S I R B A O C T E T A Y I D D I S H E M A M E

S I R B A O C T E T

A Yiddishe Mame Sirba Octet — www.sirbaoctet.com © Alix Laveau “This music has always been part of The vigour, intensity and my life. It reminds me of my originality of the Sirba Octet’s mother and of family gatherings arrangements bring to life these A when my grandmother and my familiar Eastern European tunes – aunts would beg my father and I to a body of music characterized by play the Yiddish tunes they grew up the wanderings of a whole with. We had no sheet music for population, in which sentiment and Y I D these pieces so they would hum the creative flair are bound together. melody and we would improvise on guitar and violin. I wanted to share FROM ORAL TRADITION TO these moments of joy and NOTES ON A STAVE reciprocity with the audience, D I S moments where rhythms amidst The show’s simple staging and the music and dancing forged acoustic setup allows each of the bonds of love between us.” eight instruments to shine. Strings, Richard Schmoucler, artistic clarinet, piano and cymbalum H E director (translated from the harness the rich tones and subtle original French) variations, effortlessly marrying folk with classical chamber music. THE TZIGANE SPIRIT AND M A YIDDISH SOUL This distinguished ensemble, made up of six members of the Orchestre Yiddish and tzigane communities de Paris, an internationally have produced lively and highly acclaimed pianist and a cimbalom M E sophisticated music which player from one of the greatest captured the imagination of music schools in Moldova, composers such as Bloch, Ravel possesses an incredible on-stage and even Bartók. Over centuries, energy driven by the spirit of the these folk tunes with their Slavic, music. In combination with the Balkan and Eastern flavour have celebratory tone of this show, the percolated throughout Europe enthusiasm, perception and setting the tone and tempo of prowess of these musicians people’s lives through births, becomes electrifying. marriages, festivities and tragedies. A Yiddishe Mame is built on classic With their idiosyncratic fusion of melodies with vibrant phrasing musical styles, Cyrille Lehn and which dance and sing and reinvent Yann Ollivo’s arrangements for the themselves through the ages and Sirba Octet are entirely unique across borders by way of journeys within their genre. A defining show and stories retold. for the ensemble, A Yiddishe Mame has been performed at festivals, theatres and other cultural venues since its debut.

A Yiddishe Mame Sirba Octet www.sirbaoctet.com PROGRAM THE MUSICIANS

Tire l’aiguille, Emil Stern / The Sirba Octet A Klezdrix / Sirba, arrangements Yann Ollivo Richard Schmoucler violin 1 Les Deux guitares, Traditional repertory Laurent Manaud Pallas violin 2 YID Ukrainian Memories, Grégoire Vecchioni viola Traditional repertory, arrangements Yann Ollivo Claude Giron cello DIS A Yiddishe Mame, Liew Pollack Bernard Cazauran bass and Ian Ivanovici, arrangements Yann Ollivo Philippe Berrod clarinet

HE Tanz : Hassidic Dance / Iurie Morar cymbalum Sunrise, Sunset/ Bublitchki Jerry Bloch, Traditional Christophe Henry piano

repertory, arrangements Cyrille Arrangements : Yann Ollivo and MA Lehn Cyrille Lehn Bessarabye, Traditional repertory, arrangements Cyrille Duration : 1h30 (Without Lehn intermission) ME Nigun, Ernest Bloch

