Photo (c) Alex Florès  

Linea wishes you a happy new year, full of nice music and rich of artistic adventures.

Before giving a look to the highlights of 2012, let's get back to 2011 for a short while. The past year was very successful. Linea has reached a new step on the international level and we also enter a new era regarding our recognition and visibility by the music industry. Huddersfield, Zurich and the US tour are confirming that Linea is now an ensemble which counts in the musical landscape.
Press coverage was very good, owing to the space usually given to contemporary music in the medias. Alongside good reviews in french, european and american medias, our concerts were broadcasted on France Musique (french classical public broadcasting), DRS 2 (swiss german speaking radio) and BBC Radio 3, in which new music focused "Hear and Now" praised Linea's performance in Huddersfield : « It was extremely well performed. [Ferneyhough] does demand extraordinary playing, and Ensemble Linea, they really are top performers » Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Robert Worby said.

2012 confirms our anchorage at the international level : in may, Linea will tour China and Egypt, both usually felt as musical "terras incognitas". Concerts, workshops, collaboration with local ensembles and composers will open up for sure new links in the musical landscape. Back in Strasbourg in june 2012, the Ensemble will echo to its egyptian tour in its festival Champs Libres, focusing on the rich and fascinating contemporary music scenes, whoch are arising in the "arabic world".

Darmstadt summer courses are on the way for july and many other events are under preparation. We'll talk back soon with more details about each projects. Stay tuned.

After a rich, intense and successful 2011, Linea both team and musicians make a break until january 3rd 2012.

We'll be back here on the web after this date, to talk about highlights of the year, which yet sounds as exciting as the one we are leaving.

By the way, we'd like to thank all people who attend to some of our concerts, all promoters who invited us to perform, medias which reviewed our work, as well as our numerous partners, supports, collaborators, and friends...Without them, all of this wouldn't be possible. 

Brilliant concert by Linea in Huddersfield last week-end, performed by "excited but under control musicians who have rendered with a bright talent the rich and abounding complexity of Ferneyhough's score",  stated our artistic director, Jean-Philippe Wurtz on his Facebook. More than 150 persons - and among them, numerous people from the music industry - attended to this brilliant UK premiere of this powerful piece, written by the british composer who lives in America.

Linea's Zurich concert on november 11th was successful : more than 150 swiss new music addicts attended to the performance, which has got thunderous applause and enthusiastic shouts. Powerful works by Filidei, Ohana and astounding "Chronos Aion" by Ferneyhough were played by deeply committed musicians, under the magnificient atmosphere of the beautiful Tonhalle, whose local crew was very helpful and very pleasant to work with.

If you missed the concert or if you want to listen to it again, tune on DRS2, german speaking swiss broadcasting, on upcoming wednesday, november 23rd at 10:30 PM (CET) : Zurich concert will be retransmitted . Of course, no need to live in Switzerland, DRS 3 is available on live streaming, from every part of the world.

Coming next this week is our concert at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, kicking off our british debut. Linea gonna premiere "Chronos Aion" in the UK, aswell as "Querwüchsig" by Fabien Lévy, and "Finito Ogni Gesto" by Francesco Filidei.

Rendez vous at the Town Hall, next saturday  26th november 2011, 7:30 PM (GMT).

Great Britain, here we come !

Linea is again "on air" on the french public classical radio France Musique : Broadcast "Les Lundis de la Contemporaine " ("Mondays of new music") offers a retransmission of our last concert at Musica Festival in our hometown Strasbourg.

Next monday, 14th november 2011 at 8 PM

You will hear recent works by Silvia Borzelli (Italy), Alex Mincek (USA), Laura Bowler (UK), Igor Leao Maia (Brazil) and David Hudry (France)...an exciting transcontinental blend of new music by some rising composers, we used to work with in Royaumont.

By the way, we thank all "Mondays of new music" team for their continuous interest on our activity.

Listen to France Musique from anywhere in the world here

 (C) Photo Goldsmith UK 

After the successful french premiere of Ferneyhough's Chronos Aion (2007-08) in 2010 in Royaumont, Linea performs this rich and complex masterpiece in two important new music festivals this month.

Next friday 11th november 2011, we are at the Tonhalle in Zurich, in frame of the Tage für Neue Musik (Days of New Music). Chronos Aion will be recorded for a future CD release in 2012. Swiss german speaking broadcasting company will also record the concert for a forthcoming retransmission (we'll keep you informed). Programme features also Finito Ogni Gesto by Francesco Filidei and Chiffres de Clavecin by Maurice Ohana.

On 26th november 2011, Chronos Aion kicks off the first Linea's UK debut, honored by a participation to famous Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival . Chronos Aion is given as british premiere, as well as Filidei's work, and french New York based composer Fabien Lévy, with a completed version of his work Qwerwüchsig.

We'll be happy to encounter both swiss and british new music addicts, at these both concerts, which are closing this exciting "international year" for Linea.

Export gonna continue in 2012 for the ensemble, with probable concerts in China and Egypt, and already confirmed participation to next Darmstadt Ferienkurse in july. We'll talk back soon about all of that...

Last but not least, don't miss the retransmission of our concerts given at Musica Festival in Strasbourg on 8th october, schedulded next monday 14th november at 8 PM on France Musique Radio in Les Lundis de la Contemporaine (Mondays of New Music).
You can listen to France Musique from anywhere in the world here

Linea comes back to Musica Festival in its hometown Strasbourg, on next saturday, october 8th, with a focus on new composers.

This concert makes the link between Linea, Musica and Royaumont. Composers whose works gonna be performed by Linea were all attending to the composition sessions at the Royaumont Abbey (near Paris) in the recent years, and most of them had the opportunity to work with Linea in that frame.

