FRENCH-AMERICAN PIANO SOCIETY Matthieu Cognet Macha Kanza Elodie Vignon Hanyi Meng
2018 Two Pianos Extravaganza Works for 4, 6, 8 hands
Artistic Director Matthieu Cognet
June 21st 2018 Steinway Hall, New York
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Photo by Mark Morris Photo by Mark Morris
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FRENCH AMERICAN PIANO SOCIETY French-American Piano Society is a non-profit organization designed to promote cultural exchange, education, and networking between France and the United States through French pianists and music. Founded in 2014 by Dr. Mathieu Petitjean, our Society provides scholarships for aspiring young French pianists to attend competitions and festivals in the United States, presents world-renowned artists in recital, and endeavors to promote the activities of French pianists in America and American pianists dedicated to French piano music. Taking the opportunity of the Fete de la Musique, we are happy to present four talented young pianists for a festive piano program for four, six and eight hands! Crafted under the direction of Artistic Director Matthieu Cognet, the “extravaganza” is the ideal format for tonight’s recital: a musical work marked by extreme freedom of style and structure! We are grateful to Steinway and Son and the Hotel Sofitel who remain loyal partners of our program!
lizabeth Olson Executive Director
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TODAY IS THE FETE DE LA MUSIQUE For the last 35 years in France, the 21st June is not just the longest day of the year but also the day of the fĂŞte de la musique. This "festival of music" is no ordinary festival. Created in France in 1982, it has been taken up by neighboring countries where it has been just as successful. Music takes over the city's streets, with live bands, singers, amateur musicians, drummers, DJs and so on scattered throughout the city, expressing themselves through music and inviting the crowd to enjoy themselves. Ref: Paris Info, 2018
We are grateful to our 2018 Fete de la Musique Partners
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FRENCH-AMERICAN PIANO SOCIETY 2018 TWO PIANO EXTRAVAGANZA Matthieu Cognet, Macha Kanza Hanyi Meng, Elodie Vignon June 21st at 7:30pm at the Steinway Hall in New York
Danse Macabre Jeux d'enfants (selections)
L'Embarquement pour Cythère Waltz and Romance Visions de L'Amen (selections)
Camille Saint-Saëns Georges Bizet
Francis Poulenc Sergei Rachmaninov Olivier Messiaen
Intermission : virtual tour of the Steinway Factory Five Waltzes, Op. 39
Johannes Brahms
Cinderella (selections)
Sergei Prokofiev
Vignettes
Marlene Cooper
Sonate for two pianos/eight hands
Bedrich Smetana
Reception at the Hotel Sofitel New York (RSVP Only) 5
Photo by Mark Morris
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MATTHIEU COGNET French pianist Matthieu Cognet is an active soloist and soughtafter chamber player who performs extensively in Europe and the United States. He has appeared in major venues and festivals, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, the Cultural Institute of Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Series), Hemptinne Festival (Belgium), Rushmore Music Festival, Memphis in May Festival, and Prades Festival (France). He recently collaborated in concert with Juilliard and Stony Brook faculty and Grammy Award nominee Carol Wincenc. He has been a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook University Orchestra, Indiana University Student Orchestra, and the Paris Sorbonne Orchestra. His recital and
chamber music performances have been featured on Radio France and Chicago WMFT Radio broadcasts. Mr. Cognet received degrees from the Conservatoire SupĂŠrieur de Paris, the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and Indiana University. He recently obtained his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University.
