French composer, pianist and writer
Denis Levaillant
Denis Levaillant in 2013
Born (1952-08-03 ) 3 August 1952 (age 71) Paris, FranceGenres Occupation(s)
Pianist
composer
arranger
writer
Instrument(s) Piano Years active 1973–present Website
www .denislevaillant .net
Musical artist
Denis Levaillant (born 3 August 1952) is a French
composer ,
pianist and writer based in Paris, France.
[1]
[2] He has
orchestrated more than twenty
musical shows including
La Petite Danseuse de Degas [
fr ] and composed more than 120 musical works worldwide.
[3] Levaillant has been recognized for his improvisation and orchestration work and his ability to synthesize in his art several antagonistic genres such as composition/improvisation, classical/jazz, classical/popular and acoustic/electro.
[4]
Early life
Levaillant was born in Paris to Raymonde and Jean Levaillant. He is the grandson of the French poet and critic,
Maurice Levaillant [
fr ;
de ] . He started playing piano at an early age of five. He began
harmony ,
counterpoint and composition training at the age of twelve, under French music professor, Magdeleine Mangin in 1964, in
Nancy, France .
[5]
Levaillant first spent his teenage years in Nancy, then in Paris, where he studied composition and
philosophy . In 1974, he received his Master's degree in philosophy from the
University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne . Later, he attended
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris , where he received training in music composition, orchestration and analysis under
Gérard Grisey ,
Marius Constant and
Claude Ballif .
[5]
Career
Levaillant started his professional career in the early 1970s. In 1973, he collaborated with
Radio France and composed Circus Virus , a musical piece for
France Culture . His first music had inspirations from his adolescence heroes, such as
Karlheinz Stockhausen ,
Jimi Hendrix and
Ornette Coleman .
[6] Through the 1970s and 1980s, Levaillant released seven more albums and published a book on music improvisation and compositions, L'improvisation musicale , published by
Éditions Lattès in 1980.
[7]
[8] He collaborated with
Alain Françon [
fr ] and
Alain Guesnier [
fr ] and composed music for multiple musical shows and feature films during these years. He collaborated with and composed music for various French and international
jazz musicians such as
Jean-Jacques Avenel [
fr ;
de ] ,
Didier Levallet ,
Mino Cinélu ,
Jean-Louis Chautemps ,
Pierre Favre ,
Bernard Lubat ,
Tony Coe ,
Kenny Wheeler ,
Jean-François Jenny-Clark ,
Michel Portal ,
Barry Altschul and
Barre Phillips .
[9]
In 1980, at the age of 26, Levaillant began composing
ballet music for the
Paris Opera .
[1] In 1981, he founded Bleu 17 , a music institution that focused on producing musical shows.
[10]
From 1983 to 2006, Levaillant created nearly 20 musical shows and operas that were performed around Europe. He collaborated with
Barry Altschul and
Barre Phillips to compose Les Passagers du delta in 1986.
[4] Levaillant created the opera O.P.A Mia in collaboration with
Enki Bilal during the
Festival d'Avignon in 1990.
[11]
[12] He collaborated with
Dominique Bagouet , Stéphanie Aubin,
Brigitte Lefèvre ,
Dominique Petit and Caroline Marcadé for more than 30 live shows.
[6]
In the early 1980s, Levaillant participated in
Institut national de l'audiovisuel and
Groupe de Recherches Musicales 's
digital sound processing initiative, which inspired him to compose Piano Transit , a piano composition with electronic fusion, in 1983.
[13] In 1988, Levaillant was awarded with
Prix Italia by
RAI for his work, in the category Speakers .
[14]
In 1995, Levaillant was commissioned by
Ensemble InterContemporain and
Musée du Louvre for creating music for
Fritz Lang 's last
silent film ,
Woman in the Moon .
[15] Later that year, he co-founded the Cabinet de Musique Généraliste (CMG) with
Frédéric Leibovitz [
fr ] , an initiative aimed towards promoting contemporary music in the audiovisual world. Over the years, prominent composers and musicians like
Philippe Hersant ,
Allain Gaussin ,
Bruno Letort [
fr ;
nl ] ,
L'Orchestre de contrebasses [
fr ] ,
Gilles Racot [
fr ] ,
Christian Zanési ,
Michel Redolfi [
fr ] ,
Cesarius Alvim [
fr ;
de ] , Calin Ioachimescu and
Doina Rotaru became part of the Cabinet de Musique Généraliste .
