Oscar Bianchi — About Oscar Bianchi

About Oscar Bianchi

"From a very refined harmonic ear, Bianchi has the very modern ability to dramatize musical forms through mastery of texture, in its thousand details. "(Jean-Luc Plouvier).

Even in his instrumental work, a vocal quality can strike us as a prominent feature of his music. Exuberant and intelligent, this vocal dimension plays with a refined art of accentuations in all its intermediate degrees. At its core, Bianchi's music continues to be guided by the challenge of dramaturgical and formal issues. The unexpected contrasts between voluble virtuosity and contemplative stasis are the driving force of his flair for dramatic gestures. His music is joyfully violent in breath and song but may suddenly come to rest in prayer, via a specific harmony, as though struck by the noonday light.

Thanks to My Eyes, his first opera commissioned by the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence with libretto and staging by Joel Pommerat received critical acclaim by audiences and critics alike ("A masterly portrait of Melancholy," Le Monde, July 7, 2011). His music is performed by prestigious ensembles and orchestras such as the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum, London Symphonietta, Ictus, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, ICE, Remix, Ensemble Contrechamps, JACK, Diotima, Asko-Schonberg, Collegium Novum Zürich. After studying at Milan Conservatory, he fostered his education at IRCAM in Paris and Columbia University in New York. He's been an artist in residence at the DAAD Kunstlerprogramm Berlin and Pro-Helvetia Warsaw and Johannesburg.

Upcoming projects include new works for the Lucerne Festival, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Musikfabrik, Accroche Note, and Ensemble Modern. Oscar Bianchi has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the Gaudeamus first Prize, the Grand Prix de la SACEM, the International Rostrum of composer's prize, and the German Record Critics' Award.

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions, or additions unless expressly authorized by the artist management.

Bio

Born in Milan, holding dual Italian-Swiss citizenships, Oscar Bianchi completed degrees in composition, choir conducting, and electronic music at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milan. He pursued further studies in composition, taking part in master's programs such as at IRCAM - Centre Pompidou and a doctoral degree at Columbia University in New York under Tristan Murail.

''Vitality, pulsing rhythms, and virtuosity are the hallmarks of the music created by Bianchi, who reveals a sensible interest in new phrasings and new ornamentations, something to be expected from someone whose ears are finely attuned to the music from all corners of the globe. Even in his instrumental work, a vocal quality can strike us as a prominent feature of his music. Exuberant and intelligent, this vocal dimension plays with a refined art of accentuations in all its intermediate degrees. We know him now increasingly interested in the cantata, opera, and staged works: at its core, Bianchi's music continues to be guided by the challenge of dramaturgical and formal issues. The unexpected contrasts between voluble virtuosity and contemplative stasis are the driving force of his flair for dramatic gestures. His music is joyfully violent in breath and song but may suddenly come to rest in prayer, via a specific harmony, as though struck by the noonday light'' (Jean-Luc Plouvier).

Commissioned by the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Théâtre & Musique, his first opera, Thanks to My Eyes, libretto, and direction by Joël Pommerat received critical acclaim by audiences and critics alike (A masterly portrait of Melancholy, Le Monde, July 7, 2011). His music has been performed by outstanding orchestras and soloists such as the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, DSO, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, London Sinfonietta, Ictus, Asko-Schoenberg, JACK, Diotima, Arditti, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Remix, Nieuw Ensemble, l’Itineraire, Contrechamps, ICE, Alarm Will Sound, Sabine Meyer, David Grimal, Pablo Heras-Casado, Markus Poschner, Jonathan Stockhammer, KNM Berlin, Phoenix, Collegium Novum Zürich.

Upcoming projects include new works for the Lucerne Festival, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Musikfabrik, Accroche Note, and Ensemble Modern. Oscar Bianchi was a guest of the DAAD Kunstlerprogramm Berlin, Villa Massimo Rome, Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza Venice, Pro-Helvetia in Warsaw and Johannesburg, the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida. He has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the 2005 Gaudeamus first Prize and the 2014 Grand Prix de la SACEM. «Partendo» has been awarded the 2016 IMC International Rostrum of composer's prize while his first CD Portrait won the German Record Critics' Award in 2013. As the artistic director of the International Young Composers Academy in Ticino and board member of the reMusik Festival St Petersburg, Oscar Bianchi has been a champion for a young generation of talented composers worldwide world who he fosters tirelessly.

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions, or additions unless expressly authorized by the artist management.

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