The Odyssey Begins

Sunday 21 april 2024 4.30pm

Starting from CHF 25.-

Tickets available online, at the Migros box office or on site on the day of the concert

Bâtiment des Forces Motrices (BFM)

Our voyage of (re)discovery launches with a programme that spans six decades of Frank Martin’s life and career. It is a journey driven not by chronology, but by creative impetus, as we move from Ode de la musique to Tête de Linotte, a childhood composition, before seeking hope in the wake of war with the oratorio, In terra pax. Henri Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain… rounds out the programme. This concert marks the debut of the Frank Martin orchestra, conducted by Thierry Fischer.

PROGRAM

FRANK MARTIN, Ode à la musique

FRANK MARTIN, Tête de linotte

HENRI DUTILLEUX, Tout un monde lointain...

FRANK MARTIN, In terra pax

Performance running time: 2h, including intermission.

Every voyage has a point of departure. Ours begins with genesis. Genesis as the creation of art. Genesis as the inception of a life and career. Genesis as sensorial awakening. Genesis as rebirth after war. The programme that launches our Odyssey opens with a tribute to the art form that inspired Frank Martin and is the reason why we are celebrating this Swiss composer today: music. There can be no doubt that Frank Martin believed fervently in the words that inspired his Ode à la musique (1961). Taken from a treatise by medieval poet and composer Guillaume de Machault, the verses pay homage to the joys, comforts, and sacred power of music.

Frank Martin’s own musical career began early. He was only nine when he composed Tête de linotte (1899), a children’s song for voice and piano. After this return to childhood, we take a detour with Henri Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain…, a work for cello and orchestra commissioned by legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Based on a poem by Baudelaire, the words evoke a sensual and sensorial journey inspired by a loved one’s locks. Finally, this initial leg of our musical expedition concludes with In terra pax, an oratorio that Frank Martin wrote for the ceasefire of 1945. Composed in the wake of destruction and horror, this work encapsulates both the devastation of war and the hope for renewal and peace. Music becomes the gateway to find life again after death.

As for our own voyage of (re)discovery, this is just the beginning. Welcome aboard.

Starting from CHF 25.-

Tickets available online, at the Migros box office or on site on the day of the concert

Stay updated on the Odyssey!

Sign up now to receive the latest news directly to your inbox.

Press area

INFORMATION & ACCESSIBILITY

For any information, especially regarding individuals with reduced mobility and their companions, please contact us at:

 accueil@odysseefrankmartin.ch or by telephone at 00 41 78 754 24 77

Migros counter

Migros Change Rive
Rue de Rive 20 – 1204 Genève
Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Migros Change MParc La Praille
Av. Vibert 32 – 1207 Carouge
Monday to Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Stand Info Balexert
Avenue Louis-Casaï 27- 1209 Genève
Monday to Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

THE MUSICIANS OF THE FRANK MARTIN ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS
Clémence De Forceville
Roman Filipov
Lissy Abreu Ruiz
Maria Jurca
Julien Lapeyre
Ombeline Long
Vasilisa Neliubina
Elise Persiaux
Amandine Pierson
Katia Trabé
Adalberto Vital Neto

SECOND VIOLINS
Claire Dassesse
Madoka Sakitsu
Maxime Alliot Barbier
Juliette Carlon
António Francisco Ferreira
Antoine Guiller
Paloma Martin
Merry Mechling
Florence Von Burg
Carole Zanchi Lehmann

VIOLAS
Elise Vaschalde
Natanael Ferreira Dos Santos
Ana La Salete Ferreira Vaz
Juliette Kowalski
Anne Malherbet
Denis Martin
Jean-Philippe Morel
Dor Sperber

CELLOS
Joël Marosi
Noé Natorp
Alain Doury
Anna Minten
Kamil Mukhametdinov
Francisca Santos Luís Parente

DOUBLE BASSES
Ivy Wong
Rémi Magnan
Gabriele Arborio
Claudio Gomes

FLUTES
Alberto Acuna 
Bastien Ferraris
Jona Venturi

OBOES
Clarisse Moreau
Olivier Thomas

CLARINETS
Vitor Fernandes
Nuno Baptista
Guillaume Le Corre

BASSOONS
Elfie Bonnardel
Carla Rouaud
Joana  Barbosa

HORNS
Clément Charpentier-Leroy
Agnès Chopin
Johan Kulcsar
Simon Kandel

TRUMPETS
Simon Pellaux
Charles-Edouard Thuillier

TROMBONES
Alexandre Mastrangelo
Elise Jacquemettaz
Ross Butcher

TUBA
Igor Martinez

TIMPANI
Arthur Bonzon

PERCUSSIONS
Marion Frétigny
Mathis Pellaux
Jean-Baptiste Solano
Jérémie Cresta
Charles De Ceuninck

