• Classical
  Implosive Energie
  
  Matra
  Oscar Bianchi & Ictus Ensemble
  CYPRES Records
  Matra, a cantata written by Oscar Bianchi for vocal ensemble, instrumental ensemble, three soloists, and electronics,...

Oscar Bianchi
Born on August 5, 1975 in Milan, holding dual Italian-Swiss citizenship, Oscar Bianchi completed degrees in composition, choir conducting and electronic music at the Giuseppe Verdi conservatory of Milan. He pursued studies in composition by taking part in master classes such as at IRCAM, Stuttgart Eötvös course, Stockholm International Composition Course, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, and with a doctoral degree in composition at Columbia University in New York. Vitality, pulsing rhythms, and virtuosity are the hallmarks of the music created by Bianchi, who reveals a sensible interest in new phrasings and new ornamentations, something to be expected from someone whose ears are finely attuned to the music from all corners of the globe. A vocal quality, even in his instrumental work, can strike us as a prominent feature of his music. Exuberant and intelligent, this vocal dimension plays with a refined art of accentuations in all its intermediate degrees. We know him now increasingly interested in cantata and opera: at its core, Bianchi's music continues to be guided by the challenge of dramaturgical and formal issues. The unexpected contrasts between voluble virtuosity and contemplative stasis are the driving force of his flair for dramatic gesture. His music is joyfully violent in breath and in song but may suddenly come to rest in prayer, via a specific harmony, as though struck by the noonday light. Commissioned by the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Théâtre et Musique, his first opera, Thanks to My Eyes, libretto and direction by Joël Pommerat, received critical acclaim by audiences and critics alike ('A masterly portrait of Melancholy', Le Monde, July 7, 2011). His music has been performed by outstanding ensembles and orchestras such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Quatuor Diotima, Ensemble Remix, Nieuw Ensemble, Ensemble l'Itineraire, Ensemble Contrechamps, International Contemporary Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, David Grimal, Kammerensemble für neue Musik Berlin, Phoenix Ensemble, Collegium Novum Zürich, Drumming Grupo de Percussão from Porto, Ensemble Laboratorium, Osterreichiches Ensemble für neue Musik, Sound'arte. Upcoming projects include new works for the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Hebbel am Ufer, Neuevocalsolisten Stuttgart and Ictus. A monographic CD will be released in 2013. The works of Oscar Bianchi have been performed throughout Europe and the Americas in prestigious venues such as Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center); Merkin Hall, New York; Luzern Festival; Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam; Venice Biennale; Musica Festival in Strasbourg; Warsaw Autumn Festival; Ultrashall, Berlin; Eclat, Stuttgart; Gasteig, Munich; Ars Musica, Brussels; Archipel, Geneva; Tages für Neue Musik, Zürich; IRCAM Centre-Pompidou, Paris; Abbaye du Royaumont; DRS; RSR; RSI; RAI; France Culture; RFI; TFI; France Inter; RTBF; ORT; SWR; Deutschland Kultur, RBB, the Tchaikowsky Conservatory, Moscow; the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; Kulturhuset, Stockholm; Sonora Festival, Cologne; OggiMusica, Lugano; Musica è Realtà, Milan; Nuove sincronie, Milan; Milan Conservatory; Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Nuova Consonanza, Rome; CEMAT, Rome. Oscar Bianchi was a guest of the DAAD Kunstlerprogramm Berlin, Pro-Helvetia in Warsaw and Johannesburg and the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida. He has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the Gaudeamus first Prize, the Dussurget Prize, the Asm-Stv Prize, the Aargauer Kuratorium fellowship and the Ictus fellowship.

ICTUS Ensemble
is a Bussels based contemporary-music ensemble housed in the buildings of the dance company Rosas since 1994. While their repertoire covers a large stylistic range (from Aperghis to Reich, from Murail to Waits), each of their concerts presents a coherent and adventurous listening experience: thematic concerts (around transcriptions, time stratified, nocturnes, irony, music and film, Loops...), portrait concerts (of Jonathan Harvey, Fausto Romitelli, Toshio Hosokawa...), stage productions (operas, ballets, tours de chant). Apart from performing at some of the most prestigeous venues and festivals such as Musica Strasbourg, Witten, Brooklyn Academy of Music, le Festival d'Automne à Paris, Ars Musica, Royaumont, Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, Wien-Modern, Ictus presents an annual series of concerts in Brussels in collaboration with the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Kaaitheater, popular with large and varied audiences while continuing to add to its collection of CDs of which ten are currently available (view catalogue on www.ictus.be). Ictus has hosted four seminars for young composers since 2000 and has been in residence at the Lille Opera since 2003. 'The Ictus team is phenomenal, and Cypres’ digipak and modern typography add an extra layer to the rewarding experience.' Grant Chu Covell, La Folia (Belmont, Massachusetts) Updated: december 2005

Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
They are researchers, discoverers, adventurers and idealists. Their partners are specialist ensembles and radio orchestras, opera houses and the free theater scene, electronic studios and countless organizers of contemporary music festivals and concert series in the world. The Neue Vocalsolisten established as an ensemble specializing in the interpretation of contemporary vocal music in 1984. Founded under the artistic management of Musik der Jahrhunderte, the vocal chamber ensemble has been artistically independent since the year 2000. Each of the seven concert and opera soloists, with a collective range reaching from coloratura soprano over countertenor to 'basso profondo', shapes the work on chamber music and the co-operation with the composers and other interpreters through his/her distinguished artistic creativity. According to the musical requirements a pool of specialist singers complements the basic team. The ensemble’s chief interest lies on research: exploring new sounds, new vocal techniques and new forms of articulation, whereby great emphasis is placed on establishing a dialogue with composers. Each year, the ensemble premiers about twenty new works. Central to the group’s artistic concept are the areas of music theater and the interdisciplinary work with electronics, video, visual arts and literature, as well as the juxtaposition of contrasting elements found in ancient and contemporary music.

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  Oscar Bianchi
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  Ictus Ensemble
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  Neue...