Poliouchka, Russian Traditional Repertory, arrangements Yann Ollivo

Doina, Ca la breaza, Traditional repertory, arrangements Cyrille Lehn

Medley : Papirosn de Herman Yablokoff/ Tumbalalaika, traditionnal yiddish

Ah si j’étais riche, de Jerry Bock

Roumania, Roumania, Aaron Lebedef, arrangements Yann Ollivo

Medley : Oyfm Pripetshik, Mark Warshawski

Hora Martisorului, Gypsy Traditional repertory, arrangements Cyrille Lehn

A Yiddishe Mame Sirba Octet www.sirbaoctet.com When violinist Richard Schmoucler The show became their third album founded the Sirba Octet in 2003, with Naïve, and was performed he created an entirely new sound. with the Orchestre Lamoureux at A With arrangers Cyrille Lehn and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Yann Ollivo, five fellow musicians the Orchestre de Trier in Germany, from the Orchestre de Paris, a the Liège Royal Philharmonic, the pianist and a cimbalom player, he Tonkustler Orchester at YID formed a unique ensemble with a Festspielhaus and at Musikverein fresh perspective on klezmer, in Vienna. Yiddish and gypsy music. Their albums have received critical In collaboration with the Orchestre acclaim in the press, winning DIS de Paris, the Sirba Octet performed notably a ‘10 de Répertoire- Un violon sur les toits de Paris, (A Classica’ for Du Shtetl à New York, fiddler on the rooves of Paris), at the European Association for the Théâtre Mogador, a concert Jewish Culture prize and a Choc de which they developed into their Classica for Tantz! The group was HE first acoustic album, A Yiddish also the subject of a documentary Mame, released in 2005 under the by Alain Duault for 3 label Ambroisie (Naïve). With entitled A day with the Sirba Octet Slavic and Yiddish nuances, this and Isabelle Georges. In 2011 the MA anthology of Eastern European Sirba Octet and Isabelle Georges melodies is drawn from were selected by the Victoires de la Schmoucler’s own memories of Musique Classique to appear happy family gatherings. alongside the Orchestre des Pays de la Loire conducted by John ME Significant artistic Axelrod. partnerships Appearing regularly at leading In 2007, as part of the Festival festivals in France and abroad, the d’Île-de-France, the Sirba Octet Sirba Octet have performed at worked with Isabelle Georges, the many prestigious venues including multi-talented singer, dancer and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, actress known as a ‘triple threat’, to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam produce Du Shtetl à New York. An and Musikverein in Vienna with array of music from the shtetl and longer runs at Théâtre Mogador, standards from the golden age of l’Européen, La Cigale et à l’Espace American musical theatre, via jazz, Pierre Cardin à Paris. In 2012, they ragtime and lullabies composed by took part in the Festival Radio second generation immigrants, the Classique at the Olympia with show charts the journey made by Isabelle Georges and, in 2013, they millions of Eastern Europeans appeared at Musiques en fête aux from their shtetls, or villages, to Chorégies d’Orange which was New York, melting pot of musical broadcast live on France 3. influences from all over the world. The show was inspired by Fabienne Thanks to their talented arranger Rousso-Lenoir’s documentary Du Cyrille Lehn, the Sirba Octet are Shtetl à Broadway and celebrates constantly enriching their heredity and inheritance, an repertoire, adding pieces that range important foundation of the from the most famous to the lesser Yiddish community. known. Lehn worked with the group on a project for which they The Sirba Octet continued to work were joined for the first time by with Isabelle Georges on Yiddish Catherine Lara. This new Rhapsody, a show based on adventure led to the album Au traditional Yiddish music but cœur de l’âme Yiddish (The Spirit accented with elements of jazz, of the Yiddish), released on Sony in salsa, musicals, rock and samba. November 2012. Captivated by Commissioned by the Orchestre de their world, Catherine Lara chose Pau Pays de Béarn, conducted by eight of her most acclaimed pieces Fayçal Karoui, Yiddish Rhapsody to record with the Sirba Octet. In was unique in its staging of the A Yiddishe Mame April 2013, they performed the octet alongside a 50-piece Sirba Octet album live for two concerts at orchestra and was therefore able to www.sirbaoctet.com l’Alhambra in Paris. perform orchestral as well as

chamber music.

An energetic and heartfelt musical journey A The Sirba Octet releases his 5th The release of the album was album Tantz! in 2015 at the label followed by a concert in June 2018 La Dolce Volta. The release of this at the Musical of Boulogne- new album is followed by a series Billancourt. Sirba Orchestra! will YID of five exceptional concerts at be hosted by orchestras in France Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris. The and abroad in 2019. The reduced album Tantz! is a musical virtuoso, Sirbalalaïka version of this expressive and dancing, carried by program created for nine DIS eight exceptional musicians with musicians, the Sirba Octet and a dazzling performance. This real Balalaïkiste, will be discovered in musical treasure drawn from the 2019.

