Additional Information
Flautist Cyrille Angers and pianist Bruce Gaulin are teaming up for the upcoming Mélodînes concert, a series dedicated to emerging performers. On the eve of their concert this Wednesday, March 12, at 12:10 p.m. in the Claude-Léveillée Hall at Place des Arts, the two colleagues take part in this three-part interview: solo, solo, and duet!
Questions for Cyrille Angers
A native of Quebec City and admitted to the Conservatoire de musique de Québec in 2018, he became a gold medalist at the Concours de musique de la Capitale and a scholarship holder from the Fondation du Conservatoire de musique in 2019. He received the Alain Marion Excellence Scholarship from the Académie internationale de musique du Domaine Forget in 2021. He also distinguished himself by winning several prizes in national music competitions, including first place at the Canadian Music Competition (2022) and the OMNI Music Competition (2021/2023). These honors allow him to play as a soloist with the Orchestre Métropolitain, during the “Tutti 2023”.
PAN M 360: What are the directories that are most dear to you at the moment?
Cyrille Angers: At the moment, I’m most interested in the repertoires of composers who incorporate national or folkloric elements into their music. Whether through the themes addressed or the images evoked, this approach allows me to discover new sounds, often bold and authentic. I could cite in this category big names like Respighi, Mussorgsky, Vaughan Williams, or Sibelius, but also “smaller” names like Vladigerov, de Freitas Branco, Paliachvili, or Stenhammar, to name but a few. Being a great travel enthusiast, this musical approach allows me to travel from afar and continue to confront myself with unusual musical approaches.
PAN M 360: Which directories are you most interested in?
Cyrille Angers: I would say it’s the repertoires that stray from the beaten track. I particularly appreciate novelty and creative freedom, and exploring lesser-known repertoires fulfills both of these aspirations. These works rarely have such a deep-rooted performance tradition as those of composers like Chopin, Schubert, or Bach, which allows me to bring my own vision and give free rein to my creativity, which appeals to me even more.
PAN M 360: Do you consider yourself primarily as a solo flute player or more of a generalist, in terms of orchestral music?
Cyrille Angers: I consider myself primarily a solo flute player. Although I greatly enjoy playing in orchestras or chamber music, it is in the solo aspect that I feel most comfortable.
Questions for Bruce Gaulin
Recipient of First Prizes in several competitions such as the Festivals du Royaume, Clermont-Pépin and Saint-Pierre de Saurel, the Concours de Musique de la Capitale as well as the Canadian Music Competition, where he was a finalist in the Tremplin. Soloist and chamber musician, he has performed notably at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, Orford Musique, the Sainte-Pétronille Chamber Music Festival, the Préludes of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Opéra de Québec, and the Orchestre symphonique de la Côte-Nord. In addition, he is co-founder and manager of the Ensemble Renouveau.
PAN M 360: As a chamber musician, do you have any preferences for a configuration?
Bruce Gaulin: I really like small groups, duos or trios, which give more latitude and freedom to the performers between certain “solo” moments and certain “chamber” moments.
PAN M 360: What is your favorite repertoire?
Bruce Gaulin: There’s no real constant beyond the fact that a work must be fundamentally authentic to speak to me. Whatever the style, the era or genre, or even the nationality, there must be this sense of truth in the message being conveyed, without artifice or detours.
PAN M 360: Do you have any preferences for solo vs. ensemble work?
Bruce Gaulin: I like both! When you play solo, you only have yourself to manage (which is no easy task sometimes!), but when you’re playing with someone else, you have to be sensitive to the other person and think for them in addition to taking care of yourself. It can teach you a lot about other aspects of life.
Questions for Bruce Gaulin and Cyrille Angers
PAN M 360: Tell us about the genesis of your collaboration.
Bruce Gaulin: I accompanied Cyrille for the first time when I played for the flute class at the Conservatoire de Québec in the fall of 2021. I had the opportunity to repeat the experience many times thereafter, for competitions and recordings.
PAN M 360: How important is this duo in your respective careers?
Bruce Gaulin: Playing with Cyrille is always a pleasure and a most enriching experience. This concert is close to my heart and will be most stimulating and surprising.
PAN M 360: Have you defined a directory to explore?
Bruce Gaulin: We will explore a host of composers who were prodigies in their own right in each of their lives. The majority of the works presented here are transcriptions of pieces written for other instruments and arranged by Cyrille.
PAN M 360: Please tell us about the works chosen and their composers for this program:
Cyrille Angers: The composers we selected for this program are all musical prodigies. True to form, Bruce and I sought to highlight lesser-known works, written by composers less well-known than Mozart or Beethoven, for example.
Some, like Frank Martin with his Ballade or Georges Enescu with his Cantabile and Presto, created pillars of the flute repertoire. The Ballade was written for the Geneva Competition, while the Cantabile and Presto served as an evaluation piece for the Paris Conservatoire Competition. However, the other works of these composers are rarely programmed in concert halls.
Other composers in our program are better known to the public, but for other works. This is the case with André Mathieu with his Concerto de Québec or Samuel Barber with his celebrated Adagio for Strings.
Lili Boulanger is beginning to make her mark in the concert repertoire, both with professional orchestras and flautists, with pieces such as Nocturne and On a Spring Morning.
Heikki Suolahti’s Sinfonia Piccola was admired by Jean Sibelius, considered the greatest Finnish composer in history. It is very rarely performed, but it is a testament to the undeniable genius possessed by Suolahti, who died at the age of 16 from leukemia.
As for Camille Saint-Saëns, his success precedes him, and his Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, is one of the essentials of the violin repertoire. It will be by far the most famous work that Bruce and I will perform in this program.
PAN M 360: Tell us about the challenges of their execution.
Cyrille Angers: I would say that each work presents its own challenges. For André Mathieu’s Heikki Suolahti, the main challenge was adapting them for flute and piano. Once transcribed, Suolahti’s work fits easily with the piano. As for Mathieu’s two works, they are much less intuitive musically. Mutual listening between Bruce and me is therefore essential to ensure good cohesion. Boulanger’s work continues in this vein. Although much more intuitive than Mathieu’s Sonata, for example, it also requires a high level of refinement. Regarding the works of Enesco and Martin, I would say that the main challenge is authenticity. These works are very frequently performed by flautists. Thus, approaching them with a new and different approach is the main challenge. In Barber’s work, the challenge lies in musical colors, lyricism, and breathing, issues that are common in slower-paced pieces. As for Saint-Saëns’s work, it is undoubtedly the technical difficulty, since it is intended to be a work of virtuosity.
PROGRAM
André Mathieu, Ballade-Fantasie for Violin and Piano (arr. for flute and piano)
Sonata for Violin and Piano (arr. for flute and piano)
Lili Boulanger, D’un matin de printemps for flute and piano, ILB 5
Samuel Barber, Canzone for Flute and Piano, IGE 2
George Enescu, Cantabile and Presto for Flute and Piano, IGE 2
Frank Martin, 2nd Ballade for Flute and Piano
Heikki Theodor Suolahti, Sinfonia Piccola for Orchestra, IHS 1 (arr. for flute and piano)
Camille Saint-Saëns, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, for Violin and Orchestra (arr. for flute and piano)
