Editorial

As Goethe said in 1826, « Periods of decline and dissolution are subjective, while progressive periods advance in an objective direction. Our time is a time of decline, because it is subjective. He also stated that « the universal sickness of the present is an excessive turning in onto oneself. »
It is easy to imagine how these thoughts arose in the midst of the Romantic period, and it is obvious that they are, unfortunately, still relevant today. In the present time, governed as it is by the media and bling-bling attitudes, subjective judgements are commonplace, and the packaging of a work has become more important than its content. This is of course not a new development, and the fact that speaking about one's art precisely and objectively is now perceived as almost indecent has only increased the problem. It is hardly surprising that wary composers attempt to justify their music in any possible way, going so far as to call... More ->

CD Releases


 

Dans l'heure brève

Jean-Luc Hervé (2009)

Bosse, crâne rasé...

Marc Monnet (2010)

Phonus

Philippe Hurel (2009)

News


 

Geoffroy Drouin

You are committed to an introspective approach to composing, yet at the same time your music overflows with direct energy. How do you organise the relationship between the "operations" you use and intuition ?
It's important to me to avoid complacently concentrating on the technical, artisanal side of composing, and proclaiming that everything I do is based on my mastery of "the trade", as the jargon would have it; on technical aspects alone. Can writing music be reduced to simply revelling in the pleasure of listening ? … More ->

Sébastien Gaxie

Your father's work immersed you from childhood on in an intellectual environment. Has your proximity to sociology had an effect on your work as a composer ?
It will take a lifetime to answer that question, because it has to do with what is passed down from one generation to the next. But I would say that my background enabled me to become a composer. Not many sons of blue-collar workers end up having creative jobs. My upbringing may also have helped me to keep different kinds of music making in perspective.… More ->


Laurent Cuniot

You are both a composer and a conductor. Do these twin activities have an influence on your writing ?
Yes and no. Yes because being immersed in sound, having a profound understanding of the musician's craft, the psychology of the performer, and experiencing the combinations of instrumental sounds you hear when conducting an orchestra, all stimulate my imagination and my writing technique. No because my admiration, and much more rarely my dislike, for the works I conduct… More ->

Annette Mengel

As a German composer now living in France, how do you position yourself in terms of the musical aesthetics of the two countries ?
I'm very attached to my German musical background which is connected to tradition (Bach, Beethoven, Schumann...) and to the second Viennese School. But I also feel like I'm in synch with contemporary composition in France. In Germany the approach is more conceptual and at times ideological, which isn't the way I tend to apprehend things. More ->

2007-2010 - Gilles Pouessel