Guillaume Connesson (One can hear Connesson pronouncing his name in thi
interview
) is a French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

born in 1970 in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

Biography

Connesson studied the piano, music theory, music history and choir conducting at the Conservatoire National de Région de

and composition with

Marcel Landowski Marcel François Paul Landowski (18 February 1915 – 23 December 1999) was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator. Biography Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and gre ...

for six years from 1989. In the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris, he studied orchestral conducting with Dominique Rouits and orchestration with Alain Louvier. As a composer, he asserts influences as various as

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

for the ''

Turangalîla-Symphonie The ''Turangalîla-Symphonie'' is the only symphony by Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992). It was written for an orchestra of large forces from 1946 to 1948 on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Along with the ...

'' and ''

Saint François d'Assise ''Saint François d'Assise : Scènes Franciscaines'' (English: Franciscan Scenes of Saint Francis of Assisi), or simply ''Saint François d'Assise'', is an opera in three acts and eight scenes by French composer Olivier Messiaen, who was also ...

'',

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...

for his ''Métaboles'',

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

, and also

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

but also movie composers such as

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

or the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

style of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

. From 2001 to 2003, he was composer in residence at the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, for which he wrote the vocal symphony ''Liturgies de l'ombre'' and the symphonic poem ''L'appel au feu''. He is currently composer in association with the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

; his music is played by American and English orchestras such as the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

, the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

, the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, the

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony o ...

, and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

. From 2009 he has been composer in residence at the Orchestre de Pau, Pays de Béarn. Connesson teaches

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

at the Conservatoire National d'

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, department, Île-de-France regions of France, region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. Geography Localisation Aubervilliers is one of th ...

-la Courneuve. Guillaume Connesson's music is published by Éditions Billaudot.

Works

Orchestral

* ''Oniris'' (1991) * ''Night-Club'' (1996) * ''Feux d'artifice'' (1998) * ''Enluminures'' (1999) * ''Scènes Nocturnes'' for string orchestra (2001) * ''Trilogie cosmique'' :# ''Supernova'' (1997) :# ''Une lueur dans l'âge sombre'' (2005) :# ''Aleph'' (2007) * ''The Ship of Ishtar'' for string orchestra (2009) * ''Lucifer'' - Ballet in two acts with a libretto by the composer (2011) * ''Maslenitsa'' (2011) * ''Flammenschrift'' (2012) * ''Les cites de Lovecraft'' - orchestral poems (2017)

Concertante

* ''Yu Yan'' for

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

and orchestra (2007) * Concerto for cello and orchestra (2008) * ''Constellations'', Concerto for viola and orchestra (2009) * ''The Shining One'', Concerto for piano and orchestra (2009) * ''Concertino'' for piano and chamber orchestra (2013) * ''Pour sortir au jour''- Concerto for flute and orchestra (2014) * ''A Kind of Trane'' - Concerto for saxophone (soprano and alto) and orchestra (2015) * ''Les Horizons Perdus'' - Concerto for violin and orchestra (2018) * ''Les Belles Heures'' - Concerto for oboe and orchestra (2022) * ''Danses concertantes'' - Concerto for flute and orchestra

Vocal

Music for choir and orchestra

* ''Sphaera'' for chorus and orchestra (2006), or for chorus, piano 4 hands and percussion (chamber version) (2010); Latin text by

Richard Crashaw Richard Crashaw (c. 1613 – 21 August 1649) was an English poet, teacher, High Church Anglican cleric and Roman Catholic convert, who was one of the major metaphysical poets in 17th-century English literature. Crashaw was the son of a famous ...

* ''La cathédrale aux étoiles'', Cantata in 3 acts for mixed chorus, children chorus and orchestra (2006); text of Valérie de la Rochefoucauld * ''Athanor'' for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and ensemble or orchestra (2003)

Music for choir and instruments

* ''Sphaera'' for choir, piano with 4 hands and 3 percussions (chamber version) - On a Latin text of Richard Crashaw (2010) * ''Musique pour Oscar'' - Seven children choirs a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment harp and cello (2007) * ''Au commencement'', for children's chorus and instrumental ensemble (2004)

Music for a cappella choir

*'' Funeratio'' for mixed chorus a cappella, or with instrumental ensemble (2011) * ''Deux chœurs'' for female chorus a cappella (2005); poems of Olivier Tanguy * ''Laudate Pueri'' for mixed chorus a cappella (2002)

Music for solo voice and orchestra

* ''Liturgies de l'ombre'' for soprano and orchestra (2000); poem of Charles Péguy * ''Le Livre de l'amour'' for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (2001); poems of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English writer best known for her 1847 novel, ''Wuthering Heights''. She also co-authored a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte and Anne Bront� ...

and Germain Nouveau

Music for solo voice and chamber ensemble

* ''Medea'' for soprano, clarinet, cello and piano (2004); text by Jean Vauthier * ''Timouk'', Musical Tale for narrator and five instruments on a booklet of Yun Sun Limet (2010)

Music for solo voice and piano

* ''De l'Espérance'' for soprano and piano (1999); poem of Charles Péguy * ''Nuit obscure'' for baritone and piano (2000); poem of Saint-Jean de la Croix * ''I'll not weep'' for alto and piano (2001); poem of

* ''My sweet sister'' for mezzo-soprano and piano (2001); poem of

* ''Trois merveilles du monde'' for baritone and piano (2008); poems of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