In addition to his performing activities, Mr. Cognet released his own arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse for piano solo under the label Lauren Keiser Publications (a group of Hal Leonard). He is also the Artistic Director and Masterclass Director of the FrenchAmerican Piano Society. He currently lives in New York City. For more information, please visit: www.matthieucognet.com 7
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MACHA KANZA Macha Kanza, French pianist and violinist born in 1984, began her piano studies at the age of five. In 2002, she was honored with the first prize of the City of Paris, and in the same year was accepted into the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music under Yevgeni Moguilevsky, where she brilliantly completed her Master in piano performance. During her studies, she participated in several international piano competitions, such as «Aqua Viva International Piano Competition” in Italy (2005, 2nd Prize), «Sergei Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition” in Los Angeles (2008, Prize laureate), and performed in various musical events including the contemporary music festival « Ars Musica », the «Festival Musical des Orres», and the «Festival
Musical du cloître de Cimiez» (Nice). She has also had the occasion to play in various famous concert halls around the world, including « Théâtre de la Ville d'Atri »(Italy, 2005), “Aula Nova of Pozman” (Poland, 2008), “Passadena Concert Hall” (Los Angeles, 2008), “Museum of Musical Instruments in Brussels” (2006), Bialystok Philarmony (2008,Poland), Odessa
Philarmony Ukraine, 2009). In parallel to her pianistic endeavours, Macha studied the violin at the Conservatoire Jacques Ibert in Paris with Marie-Helene Vivanco and was accepted to the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music. This dual instrumental practice has allowed her to enlarge her soloist and chamber-music repertoire, 9
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HANYI MENG Born in Tianjin, China, Hanyi Meng started her piano journey when she was four. She earned her first international prize at the 6th Asian Youth Music Competition in 2007. Meng has resided in the United States since 2010. She has studied the harpsichord, clavichord and pianoforte. During her studies at Oberlin College and NYU Steinhardt, she held numerous public performances, including degree recitals, master classes appearance and chamber music showcases. A virtuosic pianist with an interest in the intersection of different cultures, Meng is currently exploring works influenced by traditional Chinese music in Western music genres; and works in minimalistic style written by Italian composer Alfonso Peduto. Her most recent achievements and engagements include: Piano recital at the Steinway Hall, New York (May, 2017); Piano recital at the Yamaha Artist Service, New York (May, 2017); A Live Performance with French Illustrator, Sandrine Revel based on Glenn Gould (April, 2017). This June, she will present music by Frederik Chopin as a guest pianist at Steinway Hall, New York in
celebrating of Fete de la Musique Festival. Meng holds a master’s degree from NYU Steinhardt and a Bachelor’s Degree from Oberlin College. Also interested in art administration and management, she is the Development Director at the French-American Piano Society.
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Photo by Celine Oms
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ELODIE VIGNON As an Artist-in-Residence of the Fondation Bell’Arte, Elodie Vignon ‘s career as a soloist has had significant success in Europe and the United States. In 2001, she was awarded a Gold Medal for her studies at the Conservatoire Régional de Lyon. She was invited thereafter to study with Daniel Blumenthal the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels, where she obtained two Master degrees in Piano Performance and Chamber Music. On many occasions over the last five years, Ms. Vignon has been performing as a soloist with important orchestras under the baton of distinguished conductors such as Ramon Tebar and Philippe Entremont. One of the most notable is the performance of both Piano Concerti by Frédéric Chopin at the Palm Beach International
Piano Festival. In March 2018, Ms. Vignon released her first recording for Cypres Records of the Complete Etudes for Piano by Claude Debussy, complemented by twelve poems she commissioned from Belgian poet Lucien Noullez. The recording received many good more often rave - reviews in Europe, as well as ‘Four Stars’ in the
famous French Magazine Classica. Ms. Vignon has been performing several CD promotional and releasing tours with various programs all around the world: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, North Carolina, Florida, Canada, and the Steinway Hall in New York City.