HARP
Laudine Dard

PIANOS
Olga Kerevel
Johann Vacher

CELESTA
Johann Vacher

Choeur pro arte lausanne

Chœur Pro Arte was founded in Lausanne in 1947 by André Charlet. The ensemble is a leading actor in the classical music scene in French-speaking Switzerland and is the founder of Espace 2’s Schubertiade festival, which takes place every two years. For the last two decades, it has been conducted by Pascal Mayer.

The vocalists of Chœur Pro Arte work diligently to bring a wide range of repertoire to audiences, whether a cappella, orchestral or accompanied by piano or organ.

Musical exploration is an integral part of this ensemble, which interprets both well-known and obscure works, and often puts the spotlight on contemporary Swiss composers. Pro Arte performs regularly with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Sinfonietta and Ensemble Baroque de Léman, as well as the ensembles of Pierre Amoyal and organist Benjamin Righetti. Although it primarily performs in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, it has also appeared on stages elsewhere in Switzerland and abroad, including a 2018 concert in Kazan, Russia.

Pro Arte’s mission is to share great music with as many people as possible, often participating in innovative projects and performing in non-traditional settings. The ensemble has put on concerts for disabled people at Association La Branche in Mollie-Margot and teamed up with the children’s choir of Cossonay’s École de Musique to sing Christmas songs and Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir. It has also taken part in the Paléo festival in Nyon, serenading a crowd of thousands with Rossini’s Stabat Mater, as well as free open-air concerts in Lausanne and Montreux, where it performed Mozart’s Requiem, accompanied by four accordionists.

Pro Arte not only seeks out new audiences but also promotes little-known, often challenging works. Recently, the ensemble brought together Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Magnificat with the Requiem by his brother, Johann Christian Bach. In 2017, it performed Arthur Honegger’s Nicolas de Flüe in honour of the 600th birthday of the work’s namesake, Nicholas of Flüe, the patron saint of Switzerland. In 2018, Pro Arte celebrated Julien François Zbinden’s 100th anniversary with a concert featuring the composer’s oratorio, Terra dei.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pro Arte continued to perform, collaborating with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne to present the cantatas from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Lausanne cathedral in 2020. It also participated in the latest edition of Le Mont musical festival with Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem.

The 2022-2023 season marks Pro Arte’s 75th anniversary. Concerts include the performance of a work commissioned from Lausanne-born composer Valentin Villard, based on texts by Stephane Blok and Blaise Hoffman, at the Théâtre du Jorat in Mézières, alongside the Sinfonietta.

Pascal Mayer

conductor

Pascal Mayer conducts Lausanne’s Pro Arte choir, the University of Fribourg’s chamber choir and Lucerne’s Collegium Musicum. He taught music for many years at Collège Sainte-Croix in Fribourg and today, he teaches choral conducting at Lucerne’s Hochschule-Musik. With his ensembles, he explores a wide range of repertoire, from Monteverdi’s Vespers and Bach’s Mass in B-minor to Britten’s War Requiem and Favre’s Requiem. He has premiered many new compositions (Baeriywyl, Charrière, Mettraux, Michel, Haselbach, Rütti, Flury, Villard) and promotes local traditional music. Pascal collaborates regularly with the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre de chambre fribourgeois and Sinfonietta de Lausanne, as well as various early music ensembles, in addition to coaching the choirs of the Lausanne Opera and Lyrica in Neuchâtel.

Maîtrise from Geneva’s Conservatoire populaire

Maîtrise is a joyful ensemble made up of children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 16 who have decided to dedicate their musical studies to vocal training. Students are divided into age groups and continue developing their musical and vocal skills through weekly rehearsals, performing regularly in concerts and opera productions.

The ensemble was founded in 1974 by Jean-Louis Rebut, then directed by Marga Liskutin. Today, it is under the joint direction of Magali Dami and Fruzsina Szuromi.

