LAURENT METTRAUX
Route Principale 160,
CH-1791 Courtaman (Switzerland),
tel. + fax: (+41)
26/684.18.65, E-mail : laurent.mettraux(at)bluewin.ch
Welcome ¦ Biography ¦ Catalogue of works ¦ Audio examples
Documents to download ¦ Score excerpts ¦ CDs
Critics and articles ¦ (First) performances ¦ Texts ¦ Links
PRINCIPAL WORKS
Orchestral
works :
- Shadow for full orchestra (1995-8). Composition prize
of the "Donaueschinger Musiktage 1998", chosen among more than 80
scores by a board of examiners including Wolfgang Rihm, Gérard Grisey,
Christian Wolff, Sylvain Cambreling, Armin Köhler. First performed by the SWR
Orchestra, conductor: Sylvain Cambreling (Donaueschinger Musiktage, October
17th, 1999).
- Symphony for Chamber Orchestra or First
Symphony (1992). First prize and public award of the composition
competition of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (1993). First performance:
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos (Lausanne,
March 1st, 1993). First performed in its version for large orchestra by the
Philharmonic Orchestra of Volgograd, conducted by Emmanuel Siffert (October
31st , 1999).
- Concerto for 15 soloist strings
(1994). Personal order by Tibor Varga. First performed at the opening concert
of the 1994 Tibor Varga Festival by the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Tibor
Varga (Sion, July 12th, 1994).
- Concerto
n.2 for violin and string orchestra (1998) commissioned for the
celebrations, in Budapest, of the 150th
anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and of the Swiss Confederation. First
performance by Isabelle Lambelet, the Camerata Symphonica of Budapest and Tibor
Varga (Budapest, October 1st, 1998).
- Le Cocyte for
orchestra (1999) ordered by the Pro Helvetia Foundation for the 100th
Festival of Swiss Musicians (Swiss Musicians Association). First performed in
St. Moritz by the Symphony Orchestra of Bern, conducted by Luca Pfaff
(September 2nd, 2000).
- Concerto
n.3 for violin and orchestra (1999) ordered by the Swiss radio for the
International Violin Competition Tibor Varga 2000 (set piece). First performed
by Ryoko Yano and the Chamber Orchestra of Lithuania, conducted by Gilbert
Varga (August 17th, 2000).
- Concerto for organ and orchestra (2002-3), for the inauguration of the new great organ
of the Lausanne Cathedral (First performance in December 2003 with
Jean-Christophe Geiser at the organ and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne,
conducted by Jean Balissat). The German first performance has taken place in
June 2010 at the Gewandhaus of Leipzig, with Michael Schönheit at the organ,
and the Gewandhaus orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
- Concerto for pi’pa, violin and orchestra
for the famous pi’pa player Yang Jing and Boris Livschitz, violinist of the Zurich String Trio.
- La Mort sur un Cheval pâle (Death
on a pale Horse) for orchestra (2007), commissioned by Pro Helvetia for the
Basel Sinfonietta (first performance during May-June 2008 in Basel and during a
concert tour in Germany).
Vocal works :
- Vers le Soleil Couchant (Towards the Setting Sun) (1995-6), oratorio for
soloists, choirs and orchestra (on words by around forty authors), commissioned
by the Fribourg University choir. First performance on June 1st and 6th, 1996,
in Fribourg.
- Elogio della Notte for bass voice and piano
(1997), text taken from sonnets by Michelangelo. First performed during the
Orpheus Concerts in Zurich (March 1st, 2000).
- First lamentation for Maundy Thursday for
mixed choir (1997) and Lucis Creator optime for children's choir (1997).
Finalist works at the European Competition of Choral Composition of Amiens
(1997).
- Crucifixion
for mixed choir a cappella (1998). Commissioned and first performed by the
Chamber Choir of the Fribourg University at the Greifswald Festival (Germany)
and in Stettin (Poland), June 1999.
- La plus belle des Lumières (2000), on texts taken from the Rig Veda,
choral work commissioned by the Festival of Sacred Music in Fribourg for
the New London Chamber Choir, for the Festival of 2000.
- Le Nom
Caché (The Hidden Name – 2001-2), oratorio commissioned by the Swiss
National Exposition of year 2002.
- Plus près de toi que tu ne
l’es toi-même for vocal ensemble (2006). Commission of the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music (New York),
awarded through competition. First performance in November 2006.