[1]
[16]
In the late 1990s, Levaillant performed live at various festivals and composed several works such as Echo de Narcisse , Le Clair , l'Obscur pour quatuor à cordes , Paysages de Conte and Tombeau de Gesualdo . In 2004, Lavaillant composed music for Enki Bilal's science fiction film,
Immortal .
[17]
In 2002, Levaillant composed the ballet La Petite danseuse de Degas produced by the
Paris Opera .
[18] It was premiered in 2003 at
Opéra-Garnier and was performed again in 2005 and 2010.
[19]
[20]
France 2 filmed the performance and
Arthaus released the DVD. In 2005,
l'Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France commissioned him to compose music for the children's book
L'Opéra de la lune [
fr ] by
Jacques Prévert . In 2014, Levaillant wrote Panchamama Symphony , a composition for
concert bands . The
Andean music of
Bolivia inspired Panchamama Symphony .
[21]
In 2014, 15 universities in the United States invited Levaillant for the
master classes and concerts.
[22]
Personal life
Apart from being a musician, Levaillant is a
mountaineer . He has climbed in
Oisans alongside
Jean-Michel Cambon and Bernard Francou. Levaillant has also climbed new challenging routes in Bolivia with the French climber,
Alain Mesili .
[23]
Levaillant was married in 1972, to Christine Rigaud. The couple has two children, Julie and Fabien, and three grandchildren, Marilou, Elise and Andréa.
[6]
Awards and recognition
Discography
Albums and singles
1973 : Son dernier Tango
1975 : Attention l'armée,
1978 : Instable,
1979 : Trans-Musiques,
1983 : Direct
1984 : Six séquences pour Alfred Hitchcock
1984 : Barium Circus
1986 : Passages
1990 : Musiques pour le théâtre
1991 : Musiques pour le piano
1991 : Musiques pour la danse
1992 : Musiques pour les voix
1993 : NEXT
1995 : Génériques potentiels
1996 : Théâtres
1997 : Shorts !
1998 : L'Etrange
1999 : Out The/Ailleurs
2000 : Direct
2001 : Figures
2002 : Dark Textures & Drones
2003 : Documentary line
2006 : Paysages avec piano
2007 : Drone Music
2008 : Modern Acoustic Sketches
2009 : Music Is The Film
2012 : The Fear Factory
2014 : Cinematic Edge Vol.1
2015 : City organix
2018 : HAYDN Early and late Sonatas
2019 : Aurora Borealis
2019 : Cinematic Orchestral Music: Volume 1
2019 : Cinematic Orchestral Music: Volume 2
2020 : Electro Space Piano,
Compositions for films
1978 : La petite Annonce
1979 : 74 rue de Boissy
1981 : Adieu Pyrénées
1984 : Elektra
1985 : Trombone en coulisses
1986 : Mot à mot
1987 : L'eau en formes
1988 : Mother Goose
1989 : Vidéopérette,
1993 : Next
1995 : La Femme sur la Lune
2003 : Dark
2006 : Paysages avec piano
2006 : Drones
2008 : Blindspot
2012 : The Fear Factory
2015 : City Organix
Bibliography
1974 : Musique, Idéologie, Politique, mémoire de maîtrise de Philosophie
1978 : Interdit d'antenne
1980 : L'improvisation musicale
1983/1984 : Eloge de l'outil
1986 : Le Piano
1990 : Un bout de tuyau avec quelques trous
1990 : Auteur de musique
1991 : Enki Bilal, un décorateur ?
1991 : Trois motifs pour le jazz
1992 : Pour une musique nouvelle
1994 : La Femme sur la Lune, réflexion sur la relation musique et image
2006 : O.P.A. MIA, Livre-DVD Illustré, broché,
2006 : En lisant, en jouant, en écrivant (1)
2008 : L'Opéra de la Lune
2008 : Cent ans de bonheur
2008 : A quoi l'art pense-t-il ?