Maîtrise collaborates with the Orchestre de la Suisse romande, Geneva’s Grand-Théâtre, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Opéra-Théâtre company, and multiple ensembles in the Lake Geneva region. The versatility of the ensemble can be seen in the range of its repertoire, which includes Gregorian chant, Medieval and Renaissance Polyphony, music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, as well as the 20th century, not to mention traditional songs and musicals.

Magali Dami

conductor

Magali Dami was born in Geneva where she also carried out her music studies, earning a degree in recorder from the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Gabriel Garrido’s class and a degree in choral conducting from the Conservatoire under the guidance of Michel Corboz. She has also studied voice and cornett. Magali participated for many years in concerts, recordings and tours as a vocalist and instrumentalist with the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne and early and contemporary music ensembles like Cantatio, Ensemble 415 and Ensemble vocal Séquence.

Since 2001, she has devoted more of her time to teaching. She coaches the young vocalists of the Conservatoire Populaire de musique, danse et théâtre’s Maîtrise, preparing them for concerts, operas and other performances.

Fruzsina Szuromi

conductor

Born into a family of musicians, Fruzsina Szuromi is a choir conductor, pianist and Kodály method specialist. She holds degrees from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Haute école de musique in Geneva.

She currently conducts the Lausanne chamber choir, a large oratorio choir and UNIL/EPFL’s Ensemble vocal Evohé. She also coaches the Maîtrise students of the Conservatoire populaire de Genève alongside Magali Dami. For ten years, Fruzsina worked at Geneva’s Haute école de musique, where she taught as a vocal coach and was in charge of organising choral projects.

Today, she continues to perform regularly as a pianist and choir and orchestra conductor.

Alban Gerhardt

cello

Having launched his career with Berliner Philharmoniker and Semyon Bychkov in 1991, Alban Gerhardt has since gained recognition as one of the world’s most versatile cellists, highly regarded for his technical mastery, profound musicality, and insatiable artistic curiosity. His gift for shedding fresh light on familiar scores, along with his appetite for investigating new repertoire from centuries past and present, truly set him apart from his peers.

Notable orchestral collaborators include Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all the British and German radio orchestras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre National de France, Orquesta Nacional de España as well as The Cleveland Orchestra, and Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, under conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Kurt Masur, Klaus Mäkelä, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Susanna Mälkki, Vladimir Jurowski and Andris Nelsons.

Alongside an extensive repertoire comprising all the core concertos, Gerhardt is also the go-to soloist for contemporary composers. Most recently, he premiered Julian Anderson’s Grawemeyer Award-winning cello concerto, Litanies, with Orchestre National de France, as well as Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto which he premiered with Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker, and played with New York Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others.

Highlights in the 2023/24 season include Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Marin Alsop, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln with Susanna Mälkki, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Andrew Manze, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Simone Young.

A prolific recording artist, Gerhardt has received several awards for his recordings including an ECHO Klassik Award in 2008 for Reger: Cello Sonatas with Markus Becker under Hyperion, a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2015 for his recording of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto with Myung-Whun Chung and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under Deutsche Grammophon (for which he was also shortlisted for a Gramophone Award), and an International Classical Music Award in 2021 for Shostakovich: Cello Concertos with WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and Jukka-Pekka Saraste under Hyperion.

Also a keen chamber musician, Gerhardt regularly performs with pianist Steven Osborne amongst others. Recent years have seen him collaborate on new artistic projects, such as ’Love in Fragments’ – a poetic union of music, movement, sculpture and spoken word – with violinist Gergana Gergova, choreographer Sommer Ulrickson, and sculptor Alexander Polzin.

Gerhardt will continue such collaborations throughout the 2023/24 season, appearing as Artist in Focus at Aldeburgh Festival and in Duisburger Philharmoniker’s Kammerkonzerte series with Alliage Quintett as he takes up the mantle of Duisburger Philharmoniker’s Artist in Residence for the season.

Gerhardt is passionate about sharing his discoveries with audiences far beyond the traditional concert hall, undertaking outreach projects across Europe and the US that have involved performances and workshops not only in schools and hospitals, but also public spaces and young offender institutions. Additionally, he has a strong online presence, teaching and interacting regularly with cello students worldwide through Patreon.

Alban Gerhardt plays a Matteo Gofriller cello dating from 1710.