- Choral Variations
on the Christmas Carol « Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her » for choir and orchestra (2008-9).
Commissioned by the Gewandhaus Leipzig. First performance June 2010 with the
GewandhausChor and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig conducted by Riccardo
Chailly (during the Leipzig Bachfest and the concert season of the Gewandhaus).
Instrumental and chamber
music:
- Gethsemané for
organ (1990). First performance in Bern by Erwin Messmer (1994). This work has
often being performed (Kreuzkirche Dresden, Braunschweig Cathedral, ...).
- Fantasia for violin (1995) commissioned by
the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Set piece of the International Violin
Competition Tibor Varga 1995.
- Trio for
violin, cello and piano (1995-6) commissioned by the Musical
Youths of Fribourg. First performance by the Trio Animae in 1999 at the
Bratislava Festival of Contemporary Music.
- String Trio
(1997-8) commissioned by the Pro Helvetia Foundation for the Zurich String
Trio. First performance during a concert tour in India and Sri Lanka, in August
2000.
- String
quartet (1998-9) ordered by the Jeunesses Musicales Gruériennes for the
Talich Quartet. First performance in March 2003.
- Paremboles (1998) commissioned by the Triades
Ensemble. First performance in Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires (October 1998).
- Duo for flute and
clarinet (1999) commissioned by the Boswil Foundation
for the Wiener Klangforum (First performance on November 27th, 1999).
- Duo for two saxophones (1999-2000), first performed on the
occasion of the 12th World Congress of the Saxophone (Montréal, July 8th,
2000).
- Lux Mundi (2000). Commissioned by the
European Music Month 2001. First performed by more than ten organists of Basel
and surroundings, during the Holy Week of 2001.
- Wind Quintet
(2000). First performance by the Eole Quintet (Fribourg, on September 11th, 2000).
- String Quintet
(2001-2). Commissioned by the Zurich String Quintet, this work has been
first performed during a concert tour in Helsinki (Finland) and Lithuania, in
July 2003.
- Quintet for flute and
strings (2002-3) for the flutist Alexandre Magnin and the
Janacek Quartet (First performance in September 2003).
- Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (2003), order of the Avalon Trio, first performance
during a concert tour in Ukraine and during the Festival « 2 days & 2
nights of modern music » of Odessa (April 2004).
- Complainte (2003).
Written at the request of Shlomo Mintz to be the set piece of the International
Violin Competition of Sion (2003).
- Reflets for
violin and percussion (2002-4). First performance in 2004, Costa Rica, by Jan
Dobrzelewski and Stuart Marrs.
- Swiss Dances
for four-handed piano (2003-4). First performed July 2004, by the Piano Duo
Dominique Derron & Pius Urech.
- Stimmungen for
four cellos (2005-6). Commissioned by the Festival Viva Cello of Liestal.
- Suite for
three flutes (2005-6). Written for the ensemble Les Chemins de Traverse.
- Serenata in chiaroscuro for organ (2005-6).
Commissioned by the Bümplizer Orgelserenaden on the occasion of their 20th season.
First performance in 2006-7 by Erwin Messmer.
- Émergences for
violin and accordion (2006). First performed in July 2006, during the Festival
of Auberive (France), by Marianne Piketty and Pascal Contet.
- Le Tombeau de
Ravel for ensemble (2006). Commission
by the Compagnie CH.AU, which has first performed the work in December 2006, in
Vevey. This work has been transcribed for chamber orchestra (first performance
of this version on October 2nd, 2008, in Quito, by the National Orchestra of
Ecuador, conducted by Emmanuel Siffert).
- Quintet for clarinet and strings (2008).
Order by the Davos Festival for Shirley Brill and the Terpsychordes Quartet.
First performance in Davos, on July 30th, 2008.
- Sonata for guitar (rev. 2008). Commission by
the International Guitar Festival of Fribourg. First performance on May 1st,
2009, by Olivia Steiner.
- Stèles, cycle of piano pieces after poems by Segalen
(2007-8). First performance in Lausanne by Dana Ciocarlie on March
23rd, 2009, during a concert of the Society for Contemporary Music.
- Traces gravées dans le Sable,
cycle of piano pieces inspired by texts of the Chan tradition (2009). First
performance in Zurich by See Siang Wong on September 9th, 2009.
You can
download the complete dossier in pdf or Word, under the rubric documents.
COMPLETE CATALOGUE CATALOGUE
FOR EACH INSTRUMENT AUDIO EXAMPLES