Franck BEDROSSIAN, guest composer

Born in Paris on February 3rd, 1971.
His music, beyond its immediate physical impact, invokes a forceful yet refined dramatic intensity. The invention of sonic matter and the expressive density in his writing sculpts a musical form rich with acoustic ambiguity and auditory illusions. « Transmission » for bassoon and electronics, composed in 2002 as part of the IRCAM program for Composition and computer music, laid the groundwork for an aesthetic later known as « Saturation ». This initial interest for articulation of excess was quickly enriched and developed throughout the prism of harmonic research [It (2005), Charleston (2006),Swing (2009)], vocal writing [Lamento (2007), Epigram (2009-2018)] and literary models [Le lieu et la formule (2019), Don Quixote Concerto (2021)].

After studying harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and music analysis, he studied composition with Allain Gaussin and entered the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) in the class of Gérard Grisey and Marco Stroppa. In 2001-2002, he attended the Cursus in composition and computer music at IRCAM and received education from Philippe Leroux, Brian Ferneyhough, Tristan Murail and Philippe Manoury. Meanwhile, he completed his training with Helmut Lachenmann at Centre Acanthes in 1999 and International Ensemble Modern Academy in 2004.

His works have been performed worldwide by ensembles and orchestras such as L’Itinéraire, 2e2m, Ensemble Ictus, Court-circuit, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble intercontemporain, Klangforum Wien, Contrechamps, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Eco Ensemble, Diotima Quartet, Tana Quartet, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.  Many international festivals present his music, especially Manca (France), Musica Nova (Finland), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexique), RTÉ Living Music Festival (Ireland), Présences (France), Musica (France), Borealis Festival (Norway), Ars Musica (Belgium), Wittener Tage für Neue Musik (Germany), Nuova Consonanza, Suona Francese (Italy), Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Festival international d’art lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence (France), Fabbrica Europa (Italy), Wien Modern (Austria), Archipel (Switzerland), Donaueschinger Musiktage, MaerzMusik, Sommer in Stuttgart, Darmstadt Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, NOW! (Germany), ReMusik (Russia), Venice Biennale (Italy) and ManiFeste (France).

In 2001, he received a grant from the Meyer Foundation and the Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet for Vocation, then in 2004, the Hervé Dugardin Prize of SACEM. In 2005, the Institut de France (Académie des beaux-arts) awarded him the Pierre Cardin Prize of Musical Composition. Franck Bedrossian also received the prize for young composers of SACEM in 2007. In 2012 at Donaueschinger Musiktage, he was awarded the SWR Symphonieorchester Prize for his pieceItself.

Franck Bedrossian was a resident at the Villa Medici from 2006 to 2008. He teaches composition at the University of California at Berkeley from 2008 to 2019, then at Kunstuniversität Graz since March 2020.

His works are published by Éditions Gérard Billaudot, Verlag Neue Musik, and Maison ONA.

Ramon HUMET, guest composer

Born in 1968. Humet studied composition with Josep Soler, piano with Harriet Serr and Miquel Farré, and improvisation with Gerry Weil. In 2000, he met the British composer Jonathan Harvey, an encounter that deeply marked his creative path.

In 2007 he was awarded the Olivier Messiaen International Composition Prize, which brought the commission —on the initiative of conductor Kent Nagano— of the orchestral composition Scenes of Wind for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, premiered in 2008 and conducted by Jacques Lacombe. His orchestral music has also received the XXIV Queen Sofia International Composition Prize. In 2014 he was the guest composer at Palau de la Música Catalana, and in the 2019-2020 season he was the guest composer at Auditori of Barcelona.

Ramon Humet’s music exudes an intense love of nature, embodied in some of his symphonic works. This can be seen in works such as Música del no ésser (Music of Non-being), premiered by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pablo Gonzalez, El temps i la campana (Time and the Bell), premiered by Spanish National Orchestra conducted by Guillermo García Calvo, or Escenes d’ocells (Scenes of Birds), an orchestral work that has been the subject of multiple performances conducted by Jean François Rivest, Adrian Leaper, Roberto Minczuk, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Edmon Colomer and Rubén Gimeno with several orchestras.

Piano music is a key facet in the catalogue of Humet’s works, and Volume III in the series Escenes del bosc (Forest Scenes) stands out: the piece was commissioned by the Association pour la Création et la Diffusion Artistique and was premiered at the Cité de la Musique in 2007 as a mandatory piece in the prestigious Concours Olivier Messiaen for piano. Additionally, volume V was premiered at Tokyo Opera Recital Hall in 2014 by Satoko Inoue.

