After Pierre Boulez in 2016 and Thierry Escaich in 2017, the Festival de Pâques paints a portrait of Éric Tanguy, “one of the most inspiring examples of the art music of today, rich in its imagination, superbly constructed and accessible to many” (Olivier Bellamy).

Eric Tanguy about the world premiere of Rhapsodie

“The piece, written in 2017, was composed for the portrait-concert of Renaud Capuçon which Aix-en-Provence’s Festival de Pâques has entrusted to me. They wanted a piece written especially for this evening in 2018.

I have wanted to write a piece for viola for a long time. Suzana Bartal, who has played a great number of my chamber or solo piano music scores beautifully, noticed that such a piece did not exist in my catalogue and suggested that it was definitely time to think about the viola. The decision made, I immediately thought of Lise Berthaud, whose sound and virtuosity particularly impressed me.

The title refers to the melodic and harmonic character of the piece which unfolds its musical discourse in a particularly melancholic way. Throughout the piece, the alto’s song intertwines with the piano texture in an increasingly agitated dialogue that is resolved by returning to its initial calm. The score comes to an end with a kind of ethereal, weightless coda.

Rhapsodie is dedicated to Lise Berthaud and Suzana Bartal.”

Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence

Portrait of Eric Tanguy

30 March 2018  – Conservatoire Darius Milhaud

Rosanne Philippens, violin

Alina Pogostkina, violin

Lise Berthaud, viola

Claudio Bohórquez, cello

Suzana Bartal, piano