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Photo by Mark Morris. Sarah Margaine and Felix Dalban Moreinas receive the 2017 Lalique Award
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2018 SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS Since our creation in 2014, we have awarded scholarships to 14 talented young French pianists who have since competed and won international competitions in the United States. The scholarship covers round-trip transportation from Paris, tuition fees for the International Keyboard Institute and Festival (IKIF), and housing during the two-week festival. Join us to congratulate our 2018 Awards recipients:
Alexandre Lory Lea Lyon Both will give their U.S. debut recital on July 19 at the Consulate of France in New York. On this occasion, they will be recognized with the Lalique Awards. HELP US FUND THE SCHOLARSHIPS PAST SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS Hélène Tysman (‘13), First Prize IKIF 2012 Matthieu Acar (‘14), Finalist IKIF 2014 Maroussia Gentet (‘14) Nathanael Gouin (‘14) Olof Hansen (‘15) Audrey Lonca-Alberto (‘15) Marie-Ange Ngucy (‘15), First Prize IKIF 2015 Tanguy de Williencourt (‘15), Finalist IKIF 2015 Josquin Otal (‘16) Victoire-Théodora Pruvost (‘16), Finalist IKIF 2016 Timotée Urbain (‘16) Julie Alcaraz (‘16), Finalist IKIF 2016 Félix Dalban-Moreynas (‘17) Sarah Margaine (‘17) 15
Photo byEnhco Thomas Mark plays Morris Morris. at the Yves2018 HnryNew in Recital, Year Recital October - Photo 2017by Mark Morris
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2018 RECITALS Lise de la Salle and Thomas Enhco 2018 New Year’s Recital Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30pm Consulate General of France in New York
Marie-Ange Nguci En Miroirs Tuesday, April 3 at 6:30pm Consulate General of France in New York
Georges Lepauw and Matthieu Cognet Homage to Debussy Thursday, May 10 at 6:30pm Consulate General of France in New York
Fête de la Musique Young Artist Piano Extravaganza Thursday June 21 at 7pm Steinway Hall in New York
2018 Young Artist Recital 2018 Scholarship Recipients to be announced Thursday July 19 at 6:30pm Consulate General of France in New York
Yves Henry Tuesday October 23 at 6:30pm Consulate General of France in New York 17
Photo by Mark Morris
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88 Keys Society Members and Patrons ($100 per key donated to acquire our Steinway )
Helene Buchen
(C1#, D1#, F1&#, G1#, A1&#, F2#, G2#, A2#) Gilles Rousseau (G2,A2,B2,C3,D3,E3,F3,G3) Veronique and Pascal Carpentier (C6#, D6#, F6#, G6#, A6#) Ariane Daguin (B6, A6, G6, C7) Anne-Julia Audray (D5, F5, A4) Jean-Pierre Bizzari, MD (A5, B5) Laurence Chertoff (D2#, D3#) Thomas and Albane Duplan (C8, B1) Valerie and Gerard Duval (G7#, F7#) Lily Hsia (D5#, D7#) Susan Mackenzie (E6, C7#) Martha and Rick Olson (E4, G4) Daniel and Teresa Petitjean (F7, G7) Helene and Mathieu Petitjean (A0#,A4#) Dr. Ellie Abdi (B0) Catherine Munera and Alfredo Basurto (E5) Carey and Brett August (C6) Arnaud Boyer (E7) Nigel Brown (G1) Florence and Eric Brun (G5) Eric and Isabelle Chaboureau (F2) VĂŠsine de La Rue (D2) Philippe Dreano (G3#) Yoni Elmalem (A7#) Sylvie Epelbaum,MD (D4#) John F. Bennet, Paris-American Club (G4#) Bernard Frelat (F6) French-American Choir of New York (A4) Simone Galton (B3) Guy Geslin (D7) Anthony Gilroy (A3) 19
Photo by Mark Morris. Sarah Margaine in Recital, July 2017
Lise de la Salle at our 2018 New Year Recital - Photo by Mark Morris
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88 Keys Society Members and Patrons (continued) Robert Gorman Odile Gorse Herve Houdre Laurent Kleitman Remy Lumbroso Pierre Martin Andrea Mayes Hanyi Meng Jean-Hugues Monier Mark Morris Rick and Mary O'Connell Elizabeth Olson Claudine and Bernard Parisot Joseph Patrych Michel and Judith Pautrat Jean Perrette Dmitry Rachmanov Jerome Rose Sophie Schyler - Chateau Kirwan Guy Sorman Annaliese Soros Marie-Monique Steckel
(D1) (C1) (C2) (C5#) (D6) (F3#) (C5) (A7) (E2) (A3#) (E1) (C4) (C4#) (G5) (F4) (B7) (F4#) (A0) (F5#) (D4) (C2#) (B4)
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Photo by Mark Morris. Master Class with Jean Efflam Bavouzet and Mariel Mayz
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MASTER CLASSES Recognized as one of the leading educational programs for French piano repertoire in the United States, our Master Class Program attracts the highest caliber of young performing artists. Students benefit from an unique learning experience, receiving guidance and inspiration from some of the most renowned French pianists of our time. The program is open to pianists enrolled in academic music programs in the United States. Classes are free and open to the public.
