Christophe Rousset

Christophe Rousset - © Les Talens lyriques

born on 12/4/1961 in Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Christophe Rousset

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Christophe Rousset (French: [ʁusɛ]; born 12 April 1961) is an internationally renowned French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.[1] He is a musicologist with a passion for opera and European music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He is the founder of the French music ensemble Les Talens Lyriques.

Biography

Rousset studied harpsichord at La Schola Cantorum in Paris with Huguette Dreyfus, and subsequently at the Conservatoire Royal at The Hague with Bob van Asperen winning the prestigious First Prize in the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition at the age of 22. This was followed by the creation of his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991. At the heart of the ensemble is Rousset's academic research and specialism in the music of the Baroque, Classical and pre-Romantic periods.

Having initially attracted the notice of the international press and record companies with his extraordinary talent as a harpsichordist, he soon went on to make his mark as a young and gifted conductor, earning invitations to perform with his ensemble at venues throughout the world, including among them Paris Opera, De Nederlandse Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Pleyel, Opéra de Lausanne, Teatro Real, Theater an der Wien, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Barbican Centre, Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Aix-en-Provence and Beaune festivals.

Alongside this, he has continued to pursue an active career as harpsichordist and chamber musician, performing and recording on the most beautiful period instruments. His complete performances of the works for harpsichord by François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, d’Anglebert and Forqueray and various recordings of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach (Partitas, Goldberg Variations, Concertos for harpsichord, English Suites, French Suites and the Klavierbüchlein), are considered to be landmark references. His most recent album, devoted to a musical monument by the German Cantor, Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier (on Aparté)—recorded at the Château of Versailles on a harpsichord by Joannes Ruckers (1628)—has won numerous awards, including a "Choc" from Classica magazine and "CD of the Week" from BBC Radio 3. In addition, instruments from the collection of the Museum of Music in Paris, have been entrusted to him for the recording of three records devoted to Royer, Rameau and Froberger.

Teaching is also of major importance for Christophe Rousset, who conducts and organises master classes and academies for young people (Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, CNSMD Paris, Académie d’Ambronay, Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroques, Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Britten-Pears Orchestra) and he devotes himself with great energy, alongside the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques, to introducing young secondary school pupils in Paris to music.

Rousset also has enjoyed a career as guest conductor with Liceu Barcelona, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera of Wallonia, Orquesta Nacional de España, among other orchestras, and has actively pursued musical research, producing critical editions and the publication in 2007, by Actes Sud, of a study on Rameau.

Christophe Rousset has been awarded the French honours of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite.

Recordings

As a harpsichordist

As a conductor

Operas

  • Scipione (George Frideric Handel), 1993 - Fnac / 2010 - Aparté
  • Armida abbandonata (Niccolò Jommelli), 1994 - Fnac / 2005 - Ambroisie
  • L’incoronazione di Poppea (Claudio Monteverdi), 1994 - TV : NPS/ 2005 - DVD : Opus Arte
  • Riccardo Primo (Handel), 1996 - L’Oiseau-Lyre
  • Les fêtes de Paphos (Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville), 1997 - L’Oiseau-Lyre
  • Mitridate, re di Ponto (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), 1999 - Decca
  • Antigona (Tommaso Traetta), 2000 - L’Oiseau-Lyre
  • Serse (Handel), 2000 - TV / 2005 - DVD : TDK
  • Persée (Jean-Baptiste Lully), 2001 - Astrée Naïve
  • La capricciosa corretta (Vicente Martín y Soler), 2004 - Naïve Astrée
  • Roland (Lully), 2004 - Ambroisie
  • La grotta di Trofonio (Antonio Salieri), 2005 - CD (with bonus making of DVD) Ambroisie
  • Philémon & Baucis (Le feste d'Apollo) (Christoph Willibald Gluck), 2006 - Ambroisie-Naïve-Astrée
  • Zoroastre (Jean-Philippe Rameau), 2006 - TV / 2007 - DVD : Opus Arte
  • Il burbero di buon cuore (Martín y Soler), 2007 - TV / 2009 - DVD : Dynamic / 2010 : CD : Dynamic
  • Vénus & Adonis (Henry Desmarest), 2007 - Ambroisie-Naïve
  • Il Califfo di Bagdad (Manuel Garcia), 2007 - Archiv Produktion (Donwroad only)
  • Il tutore burlato (Martín y Soler), 2007 - L’Oiseau-Lyre (Spain only)
  • Les grandes eaux musicales de Versailles (Lully, Rameau, Gluck, Desmarest), 2008 - CD : Ambroisie
  • Castor & Pollux (Rameau, 2008 - DVD : Opus Arte
  • Bellérophon (Lully), 2011 - Aparté
  • Médée (Luigi Cherubini), 2012 - DVD/Blu-ray Bel Air Classiques
  • Hercule mourant (Antoine Dauvergne), 2012 - Aparté
  • Renaud (Antonio Sacchini), 2013 - Palazzetto Bru Zane
  • Phaëton (Lully), 2013 - Aparté
  • Amadis (Lully), 2014 - Aparté
  • Les Danaïdes (Salieri), 2015 - Palazzetto Bru Zane
  • L’affaire Tailleferre, Quatre opéras bouffes (Germaine Tailleferre), 2015 - DVD : Canopé Éditions [1]
  • Zaïs (Rameau), 2015 - CD Aparté
  • Les Indes galantes (Rameau), 2015 - DVD : Alpha
  • Alcina & Tamerlano (Handel), 2015 - Web Streaming / 2016 - Blu-ray : Wahoo
  • Uthal (Étienne-Nicolas Méhul), 2015 - Web Radio / 2017 - Palazzetto Bru Zane [2]
  • Armide (Lully), 2017 - Aparté
  • Pygmalion (Rameau), 2017 - CD Aparté

