Travelling Quartet amazes Baku’s audience
By Laman Ismayilova
A renowned French accordion player, Pascal Contet performed at the Heydar Aliyev Center accompanied by the Travelling Quartet group, Azertac reports. The concert titled " Influences Latines" featured some popular tango tunes in a brand new arrangement and interpretation.
In their music, the musicians interpret new arrangements of old tangos so as to create a link between tradition and modernity. To come up with this new program, the musicians worked in close junction with France-based Argentine composers with a view to presenting traditional tango tunes in a new arrangement. This resulted in an interesting blend of traditional music and modern style.
Before the concert, the creative team shared their impressions about the first visit to Azerbaijan.
" I really enjoy the uniqueness and local color of Baku. I would like to visit regions of Azerbaijan in order to get acquainted with your customs and traditions, and, most importantly, with folk music. I'm so attracted to your national instruments and I would like to implement the project together with your musicians, to create a synthesis of French and Azerbaijani music," said Pascal Conte.
Pascal Conte has been one of France's leading figures in developing new genres of modern music for over 20 years. Author of more than 300 pieces, he happened to work with some true celebrities like Luciano Berio, Bernard Cavanna, Joshua Feinberg, Jean Françaix, Bruno Mantovani and Martin Matalon. Pascal Contet, a protean and adventurous accordionist is a winner of a number of international awards.
Member of the Travelling Quartet, Anne Gravoin spoke about the visit to historical part of Baku. The musician was amazed by the historical site of the city, especially Icherisheher (Old City ), the historical core of the city.
Gravoin is a laureate of the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1986, she composed Sans Tambour ni Trompette along with Véronique Fiszman. For more than 25 years, Anne Gravoin is actively involved in concerts with leading symphony orchestras and smaller chamber groups.
Double bass player Vincent Pasquier was impressed with acoustics at the Heydar Aliyev Center, which allows to convey to the listener all the sounds of the performed tunes.
Vincent Pasquier was awarded double bass first prize by the National Music Conservatoire of Paris. He has played recitals and «Masters Classes» in Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Italy, North Korea, the United States and France.
Cellist Mathilde Sternat, for her part, noticed the kindness and sincerity of Azerbaijani people and their ability to appreciate the cultural heritage of the country.
Sternat was awarded with chamber and cello music first prize by the National Music Conservatoire of Paris. She is involved in releasing albums, writing musical pieces for theatre productions and arranging for string quartets.
Finally, violinist David Braccini, who had been travelling the world extensively as a member of the European Union Chamber Orchestra in 1996-2000, shared the impressions and the feelings he had experienced during his visit to the "Land of Fire".
"I`m so glad to discover such a wonderful city as Baku. The whole crew has had only good impressions, and we'll take a piece of Azerbaijani soul to France", said Braccini.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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