Bios
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GILLES APAP,
Violinist |
Called "the Violinist of the twenty-first century" by Yehudi Menuhin, Gilles
Apap seems to find praise wherever he turns. He is becoming known around
the world for his distinct talent of incorporating styles of music as
diverse as American bluegrass and Gypsy fiddling with the standards of the
classical repertoire, suggesting that Apap is of the opinion that all music
is created equal.
Born in Algeria, Gilles Apap was raised in Nice where he studied the violin
with Andre Robert, then later at the Conservatoire de Musique de Nice with
Gustave Gaglio and at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Lyon with Veda
Reynolds. He came to America to attend the Curtis Institute, and chose to
settle in California. He has since become the concertmaster of the Santa
Barbara Symphony Orchestra. His talent was recognized by Yehudi Menuhin in
1985, when Apap first brought himself to the attention of the great
pedagogue by winning the Contemporary Music prize at the prestigious
International Menuhin Competition. He gained the affection of Lord Menuhin,
who asked him to perform in Berlin with the Enescu Foundation in 1989.
Gilles Apap's recent engagements include recitals and concerts on both
coasts of the United States; in India, Russia, and the WOMADelaide Music
Festival in Australia; and in Europe, including solo appearances with the
Sinfonie de Bretagne, the Lille Mozart Festival, Germany's Rheinghau Music
Festival, and the European Soloists Orchestra in Brussels. In March of
1999, at the invitation of Yehudi Menuhin, Apap joined the Sinfonia Varsovia
for concerts in Paris and Montpellier. These performances led to a very
successful series of concerts at the French festival Octobre en Normandie in
October 2000, and further concert and recording projects with the orchestra.
In October 2001, Apap has been invited by the Chatelet Paris to play a
series of three concerts with his recently formed ensemble Colors of
Invention.
Aside from performing, Apap has taught at both the Menuhin Academy in
Gstaad, Switzerland and the Menuhin School in London, as well as the
University of Benares, India and the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in
Italy.
Apapaziz Productions, a record label which Apap recently formed with friends
in the Santa Barbara area, released its first recording in 2000 with Apap
and pianist Eric Ferrand-N'Kaoua performing the violin sonatas of Enescu,
Ravel and Debussy. Their next release will be Apap performing with the
Colors of Invention, a group he formed with Myriam Lafar, accordion;
Philippe Noharet, double bass; and Ludovit Kovac, cymbalum, as well as with
harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet and harpsichordist Corey Jamason. This CD,
entitled "No Piano On That One", is due out in February 2001. All Apapaziz
recordings can be ordered over the internet at www.gillesapap.com. Apap
also performs on four recordings on the Sony Classical label, three with
Gilles Apap and the Transylvanian Mountain Boys and one unreleased recording
of the Bartok Sonatas.
Bruno Monsaingeon, noted for his films about Glenn Gould and Sviatoslav
Richter, has made two documentaries featuring Apap, including The Unknown
Fiddler of Santa Barbara and Gilles Apap Plays the Mozart Third Violin
Concerto, recorded with the Sinfonia Varsovia.
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LUDOVIT KOVAC,
Cymbalum |
Ludovit Kovac, born in Slovakia in 1968, is one of the best, young virtuosos
of the cymbalum in Central Europe. Marcel Cellier, a Swiss producer of many
prestigious disks, found him fabulous, stupefying! He recommended him to
Yehudi Menuhin, who was equally impressed and presented him at the Cirque
Royal in Brussels. Such encouragement sustained this young artist in the
service of the cymbalum, an instrument as charming as it is unknown.
Coming from the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest, his studies at
such a high level opened doors for him to the symphony orchestra, such as
the Radio Orchestra of Hanover and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, where he
was an invited soloist.
He deciphers and interprets with mastery the works of contemporary composers
and collaborates enthusiastically in the creation of new works, particularly
those which emanate from his wife, Flora Thalassa, a violinist and pianist,
herself. The two have played together at concerts and festivals since 1992.
Ludovit is equally at ease in musical genres other than the traditional
repertoire of the cymbalum, which for the most part is unwritten. He plays
the classical works of Chopin, Liszt, etc. and doesnŐt hesitate to introduce
his instrument to the world of jazz.
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MYRIAM LAFAR,
Accordion |
Born in Landes, France in 1973, Myriam Lafar began her studies of the
accordion at the age of eight. When she was fifteen, she enrolled in the
Thor school of music in the Vaucluse region in order to devote herself
exclusively to music, while continuing her other studies at a school in
nearby Avignon. She worked there with the celebrated pedagogue of the
accordion world, Jacques Mornet, who encouraged her to participate in many
international competitions, both in the classical and traditional music
styles. In addition to numerous prizes and awards in France, she was the
grand victor in the traditional music category as well as finalist in the
classical category at the Klingenthal Competition in Germany. In 1993 she
took the World Cup in Portugal for her traditional style playing and the
following year, she won the World Cup in Italy as a classical artist.
Ms. Lafar is an artist on the Polydor label and has recently released
her own cd of solo accordion music, transcriptions of French songs. She has
participated in a recording entitled 'Homage to Astor Piazzola.' She has
performed and recorded in Japan with the Paul Mauriat Orchestra. As a
soloist, she has appeared throughout Eastern Europe as well as in France.
At the invitation of Michel Legrand, Ms. Lafar recently performed in Paris.
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PHILIPPE NOHARET,
Double bass |
French bassist, Philippe Noharet began playing on a 'mini-contrabass' when
he was five years old. At the age of thirteen he won First Prize at the
Nice Conservatory and went on to do the same at the National Conservatory in
Lyon. When he was only seventeen, he was appointed to the National Opera
Orchestra of Lyon where he played under the batons of John E. Gardiner and
Kent Nagano. At nineteen he was appointed soloist with the Ensemble Forum,
directed by Marc Foster. He currently lives in Paris where he plays at the
Paris Opera and performs with Ensemble Carpe Diem and TM+.
His passion for music and all it encompasses, along with the flexibility
of his instrument allow him to take on a very broad range of genres. You
can find him playing jazz on stage with Michel Legrand, touring with Ute
Lemper, or recording in the studios for the film industry as well as for a
variety of artists (from Aznavour to Zazie).
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