Die Blaue Blume (World premiere)

Combining tradition with innovation in sound, Nicolas Bolens’ work places the spotlight on the material and subjects that present themselves to him. His music is often tied to other elements: a text, a film, a place, an invocation. But each project has the same aim: creating an authentic and unprecedented artistic experience.

For instance, with the Ensemble Batida, Bolens created “Welcome to the Castle” (2017), three musical acts for musicians moving through the Château des Allymes near Amberieu-en-Bugey. For the Gémeaux Quartett, he wrote “La Ville Oblique” (2013), a string quartet designed as a musical extension of Dali and Buñuel’s short film Un Chien Andalou.

Written text, mostly poetry, runs throughout Bolens’ work. He has composed music to poems by Celan, Sachs, Mallarmé, Char, Blok, Khayyam, Michaux, Éluard, Basho, Neruda, Rilke, Adonis, Shakespeare, and others. These authors, hailing from various countries and time periods, have led him to incorporate many languages into his work, drawing as much on their sonic potential as their semantic content.

Orchestration also plays an important role in Bolens’ work, in particular in rethinking the instrumentation of historical works. In 2018, he re-orchestrated Mahler’s “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” and 4th Symphony for the Lemanic Modern Ensemble under the direction of Pierre Bleuse. Commissioned by the Ouverture Opera association, his recent reworking of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” follows the same approach.

Nicolas Bolens has collaborated with the Ensemble Batida, the Lemanic Modern Ensemble, the Swiss Chamber Soloists, the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, the Ensemble Vocal Polhymnia, the Ensemble Vortex, the Basler Madrigalisten, and the Ensemble Vocal Sequence.

Born in Geneva, Bolens first studied piano at the Geneva conservatory, before completing his training in Jean Balissat’s composition class. He further refined his skills under Rudolph Kelterborn, Klaus Huber, Edison Denisov, and Eric Gaudibert. He is the recipient of numerous composition awards, including from the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (1993) and the Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (2002), as well as a grant from the Leenaards Foundation (1998).

A dedicated teacher and committed artist, he teaches counterpoint, 20th century writing, and composition at the Haute École de Musique de Genève. He is involved in several institutions related to musical creation in Switzerland, including the Swiss Musicians Association, the Archipel Festival Association, the Nicati-de-Luze Foundation, and the Artistic Council of the Geneva Competition.

An insatiable artist with a discography of more than twenty records, Pierre Fouchenneret dedicates several years of his life to interpreting the work of a single composer, surrounding himself with the finest chamber musicians and, more often than not, recording the composer’s complete works. In 2016, he recorded Beethoven’s complete sonatas for violin and piano with Romain Descharmes for Aparte. In 2018, he released the first volume of a complete set of Gabriel Fauré’s chamber music with Simon Zaoui and Raphaël Merlin. He also embarked on the ambitious project of playing all of Brahms’ chamber music together with the Strada Quartet, Eric Lesage, Florent Pujuila, Adrien Boisseau, and others. This complete set was released by B-Records between 2018 and 2021. In the spring of 2020, his recording of Schubert’s and Raphaël Merlin’s octets was released, featuring Nicolas Baldeyrou, David Guerrier, and Marc Desmons, among others.

A child prodigy, Pierre Fouchenneret won his first prize in violin and chamber music at the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) at the age of 16 in the classes of Olivier Charlier and Daria Hovora. He then won the Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International Chamber Music Competition, the Georges Enesco Grand Prize from Sacem, and became a laureate and an associate of the Natixis Foundation.

Invited to perform all over the world, the “extraordinary bow” (Le Figaro) of Pierre Fouchenneret quickly led him to play with exceptional musicians such as the Fine Arts Quartet, Jean-François Heisser, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Zong Xu, Julien Leroy and Nicolas Angelich. In 2013, he founded the Strada Quartet with Sarah Nemtanu, Lise Berthaud, and François Salque.

A consummate and avid artist, Pierre Fouchenneret is recognised by French and international orchestras for his audacity and his unique vision of the repertoire. He has been invited to collaborate with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, the Brno Philharmonic, the Philharmonic of Nice, the Baltic of Saint Petersburg, and the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine. A renowned pedagogue, Pierre Fouchenneret teaches at the Haute école de musique de Genève.

Loïc Vallaeys is a young Franco-Peruvian pianist. He started playing piano at the age of 4 and has studied both in France and in Peru. At 13, he was admitted to the National Conservatory of Music in Peru, where he won first prize in his category for three consecutive years, across all instruments.

After graduating from the Conservatory, Loïc moved to Geneva to continue his studies with Nelson Goerner at the Haute École de Musique. Having obtained his bachelor’s degree, he is currently pursuing a master’s in solo performance at HEM under the same professor.

In March 2023, he won the Dominique Weber Prize, which is awarded to talented young pianists studying in Switzerland. That same year, he also received the Adolphe Neuman Prize from the City of Geneva, which is awarded to one exceptionally deserving student in the piano, violin, or cello class at HEM. In June 2024, he became a recipient of the Marescotti Scholarship by winning special prize at the Puplinge Classique festival.

Loïc has performed as a soloist in Peru, playing concertos by Bach and Mozart, and Mendelssohn’s “Capriccio Brillante.” More recently, in Geneva, he has had the opportunity to perform solo at the Palais de l’Athénée, the Lutheran Church, the Cité Bleue, and the Temple de Carouge during various festivals. He also gave a recital at the Église du Lieu during the Rencontres Culturelles de la Vallée de Joux.