2008 : En lisant, en jouant, en écrivant
2010 : La Petite danseuse de Degas (on Degas'
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years )
2011 : Les Musiciens de Brême
2012 : Eloge du musical
2012 : Paysages de conte
2013 : Les Passagers du delta
2014 : Manhattan Rhapsody
2015 : L'Art de l'improvisation au piano
2017 : O.P.A. MIA (My Tender Bid)
Operas and shows
1974 : L'oreille bée
1976 : Le Baigneur
1978 : Embellie fixe
1979 : Le jardin du sanglier
1980 : Piano Check-up , La Chevauchée
1981 : Portrait de l'artiste
1981 : Grand Corridor
1982 : Dérive
1982 : D.D.Blue Gold Digger,
1983 : Inside
1983 : Aranzaquil
1983 : Deux pièces à louer , Piano check-up & Le Baigneur
1983 : Les Pas Perdus
1984 : The Blue Street
1984 : Rythm'n'shoes
1986': Eaux-fortes
1986 : Le Dernier Pèlerinage
1986 : Les Passagers du delta
1987 : Les heures défaites
1987 : Solo piano solo
1989 : O.P.A MIA
1989 : Passage de l'heure bleue
1992 : Lettres de Georgie, Ballet
1993 : Piano Circus
1994 : Poètes et burlesques , Spectacle musical, pièces pour piano accompagnant un programme de films Pathé des années 1910.
1995 : Passions , Les Pierres noires , Sunny Cash passion , Compassion , Madrigaux de guerre & Tombeau de Gesualdo .
1995 : La Femme sur la Lune
1998/1999 : Techno Space Piano
1999/2000 : Eloge de la radio
2003 : La Petite danseuse
2005/2006 : Un petit rien-du-tout
2009/2010 : Les Musiciens de Brême
References
^
a
b
c
Dictionnaire des Musiciens . Les Dictionnaires d'Universalis (in French). Primento Digital Publishi. 27 October 2015.
ISBN
9782852291409 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ F. M. (12 February 1981).
"Une Étude de Denis Levaillant" .
Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Boisseau, Rosita (1 July 2010).
"La Petite Danseuse de Degas ressuscite à l'Opéra Garnier" .
Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
a
b Anquetil, Pascal (1989).
Jazz de France (in French). CENAM. pp. 86–88.
ISBN
9782916668413 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
a
b Sanson, David.
"Denis Levaillant – Biographie" (PDF) . denislevaillant.net (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
a
b
c Bogat, Leni (March 2014).
"Composer Denis Levaillant : Renaissance Man" . fanfarearchive.com . Retrieved 15 December 2020 . (
registration required )
^ Fischlin, Daniel; Heble, Ajay (30 March 2004).
The Other Side of Nowhere – Jazz, Improvisation, and Communities in Dialogue . Wesleyan University Press. p. 13.
ISBN
9780819566829 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Gooley, Dana (15 May 2018).
Fantasies of Improvisation – Free Playing in Nineteenth-Century Music . Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780190633608 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ David, Jean-Marie (2008).
"Denis Levaillant, a composer at the heart of creation" (documentary).
medici.tv . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Ancelin, Pierre; Pistone, Danièle (1987).
Le Théâtre lyrique français, 1945-1985 . H. Champion. pp. 104–105.
ISBN
9782852030411 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Barbier, Christophe (31 May 2016).
"Enki Bilal: 'Disséquer La Bohème de Puccini, voir l'opéra de l'intérieur' " .
L'Express (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Programmation 1990 – 44e édition O.P.A. Mia" . festival-avignon.com (in French). 1990. Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory In the classical and light-classical fields . International Biographical Centre. 2000. p. 384.
ISBN
9780948875533 . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Partition à telecharger du compositeur Denis Levaillant" . pianobleu.com (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Denis Levaillant: Pour «Une femme sur la lune» de Fritz Lang (1995)" (work details) (in French and English).
IRCAM .
^
"Biographical elements – Levaillant, Denis (1952)" .
Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine (Cdmc). August 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Immortel ad vitam – The European Film Awards" . europeanfilmawards.eu . 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"La Petite danseuse de Degas DVD" . tutti-magazine.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Spectacle: La petite danseuse de Degas – Paris (France) : Opéra national de Paris-Palais Garnier – 26-06-2010" .
BnF . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Spectacle: La petite danseuse de Degas – Paris (France) : Opéra national de Paris-Palais Garnier – 25-04-2003" .
BnF . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Vagne, Thierry (17 February 2016).
"Denis Levaillant – Pachamama Symphony" . vagnethierry.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^
"Denis Levaillant – Jazz and opera composer" . universalproductionmusic.com . Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
^ Deck, Claude (1 January 2006).
"Chronique alpine et des montagnes du monde », La Montagne et l'Alpinisme : revue du Club alpin français et du Groupe de haute montagne" . bnf.fr . La Montagne et Alpinisme. p. 77. Retrieved 15 December 2020 .
External links
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