Johann Vacher

Pianist

Gestart in
2019
Type musicus
Pianist
Universiteit
Leuven University
Nationaliteit
France
Johann Vacher

Johann Vacher is a French musician, born in 1989, specialist of music from the 20th century. He enjoys performing unknown masterpieces by major composers and hence offering the audience the opportunity to (re)discover these musics. Johann won the International Piano Competition in Sète (France) in 2008 and the Composition Competition in Cergy-Pontoise (France) the same year. He studied piano and chamber music in the High School of Music of Geneva with Pascal Devoyon, Cedric Pescia and Gabor Takacs-Nagy. He now teaches there sight-reading and instrumental accompaniment and he coordinates contemporary music projects. 

Johann is passionate about theatre and interactions between music and other arts. He is an active member of « Ensemble Caravelle », based in Switzerland, which brings music and theatre together in unique performances. Within this ensemble, Johann is musician, comedian and composer at the same time. Along with the violinist Stanislas Gosset (Duo Mercutio), they are the funding members and artistic directors of the Cotentin Chamber Music Festival « Les Fieffés Musiciens », which is held each year in July since 2015.

Gerelateerd

Project

Amplified piano / Amplified pianist

The appearance of microphones and loudspeakers allowed composers to explore new musical territories. Until then, grinding noises coming from mechanic of piano or sounds emitted by the pianist were only perceived as disturbing the performance. With the development of amplification, those noises have become sounds that composers could use in a musical discourse. 

New pianistic techniques have appeared: inner and outer parts of the instrument are investigated with the hand or with various accessories, while, in turn, properties of these accessories are revealed through their use inside the piano. The pianist himself becomes a study object: he is asked to make amplified finger snaps or tongue clicks, he has to speak, to sing or to whistle in a kind of choreographed show. 

Live electronics have brought new steps of amplification, increasing virtuosity, filtering resonance, working on acoustic diffusion. The pianist can then interact and play along with live electronics, expanding the possibilities.

This research will be done from the performers’ perspective, but in collaboration with different composers for experimenting new amplified piano / pianist music.

 

Trefwoorden: collaboration between composers and performers, experimentation, extended techniques, microphones, piano

Gerelateerde activiteiten

6 - 7 oktober 2021

Emergence/y. A sound difference

Orpheus Doctoral Conference 2021

The annual Orpheus Doctoral Conference, organised by the second year docARTES PhD students, will take place on 6 and 7 October 2021 as a virtual event.