Since January 2020, the Ensemble Variances has taken over the Salle Cortot at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris for a semester-long residency.
Founded in 2010 by the composer and pianist Thierry Pécou, its trademark is a fundamental interest in the cultures of oral traditions of the world and the music of our time. Its musicians like to link music to contemporary issues, whether humanist, historical or in the field of ecology. Their commitment to young professionals is also at the heart of the Variances ensemble project.
The École Normale de Musique de Paris-Alfred Cortot is a higher music education institution which remains entirely private to this day. A large part of its student body is foreign: the 800 students welcomed each year have some fifty different nationalities. They come to Paris to discover a style, a pedagogy and a spirit transmitted from the beginning by prestigious teachers: Paul Dukas, Arthur Honegger, Olivier Messiaen, Pablo Casals, Nadia Boulanger, Henri Dutilleux, André Navarra, Georges Enesco, etc.
The residence of the Variances ensemble at the École Normale de Musique in Paris allows students to benefit from a vision different from that of their daily teachers. And for the École Normale de Musique de Paris, this residency is an opportunity to strengthen its work on contemporary music, which the Variances ensemble passionately defends.
The result of their work will be filmed and made available for viewing on the ensemble’s YouTube channel. Mécénat Musical Société Générale is the main sponsor of the Variances ensemble’s residency at the École Normale de Musique de Paris.
Find all the videos here.
Photo credit : Valentine Franssen