Pune to Host 28th Artie’s Festival on November 8-9 at Mazda Hall, Presented by Poona Music Society and Alliance Française
Pune to Host 28th Artie’s Festival on November 8-9 at Mazda Hall, Presented by Poona Music Society and Alliance Française
Traveller, entrepreneur, ultra-trailer, Gauthier Herrmann isn’t your typical musician. A cellist with a passion for small ensembles and chamber music, founder and director of Artie’s, he has travelled the globe for more than fifteen years in the company of his family – whom he tirelessly takes with him – and the joyful band of Artie’s, a collective of musicians brought together by their repertoire and a solid loyalty to each other.
His distanced view of the classical circuits pushed him to rigorously stretch and deepen his training as a cellist. He is thus a laureate with the Trio con Fuoco of the competitions of Florence (Italy), Heerlen (Netherlands), Illzach, Vibrarte, Fnapec (France). But he is also a runner… finisher of crazy races, such as La Diagonale des fous in Reunion, the 100km of Millau, the Oisons Trail Tour…
In 2001, Gauthier discovered India. It was from this moment that Artie’s adventures were born, a slightly crazy project that could be summarized as follows: music, kindness, curiosity and enterprise. Around Gauthier, a plethora of musician friends crystallized, who would travel the world, under his leadership and his artistic direction. Gauthier has had the pleasure of performing in more than 50 countries and in particular of developing recurring projects in India, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal and of course Europe…
In 2012, Gauthier founded a production company, LdB-prod (or Louis de Beethoven), a French tribute to his musical idol.. LdB-prod imagines and offers seasons of chamber music with an assumed ambition: to reestablish intimacy between the room and the stage, to bring the artists closer to their audience. All that matters is the listener’s encounter with the music, and the artists’ pleasure in taking it over. In 2020, an adventure as ambitious as it was fun should have seen the light of day: Artie’s World Tour – Around the World in 80 Concerts: 160 days / 80 concerts / 60 cities / 20 countries / 1 dream.
As a good insatiable traveller, Gauthier has many projects today: seeing his family grow, defending his tribe of musicians, pursuing Artie’s dream, and of course, never stopping entrepreneurship. Gauthier plays a magnificent cello by the Italian violin maker Giuseppe Rocca (Turin, 1853), placed in his hands by the Eisenberg Fund.
Nathan Mierdl started his violin apprenticeship in Germany. He was then admitted to the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Dijon (France) and subsequently studied under Christophe Poiget. He obtained his Master’s degree in 2018 at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse where he studied under Roland Daugareil.
After studying at the Academy of the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France and the Academy of the Orchestre de Paris, he became a member of the Orchestre National de France and this was followed promptly by a position as assistant concertmaster with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He was appointed concertmaster in January 2023. Nathan won various international prizes. In 2018, he won the Second Senior Prize at the prestigious Menuhin Competition along with the Arte Concert Online Prize, the Composer Award (prize for contemporary music composed just for the competition) and the Jonathan Moulds Award for Outstanding Potential.
Emma Gibout began playing the violin at the Pau Conservatory with Claire Zarembowitch where she obtained a first prize for violin with honours in 2015. She then studied at the CRR in Boulogne-Billancourt with Christophe Poiget before returning to the CNSM in Lyon in the class of Marianne Piketty, Manuel Solans, Dominique Lonca and Jennifer Gilbert. She obtained a DNSPM license there in 2019 and is currently pursuing her master’s studies at the Hochschule ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin with Ulf Wallin.
Emma Gibout is the winner of several International competitions: she won the 3rd prize in the ‘Marie Cantagrill’ competition in 2012 and then the 1st prize in ‘Arthur Grumiaux’ International competition in Brussels in 2018. Passionate about the orchestra, she joined the Orchester Français des Jeunes in 2014 and 2016 then the Verbier Festival Orchestra in 2017 of which she became concertmaster from 2018 which allows her to play under the baton of the greatest conductors such as Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Daniel Harding, Antonio Pappano…
‘I consider music as a journey, a moment suspended in time, which is different with each interpretation. The listeners will be guided simply into a story that we create together.’ – Violaine Despeyroux.
