors and composers.
Based at the Cité de la Musique in Paris since 1995, the Ensemble performs
and records in France and abroad, participating in major festivals
worldwide. The Ensemble is financed by the Ministry of Culture and
Communication in France and receives additional support from the Paris City
Council.
An
array of stunning soloists
(Richard Morrison for The Times, February 2008)
At the work's heart are four soloists who have to display almost superhuman
finesse.
(Nick Kimberley for Evening Standard, 2008)
Soloists of the Ensemble Intercontemporain
Jeanne-Marie Conquer, violin
Jeanne-Marie Conquer was fifteen when she graduated with highest honors from
the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She continued her
training with Pierre Amoyal (violin) and Jean Hubeau (chamber music) and
joined the Ensemble intercontemporain in 1985. Conquer fosters ongoing
artistic relationships with contemporary composers. She has collaborated
with György Kurtág, György Ligeti (for the Trio with horn and the Violin
Concerto), Peter Eötvös (on his opera Le Balcon) and Ivan Fedele and
performed on tour all over the world with Pierre Boulez, David Robertson and
Jonathan Nott. Her recordings for Deutsche Grammophon include Berio's
Sequenza VIII for solo violin and Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Ode to
Napoléon. Jeanne-Marie Conquer was also the soloist for Boulez' Anthèmes II
at the Lucerne Festival in 2002 and for Ligeti's Violin Concerto at the Cité
de la musique in 2003.
Emmanuelle Ophèle, flute
Emmanuelle Ophèle began her music education at the Ecole de musique
d'Angoulême. At the age of thirteen she started studying flute with Patrick
Gallois and Ida Ribera, and then with Michel Debost at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she graduated with highest
honors. Ophèle joined the Ensemble intercontemporain in 1987. Alert to
developments in repertoire and to new technology-based fields of expression,
she soon began taking part in works that employ the latest techniques: La
Partition du ciel et de l'enfer by Philippe Manoury (Adès recording) and ...explosante
fixe... by Pierre Boulez (Deutsche Grammophon recording). After obtaining
the Certificat d'Aptitude for music pedagogy, she began teaching at the
Conservatoire de Montreuil-sous-Bois. She is committed to stretching her
students' musical horizons, by embracing Baroque and contemporary, jazz
music and improvisation.
Alain Damiens, clarinet
Alain Damiens is a major figure in the clarinet upsurge. After graduating
with highest honors in clarinet and chamber music at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, he joined the Ensemble Pupitre 14
and went on to become solo clarinetist for the Orchestre Philharmonique de
Strasbourg. In 1976, he joined the Ensemble intercontemporain, with whom he
premiered Dialogue de l'ombre double by Pierre Boulez in 1985 and the
Clarinet Concerto by Elliott Carter in 1997. A Professor at the
Conservatoire de Strasbourg and then at the Conservatoire de Paris, he
conducts master-classes all over the world and has performed alongside
Miklós Perényi and Tabea Zimmermann. He has taken part in ''Il Projetto
Pollini'', a series of concerts instigated by pianist Maurizio Pollini that
combines old and new works (Beethoven, Boulez, Liszt, Nono, Stockhausen,
Berg). His recordings include the Quatuor pour la fin du temps by Olivier
Messiaen, the complete clarinet works by Brahms, Sequenza IXa by Luciano
Berio, and the Clarinet Concerto by Elliott Carter, which is dedicated to
him.
Éric-Maria Couturier, cello
Born in 1972, Éric-Maria Couturier studied cello and chamber music at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de danse de Paris and
graduated with the jury's unanimous highest honors. He has distinguished
himself as prizewinner at several international competitions (Rostropovitch,
Trapani, Trieste, and Florence) and has been awarded scholarships by the
Natexis and Pendleton Foundations. He was a member of the Orchestre de Paris
and solo cellist at the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, before
joining the Ensemble intercontemporain in 2002. He is performing with the
dancer Richard Siegal from Forsyth' company, they played in New York in
January 2008 for the Danspace Project. In 2009 Eric-Maria Couturier will
perform with Maurizio Pollini in Paris' salle Pleyel and in Milan at the
Scala.
Dimitri Vassilakis, piano
Dimitri Vassilakis began studying music in Athens and continued his training
at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he
graduated with the jury's unanimous highest honors in piano. He has been a
soloist with the Ensemble intercontemporain since 1992. Vassilakis premiered
Incises, the most recent piano piece by Pierre Boulez, with whom he has
closely collaborated, and participated in the Deutsche Grammophon recording
of Boulez's Répons and sur Incises. He has also collaborated with composers
such as Iannis Xenakis, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen and György
Kurtàg. His recording Le Scorpion, with the Percussions de Strasbourg, of a
score by Martin Matalon won the Académie Charles-Cros Grand Prix in the
category 'Best Contemporary Music Recording 2004'. His repertoire spans the
gamut from Bach to emerging contemporary composers and includes the complete
piano works by Pierre Boulez and Iannis Xenakis. He recently recorded Bach's
Goldberg Variations Bach for the Quantum label as well as a collection of
études by Fabiàn Panisello and György Ligeti for the Neos label.
Ticket Prices:
Adults:EUR25
Friends and Supporters of the Pharos Arts Foundation &
Concessions: EUR20
Tickets can be purchased from:
The Pharos Arts Foundation (22 663 871), Moufflon Bookshop (22 665155)
Online at http://www.cyprus-tickets.com (70009303)
