London – Anneleen Lenaerts, First Prize winner at the Fifth Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in Deauville, France (2005), will be making her Paris debut at Salle Gaveau on Monday, March 9. Beginning at 8:30 p.m., the concert will be presented by the Victor Salvi Foundation. Awarded every three years since its founding in 1993 by the Friends of Lily Laskine, the award celebrates the remarkable career of the legendary French harpist.
Joining Anneleen Lenaerts on the program will be Clement Dufour, flute; Florent Pujuila, clarinette; and the Amedeo Modigliani Quartet. She will perform solo pieces by Gabriel Faure, Karol Beffa and Henriette Renie.
The musical program will include:
Fantaisie pour Flute et Harpe, Camille Saint-Saens
Le Quatuor en Fa, Maurice Ravel
Danse Sacree et Danse Profane pour Harpe et Quatuor, Claude Debussy
Intermission
Impromptu, Gabriel Faure
Eloge de l’ombre, Karol Beffa
Legende, Henriette Renie
Introduction et Allegro pour Harpe, Quatuor a Cordes, Flute et Clarinette, Maurice Ravel
Ms. Lenaerts began studying the harp at age nine under the direction of Lieve Robbroeckx. She won her first international harp competition at age 10, securing First Prize in the beginners’ category at the First Felix Godefroid International Harp Competition.
Among the international competitions she has won are: the Promising Youngster Award at the Third Lily Laskine Junior International Harp Competition in Deauville, France (1999); First Prize at the academy level for Beneluxconcours van de Nationale Harpstichting in Brussels (2002); First Prize at the intermediate level at the Second Felix Godefroid International Harp Competition in Namur, Belgium (2002); and First Prize at the First International Competition of Harp and Orchestra in Vresse, Belgium (2002).
Other prizes included: First Prize at the First International Harp Competition in Godollo, Hungary (2003); First Prize at the Third Felix Godefroid International Harp Competition in Namur, Belgium (2003); Cui Jun Zhi Prize at the Sixth USA International Harp Competition , Bloomington, Indiana (2004); Third Prize at the Sixth Franz Josef Reinl Competition in Vienne (2004); and Second Prize at the Fifth Arpa Arpista Ludovico International Competition in Madrid (2005).
Ms. Lenaerts has given solo recitals in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Spain, Turkey, Poland and the United Kingdom and performed with numerous professional orchestras in Belgium and abroad, including Het Limburgs Symfonieorkest, deFilharmonie, L’orchestre de Chambre du Namurois, Orchestra Valerio Boldi, Arpista Ludovico Chamber Group, L’ensemble de Basse Normandie, Het Vlaams Radio Orkest, Orchestra Akademic Baskent and the Brussels Chamber Orchestra.
In 2006 she performed in recital at Festival de Harpe (Gargilesse, France) and the Giovani Virtuosi Dell’Arpa Series (Alba, Italy) sponsored by the Victor Salvi Foundation, among her other appearances. In 2007 she will be performing Seduced by Harps 3, a harp quartet with Sarah Verrue, Leen Van der Roost, and Aurelie Guerreio Viegas (Lommel, Belgium); a recital, Festival de Harpe, (Avesnois, France); and in concert with Leuvens Alumni Orkest (Leuven, Belgium).
"Anneleen performs with an astonishingly warm and evocative tone full of meaning," says Julia Salvi, president of the Victor Salvi Foundation.
Clement Dufour was born in 1987 in Versailles. At an early age he was given a flute and soon demonstrated passion and aptitude for the instrument. From 1995 – 2003 he studied at the Regional Music Academy of Rueil-Malmaison. In 2001 he won First Prize at the European Music Competition in Picardy and, in 2002, First Prizes at the Bellan competition, the National Competition for Young Flautists and the UFAM competition. In 2002 he also won the First Prize at the Regional Music Academy of Rueil-Malmaison and in 2003, a Prize of Excellence.
In April 2004 he placed second at the Internationaler Rotary Musikforderpreis in Nurember and was a finalist in the European Young Concert Artists Auditions in Paris. In 2005, he took Second Prize at the International Flute Competition in Krakow and, as a member of Ill’ Orchestre Francais des Jeunes, played Mahler’s Fifth Symphony at the Champs Elysees Theatre in Paris.
He won First Prize at the Seventh International Jean-Pierre Rampal Flute Competition, the world’s foremost flute contest. In 2006, he was nominated "Classic revelation" by Adami.
Florent Pujuila is a native of Perpignan in southern France. He studied at the Conservatoire National de Region of his birthplace, then in Paris. In 2002, he won First Prize from the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon as well as special recognition for his work composed for the occasion.
