Éliane Radigue

Co-conception of the program: Carol Robinson.

With: Ryoko Akama (synthesizer) and Thomas Lehn (synthesizer).

After six events presented in autumn 2023 and in spring 2024 with pioneering electroacoustic composer Éliane Radigue, the Nomadic Nights are pleased to continue the very first retrospective devoted to her OCCAMs. Fascinating instrumental pieces, which she refers to as her “sound fantasies”; bespoke compositions are created in collaboration with her performers. This new program, designed with Éliane Radigue and Carol Robinson especially for the Fondation Cartier, presents tonight the French creation of a new OCCAM.

“One needs to dream on a large scale, because, in the process of realization, one is always forced to give up something. If the dream is big, there is a lot left, and if the dream is small, there is little left. The OCCAMs represent something enormous in that they are incomplete by nature. This is what attracted me to a genre of pieces conducive to a wealth of possibilities and combinations. It prevents me from saying that I have finished, as long as all these marvelous musicians fill me with the joy of their magnificent talent” – Éliane Radigue.

Program :

- OCCAM XX for EMS synthesizer (2014) interpreted by Ryoko Akama (30’) – French creation

- OCCAM VI for EMS synthesizer (2012) interpreted by Thomas Lehn (45’)

Biographies

Éliane Radigue (born in 1932, in Paris) is renowned for her electronic music, produced with feedbacks and reinjections, and in particular with the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Her compositions are defined by micro-events due to subtle changes in harmonics that dance above a seemingly static tone. The result is deeply moving. In 2005, Radigue began to compose for acoustic instruments with fellow musicians, first with Naldjorlak, her masterpiece for two basset horns and cello, and later with OCCAM OCEAN, her endless cycle. These new works have been presented in museums, concert halls and festivals in the world... She recently received the great prize of the SACEM, the Giga-Hertz Award from the ZKM in Germany, the Open Oor Composition Prize in the Netherlands as well as a special mention from the jury of the Evens Foundation.

Carol Robinson is a Franco-American composer and clarinetist specializing in experimental creation. She performs in major international venues and festivals, and regularly collaborates with choreographers, photographers and musicians from various backgrounds. She is the author of more than a hundred works for various formations, which often incorporate electronics. Besides her own music, her recent discography includes those of great contemporary composers, alternative rock, jazz and classical music. Carol Robinson has worked closely with Éliane Radigue since 2006.

A Japanese-Korean artist, composer and musician residing in the United Kingdom, Ryoko Akama approaches listening situations that amplify silence, time and space. Her work aims to provide temporal and spatial experiences related to literature, fine arts and mixed media. She employs domestic appliances and objects such as fans or glass bottles that produce tiny sounds and visual events. She composes text scores and performs a variety of alternative scores in collaboration with international artists. She is a member of the electronic musician collective Lappetites and the 9-musician group a.hop.

Thomas Lehn has been dedicating his work as a piano and synthesizer composer-performer since decades to both major practices of contemporary music: composition/interpretation and improvisation. He is reknown for his live electronic music generated with the EMS analogue synthesizer, firstly in numerous ensembles and as soloist, but as well as a synthesizer interpreter realizing and performing electronic compositions eg. by Éliane Radigue, Bogusław Schaeffer, Zbigniew Karkowski, Anthony Pateras, Peter Jakober and Jürg Frey. International festival appearances and concert tours have taken him throughout the world. His work is documented on around 120 recordings.