Laurène Paternò

soprano

Born in France to a Sicilian family, Laurène Paternò took her first singing lessons at the age of 8, then joined the conservatoire in her native Chambéry at the age of 14, where she continued to learn singing, piano and music theory. Inhabited by music and the stage since childhood, she first performed for 12 years in the heart of her region, frequenting the main venues in a pop/gospel/soul register. After obtaining a degree in Italian language in 2014, she decided to pursue her passion for opera and was admitted to the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, from which she graduated with a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree with a soloist orientation in 2017 and 2019.

She began her solo career during her studies, making her debut in Asia (Bhutan) in 2018, in the role of Serpina (La serva padrona, Pergolesi), a production by the Opéra de Lausanne given on the occasion of the inauguration of the Royal Textile Academy of Thimphu. She was soon engaged at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (Blumenmädchen in Parsifal - Wagner), at the Opéra Grand Avignon (Mélusine in Les Chevaliers de la table ronde - Hervé), and in March 2022, she made her Paris debut on the stage of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as Despina in Così fan tutte (Mozart), in the new production directed by Laurent Pelly and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm (Le Concert d'Astrée), which then traveled to Caen. Shortly afterwards, she was engaged at the Glyndebourne Festival (UK) to understudy the role of Thérèse in Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias. She returned to the Opéra de Lausanne stage in October 2022, making her debut as Adina in L'Elisir d'amore (Donizetti). Following this, the Glyndebourne Festival invited her to make her stage debut as Giannetta and understudy Adina in L'Elisir d'amore (Donizetti) during the 2023 season. Prior to this, she returned to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, then to the Opéra National de Bordeaux and Rouen to play Clorinda, between January and April 2023, in a production for young audiences of La Cenerentola (Rossini).

Her career has also been marked by significant events outside the theaters and concert halls. In 2016, she took part in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games with the Swiss premiere given at the House of Switzerland during the opening week of the Games. She then performed the solo part of the Nations League anthem for UEFA at the competition's launch ceremony in 2018. On a national level (in Switzerland), she was also invited to perform at the installation and swearing-in ceremony for the new authorities of the canton of Vaud in 2022.

She won the 1st prize of the Kattenburg competition in 2019 at the Opéra de Lausanne and the 2nd prize of the Corsica Lirica competition in 2021. She created her own show, Odyssée Onirique, which premiered at the BCV Concert Hall in Lausanne in 2021, and also released her first album, Incitation au voyage - parfums, couleurs et sonorités d'ailleurs in 2019, both of which reflect her Latin origins, which she loves to combine with her operatic career.

Marie-Claude Chappuis

mezzo-soprano

Acclaimed mezzosoprano Marie-Claude Chappuis sings regularly under the baton of many famous conductors including Riccardo Chailly, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding, Emmanuelle Haïm, René Jacobs, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Jonathan Nott and Christophe Rousset. She has earned two Grammy nominations, the Swiss Music Award nomination, and the Midem Classical Prize.

The milestones of her career have included Idomeneo (Idamante) staged and conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Graz and Zurich, Paisiello’s Il Matrimonio Inaspettato (Contessa) under Riccardo Muti at Salzburg Festival, La Damnation de Faust (Marguerite) under Sir Roger Norrington in Leipzig, and L’incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia) at the Berlin State Opera and at La Monnaie in Brussels, one of her numerous collaborations with René Jacobs. Chappuis has been acclaimed for her performances in the title role of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas throughout Europe. She is featured at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real in Madrid and Grand Théâtre de Genève.

She is coequally active on concert-stage having recently performed with the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Giardino Armonico, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wiener Philharmoniker.

Her discography includes several recordings with René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi) and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: La Clemenza di Tito, La finta giardinera, and Mozart’s Requiem. Other recordings with Jacobs and the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin and the RIAS Kammerchor include Bach’s B-Minor Mass and Telemann’s Brockes-Passion (Harmonia Mundi). Additional recordings include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Giovanni Antonini (Sony) and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Riccardo Chailly (Decca). Solo albums include “Sous l'empire d'Amour” (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 2017) with lutenist Luca Pianca, and “Au coeur des Alpes” (Sony Classical 2018) with songs from Switzerland. Last releases include  a new recording of Clérambault’s Les Fables de La Fontaine (B-Records) with Valentin Tournet and La Chapelle Harmonique, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Dynamic) with Zubin Mehta and Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.ème symphonie de Beethoven CD et DVD sous la direction de Zubin Mehta ( Dynamic)

Sahy RATIA

tenor

Born in Madagascar, Sahy Ratia studied voice at the CNSM in Paris, graduating in 2017.

