LAURENT METTRAUX
Route Principale 160, CH-1791 Courtaman
(Switzerland)
phone:
(+41) 26/684.18.65, Email: laurent.mettraux(at)bluewin.ch
Welcome
– Biography – Principal works
– Catalogue of works
Donation and support – Documents to download – Score excerpts
– Audio
examples
CDs – Critics and articles – (First) performances – Texts
– Links
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MOST
IMPORTANT FIRST PERFORMANCES
- Lausanne, March 1st, 1993, first performance of the Symphony for Chamber
Orchestra or First
Symphony (1992), by the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos. This work won the
first prize and public award of the composition competition of the Lausanne
Chamber Orchestra (1993).
- Berne, March 27th,
1994, first performance of the organ piece Gethsemané (1990), by Erwin Messmer.
- Sion, July 12th,
1994, first performance of the Concerto for 15 Soloist Strings (1994), personal order by
Tibor Varga, at the opening
concert of the 1994 Tibor Varga Festival by the Festival Orchestra, conducted
by Tibor Varga.
- Gruyère-Epagny, from July 14th to 31st, 1995,
first performance, during 11 performances, of the scenic work Lysistrata (1994-5),
after Aristophanes. The theatre company La Catillon
(prepared by André Pauchard), the choirs and instrumentalists were directed by
the composer.
- Sion, August 12th
and 13th, 1995, first performance of Fantasia for violin
(1995). Commission by
the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, it has been the compulsory piece of the International Violin
Competition Tibor Varga 1995.
- Fribourg, June 1st
and 6th, 1996, the Oratorio for soloists, choirs and orchestra Vers le soleil couchant (Towards the Setting Sun - 1995-6), commission of the Fribourg University choir, has been first performed
by this choir, the Choir of the Holy Cross College of Fribourg and an ad hoc
orchestra, directed by Pascal Mayer. Soloists: Christa Goetze, Liliane Zürcher, Hans Peter Graf and Michel Brodard.
- Budapest, October 1st, 1998, first performance, in the
great hall of the Vigado, of the Violin Concerto
No. 2 (1998) by Isabelle Lambelet, the Camerata Symphonica of
Budapest and Tibor Varga, on the occasion of the celebrations in
Budapest of the 150th
anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and of the Swiss Confederation.
- Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata (Argentina),
October 1998, first
performance of the Paremboles (1998), by the Triades
Ensemble, which has commissioned the work.
- Greifswald (Germany),
June 11th, 1999, first performance during the Greifswalder
Bachwoche, of Crucifixion (1998) for mixed
choir a cappella, by the Chamber
Choir of the Fribourg University, which has commissioned the work.
-
Donaueschingen, October 17th, 1999, first performance, during the Donaueschinger Musiktage, of Ombre (Shadow – 1995/8) for full orchestra, after
Edgar Poe, Prize of the Donaueschinger Musiktage
1998, by the SWR
Orchestra of Baden-Baden-Freiburg, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling.
- Volgograd, on
October 31st, 1999, first performance in its full orchestra version,
of the Symphony for Chamber Orchestra, new Symphony No. 1, by the Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted
by Emmanuel Siffert.
- Bratislava,
November 10th, 1999, first performance of the Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano No. 2
(1995-6) by the Animae Trio (Festival Melos-Ethos).
- Boswil, November 28th, 1999, first
performance of the Duo for Flute and Clarinet (1999) by members of the
Wiener Klangforum.
- February 11th,
2000, simultaneous first performance of the Trio for Alto Saxophone, Cello and Piano
(1998-9) during concerts organized by the Association for the development of
the classical saxophone, which has ordered the work, in around ten cities from
Switzerland and abroad (like Geneva, Zurich, …).
- Montreal,
July 8th, 2000, first performance by Philippe Savoy and Elie Fumeaux
of the Duo for Two Saxophones (1999-2000) on the occasion of the 12th
World Saxophone Congress.
- Fribourg,
July 14th, 2000, within the Sacred Music Festival of Fribourg, first
performance of La Plus Belle des
Lumières (2000 - after the Rig Veda) by the New London Chamber Choir,
conducted by James Wood.
- August 2000,
first performance of the String Trio (1997-8),
ordered by Pro Helvetia, Swiss foundation for culture, by the Zürcher Streichtrio, during a
concert tour in India and Sri Lanka.
- Sion, August
17th, 2000, within the Tibor Varga Festival, first performance of
the Violin Concerto No. 3 (1999), by Ryoko
Yano, prize-winner of the interpretation of this concerto, compulsory piece of
the international violin competition Tibor Varga, and the Symphony State Orchestra of
Lithuania, conducted by
Gilbert Varga.
-
Sankt-Moritz, September 2nd, 2000, within the Arts festival, and on
the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Swiss Musicians
Association, first performance of Le Cocyte (1999) for full orchestra, after Dante, by
the Symphony Orchestra of Berne, conducted by Luca Pfaff.
