LAURENT METTRAUX
Route Principale 160, CH-1791 Courtaman
(Switzerland)
phone: (+41) 26/684.18.65, Email: laurent.mettraux(at)bluewin.ch
Welcome – Biography – Catalogue
of works – Audio examples
Documents to download – Score
excerpts – CDs
Critics and articles – (First) performances – Texts – Links
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PRINCIPAL WORKS
Orchestral
works:
- Shadow for full orchestra (1995-8). Composition prize
of the Donaueschinger Musiktage
1998, chosen among more than 80 scores by a board of examiners including
Wolfgang Rihm, Gérard Grisey,
Christian Wolff, Sylvain Cambreling, Armin Köhler. First performed by the SWR Orchestra, conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling (Donaueschinger
Musiktage, October 17th, 1999).
- Symphony for Chamber Orchestra or First
Symphony (1992). First prize and public award of the composition
competition of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (1993). First performance: Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne,
conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos (Lausanne, March 1st,
1993). First performed in its version for large orchestra by the Philharmonic
Orchestra of Volgograd, conducted by Emmanuel Siffert
(October 31st , 1999).
- Concerto for 15 Soloist Strings
(1994). Personal order by Tibor Varga. First
performed at the opening concert of the 1994 Tibor Varga
Festival by the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Tibor Varga
(Sion, July 12th, 1994).
- Violin Concerto
No. 2 (1998) commissioned for the celebrations, in Budapest, of the 150th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and of the Swiss
Confederation. First performance by Isabelle Lambelet,
the Camerata Symphonica of
Budapest and Tibor Varga (Budapest, October 1st,
1998).
- Le Cocyte for orchestra (1999) ordered by the Pro
Helvetia Foundation for the 100th Festival of Swiss Musicians (Swiss
Musicians Association). First performed in St. Moritz by the Symphony Orchestra
of Bern, conducted by Luca Pfaff (September 2nd, 2000).
- Violin
Concerto No. 3 (1999) ordered by the Swiss radio for the International
Violin Competition Tibor Varga 2000 (set piece).
First performed by Ryoko Yano and the Chamber
Orchestra of Lithuania, conducted by Gilbert Varga
(August 17th, 2000).
- Organ Concerto (2002-3), for the inauguration of the new great organ of the Lausanne
Cathedral (First performance in December 2003 with Jean-Christophe Geiser at
the organ and the Orchestre de Chambre
de Lausanne, conducted by Jean Balissat). The German
first performance has taken place in June 2010 at the Gewandhaus
of Leipzig, with Michael Schönheit at the organ, and
the Gewandhaus orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
- Double Concerto for Pi’pa and Violin for the famous pi’pa player Yang Jing and
Boris Livschitz, violinist of the Zurich String Trio.
- La Mort sur un cheval pâle (Death on a Pale
Horse) for orchestra (2007), commissioned by Pro Helvetia for the Basel
Sinfonietta (first performance during May-June 2008 in Basel and during a
concert tour in Germany).
- Chamber
Symphony for 13 Musicians (2012-3) and Concerto for Improvising
Trombonist and Ensemble (2013), two works commissioned by the Association
Nouvelles Créations. The first performances took
place at the Utopia 1 Hall of the High School of Music (HEMU) of Lausanne on January 20th,
2014, with the Contemporary Ensemble of the HEMU of Lausanne and Denis Beuret, soloist in the concerto, conducted by William Blank.
Vocal works:
- Vers
le soleil couchant (Towards the Setting Sun) (1995-6), oratorio for soloists, choirs and orchestra
(on words by around forty authors), commissioned by the Fribourg University
choir. First performance on June 1st and 6th, 1996, in Fribourg.
- Elogio della Notte for bass voice
and piano (1997), text taken from sonnets by Michelangelo. First performed
during the Orpheus Concerts in Zurich (March 1st, 2000).
- First Lamentation for Maundy Thursday for
mixed choir (1997) and Lucis Creator optime for children's choir (1997). Finalist works at
the European Competition of Choral Composition of Amiens (1997).
- Crucifixion
for mixed choir a cappella (1998). Commissioned and first performed by the
Chamber Choir of the Fribourg University at the Greifswald Festival (Germany)
and in Stettin (Poland), June 1999.
- La Plus Belle des Lumières
(2000), on texts taken from the Rig Veda,
choral work commissioned by the Festival of Sacred Music in Fribourg for
the New London Chamber Choir, for the Festival of 2000.
- Le Nom caché (The Hidden Name – 2001-2), oratorio
commissioned by the Swiss National Exposition of year 2002.
- Plus
près de toi que tu ne l’es toi-même for vocal ensemble (2006). Commission of the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music (New York),
awarded through competition. First performance in November 2006.
- Choral
Variations on the Christmas Carol “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her” for
choir and orchestra (2008-9). Commissioned by the Gewandhaus
Leipzig. First performance June 2010 with the GewandhausChor
and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig conducted by
Riccardo Chailly (during the Leipzig Bachfest and the concert season of the Gewandhaus).
