Les Percussions De Strasbourg

Strasbourg 1961... Six Classically Trained Young Musicians Bernard Balet Jean Batigne Lucien Droeller Jean-Paul Finkbeiner Claude Ricou And Georges Van Gucht Played With The Strasbourg Orchestra Under Ernest Bour And With The Orchestra Of The ORTF French Radio Under Charles Bruck. Both Conductors Show Creative Inventiveness And Enterprise And Feature Many Contemporary Pieces In Their Repertory Including P. Boulez O. Messiaen K. Penderecki M. Kabeláč Etc . With Germany Nearby And Its Active Role In The World Of Music Notably The Festivals Of Darmstadt And Donaueschigen And Having Pierre Boulez In Baden Baden Has Had A Marked Impact On The Creativity Of Les Percussions De Strasbourg. Inspired By The Strong Forces Prevailing In The Musical World During The Latter Half Of The 20th Century The Six Musicians Forged A Keen Desire To Create A Percussion Ensemble With Its Own Tailored Repertory Of Chamber Music To Imbue Its Wide Range Of Western Oriental And African Instruments With A Totally Modern Significance. In 1962 They Paved The Way By Setting Up And Performing As The Groupe Instrumental À Percussion Which Was Later To Become Les Percussions De Strasbourg. Between 1963 And 1966 Gabriel Bouchet Replaced Lucien Droeller And Detleff Kieffer Took Over From Bernard Balet.
Their Formation Quickly Brought About A Fresh Repertory With Works Dedicated To Them By Messiaen Serocki Kabeláč Xenakis Mâche Dufourt And Others. In 1967 The Six Performed Ionisation By Edgar Varèse With His Prior Approval As The Score Provided For 13 Percussionists. They Carried This Off With Musical Mastery And Dramatic "brio" - The Performance Was A Hailed Of Succes And Il Opened The Doors To A Hitherto Unprecedented Musical "genre". read less