During the first years of his career, he sang Nemorino (L’Elisir d’amore) at the Avignon Opera in May 2019 with great success, before singing his first Pâris (La Belle Hélène) in St. Gallen.

During the pandemic, he rehearsed Nemorino at the Théâtre des Champs- Elysées and recorded the role of Georges Brown (La Dame blanche by Boieldieu) with La Co[opéra]tive for French television.

During the 2021-2022 season, he performed the roles of Haroun (Djamileh by Bizet) and Kornélis (La Princesse jaune by Saint-Saëns) in Tours and Tourcoing, before recording Djamileh with the Palazzetto Bru Zane. Then he sang the role of Georges Brown on tour in France. He was also the Duke of Mantua in a shortened version of Rigoletto at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

In 2020, he is selected as the ADAMI tenor Classical Revelation (a very prestigious French distinction).

In 2022-2023, he made his debut at the Berlin Staatsoper as Marzio (Mitridate) under the baton of Marc Minkowski, sang his first Tonio (La Fille du Régiment) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Hervé Niquet, as well as the role of Ali (Zémire et Azor by Grétry) at the Opéra Comique and Gilbert (Lucie de Lammermoor) at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Recently, he sang Sir Bruno Robertson (I Puritani) in Athens, Marzio again at the Berlin Staatsoper, as well as Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with Le Concert de la Loge, Mercure (Orphée aux Enfers) at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie conducted by Marc Minkowski and Ali in Tourcoing.

His projects include the Fishman (Le Rossignol by Stravinsky) and the Reporter from Paris/Monsieur Lacouf (Les Mamelles de Tirésias) at the Nice Opera, as well as the tenor part in Mozart’s Requiem with the Cercle de l’Harmonie at the Festival de Saint-Denis.

Next season, he will be Ruodi (Guillaume Tell) at the Lausanne Opera, the Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and Séraphin (Giuditta by Lehar) at the Opéra du Rhin.

Andreas Wolf

baryton

German Bass-Baritone Andreas Wolf is one of the most sought-after interpreters on the international opera and concert stages, especially in Baroque and Classical repertoire.

Highlights of the season 2023-24 include Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with Freiburger Barockorchester on tour in Europe and South Korea, I sette Peccati Capitali – a program featuring works by Monteverdi – with Cappella Mediterranea in Buenos Aires and Berlin, concerts in the Netherlands with Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium and Nederlands Kammerkoor, Mozart’s Requiem with Concert de la Loge, Händel’s Samson with Bachakademie Stuttgart, Monteverdi’s Marienvesper and Orfeo with Cappella Mediterranea, Graupner’s Dido, Königin von Carthago with La Cetra and concerts with Collegium 1704, Het Residentie Orkest and PRJCT Amsterdam. He will conclude the season with his debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele and is looking forward to returning to Innsbrucker Festwochen für Alte Musik.

Andreas Wolf has performed at major opera houses like Teatro Real Madrid, Semperoper Dresden, La Monnaie Brussels, Bayrische Staatsoper München, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Opera national du Rhin Strasbourg, Théâtre du Châtelet Paris, Grand Théâtre de Genève and Oper Stuttgart as well as Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Wiener Festwochen and Festival de Beaune in roles such as Figaro/Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello/Don Giovanni, Papageno/Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo/Cosi fan tutte, Jupiter/Platée, Aeneas/Dido and Aeneas, Zuniga/Carmen, Orbazzano/Tancredi, Falke/Die Fledermaus and Nanni/L’infedelta delusa.

His extensive concert repertoire includes the major works from Bach and Händel to Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Berlioz up to Igor Stravinsky and Frank Martin.

Andreas Wolf enjoys a particularly close collaboration with Leonardo Garcia Alarcon and Cappella Mediterranea as well as with Ton Koopman and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Next to these he has worked with conductors such as William Christie, René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon, Raphaël Pichon, Peter Dijkstra, Jérémie Rhorer, Ivor Bolton, Ingo Metzmacher and Vasily Petrenko and ensembles like Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Orchestre National de Radio France, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Concerto Köln, RIAS Kammerchor, Le Concert Spirituel, Il Pomo d’Oro, MDR Sinfonieorchester and Hamburger Sinfoniker.