- Recitatives on the Gospel Texts to Complete the St Mark Passion BWV
247, by Bach for soloists, choir and baroque instrumental ensemble
(2013-4), written at the request of the Concerts de l’Abbatiale
de Payerne, where the work was first performed during
the Holy Week concerts on April 6th, 2014, with the Corund
Vocal Ensemble and the Capella Paterniacensis,
conducted by Stephen Smith.
- Mid-Autumn Moon for soprano and small ensemble (2017).
Commissioned by asiamusic.ch for the European Chinese Ensemble. First performed
during a concert tour in Switzerland (Autumn 2017).
Instrumental and chamber music:
- Gethsemané
for organ (1990). First performance in Bern by Erwin Messmer (1994). This
work has often being performed (Kreuzkirche Dresden,
Braunschweig Cathedral, ...).
- Fantasia for violin (1995) commissioned by
the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Set piece of the International Violin
Competition Tibor Varga 1995.
- Trio for
Violin, Cello and Piano (1995-6) commissioned by the Musical
Youths of Fribourg. First performance by the Trio Animae
in 1999 at the Bratislava Festival of Contemporary Music.
- String Trio
(1997-8) commissioned by the Pro Helvetia Foundation for the Zurich String
Trio. First performance during a concert tour in India and Sri Lanka, in August
2000.
- String
Quartet (1998-9) ordered by the Jeunesses
Musicales Gruériennes for the Talich
Quartet. First performance in March 2003.
- Paremboles (1998) commissioned by the Triades Ensemble. First performance in Mar del Plata and
Buenos Aires (October 1998).
- Duo for Flute and Clarinet (1999) commissioned by the Boswil
Foundation for the Wiener Klangforum (First
performance on November 27th, 1999).
- Duo for Two Saxophones (1999-2000), first performed on the occasion
of the 12th World Congress of the Saxophone (Montréal, July 8th, 2000).
- Lux Mundi (2000). Commissioned by the
European Music Month 2001. First performed by more than ten organists of Basel
and surroundings, during the Holy Week of 2001.
- Wind Quintet
(2000). First performance by the Eole Quintet
(Fribourg, on September 11th, 2000).
- String Quintet
(2001-2). Commissioned by the Zurich String Quintet, this work has been
first performed during a concert tour in Helsinki (Finland) and Lithuania, in
July 2003.
- Quintet for Flute and Strings (2002-3) for the flutist Alexandre Magnin and
the Janacek Quartet (First performance in September 2003).
- Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (2003), order of the Avalon Trio, first performance during a concert
tour in Ukraine and during the Festival 2 days & 2 nights of modern music
of Odessa (April 2004).
- Complainte
(2003). Written at the request of Shlomo Mintz to be the set piece of the International Violin
Competition of Sion (2003).
- Reflets
for violin and percussion (2002-4). First performance in 2004, Costa Rica,
by Jan Dobrzelewski and Stuart Marrs.
- Swiss Dances
for four-handed piano (2003-4). First performed July 2004, by the Piano Duo
Dominique Derron & Pius Urech.
- Stimmungen
for four cellos (2005-6). Commissioned by the Festival Viva Cello of Liestal.
- Suite for
Three Flutes (2005-6). Written for the ensemble Les Chemins de
Traverse.
- Serenata in chiaroscuro for organ (2005-6).
Commissioned by the Bümplizer Orgelserenaden
on the occasion of their 20th season. First performance in 2006-7 by Erwin
Messmer.
- Émergences
for violin and accordion (2006). First performed in July 2006, during the
Festival of Auberive (France), by Marianne Piketty
and Pascal Contet.
- Le Tombeau de
Ravel for ensemble (2006). Commission by
the Compagnie CH.AU, which has first performed the work in December 2006, in Vevey. This work has been transcribed for chamber orchestra
(first performance of this version on October 2nd, 2008, in Quito, by the
National Orchestra of Ecuador, conducted by Emmanuel Siffert).
- Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2008).
Order by the Davos Festival for Shirley Brill and the Terpsychordes
Quartet. First performance in Davos, on July 30th, 2008.
- Sonata for Guitar (rev. 2008). Commission by
the International Guitar Festival of Fribourg. First performance on May 1st,
2009, by Olivia Steiner.
- Stèles, cycle of piano pieces after poems by
Segalen (2007-8). First performance in
Lausanne by Dana Ciocarlie on March 23rd, 2009,
during a concert of the Society for Contemporary Music.
- Traces gravées
dans le sable, cycle of piano pieces inspired
by texts of the Chan tradition (2009). First performance in Zurich by See Siang
Wong on September 9th, 2009.
- Entre Rêves et Cauchemars (Between Dreams and
Nightmares), for cello and double bass (2012-3), commissioned by the
Association a Piacere. First performance in Lutry, May 1st, 2014, by Pascal Desarzens and Noëlle Reymond.
- Rhapsodic
Variations on Themes by Rameau, for accordion (2014), first performed by
Sylvain Tissot in Fribourg and Leysin (August 2014).
- Quartet for
Flute and Strings (2014-5), commissioned by the Camerata variabile, which first
performed the work in June 2015 during a concert tour (Zurich, Basel,…).
You can download the
complete dossier in pdf or Word, under the rubric documents.
COMPLETE CATALOGUE CATALOGUE FOR EACH INSTRUMENT AUDIO
EXAMPLES