- Basel and region, April
2001, first performance of Lux Mundi (2000) for organ, commissioned by the European Music Month 2001, during about fifteen
services, masses and concerts of the Holy Week.
- Fribourg, September 11th,
2001, first performance of the Wind Quintet (2000) by the Eole Quintet, which has commissioned the work.
- Delémont,
November 4th, 2001, first performance by the Mittelland
Ensemble, of the Septet for flute, clarinet, horn,
bassoon, violin, cello and piano (2001), commissioned by the Espace Mittelland.
- Zurich, February 27th,
2002, first performance of the Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp (1997-9),
by the Musaïque Trio.
- Morgins,
July 29th, 2002, first performance during the Flâneries Musicales of
Champéry, of Soliloque (1998), by the violinist Jan
Dobrzelewski.
- Morat, October 5th,
2002, first performance of Le Nom caché (The Hidden Name - 2001-2),
Oratorio commissioned
for the Swiss National Exposition of year 2002. The performers were
Christine Buffle, Liliane Zürcher, Hans-Jürg
Rickenbacher, Michel Brodard, Marc Jaermann, the Chamber Choir of the Fribourg
University, and an instrumental ensemble, conducted by Pascal Mayer.
- Bulle, March 22nd,
2003, first performance by the Talich Quartet of the String
Quartet (1998-9).
- Helsinki, July 10th,
2003, and during a concert tour in Lithuania, first performance of the String
Quintet (2001-2), by the Zurich String Quintet, which
has commissioned the work.
- Sion, August 2003, first performance of Complainte for solo violin (2003), written at the request of Shlomo Mintz to be the
compulsory piece of the International Violin Competition of Sion.
- Bulle, September 25th, 2003, first
performance of the Quintet for Flute and Strings (2002-3), by Alexandre
Magnin and the Janacek Quartet.
- Lausanne, December 2nd and 3rd,
2003, first performance of the Organ Concerto (2002-3) for the inauguration of the new great organ of the Lausanne
Cathedral. Performers were Jean-Christophe Geiser at the organ and the Lausanne
Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jean Balissat. The German first performance
shall take place in June 2010 at the Gewandhaus of Leipzig, with Michael
Schönheit at the organ, and the Gewandhaus orchestra, conducted by Riccardo
Chailly.
- Odessa, during the Festival 2 days & 2
nights of modern music, and during a concert tour in Ukraine in April 2004,
first performance of the Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (2003), by the Avalon Trio, which commissioned the
work.
- San José, June 6th, 2004, and during a
concert tour in the Costa Rica, first performance of Reflets for violin and percussion (2002-4)
by the Continents Percussion Ensemble (Jan Dobrzelewski and Stuart Marrs).
- Neuchâtel, July 15th, 2004, first
performance of the Swiss
Dances (2003-4) by the pianists of the Duo Dominique Derron & Pius Urech,
who commissioned the work.
- Lucerne, November 2004, first performance by Laurent
Estoppey of the two Appels (saxophone version) during the ORB_IT project
of the World New Music Days 2004.
- Vevey, November 25th, 2004, first
performance by Pascal Desarzens of the Microlude (2004) for solo cello, commissioned on the
occasion of the inaugural concert of the CH.AU Company.
- Barberêche,
January 30th, 2005, first performance, by the composer, of Veilleur,
où en est
la nuit ? (2004-5) for organ, on the occasion of the inauguration of
the restored organ of the Church of Barberêche.
- La Tour-de-Trême, March 4th, 2005, first performance of the
scenic work Les Serrures à secret (2003-5) on a
libretto by Michel Gremaud, with the performers Michel Brodard, bass, the Eole Quintet, a choir and an instrumental ensemble,
conducted by Bernard Maillard, on the occasion of the 150th
anniversary of the Secondary School of the Gruyère.
- Auberive, July 5th,
2006, first performance of Émergences
(2006) for violin and accordion, by Marianne Piketty and Pascal Contet, commission of the Musicales de l’Abbaye
d’Auberive.
- Liestal,
August 27th, 2006, first performance of Stimmungen (2005-6) for cello
quartet, by the cellists Anita Leuzinger, Sebastian Diezig, Adam Mital and
David Pia, commission of the International Music Days Viva Cello of Liestal.
- New York, November 4th,
2006, first performance during the 2nd Festival of Universal Sacred
Music, of Plus près de toi que tu ne l’es toi-même (2006) for vocal ensemble
(8 soloist voices and choir), by the Sangita Choir, conducted by Susanne Peck.
The commission of this work has been awarded through competition by the
Fondation for Universal Sacred Music.
- Bern-Bümpliz,
November 12th, 2006, first performance on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the Organ Serenades of Bümpliz, of Serenata in chiaroscuro (2005-6)
for organ, by Erwin Messmer.