traditional repertoire leads the Classical World Music public at the mercy of the Doina, HE Hora, Sirba and other dances of The vigour, intensity and klezmer and gypsy music from originality of the Sirba Octet’s Eastern Europe. Tantz! Gateway arrangements bring to life the between Romania, Moldavia, familiar tunes of Eastern Europe – MA Russia and Hungary, is seen as a a body of music characterized by twirling and poetic journey, the wanderings of a whole crossing boundaries and population, in which sentiment and imagination. The great violinist, creative flair are bound together. ME Ivry Gitlis, major figure and Unparalleled outside of the emblematic, dedicates this new conventional circuit, the group album and supports this musical skilfully unite genres and combine journey. The album Tantz! reissued both orchestral and chamber at the Deutsche Grammophon label music. Sirba Octet’s unique vision was released in November 2017 puts them in their own league as enriched with two new titles. they pioneer a new genre – Classical World. The Sirba Octet a new

album at the Deutsche Grammophon label !

The Sirba Octet engages in a new collaboration for its new album Sirba Orchestra! he signs at the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label. Sirba Orchestra! is a meeting between Sirba Octet, a symphony orchestra and one of the greatest balalaika players, Nicolas Kedroff. An anthology of the most beautiful themes of gypsy cabaret and klezmer music. This program created in 2015 with the Pau / Pays de Béarn Orchestra under the direction of Fayçal Karoui for a series of performances at the Palais Beaumont in Pau was broadcast live by Radio Classique. The Sirba Orchestra program! recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège directed by Christian Arming and Nicolas Kedroff at the balalaika was the subject of new orchestrations and a contribution of five unreleased tracks for its A Yiddishe Mame release on the Deutsche Sirba Octet Grammophon label in May 2018. www.sirbaoctet.com RICHARD SCHMOUCLER GREGOIRE VECCHIONI Viola Violin & artistic director

TH Born into a musical family, Grégoire Vecchioni was Member of the Orchestre de Paris since 1998, involved in music from an early age. In 2009 Richard Schmoucler trained at the Conservatoire Grégoire entered the CNSMD in the class of de Paris under Gérard Poulet, Maurice Moulin, Devy Françoise Gnéri, then he continued his studies with Erlih and Alexis Galpérine for violin and Bruno a masters at the Paris Conservatoire with Gérard Pasquier and David Walter for chamber music. E Caussé and then Antoine Tamestit, with whom he In 1990 he was awarded first prize diplomas both in graduated in June 2014. At various academies, he has violin and chamber music. He continued to study studied with great masters including Günter Pichler, under Ivry Gitlis and also with Maya Glézarova at Lars Anders Tomter, Nobuko Imai, Paul Coletti and the Moscow Conservatory, Tibor Varga and Myriam the Alban Berg quartet. Grégoire is a founding Solovief. Schmoucler has been awarded prizes by the member of the Van Kuijk quartet. Together they won Fondation Bleustein-Blanchet and the Fondation de the 1st Prize at the « Wigmore Hall String Quartet France and is a regular soloist for the Auvergne Competition » in 2015 and the 1st Prize at the and Toulouse Chamber Orchestras, the Pasdeloup « Trondheim International Chamber Music Orchestra and the Orchestre Lamoureux. From 2010 Competition » in 2013. The quartet became to 2014 he was first violin for the ensemble Musique « BBC 3 New Generation Artists » from 2015 to 2017. MU Oblique. In 2003, Schmoucler formed the Sirba Octet In 2014 Grégoire was selected for “Chamber Music and has been the driving force behind the group’s Connects the World” in Kronberg where he played progression and the production of their five albums. alongside Steven Isserlis, Christian Teztlaff and He has given various masterclasses and Gidon Kremer. During his career he has already performances, notably at the Académie Festival des played at numerous festivals and venues including Arcs, PESM de Bourgogne and the Academy of Music SI Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Musikverein Wien, in Bydgoszcz in Poland. At his request, Kaija Saariaho Wigmore Hall, Auditorium du Louvre, Pablo Casals composed Frises for violin and electronics and Festival, GAIA Festival, Verbier Festival, IMS of November 2012 saw the world premiere of the piece, Prussia Cove, Pollack Hall Montréal… which was dedicated to Schmoucler, at the Borusan Such experiences have allowed him to perform in Art Centre in Istanbul. In 2011 he became the CI various chamber music ensembles alongside artists director of studies at the Orchestre Atelier Ostinato. such as Gary Hoffman, Gérard Caussé, Raphaël In 2016 he began teaching competition preparation at Sévère, Adam Laloum, Lise Berthaud, the Modigliani the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional in Paris. Quartet, the Ebène Quartet, Kian Soltani, Havard

Gimse, Olivier Patey. Also in love with the orchestra AN LAURENT MANAUD PALLAS Violin repertoire, Grégoire was selected to participate with the French Youth Orchestra in 2006 and 2007 with Jean-Claude Casadesus and the Verbier Festival Orchestra in 2010 with Daniel Harding, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit and Valery S Gergiev. He is now working at the Paris Opera House with Philippe Jordan.

Grégoire Vecchioni is supported by the Meyer Laurent Manaud-Pallas began his musical career Foundation, Nadia and Lili Boulanger and the in Tarbes and Pau. After a stint at the Boulogne- Mécénat Société Générale. Billancourt conservatory, he entered the National Conservatory of Music in Lyon and finished his CLAUDE GIRON Cello studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris where he obtained his degrees in violin and chamber music. In 1991, at the end of his studies, he joined the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with whom he appeared on the biggest stages of the world (Salle Pleyel in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie Berlin, Century Hall in Tokyo, Royal

Albert Hall in London, Musikverein Vienna …). After receiving Premiers Prix from the CNSM of Paris In 2002, Laurent MANAUD-PALLAS was appointed in cello and chamber music in the classes of Roland principal of the second violins at the Orchestre Pidoux and Michel Strauss respectively, Claude Giron National de France. He worked under the greatest set out at the age of twenty-one for further study with conductors such as, among others, Daniele Gatti, Aldo Parisot at Yale University, where she was Kurt Masur, Seiji Osawa, Ricardo Muti and Bernard awarded a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma. Haitink, and continues more than ever to travel the In 1994 she joined the Orchestre philharmonique de world. His notoriety allows him to collaborate with Radio France, moving to the Orchestre de Paris in other orchestras (the Orchester de la Suisse 1998. Claude Giron also plays in quartet and chamber Romande, the Orchester National de Lyon, orchestra repertory (with the European Camerata the Orchester National Aquitaine, and the Octuor de Paris among others), and has the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded a CD with the jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. the Orchester de Monte -Carlo) and various She frequently toured Europe and the United States ensembles (Arties, the Psophos Quartet, Diabolicus, between 2000 and 2007 as a member of the The Dissonances, Artists Release). Newly integrated American group Pink Martini. into the ensemble Sirba Octet as 2nd violin, Laurent A Yiddishe Mame MANAUD-PALLAS is also a member of the Volta Sirba Octet Quartet since 2014, concertmaster of the Pau Pays www.sirbaoctet.com de Béarn Orchestra since 2005 and concertmaster of the Lamoureux Orchestra since 2011. In addition, he teaches since 2015 at the Pole of Higher Education of Music and Dance of Bordeaux-Aquitaine. Laurent MANAUD-PALLAS plays a violin Nicolas Vissenaire from 1842.

BERNARD CAZAURAN Bass IURIE MORAR Cymbalum

TH

Bernard Cazauran has been a member of the Orchestre de Paris since it was formed in 1967, and Iurie Morar trained at the National Conservatoire was principal double bass from 1979 to 2012. of Moldova in Chisinau (USSR) and won the Stefan He was a prize winner at the Geneva Competition. Neaga competition there before continuing his E He has often appeared in chamber music, notably training in France at the Conservatoire de with Daniel Barenboim, but also in the field of jazz under Detlef Kieffer. with Basse Fusion and tango with the Carrasco ’H’ Performing with various ensembles he has appeared Quartet. He taught for 15 years at the CNSM in Lyon. with popular groups as well as symphony and chamber orchestras alongside artists such as Laurent Korcia, Sarah Nemtanu (with whom he has released a CD) and Gilles Apap (with whom he released the PHILIPPE BERROD Clarinet album Transilvanian Lointain Boys). In 2010 he made a guest appearance with the Orchestre de Paris to perform Stèle, György Kurtag’s Opus 33, MU conducted by Pierre Boulez. Morar is also an arranger and conductor and in 2012 formed Le Grand Orchestre for whom he has composed and directed two shows – Tzars, which is centered around Caucasian and Eastern European music and dance, and Atmosphère, which focuses on film music from First clarinet for the Orchestre de Paris since 1995, SI Chaplin’s silent era to the Hollywood greats. He plays Philippe Berrod also plays regularly with other a cimbalom made by the Hungarian manufacturer ensembles as a guest soloist. His repertoire ranges Bohak. from Mozart’s clarinet concerto to Dialogue de l’ombre double by P.Boulez. He was awarded a first CI prize diploma from the Conservatoire de Paris where he was tutored by Guy Deplus. He has also won a CYRILLE LEHN Arranger number of international competitions. He became a clarinet tutor at the Conservatoire de Paris in 2011. Berrod has released a number of recordings including Les Vents français on Sony Classical – Indésens and AN the album Art of Clarinet as well as two complete

collections of chamber music for woodwind by Trained as a pianist and composer at the Strasbourg Saint-Saëns and Poulenc respectively. Conservatoire and the CNSM de Paris, Cyrille Lehn These were well received in the press and nominated soon found himself attracted to improvisation, which for Victoires de la Musique awards in 2011. he practises in very varied forms: recitals, S Since 2010, Berrod has been artistic advisor for the accompanying silent films, concerts, and musical French woodwind instrument manufacturer Henri shows. His compositions have been featured on the Selmer-Paris. programme of such notable venues as the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, and the Festival de l’Emperi. CHRISTOPHE HENRY Piano He is fascinated by folk music and jazz, and has

collaborated with the Sirba Octet since it was founded. Cyrille Lehn is professor of harmony at the CNSM de Paris and teaches improvisation at the Conservatoire du 14e Arrondissement.

After training at the Conservatoire de Paris with a series of first prize diplomas under Alain Planès for piano, Michel Chapuis for organ, Bruno Pasquier for chamber music and Jean Koerner for accompaniment, Christophe Henry honed his skills alongside Menahem Pressler at the Banff Arts Festival in Canada. As both a pianist and organist he has performed with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de Lyon and the Radio-France Choir at some of the greatest concert halls in Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Paris and Vienna and at the Roman Theatre of Orange. In 2009, he was recorded playing Charles-Valentin Alkan’s pedal piano, a one-of-a-kind instrument displayed at the Musée de la Musique in Paris. In 2011 he played with the Quatuor Ludwig and in 2012 he appeared as A Yiddishe Mame a soloist with the chamber choir Accentus at the Sirba Octet Mozarteum as part of the Salzburg Festival. A multitalented keyboardist and passionate jazz fan, www.sirbaoctet.com he plays with and learns from pianist Emil Spanyi, vibraphonist Philippe Macé and drummer Georges Paczinski.

A YIDDISHE MAME CATHERINE LARA Label : Naïve Ambroisie AU CŒUR DE L’ÂME Production : Sirba Octet DI Release date : 2005 YIDDISH Duration : 74 min Label : Sony Music Production : Sony Music Release date : 2012 Duration : 35 min S CO

GRA

PH DU SHTETL A NEW YORK Label : Naïve Ambroisie Production : Sirba Octet Release date : 2008 TANTZ ! Duration : 63 min Label : Deutsche Grammophon Y Production : Deutsche Grammophon

Release date : 2017 Duration : 70 min

YIDDISH RHAPSODY SIRBA ORCHESTRA ! Label : Naïve Ambroisie Label : Deutsche Grammophon Production : Sirba Octet Production : Deutsche Grammophon Release date : 2009 Release date : 2018 Duration : 71 min Duration : 71 min

A Yiddishe Mame Sirba Octet www.sirbaoctet.com