In addition to his solo career, Loïc has also performed in several chamber music concerts, a genre about which he is particularly passionate. He has performed in duos, trios, quartets, and quintets, playing repertoires ranging from Haydn to contemporary music, including works by Mozart, Schubert, Robert Schumann, Brahms, Smetana, Fauré, Rachmaninov, Gustav Mahler, Dora Pejacevic, and Marc Eychenne, among others.

Arthur Noël is a 23-year-old French pianist currently studying at the Haute École de Musique (HEM) in Geneva, in the first year of a master’s in music performance under Cédric Pescia. Previously, he studied at the CRR in Paris in Jérôme Granjon’s class, where he obtained his diploma in musical studies (specialising in piano) in 2018. He then studied in Fabrizio Chiovetta’s class at HEM in Geneva, earning his bachelor’s degree in 2024. He has also worked with Brigitte Bouthinon-Dumas, Anne Queffélec, Philippe Cassard, and Bernard D’Ascoli in private lessons and masterclasses.

A finalist of the Merci Maestro International Piano Competition in Brussels in 2018, winner of the Lavaux Classic piano competition in 2022 and the Association Dominique Weber special prize in 2023, Noël has performed on several occasions in the church of Noyers-Sur-Serein during the Festival Les Rencontres Musicales de Noyers, in Nancy during the Académies Internationales d’Été, and in Tangiers, Morocco, at several private concerts.

He has also played numerous concerts at the Salle Davel in Cully, Hôtel des Trois Couronnes in Vevey, the Salle des Abeilles in Geneva, Théâtre des Rendez-Vous d’Ailleurs in Paris, Théâtre Le Regard du Cygne in Paris, Théâtre du Passage in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and in charity concerts (at Gustave Roussy Hospital, for the Monsieur Vincent Association, and for the Dominique Weber Association).

Noël has also performed as an accompanist and actor in the play “Rosa et Bianca,” a production of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, in 2022 and 2023. He composed an opera in English, “The Muse Calls,” which premiered on June 21, 2024, at HEM in Geneva, on the University of Neuchâtel campus.

A major figure on the hip-hop scene since the early 1990s, choreographer Mourad Merzouki works at the crossroads of many different disciplines, injecting circus performance, martial arts, fine arts, video and live music into his exploration of hip-hop.

Without losing sight of the roots of the movement and its social and geographical origins, this juxtaposition opens new horizons for dance and reveals unprecedented perspectives.

Merzouki created his first dance company, Accrorap, in 1989, with Kader Attou, Eric Mezino and Chaouki Saïd, and decided in 1996 to establish his own artistic universe by founding his company Käfig – which means “cage” in Arabic and German.

Since then, he has created 39 pieces, which continue to reach an ever-expanding audience. In total, more than 2 million spectators have discovered his company’s creations over 4,000 performances across 65 countries.

As the director of the CCN de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne (National Choreographic Centre of Créteil and Val-de-Marne) from 2009 to 2022, Merzouki developed an artistic project that was both rooted in the local region and open to the world. He forged new connections with the Pôle en Scènes project in Bron, where he has been the artistic advisor since 2016, bringing together the Pôle Pik Choreographic Center and the Espace Albert Camus. In these locations, he leads twin festivals, Karavel and Kalypso, which provide considerable visibility for hip-hop dance companies.

In January 2023, after 13 years as the head of the CCN de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne, Merzouki reestablished the Käfig company in the east of Lyon, in Bron and Saint-Priest, reconnecting with the area in which he grew up.

Kader Belmoktar started dancing hip-hop in 1993 with the group Culture Street, before joining Zoro Henchiri and Traction Avant in 1997. In 1999, Mourad Merzouki offered him the role of Frank II Louise in the show “Récital.” He continued this collaboration as a dancer in “Pas à Pas” (2000), “Dix Versions” (2001), “Corps est graphique” (2003), “Terrain Vague” (2006), “Tricôté” (2008), “Yo Gee Ti” (2012), “Pixel” (2014), “Cartes Blanches” (2016), and “Vertikal” (2018). His work with the choreographer evolved into a closer partnership, leading him to assist in the creation of “Terrain Vague” (2006), “Tricôté” (2008), “Agwa” (2008), “7Steps” (2014), “Phénix” (2022), and “Beauséjour” (2024). Kader complements his artistic approach with teaching and leading numerous workshops.

After completing a BTS in lighting design and sound engineering and working for four years as a stage manager in Lyon theaters, Yoann Tivoli created his first lighting designs in 1994 and has worked in various artistic fields: music, theater, exhibitions, and events. His dance credits include work with Inbal Pinto Dance Company, Frank II Louise, Bob.H Ekoto, Question, Pilobolus, Entre Nosotros and, since 1996, all lighting designs for Compagnie Käfig. As a co-founder of the Groupe Moi, he has participated in the creation of all their performances and manages the general and lighting direction for the tours of the creations he has collaborated on. He also serves as the technical director for several companies.

After studying landscape architecture, Benjamin Lebreton pursued a training in scenography at the École Nationale des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre in Lyon. After graduating in 2005, he worked in France and abroad as a set designer for dance, notably with Mourad Merzouki, with whom he has collaborated since 2006 on each of his creations, and more recently with Maguy Marin. For theater, he designs sets for Phillipe Awat, Catherine Heargreave, Thomas Poulard, David Mambouch, among others. In Germany, he created the scenography for A Midsummer Night’s Dream by W. Shakespeare at the StaatTheater in Wiesbaden. In parallel, he works as a graphic designer, creating visuals for the Käfig company and signage for several large buildings.