In 1997, Forent won First Prize at the Concours Europeen de Picardie and in 2003 Third Prize at the International competition in Munich. He has been invited to perform as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Munich and in many professional venues in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Florent shares his passion for chamber music with renowned partners such as the soloists of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philippe Berrod, Sebastien van Kujik, Anthony Leroy, Sandra Moubarak, Romanin Descharmes, Pierre Fouchenneret, and le Quatuor Ludwig, among others. He divides his time between teaching and his position as co-soloist with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris.
His seemingly classic career does not prevent him from enjoying less traditional musical activities. With the group Ailleur5, consisting of a clarinet quartet and drummer, Forent experiments with the range of music from Piazolla to New Metal.
Praised by Le Progres (France) for its "stunning technical expertise, outstanding ensemble and a particularly accomplished musical identity," The Amedeo Modigliani Quartet won the 2006 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and the 2005 Young Concert Artists Auditions in Paris. The quartet was also awarded the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Prize, which will sponsor their New York debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall; the Washington Performing Arts Society Prize, which will sponsor their Washington, D.C. debut at the Kennedy Center; the Gulbenkian Foundation Concert Prize for a concert in Paris; Vancouver Recital Society Prize, Princeton University Concerts Prize; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Prize and the Sander Buchman Memorial Prize.
Other engagements in the U.S. this season include appearances at Friends of Chamber Music (Texas), Port Washington Library (New York), Northshore Performing Arts Center (Washington), and Music at Kohl Mansion (California). The Quartet also performs in Bilbao, Lisbon, Prague, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and throughout France. They travel to Japan for performances in Tokyo in May.
The quartet has performed at renowned festivals and concert venues in Europe including Folle Journee (Nantes), Festival de l’Epau, Festival de Deauville, Festival du Perigord Vert, Festival du Perigord Noir, Theatre de la Ville-Abbesses, Theatre Mogador in France, the Royal Concertgebouw, Nederlands String Quartet Festival, Eindhoven Frits Philips Music Center in the Netherlands, Festival Musika-Musica (Bilbao, Spain) and the Cambridge Summer Music Festival (U.K.). They have appeared with such artists as Jean-Francois Heisser, Vanessa Wagner, Roland Pidoux and Philippe Muller.
At the quartet’s first international competition, 2004 TROMP International String Quartet Competition in Eindhove, the group was awarded First Prize, the Audience Prize, Young Jury’s Prize and the Willem Vos Prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work. They have received scholarships from the Forum Musical International de Normandie, the Cziffra Foundation and the FNAPEC European Chamber Music Competition, as well as a grant from the Fondation Groupe Banque Populaire.
The Amedeo Modigliani Quartet was formed in 2003 by the four young musicians studying at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. The group was soon admitted to the prestigious strong quartet class at the Conservatoire National de Region de Paris.
Lily Laskine
Born in 1893 of Russian parents who immigrated to Paris, Lily Laskine was a child prodigy. She learned to play the harp at an early age and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1904 at age 11. That same year she earned second prize at the conservatory by performing the concerto by Henriette Renie; the following year, she won First Prize with La Legende by Albert Zabel. She never studied formally past age 13.
Laskine began her professional career at an early age, developing her own repertoire and earning the respect and admiration of music audiences worldwide. Through her career as a solo artist, she was admired for her technical ability, as an acclaimed musician performing in international symphony orchestras, and as a devoted teacher and friend.
"Lily was a remarkable teacher and mentor," says Bertile Fournier, harpist and founder of the Association of Lily Laskine. "Everyone who knew her admired not only her remarkable gifts as a musician, but also her great kindness and generosity of spirit. Her simplicity, love of life and good humor were legendary. The Lily Laskine International Harp Competition continues to grow and attract highly qualified entrants every three years, such as our most recent winner, Anneleen Lenaerts. The competition serves as a lasting tribute to this remarkable legend in the harp world."
The Victor Salvi Foundation was created in Chicago in August 2000, with the aim of promoting the harp to a wider audience. With the help of its patrons – Salvi Harps, Lyon & Healy Harps and Bow Brand International – the foundation sponsors major international harp competitions including the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in France, the International Harp Contest in Israel and the USA International Harp Competition.
The foundation also assists the winners of these prestigious competitions in launching their careers through a series of debut recitals and providing a recording on the Egan Records label. In addition, the foundation provides support for education and research programs that expand awareness of the harp and its music. This is accomplished through commissioning new works for the harp and exhibitions on display in the Victor Salvi Museum in Piasco, Italy. In 2006, the foundation expanded its work to Colombia, where it sponsored the first Cartagena International Festival of Music. The mission of the festival is to provide music–related educational opportunities to gifted and talented Colombian children.
To learn more about the Victor Salvi Foundation, please visit www.victorsalvifoundation.com.