PAST MASTER CLASSES Yves Henry Students: Mariel Mayz, Audrey Abela, Sarah Dutcher, Elham Fanoos Hélène Tysman Students: Anne Riegler, Sarah Dutcher, Mariel Mayz, Tyler Walker Jean Efflam Bavouzet (picture to the left) Students: François-Xavier Poizat, Mariel Mayz (left), Elham Fanoos Pascal Rogé, Students: Audrey Abela, Sarah Dutcher, Mariel Mayz, Marie-Ange Nguci Yves Henry Students: Małgorzata Goroszewska, Miles Massicotte, Ivan Gusev, Xi Chen
To apply for a masterclass, please contact our Artistic Director Matthieu Cognet: matthieu.cognet@french-american-piano.org.
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Inaugurating theMorris. James J.Marie-Ange Sheeran piano at our Year Recital Photo by Mark NGuci in New Recital, April 2016- Photo by Mark Morris
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HONORARY BOARD S.E. Anne-Claire Legendre Consul Général France a New York S.E. Bertrand Lortholary Ambassadeur de France au Vietnam
Françoise Noël-Marquis Directeur, Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris
Bruno Mantovani Directeur, Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris
Gery Moutier Directeur, Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon
Jerome Rose Founder and Director, International Keyboard Institute and Festival
Susan Wadsworth Director and Founder, Young Concert Artists, Inc
Hélène Tysman First Prize IKIF 2012 MacKenzie Award
EXECUTIVE TEAM Mathieu Petitjean, Ph.D. Founder and Director
Elizabeth Olson Executive Director
Hanyi Meng Outreach and Development Director
Matthieu Cognet, DMA Artistic and Master Classes Program Director
Mark Morris Photographer in Residence
Catherine Olson Brand Affinity Programs Director
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Photo by Mark Morris. Morris Julie Alcaraz in Recital, July 2016
Photo by Mark Morris
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2017 FRIENDS AND DONORS Friends and Donors of the French-American Piano Society are vital to the success of our mission. Your support to our organization provides encouragement and motivation to these young artists at the start of their careers, while also strengthening ties between France and the United States.
Keyboard Members ($8,800 and above) Karen Beluso, Steinway & Sons Lena Chang, Ph.D., Cure Insurance Marie-Paule Nowlis, Sofitel New York Bernard Parisot, JCDecaux Marc-André Poirier, Crédit Agricole CIB
Full Arpeggio Members ($2,500 and above) Serge et Véronique Banzet, VéronicTravel Jean-Luc Begasse de Dhaem, Colas, Inc Hélène Buchen Catherine Chardon, RATP Dev North Americas Le Comité de Associations Françaises de New York, CAF Les Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France, New York Laétitia Gazel-Antoine, ConnecThings Inc. Hélène Petitjean, MD The Alice Rosner Foundation
Chromatic Scale Members ($1,200and above) Patrick Baugier de Chevestre, Metrowine Group Yann Coatanlem Yoni Elmalem, The Inbox Group Alfredo Gangotena Michel Langlais de Langlade Martha Olson Gilles Rousseau
Scale Members ($600 and above) Emmanuel Cargill Philip Erard Catherine and Etienne Lamairesse 27
FRENCH-AMERICAN PIANO SOCIETY Operates in partnership with
Contact us: 1501 Broadway, 12th Fl, New York, NY 10036 Email: contact@french-american-piano.org french-american-piano.org 28