As a young soloist, I am concerned with learning and performing the work of contemporary composers – music being written at the present moment – and helping to make this work known. I appreciate the exchange that is possible with composers of today. My interest in contemporary compositions has already led to some wonderful encounters.
Philippe Hersant : http://www.philippehersant.com
When at the age of 16 I discovered the music of Philippe Hersant, it immediately captivated and moved me. Some years later came the commission by my father of a piece for solo piano. That is how the triptych Steps (2009 – 2014), which is dedicated to me, came into being. I premiered the first two sections in 2010 and 2011 before premiering the completed triptych in 2015.
My first solo CD – which was released on the NoMadMusic label on 26 November 2016 – is entirely devoted to Philippe Hersant’s music. It includes Steps, in its first world recording, and the complete cycle of 24 Éphémères. This project was achieved thanks to the support of the Fonds Fravanni under the auspices of the Fondation Roi Baudouin, and the Fondation d’entreprise Safran pour la musique.
The disc is the culmination of a work process and exchange of ideas with the composer which took place over several years, in successive stages, including the final phase, as Philippe Hersant was present during the recording.
Henri Dutilleux. In 2009, as a prize-winner of the Concours International de Piano d’Ile de France, I received a special prize for my interpretation of one of Henri Dutilleux’s Trois Préludes. In December 2012 I had the honor of meeting him at his home in Paris and playing for him. I was very touched that he wrote to tell me of his emotion and enthusiasm at hearing my interpretation of his Trois Préludes.
My meeting with this renowned 96 year-old composer, just a few months before his death, and his confidence in my capacity to interpret his music, was deeply moving to me and encouraging. I promised him that I would continue to share his music with audiences.
Iris Szeghy: http://www.szeghy.ch
I first met Iris Szeghy in 2008 during a project at the Musikhochschule of Hanover, as part of the « Zeitlupe » program. I had the opportunity to work with her and to perform her trio for soprano, flute and piano, Die Anrufung des großen Bären. This was the beginning of a friendship, both musical and personal.
In Hanover, Germany in 2014, the singer Sophia Körber and I gave the German premiere of Szeghy’s Hesse-Splitter cycle for soprano and piano. This piece, which we will perform several times in 2016, served as the starting point for Duo Limette, a piano-song duo with an emphasis on contemporary music.
Laurent Mettraux http://www.laurentmettraux.com
In 2002, at the « Concours International de Musique Contemporaine de Fribourg » (Switzerland), where I was a first prize winner, I met the Swiss composer Laurent Mettraux, whose piece Déploration I had just played for the competition. Our musical exchange has continued into the present, and in 2016 I will play several pieces from his Stèles cycle for solo piano, as well as his Dances suisses for four-hands piano, with the pianist Elena Bobrovskikh (Duo Barcarolle).
Woosung Cho http://www.woosungcho.com
In October 2013, I participated in the “Klavierkonzert in der Schnecke” project at the Musikhochschule of Hanover, playing the main piano part of the Reaktionsspiel mit den Klängen cycle written for 6 pianos by the young Korean composer Woosung Cho. It was an exciting encounter and experience. In August 2016, the singer Sophia Körber and I (Duo Limette) will premiere two pieces for soprano and piano as part of the Musik 21 project (Hanover, Germany).
Listen to some excerpts from the CD Piano Works/Philippe Hersant released on the NoMadMusic label