In 2017 he writes Music for Ekstasis, a lost Martha Graham’s solo reimagined by Virginie Mécène and premiered by the Martha Graham Dance Company at the Joyce Theater, New York. This work has been performed around the world: Opéra de Paris, Teatro Real de Madrid, National Centre for the Performing Arts of Beijing, Luxembourg, Germany, Canada, etc… Music for Ekstasis is the soundtrack of the videoclip Breathing by the legendary Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. In 2019 he premieres Homenaje a Martha Graham, with choreography by Virginie Mécène, PeiJu Chien-Pott as soloist, Sarah Maria Sun, Alberto Rosado, Kakizakai Kaoru and Neopercusión. This work has been recorded with 3D system in a double CD produced by Neu Records.

Some of his most relevant works for chamber music have been released on a specially designed compact disc, Niwa, recorded by the London Sinfonietta and conducted by Nicholas Collon. This CD, produced by Neu Records label, has been recorded with high definition sound and 5.1 Surround system, and has been reviewed by Gramophone Magazine as a ‘fascinating project’. Often inspired by Japanese traditional music for shakuhachi, Desert, for shakuhachi and orchestra, has been premiered by Horacio Curti and the Spanish National Orchestra conducted by Paolo Bressan.

Ramon Humet has taught composition at the Liceu Conservatory since 2009. Among his former students stand out as successful composers: Joan Magrané, Miquel Oliu, Carlos de Castellarnau and Maria Camahort. He has a wide repertoire of vocal, instrumental, electroacoustic and stage music, with particular attention paid to orchestral production.

In 2021, an award-winning CD (Choc de Classica 2022, Premi Enderrock 2021) has been released by Ondine with the choral work Llum, with the Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Klava. In 2023, a successful CD (Ad Astra) has been released by Klarthe with the second string quartet “I fa l’aire visible”, with the Quartet Gerhard.

BARCELONA MODERN ENSEMBLE, resident ensemble

Founded in 2004 and completely renewed since in 2013 the composer Demian Luna assumes his artistic direction.

The task of these last years is based mainly on contemporary music, current and newly created, and on the interpretation and subsequent dissemination of the young emerging values ​​of contemporary Spanish and world music, as well as the already established composers: Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Martin Matalon, Hèctor Parra, Raphaël Cendo, Kaija Saariaho, José Manuel López López, Jonathan Harvey, Benet Casablancas, Philippe Hurel, Alberto Posadas, Ramón Lazkano, Cristóbal Halfter, Gabriel Erkoreka, Luis De Pablo, etc.

Since 2014 is the resident ensemble of the Barcelona Modern International Composition Course, working on the work of guest composers Martin Matalon (2014/15), Héctor Parra (2015/16), Raphaël Cendo (2016/17), José Manuel López López (2017/18), Philippe Hurel (2018/19), Alberto Posadas (2019/20), Francesco Filidei / Oscar Bianchi (2020/21) and premiered 15 works by young composers every year, among them: Diego Jiménez Tamame, Frédéric Le Bel, Ariadna Alsina, Jeremías Iturra, Demian Rudel Rey, Pablo Andoni Gómez Olabarría, etc.

The ensemble has performed in prestigious halls and festivals, among which stand out: the Sampler Sèries cycle at the Barcelona Auditorium, the Tarragona Spring Festival, the Josep Carreras Auditorium in Vila-seca, the Palau Robert in Barcelona, ​​the 400 MNCARS Auditorium in Madrid, the Auditorium of CatalunyaCaixa in La Pedrera, Sala Mompou (SGAE / Barcelona), Spanien Modern Festival 2009 and 2011 in Vienna, Arnold Schönberg Center, Institute of North American Studies in Barcelona, ​​Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, ​​Instituto Cervantes in Bremen, Aujord'hui Musiques Festival of Perpignan, National Theater of Catalonia, Museum of the University of Navarra, Institut Français-Barcelona, ​​Phonos Foundation, Mostra Sonora de Sueca, ME_MMIX Festival of Mallorca, Festival Turbulences Sonores de Montpellier, etc.

Formed by elite players specialized in contemporary repertoire, the ensemble evolves and advances at a steady pace, being already a reference of the country's current music.