Eliane Radigue

Creation of OCCAM HEXA VI: Eliane Radigue and Carol Robinson.
In the presence of Eliane Radigue.
With: Bertrand Gauguet (saxophone), Robin Hayward (tuba), Enrico Malatesta (percussion), Carol Robinson (clarinet), Nate Wooley (trumpet).
The Nomadic Nights would like to extend their warmest thanks to the Fondation des États-Unis (FEU) for its warm welcome during rehearsals.

The Nomadic Nights are pleased to continue their collaboration with Eliane Radigue, a pioneering French composer of electro-acoustic music via a concert dedicated to OCCAM OCEAN—bespoke instrumental pieces composed for their performers. The work here features woodwind, brass, and percussion, specially conceived for five musicians, and performed in the garden of the Fondation Cartier.

Initiated in the early 2000s with the Naldjorlak I, II and III triptych, Eliane Radigue pursues her acoustic journey with the OCCAM OCEAN cycle. Infinite by nature, consisting of solos, duets, trios, and so on for harp, trumpet, violin, birbynė, etc., the matrix evolves as encounters, commissions, and opportunities arise. Each piece is a moment of exchange and sharing between the composer and musicians. Together, they seek a new and intuitive means of communication, where no musical notation is used. The instrument becomes a body whose entire resonance is fully explored by the musician, as well as the broad spectrum of its vibratory undulations. Or in the words of Eliane Radigue herself: “from the great deep swells to wavelets on beautiful summer days”.

For this Nomadic Night in the company of Eliane Radigue, the composer has invited five musicians and close collaborators playing metallic instruments, in particular. The night will showcase a new composition: OCCAM HEXA VI for woodwind, brass, and percussion.

A contemplative and memorable experience to be shared in the setting of the Fondation’s garden.

Biographies

Eliane Radigue (born in 1932, in Paris) is renowned for her electronic music, produced with feedbacks and reinjections, and in particular with the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Her compositions are defined by micro-events due to subtle changes in harmonics that dance above a seemingly static tone. The result is deeply moving. In 2005, Radigue began to compose for acoustic instruments with fellow musicians, first with Naldjorlak, her masterpiece for two basset horns and cello, and later with OCCAM OCEAN, her endless cycle. These new works have been presented in museums, concert halls and festivals: Festival d'Automne - Paris, Huddersfield Contemporary, Angelica - Bologna, CTM.12 Spectral - Berlin, Crossing the Line - New York, Sound and Music - London, E- May - Vienna, [K] HEUTE - Hamburg, Geometry of Now - Moscow, MOCA - Cleveland, Serralves - Porto, Konzerthaus - Dortmund, MUDAM - Luxembourg, Biennale di Venezia, the Louvre, the Fondation Cartier and the Centre Pompidou - Paris... She recently received a special mention from the jury of the Evens Foundation and the Giga-Hertz Award from the ZKM in Germany as well as the Open Oor Composition Prize in the Netherlands. All of her electronic works have been released in box sets by the GRM, and many acoustic pieces have been released on various labels, including SHIIIN.

Bertrand Gauguet plays the alto saxophone in solo or in collective improvisation contexts. His interests lead him to explore breath and sound as a medium for meditation. Recent collaborations with John Tilbury, Xavier Charles, Cyprien Busolini, Ensemble Un, Carol Robinson, composer Eliane Radigue and choreographer Catherine Contour. Also a composer of electronic music, he has produced many original pieces and soundtracks for dance, film and radio. He was the winner of Villa Kujoyama in 2011.

Tuba player and composer Robin Hayward was born in England in 1969, and has been living in Berlin since 1998. He introduced radical innovations in brass instruments, first discovering the “noise valve” in 1996, then developing the first tuba fully microtonal in 2009. In 2012 he invented the “Hayward Tuning Vine”, in part to represent the harmonic space implicit in the microtonal tuba.

Enrico Malatesta is an Italian percussionist and sound researcher active in the field of experimental music, sound intervention and performance; his practice explores the relations between sound, space and body, the vitality of materials and the morphology of surfaces, with particular attention to the percussive acts and the modes of listenings. Since 2007 Enrico Malatesta has been presenting his works with tours all over Europe, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, UK, North America and Russia, participating in festivals and special events in venues such as Pirelli Hangar Bicocca – Milano, Berghain – Berlin, MAM – Rio de Janeiro.

Carol Robinson is a Franco-American composer and clarinetist specializing in experimental creation. She performs in major international venues and festivals, and regularly collaborates with choreographers, photographers and musicians from various backgrounds. She is the author of some sixty works for various formations, which often incorporate electronics. Besides her own music, her recent discography includes those of great contemporary composers, alternative rock, jazz and classical music. Carol Robinson has worked closely with Eliane Radigue since 2007. When she was a student, she was the beneficiary of an H. H. Woolley scholarship, administered by the Fondation des Etats-Unis, partner of this concert.

Nate Wooley was born in 1974 in Clatskanie, Oregon. He is known for his idiosyncratic trumpet language and mastery of extended techniques. Wooley made his debut as soloist with the New York Philharmonic at the opening series of their 2019 season. He is the editor of Sound American Publications, a journal dedicated to featuring the ideas and work of musicians in their own words. The journal has released 28 issues to date. He is the recipient of the FCA Grants to Artists Award and the Spencer Glendon Award for Ethics in the Arts. Wooley currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.