| Ensemble intercontemporain | |
|---|---|
| Chamber orchestra | |
 Official logo | |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Concert hall | Philharmonie de Paris |
| Principal conductor | Matthias Pintscher |
| Website | ensembleintercontemporain.com |
The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. [1] Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose.
The EIC consists of thirty one full-time soloists in various instruments. [2] [3] They exist to fill a need for musicians who can work with new playing techniques and composition styles prevalent in this kind of music. [4] The Ensemble is resident at the Philharmonie de Paris, under its current artistic director Matthias Pintscher. [2] [5] with their activities financed by the French Ministry of Culture and the city of Paris. [6]
The EIC performs about thirty times a year in their home city, [7] and tour extensively both in France and abroad, especially at international festivals. [6] These concerts regularly include the premieres of new compositions, often commissioned by the Ensemble itself, which gives preference to young composers who have not yet had their work performed by the organization. [3] [7] The Ensemble has over 2,000 contemporary works in their repertoire, much of which has been recorded and includes composers such as Elliott Carter, Luigi Dallapiccola, Luciano Berio, along with the complete works of Boulez, György Ligeti, György Kurtág, Alejandro Romero, George Benjamin, Roberto Carnevale and Ivan Fedele. [5] [6]
Their support for composers goes beyond playing their work in public and includes collaborating with composers both in the creation and interpretation processes. One reason for this is that the techniques and composition style of contemporary music is significantly different from classical music, and composer notation systems vary, especially with the indications of these new techniques. [3] [7]
The Ensemble also supports young musicians which includes workshops at schools, master classes and more for conservatory students, professional and amateur musicians and training for conductors and composers. Since 2004, individual members have been tutoring young instrumentalists, conductors and composers in contemporary music as part of the Lucerne Festival Academy (Lucerne Festival). In addition, they collaborate with other kinds of artists from the fields of dance, theater, video and visual arts. [3] The organization collaborates regularly with the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (Institute of Acoustic Music Research and Coordination) which sponsors research and concerts to showcase technological innovations in composition. [3] [7]
The Ensemble intercontemporain was founded in 1976 by composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, with the support of French Minister of Culture Michel Guy and the collaboration of Nicholas Snowman, [3] [8] in order to provide performers for contemporary chamber music. [1] [4]
The idea for the Ensemble came from Boulez's experiences as part of the historical avant garde of Darmstadt, Germany, in the 1950s, contemporary of Stockhausen, Berio, Ligeti and Nono. He began his career as a composer in contemporary music, moving onto conducting orchestras such as New York Philharmonic (1971–1978) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1971–1975). He states that his first love is composition and noted the lack of venues to premiere and promote new music, so he created the Ensemble for playing and producing music, along with IRCAM, Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique for academic work into the same field. [4]
Since 1995 the Ensemble has been based at the Cité de la Musique (itself part of Philharmonie de Paris from 2015). [1] [3] Boulez held the position of president, [9] with Péter Eötvös becoming the first musical director, appointed by Boulez in 1979. [10] Successive music directors of the EIC have been David Robertson (1992–2000), Jonathan Nott (2000–2003), Susanna Mälkki (2006–2013) and Matthias Pintscher (2013–present). [1] [7] [11] [12] Mälkki was the first female music director of the EIC. Pintscher is scheduled to conclude his tenure as EIC music director at the close of the 2022-2023 season. In December 2021, the EIC announced the appointment of Pierre Bleuse as its next music director, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. [13]
The Ensemble has toured extensively to South America, Russia, Canada, the United States, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and most major cities of Europe. [7] Recent performances include the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Palacio de Bellas Artes (2007), [6] Buenos Aires in 2012, [14] the Festival Internacional Cervantino in 2014, [5] [15] and in honor of Pierre Boulez's 90th birthday, a concert at the Barbican Centre in London. [8] [16]
The EIC has recorded for a number of labels, including Deutsche Grammophon (music of Ligeti, Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Boulez [17] and Unsuk Chin [18] ), and KAIROS (music of Alberto Posadas, Matthias Pintscher, [19] Luca Francesconi, Philippe Manoury and Michael Jarrell). Recordings by the EIC have received multiple awards, including the Gramophone Award and the Diapason d'Or
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Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
IRCAM is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organisationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The extension of the building was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Much of the institute is located underground, beneath the fountain to the east of the buildings.
Sir George William John Benjamin, CBE is an English composer of contemporary classical music. He is also a conductor, pianist and teacher. He is well known for operas Into the Little Hill (2006), Written on Skin (2009–2012) and Lessons in Love and Violence (2015–2017)—all with librettos by Martin Crimp. In 2019, critics at The Guardian ranked Written on Skin as the second best work of the 21st-century.
Philippe Manoury is a French composer.
Unsuk Chin is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with György Ligeti at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.
Kreuzspiel (Crossplay) is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen written for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and four percussionists in 1951. It is assigned the number 1/7 in the composer's catalogue of works.
Matthias Pintscher is a German composer and conductor.
Susanna Ulla Marjukka Mälkki is a Finnish conductor and cellist.
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Ensemble Contrechamps is a Swiss ensemble for new music based in Geneva at the Radio Studio Ernest-Ansermet. The group's artistic director is the Swiss percussionist and composer Serge Vuille, who took over in 2018.
Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom was a Colombian composer of contemporary classical music who lived and worked in Paris since 1999. He was also a high performance athlete, member of the French hang gliding team.
Jaehyuck Choi is a South Korean composer and conductor of classical music, based in New York and Seoul.
The Lucerne Festival Academy is an orchestra-sized educational institution devoted exclusively to the interpretation and performance of contemporary classical music. It has taken place each summer since 2003 in the Swiss city of Lucerne as part of the Lucerne Festival in Summer. Founded by the French composer Pierre Boulez and festival director Michael Haefliger, over 1300 young musicians from over 60 countries have taken part in the Academy, described by The Guardian as "the annual laboratory in which brilliant young musicians are immersed in the performance practice of 20th- and 21st-century music".
Florent Boffard is a French classical pianist and pedagogue.
Pierre Thibaud was a French classical trumpeter.
Clément Saunier is a French classical trumpeter.
Amir Shpilman is an Israeli composer.
Pierre Bleuse is a French violinist and conductor.
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