This conception of musical interpretation as a unique and immersive moment of sharing is the basis of Violaine Despeyroux’s artistic practice. This young viola player, much sought after as a chamber musician and soloist, stands out on stage, with her personality and energy, both precise and electrifying. Violaine Despeyroux has been awarded the 1st prize at the National Competition for Young Violists and the 2nd prize and prize for the best Bach performance at the International Competition of viola Cecil Aronowitz in Birmingham amongst others.
As a soloist, Violaine Despeyroux performed in France, Italy and Belgium with conductors such as Vahan Mardirossian and Ian Fountain. Her season 22/23 will be marked by her debut in Flagey (Brussels), performing Mozart Symphonia Concertante with Renaud Capuçon. Particularly attached to chamber music and endlessly eager to expand her repertoire, she played in major festivals such as Festival de Pâques, Festival Radio France in Montpellier, Folles journées de Nantes, among many others. A passion and tenacity that can be found in the prestigious European and International music halls: the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Seiji Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood (USA), the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris or the Palais des Beaux-arts in Brussels, alongside renowned partners like Renaud Capuçon, Gary Hoffman, Claire Désert, Suyoen Kim, Alexandra Soumm and Smoking Josephine Ensemble.
Violaine Despeyroux is also regularly invited by major ensembles such as the Paris National Opera, the Orchestre de Paris, WDR Symphonie orchestra or the Kölner Kammerorchester, among other orchestras. But she also likes to be where we don’t expect her, breaking the mold and off the beaten path. It’s because Violaine Despeyroux considers so-called classical music above all as a living and vibrant art. There so many subtle shades and powerful encounters where her personality and her instrument
(a Jacquot 1863 viola) find each other in perfect harmony.
Clémence Dupuy is a viola player, member of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and a professor at the municipal conservatory of Paris. She holds a Master’s degree in Viola and chamber music from the CNSMDP (National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris), having studied in the classes of David Gaillard and Antoine Tamestit. A true calling, chamber music is at the heart of her artistic project and Clémence regularly performs in ensembles, from duos to octets at various festivals in different countries (France, Albania, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia, Norway, Lithuania, Morocco and others). Passionate about orchestral repertoire, Clémence Dupuy has performed with the Orchestres de Paris, National de France, Les Dissonances and the Opéra de Paris. She regularly performs with the chamber orchestras Appassionato and Consuelo. Strengthened and enriched by these encounters and experiences, Clémence continues to develop her identity with her viola, crafted by François Denis.
Romain Descharmes began his piano studies at the Conservatoire régional du Grand Nancy, where he won a gold medal at the age of 14 in Hugues Leclère’s class. In 1998, he moved to Paris in the CNR and CNSMDP. Romain has appeared in concert with orchestras in US, England, Ireland, France, Japan and China. He has performed recitals in France (Festival de La Roque-d’Anthéron, Piano aux Jacobins, Rencontres Internationales Frédéric Chopin, Serres d’Auteuil, Nancyphonies) and abroad.
Romain is also much sought-after as a chamber musician. He is renowned for his attentive, sensitive playing and wide repertoire, which ranges from sonatas to larger ensemble pieces, as well as lieder, of which he is particularly fond. He has collaborated with such artists as Roland Daugareil, Henri Demarquette, Laurent Korcia, Sarah Nemtanu, the Court-Circuit Ensemble, the Ebène Philarmoniker Quintette. He has recorded several CDs for solo piano and chamber music. In 2012, Romain performed the Piano Concerto No. 2 of Camille Saint-Saëns with the Orchestre de Paris and Alain Altinoglu as conductor and critics hailed him as one of the leading French pianists.
Date: November 8 and 9, 2024, 7 PM
Venue: Mazda Hall, Dastur Primary School, Pune Camp