Programme features compositions by Igor Maia (Brazil), Alex Mincek (USA), Laura Bowler (UK), Silvia Borzelli (Italy) and David Hudry (France), drawing the lines of an international cultural connection and offering several sensibilities and point of views as well as refreshing directions in new music.  Concert discoveries : "Brugmansia" by Laura Bowler and "Sur-Itinéraire" by Silvia Borzelli, are given as world premiere and french premiere respectively.

After and before numerous concerts across the borders of its native region, Linea makes a break in Alsace, by playing at famous Strasbourg based Musical Festival. A duet concert (piano/violin) is planned on december 11th in Colmar (Ingersheim), just after both "big events" of the autumn : Zurich and Huddersfield with the performance of Chronos Aion (we'll talk about it soon).

Last but not least, we remind that Musica's concert will be recorded by France Musique radio, for a retransmission on november 14th in "Mondays of new Music", the programme which follows up Linea's activity very closely.

Followed up with a strong interest by Radio France (french public broadcasting), Linea is happy to announce you that the broadcast "Les Lundis de la Contemporaine " ("Mondays of new music") will highlight our work two times this month :

Monday 19th september 2011 at 8 PM, retransmission of the concert "Mathématique de la résonance", recorded in Royaumont on 10th september. Linea is performing Eonta by Xenakis, Kontra-Punkte by Stockhausen and both premiered works by Hanna Eimermacher and Georgy Dorokhov.

Monday 26th september 2011 at 8 PM, interview of Jean-Philippe Wurtz (in french).

France Musique frequencies are here

After a restful summer break, Linea is back with several concerts, kicking off a rich and intense season in which the Strasbourg based ensemble is expected in Zurich, Huddersfield, Paris, Beijing, and Darmstadt (at the famous « Summer courses »).

For the third year, this cyclus of performances is starting in the charming and inspirating countrysides of the Royaumont Abbey , a timeless oasis of calm, located in the rural part of Paris metropolitan area. This is the place where Linea works as « Ensemble in Residency » for three years now, taking part to numerous compositions workshops as well as innovative live-projects.  

This year, Linea is involved in two productions which challenge the generation gap in the musical creation. On september 10th, the ensemble opens up an artistic dialogue between, on one side, two « masterminds » of new music, Xenakis and Stockhausen, and on the other side, two young composers who studied in Royaumont : Hanna Eimermacher and Georgy Dorokhov. The concept consists in taking the princips of composition and instrumentation from both EONTA (Xenakis) and KONTRAPUNKTE (Stockhausen) to create a new piece. We’ll see how two newcomers from the rising generation of composers are appropriating ideas from the previous one…

Those exciting experiments in music continue on the second day, September 11th, with an astounding creation called « Babel ». Composed by Vincent Manac’h, artistic director of Paris based vocal ensemble « Les Cris de Paris » (litteraly : « Shouts of Paris »), « Babel » wishes to explore new directions in vocal music, by gathering a spatialised choir, a musical ensemble (Linea) and a « virtual choir », made from sampled and reworked voices. Vocal pieces by composers of the XXth century are completing this promising programme.
A nice week-end of musical adventures, that french public radio « France Musique », devoted to classical music, gonna record for a forthcoming broadcasting (we’ll keep you informed…).

Radio France is following up more closely Linea’s activities. On september 7th is Jean-Philippe Wurtz interviewed in "Le Magazine" and right after its « Royaumont sessions », Linea gets back to its hometown Strasbourg, to record on september 25th with Radio France an interview at the « Cité de la musique » (« Music Academy »), for the broadcast « Mondays of New Music », kicking off Strasbourg famous Musica Festival .

Linea is one of the ensemble heading the bill this year at this prestigious new music event, with a programme related with Linea’s work in Royaumont : on october 8th, the ensemble gonna perform new pieces from young composers who were attending to the compositions masterclasses in Royaumont on the recent years.  

Royaumont and Musica : a nice opening for Linea’s season, before Zurich and Huddersfield in november. We’ll talk about it soon…

Linea's US debuts were definitely successful. New York concert, performed with local ensemble Talea, got the best reviews from the medias, with among other, excellent articles in the New York Times and US musical website Musicalamerica. The musical industry was also present at this concert, and Linea has taken interesting contacts for the future.

June in Buffalo was also a great opportunity for Linea to increase its name in the USA. The french ensemble has participated to composition workshops and gave two successful concerts, which made that June in Buffalo offered already a new invitation for the 2013 edition.

This is not the only opportunity for Linea's US future. Other american perspectives are on the way for 2013, with possible performances at Harvard and MIT in Boston, and also in Houston. We'll talk back about it, as soon it becomes more concrete.

Anyway, Linea has definitely confirmed its place on both national and international levels.

This tendance is keeping up during the next season, which starts right in september at the Royaumont Abbey with a new step into Linea's artistic residence. Linea takes part to an original tribute to Xenakis, who gonna be challenged by new composers who write pieces under the same princip as Xenakis wrote his Eonta. Linea gonna also work with Paris vocal ensemble "Les Cris de Paris" ("Shouts of Paris"), for a new project called Babel, premiered during the 2011 residence.

In october Linea gets back to his hometown Strasbourg for a performance at famous Musica Festival, related with the work in Royaumont, as the programme will feature new works by composers who recently attended to composition session at the Abbey.

Last but not least, 2011 is ending up with two hot shows in both Zurich (CH) and Huddersfield (UK) where Linea gonna perform the mighty "Chronos Aion" by british mastermind Brian Ferneyhough. 

And 2012 will be full of nice rendez-vous...We'll talk soon about it.

Linea is now going to make a break, and we'll be back at end august.

We wish you a sunny and restful summer.