ABOUT THE ARTISTS
CHRISTIAN-PIERRE LA MARCA, cello
Hailed by Gramophone as ‘a master of his instrument and a musician of lyrical elegance and good taste’ and declared by Le Monde as belonging to ‘the elite of French cellists’, Christian-Pierre La Marca has rapidly distinguished himself by his radiant presence in the world’s leading concert halls and his award-winning recordings.
A regular guest at major global concert venues including the Philharmonie de Paris, Southbank Centre in London, the Vienna Musikverein, the Mariinsky Theatre, 92nd Street Y in New York and such festivals as Verbier, Ravinia, Schleswig-Holstein, Bad Kissingen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Christian-Pierre La Marca champions a varied repertory for his instrument. He plays with a wide range of artists, including Nicholas Angelich, Itzhak Perlman, Renaud Capuçon, Thierry Escaich, Lise de la Salle, Igor Levit, and the Ébène, Van Kuijk, Modigliani and Hermès string quartets. His love for voices has led to collaborations with such singers as Sabine Devieilhe, Roberto Alagna, Karine Deshayes and Patricia Petibon. He has appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Brussels Philharmonic, Les Siècles, Le Concert de la Loge and Les Ambassadeurs. An ardent advocate of contemporary music, he collaborates with composers including Jörg Widmann, Peteris Vasks, György Kurtág, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Hersant and Nicolas Bacri.
After making his debut in Aix-en-Provence, Christian-Pierre studied in Paris with Jean-Marie Gamard and Philippe Muller, before continuing with Frans Helmerson in Cologne and Steven Isserlis in London. He consolidated his training with masterclasses under Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schi?, Anner Bylsma and Gary Ho?man, and benefited from the advice and encouragement of Itzhak Perlman, Philippe Jaroussky, Thomas Quastho?, Leif Ove Andsnes, Maria João Pires, the Artemis Quartett and Seiji Ozawa. He enjoyed success at international competitions in Osaka, Frankfurt and London, and has been invited several times to appear at the Victoires de la Musique Classique. The cellist’s innovative discography reflects a curiosity across musical genres, whilst retaining a passion for the great masterworks of the classical repertory. Such recordings have garnered unanimous acclaim and his most recent recital disc – Cello 360 – was voted Gramophone’s ‘Best Concept Album’ of 2021. He records exclusively for naïve.
In 2018 he initiated ‘Concert for the Planet’ with the GoodPlanet Foundation and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a solidarity event intended to raise funds for environmental causes. He is joint Artistic Director with his brother of the Forez Festival in France, and gives cello masterclasses for the Philippe Jaroussky Music Academy at La Seine Musicale in Paris. Christian-Pierre La Marca is a Larsen Strings Official Artist and an ambassador for Gewa and Henle Verlag Library. He plays a unique cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.
LE CONCERT DE LA LOGE
In January 2015, the violinist Julien Chauvin founded a new period-instrument orchestra with the ambition of reviving an essential component of French musical history: the Concert de la Loge Olympique, founded in 1783, considered to be one of the finest in Europe at the time and famous for commissioning the ‘Paris’ Symphonies of Joseph Haydn, which were premiered in the Salle des Cent-Suisses at the Tuileries Palace. The new, flexibly sized ensemble presents chamber, symphonic and vocal-operatic programmes directed from the violin or the baton and champions a wide repertory ranging from the Baroque era to the early twentieth century. This recreative project also aims to explore new concert formats, harking back to the spontaneity of late-eighteenth-century practice. Since it was founded, the ensemble has toured many venues with operas including Haydn’s Armida directed by Mariame Clément, Sacchini’s Le Cid (Sandrine Anglade), Lemoyne’s Phèdre and Isouard’s Cendrillon (Marc Paquien) and Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Christophe Rulhes). It also enjoys regular collaborations with such renowned soloists as Karina Gauvin, Sandrine Piau, Philippe Jaroussky and Justin Taylor. On disc, the orchestra has recorded Haydn’s complete ‘Paris’ Symphonies. It also explores other repertories in need of rediscovery: the French mélodie with orchestra (CD Si j’ai aimé), the ‘salon symphony’, and rare violin concertos (Vivaldi Edition, naïve). Since the French National Olympic and Sports Committee opposed the ensemble’s use of the adjective ‘Olympique’, it was forced to truncate its historical name and adopt the designation ‘Le Concert de la Loge’ in June 2016.
JULIEN CHAUVIN, violin and director
Julien Chauvin was attracted at an early age by the Baroque revolution and the new wave of historically informed performance practice using period instruments, and trained at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Vera Beths, co-founder with Anner Bylsma of L’Archibudelli. In 2003 he was a prizewinner at the International Early Music competition in Bruges. He then went on to perform as a soloist in Georgia, South America and South Africa, while at the same time playing in the leading European Baroque ensembles, before founding Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, which he directed jointly with Jérémie Rhorer for ten years.
