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| Born in Fribourg (Switzerland). Musical Studies at "Conservatoire et Academie de Musique de Fribourg" (complete studies of analysis, counterpoint, harmony and fugue with Rene Oberson, piano, violin and singing) and in Geneva (composition with Prof. Eric Gaudibert, conducting with Prof. Liang-Sheng Chen). Follows also courses of ancient music and musicology. Receives a prize of the Kiefer-Hablitzel Foundation (Association of Swiss Musicians). Counsels and courses with, among others, Klaus Huber, Luis de Pablo, Heins Holliger, Arvo Part, Paul Mefano. 1st Prize and Public Prize of the 1st Competition for Young Composers - 1993 organized by the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, finalist of, among others, the European Competition of Choral Composition (Amiens, France). Laureate of the Boswil Foundation and of the Institut Europeen de Chant Choral. His work Ombre (Shadow) for orchestra, chosen among more than 80 other scores, won 1998 the prize of the prestigious Donaueschinger Musiktage, given for the first time (Jury: Wolfgang Rihm, Sylvain Cambreling, Gerard Grisey, Christian Wolff). He is also honoured in 2000 with a contribution ad personam from the UBS Kulturstiftung for his " remarkable partaking to the musical life in Switzerland and abroad ". First compositions in 1982. Numerous orders, as much from the interpreters as from concert associations, festivals, broadcasting and more. His works are more and more performed, as well in Switzerland as in others countries. His style is appreciated as well by specialists of contemporary music and musicians as by the public. He is also one of the jungest composers about whom a notice appears in the International Who's who in Music and Musician's Directory, from the 16th edition onward (1998). His works have been performed in many countries all around the globe by numerous famous interpreters, among which to be mentioned : Talich Quartet, Tibor Varga, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Sylvain Cambreling, Francisco Araiza, Zurcher Streichtrio, the New London Chamber Choir. Among his recent compositions : an oratorio for the Swiss National Exposition ; "Complainte" for solo violin, written at the instance of Shlomo Mintz, which has been the set piece of the International Violin Competition of Sion 2003 ; a double-concerto for Boris Livschitz, violin, and the famous pi'pa player Yang Jing ; a quintet for flute and strings for Alexandre Magnin and the Janacek Quartet ; a concerto for organ and orchestra, for the inauguration of the new great organ of the Lausanne Cathedral. laurent.mettraux@bluewin.ch http://www.isuisse.com/mettraux
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