- Vevey, December 3rd,
2006, first performance by the Compagnie CH.AU of the Tombeau de Ravel
(2006) for ensemble, for a project inspired by the Tombeau de Couperin by Ravel.
- Basel, March 22nd,
2007, first performance during the project Cello-Wasser-Klang-Bilder of the
solo cello work Les Espaces insoupçonnés
(2006) by Albert Roman, with aquatic images created by sounds,
by Alexander Lauterwasser.
- Neuchâtel, April 23rd, 2007, first
performance of the Suite for Three
Flutes (2005-6) by the Ensemble Les Chemins de Traverse, which has
commissioned the work.
- Bruxelles, February 15th,
2008, first performance of Le Sommeil de la raison produit des monstres (2005) after Goya, for solo arpeggione, by Nicolas Deletaille.
- Quito, April 3rd, 2008, first performance
of Offrande
(1999, rev. 2008) by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, conducted by
Emmanuel Siffert.
- Basel, May
31st, 2008, first performance of La Mort sur un cheval pâle (Death on a Pale Horse - 2007) for full orchestra, by
the Basel Sinfonietta, conducted by Winfried Toll.
- Davos, July
30th, 2008, first performance of the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2008) by Shirley Brill and the Terpsycordes Quartet.
- Lausanne, March 23rd, 2009, first performance of the cycle of piano pieces Stèles (2007-8) by Dana Ciocarlie.
- Fribourg, May 1st, 2009, first
performance of the Sonata
for Guitar (2008) by Olivia Steiner during the International Guitar
Festival of Fribourg.
- Zurich, September 9th,
2009, first performance of the Traces gravées
dans le sable (Tracks Drawn in the Sand),
cycle of piano pieces (2009), by See Siang Wong, during the
concerts of the Musikpodium Zurich.
- Leipzig, June 16th, 2010, first performance during the Great
Concerts of the Gewandhaus and the Leipzig Bach
Festival of the Choral Variations
on the Christmas Carol Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her
for choir and orchestra (2008-9),
with the Choir and Orchestra of the Gewandhaus Leipzig, conducted by
Riccardo Chailly.
- Lenzburg, August 20th, 2010, first
performance of the Offrande funèbre en hommage à Bach (2010), by the
Schweizer Kammerensemble, during the Festival of
Lenzburg.
-
Lausanne, January 20th, 2014, first performance of the Chamber Symphony for 13 Musicians (2012-3) and the Concerto for Improvising Trombonist and Ensemble (2013), by Denis
Beuret, trombone, and the Contemporary Ensemble
of the HEMU of Lausanne, conducted by William Blank.
-
Payerne, April 6th, 2014, first
performance of the Recitatives on the
Gospel Texts to Complete the St Mark Passion, BWV 247, by Bach for soloists, choir and baroque instrumental ensemble (2013-4), by
Gabriela Bürgler, Annina Haug, Gregory Finch, Hubert Michael Saladin, the
Corund Vocal Ensemble and the Capella Paterniacensis,
conducted
by Stephen Smith.
- Lutry,
May 1st, 2014, first performance of Entre Rêves et
Cauchemars (Between Dreams and Nightmares), for cello and double bass
(2012-3), by Pascal Desarzens and Noëlle Reymond.
- Fribourg, August 2nd,
2014, first performance of the Rhapsodic
Variations on Themes by Rameau,
for accordion (2014), by Sylvain Tissot.
- Fribourg, June 2nd, 2015, first
performance of the Quartet for Flute and Strings (2014-5) by the Camerata variabile, during a
concert tour in Switzerland.
- Fribourg, September 29th,
2017, first
performance of Mid-Autumn Moon (2017) by the European Chinese Ensemble, during a concert tour in
Switzerland.
- Fribourg, May 22nd, 2018, first
performance of the version for chamber
orchestra of the Swiss Dances (2017-8) by the Fribourg Chamber
Orchestra, conducted by Laurent Gendre.
- Zurich, October 14th, 2021, first
performance of C'est à l'eau du ruisseau qu'on nettoie sa
pierre à encre
(2007) for solo pipa, by Yang Jing, during the festival Tage für Musik zwischen den Welten.
- Guarda, October 20th,
2022, first performance of Paraphrase (2019) for solo cello, by Maja
Weber, during the festival StradivariFEST Scuol.
- Lausanne, July 6th,
2025, first performance of the Prélude-entrée
(2024-5) for organ, by Gabriel Abraham Ávila Martínez, on the occasion of
the 100th anniversary of the Romandy Organists
Association, as part of the 6th Lausanne International Organ
Festival and the festivities for the 750th anniversary of the
Lausanne Cathedral.
- La Rochefoucauld,
October 16th, 2025, first performance of the piano version (2024) of
Le Tombeau de Ravel, by Kotaro Fukuma, during
a concert tour in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.