Antoine Veillerette (b. 1999) is a Franco-Belgian composer and conductor based between London and Rome. He is currently completing a master’s degree in composition and Conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying composition with Julian Anderson and conducting with Tim Redmond. He previously graduated from a bachelor at the Guildhall School of Music with First Class Honours in composition, where he studied with Julian Anderson and Laurence Crane, and was awarded the Lord Mayor's Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. He also holds a degree in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.
As a composer, Antoine's music has written for the Festival Ravel, EXAUDI, the Ligeti Quartet, Heather Roche, Ben Smith and Plus-Minus Ensemble. His music has been heard at venues and festivals including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Warwick Arts Centre and the Festival Ravel in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. He has also participated in composition masterclasses with Michael Jarrell, Ramon Lazkano, Magnus Lindberg and Anssi Karttunen, experiences that have further shaped his artistic development. Alongside a growing catalogue of chamber works, his recent projects include a new orchestral piece Été which premiered last May and a new violin and ensemble piece to be premiered in October.
As a conductor, Antoine has worked with orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Sinfonia Smith Square and has developed a particular interest in contemporary repertoire and opera. His operatic work includes conducting the premiere of Sam Meredith's An Image of Stars and serving as assistant conductor on productions of Thomas Adès' Powder Her Face and Oliver Leith's Last Days. He has assisted conductors including Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Joshua Weilerstein, Jack Sheen, and Tim Redmond, collaborating with organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra Haydn of Bolzano and Trento. Forthcoming projects include his Barbican Hall debut with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra.
Antoine is the founder and Music Director of the Silk Street Sinfonietta, an ensemble established to champion contemporary music alongside landmark works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Under his direction, the orchestra has presented programmes spanning music from Schoenberg and Ligeti to Hans Abrahamsen, as well as most recently a concert exploring the work of composers including Panufnik, LutosĆawski and Crawford Seeger. Through the ensemble, he is committed to creating opportunities for emerging performers and composers while placing new music in dialogue with the established repertoire.
Sonatas explore la relation entre le violoncelle et le piano, en examinant les multiples façons dont ces deux instruments peuvent interagir, se compléter et dialoguer. Le titre Sonatas ne renvoie pas à la forme classique de la sonate, mais plutôt à la juxtaposition et au dialogue entre différents matériaux musicaux. Au fil des mouvements, les diverses facettes de la relation entre le violoncelle et le piano sont constamment renouvelées, oscillant entre coopération et opposition.
Plusieurs types de matériau musical façonnent la relation entre les deux instruments. L'un d'eux est fondé sur des gammes, à travers lesquelles le violoncelle et le piano explorent un langage musical commun tout en mettant en évidence les affinités et les contrastes de timbre propres à leurs univers sonores respectifs. Plutôt que de constituer simplement un matériau similaire, ces passages interrogent la manière dont des idées identiques ou étroitement apparentées se transforment selon l'instrument qui les porte et au fil des différents mouvements. À l'inverse, un autre type de matériau met les deux instruments dans une relation plus conflictuelle, laissant émerger des identités musicales contrastées par le dialogue et la confrontation. Ce matériau s'inscrit également dans la tradition du duo violoncelle-piano, en faisant écho à des passages cadentiels ou à des épisodes où le lyrisme du violoncelle se déploie sur un accompagnement du piano.
Antoine Veillerette