Vocal

  • Henry Du Mont, Motets en dialogue, 1992 - Fnac Music / re-release : Virgin Veritas
  • Pascal Collasse, Cantiques spirituels de Jean Racine, 1993 - Fnac Music
  • François Couperin, Motets, 1993 - Fnac Music
  • Daniel Danielis, Motets, 1993 - Koch Schwann
  • Farinelli, Il castrato, Original Soundtrack (Handel, Riccardo Broschi, Porpora, Johann Adolph Hasse, Pergolesi), 1994 - Astrée-Auvidis / Re-release : Naïve
  • Farinelli – A portrait, live in Bergen/Ann Hallenberg, Haendel Riccardo Broschi, Giacomelli, Porpora, Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Leo 2016 - Aparté
  • Daniel Danielis, Motets d’Uppsala, 1997 - Cyprès
  • Roberto Scaltriti (bariton) : Amadeus & Vienna (Mozart, Haydn, Soler, Cimarosa, Salieri, Giuseppe Gazzaniga, Sarti), 1998 - Decca
  • Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Stabat Mater - Salve Regina, 1999 - Decca
  • François Couperin, Leçons de ténèbres, Motets, Magnificat, 2000 - Decca
  • Leonardo Leo, Miserere - Musique sacrée, 2002 - Decca
  • María Bayo (soprano) : Arias de Zarzuela barroca (José de Nebra, Antonio Rodríguez de Hita, Martín y Soler), 2003 - Naïve
  • Sandrine Piau (soprano) : Handel Opera seria, 2004 - Naïve
  • Véronique Gens (soprano) : Tragédiennes, de Lully à Gluck, 2006 - Virgin
  • Sandrine Piau : Mozart Airs sacrés, 2006 - DVD : Armide classics
  • Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) : Furore, Handel Opera Arias , 2008 - Virgin Classics
  • Véronique Gens : Tragédiennes 2, de Gluck à Berlioz, 2009 - Virgin Classics
  • Véronique Gens : Tragédiennes 3, Héroïnes romantiques (Méhul, Rodolphe Kreutzer, Salieri, Gluck, Gossec, Meyerbeer, Auguste Mermet, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Verdi), 2011 - Virgin Classics

Instrumental

  • Jean-Marie Leclair, Ouvertures et sonates en trio, 1993 - Fnac Music
  • Lully, Campra, Marin Marais, André Cardinal Destouches, Jacques Cordier, Musiques à danser à la cour et à l’opéra, 1995 - Erato
  • Jean-Philippe Rameau, Ouvertures, 1997 - Decca
  • François Couperin, Les goûts réunis, 2001 - Decca
  • Jean-Philippe Rameau, Six concerts en sextuor, 2003 - Decca

Merits and awards

  • 1983—Was awarded first prize at the 7th International Harpsichord Competition at Bruges
  • 1993—Was awarded the "Diapason d’Or" for his interpretation of Royer's Pièces de Clavecin.
  • 1995—Received the "Award for 17th and 18th Century Chamber/Solo Instrumental Music" at the Cannes Classical Awards for his recording of the Bach Partitas.
  • 2004—Received the "médaille de Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du Mérite" from the France's Minister of Culture, Donnedieu de Vabres.
  • 2013—Received the Traetta Prize from the Traetta Society for his work in the rediscovery of the roots of European music.

References

  1. ^ Interview (French) on Odb-opera.com Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

  • http://www.lestalenslyriques.com/
  • Interview (French) on Anaclase.com
  • Interview (French) about Traetta's Antigona on Traetta.com
  • Interview (in French) on Lully's Roland on Odb-opera.com
  • Interview (in French) on goldbergweb.com
This page was last modified 30.11.2017 12:35:38

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