Fulfilling his desire to bring a celebrated ensemble of the eighteenth century back to life, in 2015 he formed a new orchestra, Le Concert de la Loge. In parallel with this, he continues his collaboration with the Quatuor Cambini-Paris, formed in 2007, with which he performs the string quartets of Jadin, David, Gouvy, Mozart, Gounod and Haydn, among others.
Julien Chauvin has conducted such operatic and music theatre productions as Era la notte with Anna Caterina Antonacci, Lemoyne’s Phèdre and Isouard’s Cendrillon in productions for the Palazzetto Bru Zane, Haydn’s Armida, Sacchini’s Chimène ou le Cid and Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He has appeared as guest conductor with many other groups, including the Esterházy Hofkapelle, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Orkiestra Historyczna of Katowice, the Folger Consort in Washington and the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne.
Julien Chauvin’s discography features concertante works by Haydn, Beethoven and Berlioz. With Le Concert de la Loge, he has recorded Haydn’s complete ‘Paris’ Symphonies (Aparté) and the disc Si j’ai aimé with Sandrine Piau (Alpha Classics); with Olivier Baumont, a programme entitled À Madame. In 2020 he was the soloist in an album of concertos for naïve’s Vivaldi Edition, which won a Diapason d’Or.
In addition to his concert activities, Julien Chauvin also devotes himself to teaching in orchestral sessions or masterclasses at the Conservatoires Nationaux de Musique et de Danse of Paris and Lyon, at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes.
PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY, countertenor
Philippe Jaroussky has established himself as one of the leading singers on the international music scene, performing in the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls. Thanks to his technique, which allows him to execute the most daring nuances and the most perilous pyrotechnics, he has taken possession of an extremely wide repertory in the domain of the Baroque, from the refinements of the Italian Seicento to the dizzying virtuosity of Handel and Vivaldi. A tireless discoverer of scores, he has made an outstanding contribution to the renewal of interest in such composers as Caldara, Porpora, Steffani and Cavalli. Recently, he has also explored the mélodie and lieder repertory with the pianist Jérôme Ducros and orchestras playing on modern instruments. Captivated by contemporary works, Philippe Jaroussky has performed a song cycle by Marc-André Dalbavie based on the sonnets of Louise Labé. He also premiered Kaija Saariaho’s opera Only the Sound Remains, written especially for his voice, in Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and New York. In 2002 he founded the Artaserse Ensemble, which performs all over the world. Philippe Jaroussky possesses an imposing discography. He has been an exclusive Erato-Warner Classics artist for many years and has received numerous awards for his recordings. A few years ago, the Académie Philippe Jaroussky was born. This project, particularly close to his heart, aims to democratise access to classical music by reaching out to young people in a situation of cultural isolation with original, sustained and demanding teaching.
ADRIEN LA MARCA, viola
Adrien La Marca’s playing is characterised by depth of expression, technical mastery and a sound with a rich, deep, burnished quality. Gifted with a charismatic stage presence and ability to create an immediate emotional connection with his audience, he is regarded as one of today’s most compelling musicians. As a soloist, Adrien La Marca appears regularly with renowned orchestras such as the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Liège Royal Philharmonic (artist in residence for the 2018/19 season), Insula Orchestra, Les Siècles, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Orchestre National de Metz.
Named ‘New Soloist’ of the year 2014 by the Victoires de la Musique Classique, Adrien La Marca has since then performed in prestigious venues all over the world. His two previous albums, English Delight and Heroes (both on La Dolce Volta), have been highly praised by the press (The Strad, Gramophone, Strings Magazine, Le Monde, Classica) and awarded the Diapason d’Or, ƒƒƒƒ Télérama, ‘Album of the year’ from Le Figaro and Octaves, Coup de coeur from Fnac, France Musique, Radio Classique, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice.
Born into a family of musicians in Aix-en-Provence in 1989, Adrien La Marca began playing piano and viola at the age of four. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Jean Sulem, in Leipzig with Tatjana Masurenko and in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann. In 2016, he was the first classical musician to receive the prestigious Fondation Lagardère Grant. He has won numerous prizes in international competitions including the William Primrose Competition, Lionel Tertis Competition and Johannes Brahms Competition.
Adrien La Marca plays an outstanding viola by Nicola Bergonzi made in Cremona in 1780, on generous loan from the Foundation Boubo-Music.
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LEGACY
Hopkinson Smith
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