* ''Vivre'' for soprano and piano (2010); poem of Typhanie Vigouroux

Chamber and instrumental music

* ''Disco-toccata'' for clarinet and cello (1994) * ''Double Quatuor'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet and string quartet (1994) * ''Deux Images antiques'' for clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin and double bass (1996) * ''Jurassic Trip'' for flute, clarinet, 2 pianos, percussion and string quintet (1998) * ''Sextuor'' for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, double bass and piano (1998) * ''initials dances'' for piano solo (2001) * ''Le rire de Saraï'' for flute and piano (2001) * ''Techno-parade'' for flute, clarinet and piano (2002) * ''Toccata nocturne'' for flute and cello (2002) * ''Toccata'' for harp solo (2003) * ''Riffs'' for trumpet solo (2004) * ''La Solitaire'' for viola da gamba solo (2004) * ''Constellation de la Couronne boréale'' for viola and piano (2005) * ''L'île de Pâques'', Prélude for piano (2006) * ''Les Chants de l'Atlantide'', 3 Pieces for violin and piano (2007) * ''Constellation de la Couronne australe'' for viola and piano (2008) * ''Les Chants de l'Agartha'', 3 Pieces for cello and piano (2008) * String Quartet (2010)

Teaching music

* ''Remix'' for strings orchestra and six percussionists (1998) * ''Et un sourire'' for children's chorus and string orchestra (1998); poem of

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

Stage music

* ''Musique pour Oscar'', Incidental Music for the play '' Oscar et la dame rose'' by

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (; born 28 March 1960) is a French people, Franco-Belgians, Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His Play (theater), plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the wo ...

for children's choir, harp and cello (2007) * ''Lucifer'', Ballet in 2 acts (2011); libretto by the composer

Film scores

* ''

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

'', Music for

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

's 1924 film for clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano (1995) * ''

L'Aurore ; ) was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola's ''J'accuse...!'' leading into his article on the Dreyfus Affair. The newspaper was published by Geo ...

'', Music for Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's 1927 silent film ''Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' for large symphonic orchestra (1999)

Discography

* ''Lost Horizon'' - Les Cités de Lovecraft, A Kind of Trane (concerto for saxophone), Les Horizons Perdus (concerto for violin), Le Tombeau des Regrets -

Renaud Capuçon Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist. Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music. He is the older brother of cellist Gautier Capuçon. Biography Capuçon was born in Chamb� ...

, Timothy McAllister. Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Stéphane Denève (

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

, avril 2019) * ''Pour sortir au jour''- Flammenschrift - Pour sortir au jour, concerto for flute - E chiaro nella valle il fiume appare - Maslenitsa. With the

Brussels Philharmonic The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public broadc ...

conducted by Stéphane Denève, with Mathieu Dufour, flute (Deutsche Grammophon, 2016). Award: Diapason d'or (September 2016). * ''Lucifer'' - Concerto for cello interpreted by Jérôme Pernoo - Lucifer (ballet) - Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo under conducting of Jean-Christophe Spinosi (Deutsche Grammophon) * ''Timouk'' (CD + Book) - Yun Sun Limet, texts - Delphine Jacquot, illustrations - Claire-Marie Le Guay, piano -

Marie Gillain Marie Gillain O.M.W. (born 18 June 1975) is a Belgian actress. In popular culture * She was the heroine of the John Malkovich play ''Hysteria'' in Chicago in December 1999. * She is a model for cosmetics brand Lancôme. * In 2013 she was no ...

, narrator (Didier Jeunesse) * ''Constellations'' (CD + DVD directed by Stéphan Aubé) - Monograph of chamber music - With Jérôme Ducros, Jérôme Pernoo... (Editions Pierre Bergé) * ''Cosmic Trilogy - The Shining One'' - With Éric Le Sage, Stéphane Denève and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Chandos) * ''Athanor-Supernova'' - Monograph of orchestral music and choral (Densité 21) * ''Laudate pueri'' - Motet for mixed chorus with six voices a cappella (Accord) * ''Techno Parade'' (CD + DVD directed by Stéphan Aubé) - Monograph of chamber music - With Mathieu Dufour, Paul Meyer, Éric Le Sage... (BMG - RCA)

Interpreters

Principal musicians or orchestral formations which interpret regularly the music of Guillaume Connesson: * Lise Berthaud, viola * Stéphane Denève, conductor * Jérome Ducros, piano *

Fayçal Karoui Fayçal Karoui (born 1971), is a conductor of Tunisian descent. He won a prize at the 1991 Besançon International Young Conductors Competition and first prize in conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris in 1997. The Aïda sc ...

, conductor * Florent Héau, clarinet * Claire-Marie Le Guay, piano * Eric Le Sage, piano * Paul Meyer, clarinet * Jérôme Pernoo, cello * Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano *

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

...

Awards and distinctions

* 2011 - Grand Prix

SACEM The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

de la musique symphonique (carrière) * 2006 - Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs * 2005 - ''Choc du Monde de la Musique'' and ''10 de Classica'' for the CD ''Techno Parade'' * 2001 - Bourse de la Fondation Natexis * 2000 - Prix de la

* 1999 - Prix Nadia et Lili Boulanger * 1998 - Prix Cardin de l'

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

pour Supernova

References

External links

Official website of the composer

Éditions Billaudot website - Composer's catalogue

CDMC Website

SACEM website (in english)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connesson, Guillaume 1970 births Living people Musicians from Boulogne-Billancourt French male classical composers 20th-century French classical composers 21st-century French classical composers 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians