Victories of classical music: the coronation of Bertrand Chamayou

And five!

This Wednesday, March 1, the French pianist Bertrand Chamayou was once again crowned by the entire profession and the French classical milieu, seeing himself handed over after only 25 minutes of ceremony - and after his exhilarating live re-reading of the toccata from Ravel's

, the first Victory of the evening: that of Instrumental Soloist of the Year, from the hands of the writer Yann Queffélec... Who first unveiled without knowing it - an error of an envelope that will undoubtedly go down in history - the name of the instrumental soloist Revelation, Aurélien Pascal... All under the more than embarrassed gaze of the evening's host Stéphane Bern!

A reward in any case received by a Bertrand Chamayou still out of breath and "

", and which crowns a particularly rich 2021-2022 season during which the artist, present on all fronts, notably illustrated by his concert interpretations of Olivier Messiaen's

, and his recording of his

(for which he was also named this year), when we commemorated in 2022 the thirty years of the disappearance of the composer.

Read alsoBertrand Chamayou, clarity signed Messiaen

This is the third time that the pianist has received this trophy, which he had already won in 2011 and 2016. Trophy which comes on top of his first Victory as a revelation, received in 2006, as well as that of the best recording which had been awarded, in 2012, his complete

by Franz Liszt.

A feat !

In the space of only seventeen years, the Toulousain, who knew how to attach the affection of the public and the respect of the critics by his interpretations full of elegance and sensuality of the French repertoire, but also by his commitment in favor of creation and the musical life of our country (he now co-directs the Ravel Festival and was, among other things, artist in residence at Radio France in 2018 and 2019), has thus become the most awarded French performer at the Victories of classical music, since the creation of the ceremony in 1993!

Read alsoBertrand Chamayou, sensual wave

Raphael Pichon sacred

A 30th ceremony placed under the sign of modernity with, at the opening, the

taken from Les

by Rameau (a native composer from Dijon), choreographed by Mehdi Kerkouche for his company, and filmed by Franck Broqua in all of the spaces of the Dijon Opera... But also a real performance of hip-hop dance by countertenor Jakub Josef Orlinski, on some fiery notes by Vivaldi, played by the twirling Jean-Christophe Spinosi and his Ensemble Matheus.

Read alsoJakub Jozef Orlinski, figurehead of countertenors

Failing to see the consecration of the gambist Lucile Boulanger (named in the instrumental soloist category), the baroque was in fact particularly honored on this Wednesday evening, since in addition to the performances of Orlinski, the second Victoire de la evening, that of the best recording, went to Baroque conductor Raphaël Pichon and his Ensemble Pygmalion, for their irresistible reading of the

by Johann Sebastian Bach, published last year by Harmonia Mundi.

An ideal version of balance between energy, saving homogeneity and attention to detail, which allows the ensemble to be distinguished for the second time in this category, and for the second time with the music of the Cantor of Leipzig.

The first was in 2015, for their recreation of the funeral cantata

.

After being keen to salute the entire "

" who have accompanied him for fifteen years within Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon said he was particularly moved to receive this second trophy for a work such as Saint-

, "

»

Read alsoJean-Sébastien Bach: the passion of passions

Speaking of "

“, the next performance was that of Aurélien Pascal, precisely.

The son of pianist Denis Pascal, nominated as a cellist in the Instrumental Soloist Revelation category (a trophy which he therefore received without suspense after Yann Queffélec's mishap, after two hours of ceremony), performed alongside the young conductor Victor Jacob, who conducted the Dijon Burgundy Orchestra.

And it is precisely Victor Jacob who was awarded the Victoire de la Révélation conductor, awarded for the second consecutive year, tied with his colleague Lucie Leguay.

Assistant to Mikko Franck at the Philharmonic of Radio France, the young girl from Lille is part of this new generation of female conductors who for several years have been more and more present on the French podiums...

Read alsoLucie Leguay, the sense of listening

Alexandra Marcellier at the 30th Victories of Classical Music ceremony, this Wednesday, March 1 JEFF PACHOUD / AFP

Soprano Alexandra Marcellier victorious

Another well-deserved revelation, the one given in stride to the soprano Alexandra Marcellier, who sang just before an extract from Mozart's Idoménée.

Revelation Lyrical Artist of the Year, the one whose career took off a little over a year ago when she replaced at short notice another "

" (Kurzak, Roberto Alagna's wife), in

at the Monte-Carlo Opera, is both an admirer and protege of Cecilia Bartoli as of her mother.

She will therefore be the first lyrical singer to be rewarded during the evening, before the Victory for lyrical singer of the year awarded at the end of the ceremony to Marina Viotti (sister of rising conductor Lorenzo Viotti) from the hands of Raphaël Pichon.

The mezzo of Italian origin, who during the ceremony gave an extract from her sensational tribute album to Pauline Viardot (the famous

by

by Saint-Saëns), had not prepared anything but said she was "

" by this award from her "

", where she spent most of her young career.

Read alsoMarina Viotti, the metaller who became a diva

If there was a Victory for the best "

of humor during a ceremony, this one would no doubt have gone to Alex Vizorek, whose speech before the presentation of the award to the Composer of the Year almost only made him laugh.

And a good part of the audience laughed yellow when he falsely tried to scratch Sofiane Pamart, media animal and pet peeve of many French classical musicians.

Was it really necessary to summon a humorist to deliver this Victory?

Do we always have to apologize by trying to be humorous when we want to talk about contemporary music, at prime time on French television?

The awarding of the prize to Fabien Waksman, for his collaboration with accordionist Félicien Brut, didn't it already speak for itself,

Read alsoFélicien Brut, the hedonistic accord

If there was a Victory for the best humor "flap" at a ceremony, it would undoubtedly have gone to Alex Vizorek

In addition to the Victories, many tributes were paid.

Whether it's Ukrainian musicians, welcomed by the presence within the Dijon Burgundy Orchestra of two Ukrainian instrumentalists who have taken refuge in France.

Or the (too) many sacred classic monsters who disappeared in 2022: Teresa Berganza, Radu Lupu, Lars Vogt, Peter Brook or Nicholas Angelich, commemorated against a backdrop of extracts from

Mozart's