First Prize at the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hanover in 2012, and prizewinner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and at the Singapore International Violin Competition, Alexandra Conunova has been hailed by her virtuosity, warm tone, impressive range of color, and flawless technique. In 2016 she received the prestigious Fellowship by the Borletti-Buittoni Trust in London and has recently recorded a disc of Prokofiev Violin Sonatas with Michail Liftis on Aparté, which was was received with great acclaim by publications such as Gramophone and The Strad. 

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Alexandra Conunova

Born in Caen in 1968, Éric Tanguy is to this day one of the most performed French composers in the world. Named “Composer of the Year” by the Victoires de la musique classique in 2004 and 2008, Éric Tanguy studied under Horatiu Radulescu, Ivo Malec, Gérard Grisey, and Betsy Jolas at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. 

He has been awarded numerous prizes throughout his career, including the Darmstadt Stipendienpreis (1988), the Prix Villa Médicis Hors les murs (1989), the Haut Conseil culturel francoallemand scholarship (1991), the Villa Médicis competition prize (1992), the Darmstadt Kranichsteiner Musikpreis (1992), the French Institute André-Caplet prize (1995), the SACEM Hervé-Dugardin prize (1997), the SACEM lifetime achievement award (2012), and the “Grand prix Lycéen des compositeurs” (2014). 

He was most recently named composer in residence for the 2018 and 2019 Festival international de musique in Besançon, Franche-Comté. His catalogue contains over one hundred compositions, ranging from solo works to concertos, vocal works and symphonies, performed by many of today’s greatest conductors; Lionel Bringuier, Semyon Bychkov, Louis Langrée, Seiji Ozawa, Pascal Rophé, François- Xavier Roth, Heinrich Schiff,  Esa-Pekka Salonen, to name just a few. His works have been performed by performers such as Suzana Bartal, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Francois Leleux, Igor Levit, Edgar Moreau, Emmanuel Pahud,Arditt Quartet, Ensemble Intercontemporain Tokyo Sinfonietta, London Sinfonietta, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio- France, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Helsinki Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tonhalle Orchestra, S Scottish Chamber Orchestra,  and many more.

In 2002, Eric Tanguy was named Professor of composition at the Paul Dukas conservatory in the 12th arrondissement in Paris, and since 2017 at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. His reputation as a composer and professor have earned him regular master class and conference invitations throughout the world (UCLA, USC, Colburn School, NEC, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of music). The works of Éric Tanguy have been published by the Éditions Salabert since 1989, and many of these have been recorded by the record labels Decca, Erato, Naïve, Transart, Intrada, Ohems Classics, Brilliant Classics and Genuin.

Composer

Eric Tanguy

A specially curated programme, by the performers and Classeek Ambassador Eric Tanguy, this recital programme features the music of Eric Tanguy, bookending a trio of works from the first half of the 20th century. Having studied under the likes of Horatiu Radulescu, Gérard Grisey and Betsy Jonas, Tanguy has become one of France’s most widely performed composers. Violinist and Classeek Ambassador Programme alumnus Alexandra Conunova is a featured artist in this recital, along with pianists David Kadouch and Suzana Bartal.

The recital opens with Tanguy’s Passacaille for solo piano, before Alexandra Conunova leads a performance of In a Dream, a piece she recorded for an acclaimed album of Tanguy chamber works earlier this year. The recording was awarded a four-star review by BBC Music Magazine, who praised Conunova’s rendition, stating that it was ‘performed with strength and conviction.’ Now better known in its orchestral arrangement, Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances is heard here in its original version: a suite of short piano pieces based on Romanian folk tunes. The dances include ‘Stick Dance’ – a piece inspired by a tune Bartók overheard two gypsy violinists playing, ‘Sash Dance’ and ‘Romanian Polka’, showing the richness and variation of traditional Romanian gypsy music and dance. 

We then cycle forwards a few decades to 1940s Paris with Poulenc’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Written in memory of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, the sonata is peppered with Spanish influences throughout and, as a result, is not instantly recognisable as Poulenc’s style. Premiered with the composer himself at the piano, this was never a piece Poulenc looked too favourably upon. In fact, he had difficulty writing the piece at all, with various attempts made. It is an intense and deeply moving work, with moments of grief, anger and bittersweet sentiment. 

Staying with the French theme, the musicians present Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye in its original piano duet form. Another work now better known in its orchestral arrangement, Ma mère l’Oye was originally written by Ravel for the Godebski children, whose parents had been the dedicatees of an earlier work by the great composer. With the subtitle ‘Five Children’s Pieces’, the work is made up of a series of movements which take their names from children’s stories, such as Sleeping Beauty and Tom Thumb. 

The evening is then brought to a close with another contemporary work by Eric Tanguy, Deux Moments Musicaux.

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An evening with Eric Tanguy

Alexandra Conunova, David Kadouch & Suzana Bartal

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