His discography includes C.P.E. Bach’s Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu with the Vlaams Radiokoor (Passacaille), Handel’s Semele with Leonardo García Alarcón (Ricercar), Bach’s Messe in h-moll with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Peter Dijkstra (BR Klassik), Berlioz’ Messe Solennelle and Händel’s Messias (Alpha), Händel’s Serse (Chaconne), Johann Ludwig’s Trauermusik, Handel’s Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, both with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Bach cantatas with the Freiburger Barockorchester and Carolyn Sampson, all for Harmonia Mundi.

Stephan MacLeod

baryton-bass

Stephan MacLeod is a conductor and a singer. Born in Geneva, he is the founder and artistic director of Gli Angeli Genève, an ensemble specialising in repertoire from the 17th to 19th centuries on period instruments. He now conducts between 40 and 50 concerts a year around the world, including a growing number as guest conductor with ‘modern’ orchestras. He is also happily pursuing his career as a singer and teaches singing at Geneva’s Haute Ecole de Musique (HEM).
In 2024, among his many projects, he sings and conducts works by Machaut, Josquin, Brumel, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn or Stravinsky, in Geneva and around the world. He gives organ and voice recitals with Benjamin Righetti, sings Bach’s John Passion in Hungary with György Vashegyi, conducts the Orchestre de la Suisse romande and Gli Angeli Genève in a Stravinsky – Gesualdo – Machaut programme, reunites with Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale for some Matthew Passions in Germany and Austria, sings In Terra Pax and Frank Martin’s Ode à la Musique for the opening concert of Thierry Fischer’s Frank Martin Odyssey, conducts Bach’s Mass in B minor in Geneva and on tour with Gli Angeli Genève, sings Mendelssohn’s Paulus with Leonardo Garcia Alarcón, takes part in the Saintes, Bruges, Lanvellec or Fribourg Festivals, performs scottish songs on tour with Alexis Kossenko and in Geneva with the Ernest Trio, conducts Bach’s Magnificat and sings Frank Martin’s Requiem in Geneva, performs and records Stravinsky’s Threni with Daniel Reuss and the Capella Amsterdam, and sings and conducts Handel’s Messiah on tour with Gli Angeli Genève.
Stephan MacLeod studied violin and piano before turning to singing, which he first studied at the Geneva Conservatoire, then with Kurt Moll at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and finally with Gary Magby at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Lausanne. His singing career began during his studies in Germany, thanks to a fruitful collaboration with Reinhard Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln. It was then that the doors of the world of oratorio opened to him, and he has since performed regularly on the most important stages under conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Jordi Savall, Frieder Bernius, Franz Brüggen and Masaaki Suzuki, Michel Corboz, Gustav Leonhardt, Christophe Coin, Konrad Junghänel, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Sigiswald Kuijken, Vaclav Luks, Philippe Pierlot, Helmut Rilling, Rudolf Lutz, Raphael Pichon, Paul Van Nevel and Jos Van Immerseel, as well as with Daniel Harding and Jesus Lopez Cobos.
A singer with a love of song and melody, he gives numerous recitals, but has also been heard on opera stages, notably productions at La Monnaie in Brussels and La Fenice in Venice, as well as on the opera stages of Geneva, Toulouse, Nîmes, Bordeaux, Cologne, Potsdam, Freiburg, Girona, etc. Since 2005, in parallel with his singing career, he has also devoted himself to conducting and is the founder of the Ensemble Gli Angeli Genève, which has reaped the rewards of significant international recognition in recent years.

From 2013 to 2023, he was professor of singing at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne, and since September 2023 at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, and he divides his time between teaching, his commitments as a singer, his ensemble and invitations to conduct – particularly Bach – with increasing frequency. He regularly conducts the musicians of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, as well as the Philharmonie Zudnederland, the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra.
Stephan MacLeod’s discography includes more than 100 CDs, many of them to critical acclaim.

Eklekto

Eklekto est un collectif de percussion contemporaine fondé en 1974 à Genève. Avec un instrumentarium en permanente évolution de plus de mille pièces, Eklekto développe des projets qui contribuent à façonner le paysage musical actuel et travaille en étroite collaboration avec des compositeurs et des artistes autour de la recherche sonore sous toutes ses formes. Eklekto a créé plus de 100 nouvelles œuvres et se produit dans les salles et festivals du monde entier.

www.eklekto.ch