Raphael Severe

Raphael Severe is a young French clarinet prodigy. At eleven he had his first international successes.

Biography

[http://www.raphael-severe.com/en/ Raphael Severe] was born on 15 September 1994 in Rennes (France). His mother, a hungarian pianist and his father, a french clarinettist, gave him a very early musical education – piano, violin and cello. At eight, Raphael took to the clarinet at the Conservatoire of Nantes in his father’s class. One year later, he jumped not less than eight levels and was directly admitted to the top-grade class while performing Poulenc's sonata and Jolivet's "Ascesis".At ten, Raphael won 1st Prize and Jury special Prize at the Lempdes National Competition.At twelve, he was prize winner of five international competitions (age-group 20), including Tokyo International Competition where he won 1st Prize and Jury special Prize.

Raphael performed as a soloist only three years after he started learning clarinet.He gave his first concert on 27 January 2006, day of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, playing Mozart's clarinet concerto in China under the direction of Yu Feng, artistic director of the Beijing Opera. This TV broadcasted performance was held at the Cultural Centre of Macau in front of 1200 people. His interpretation showed an exceptional musical maturity.During the same season he also gave a concert for the Hong Kong radio including works for clarinet as well as for piano solo and made sensation at the Atheneum Hall in Bucharest, performing live for the TV in the presence of the royal family of Romania.

In February 2007 he was the youngest soloist invited to the French festival “La Folle Journée de Nantes”, playing both the clarinet and the piano.Guest again in May 2008, Raphael also performed at “La Folle Journée” in Tokyo and “The French May” in Hong Kong, playing concertos by Weber, Rossini and Mendelssohn.

Raphael has performed with different orchestras : Nouvel Ensemble Orchestral de Nantes, Ensemble Instrumental de l’Ouest, Orchestre de Bretagne, Symphonistes d’Aquitaine, Württembergischen Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Wind Kamerata of Hong Kong, Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra.

He recently took part in several programmes on the French radio and TV.His first CD-recording devoted to French music has been published by Hortus Editions.

Awards

Lempdes National Competition (France) : 1st Prize and Jury special Prize (March 2005, Chairman : Guy Dangain).

UFAM International Competition (France) : 1st Prize (January 2006, Chairman : Guy Deplus).

Bucharest International Competition (Rumania) : 2nd Prize (age-group 18, May 2006, Chairman : Petko Radev).

Marco Fiorindo International Competition (Italy) : 2nd Prize (age-group 18, December 2006, Chairman : Alessandro Carbonare).

European Music Competition of Picardy (France) : 1st Prize (January 2007, Chairman : Michel Arrignon).

Tokyo International Competition (Japan) : 1st Prize and Jury special Prize (age-group 20, August 2007, Chairman : Tadayoshi Takeda).

Press

Diapason : It is impossible to guess how young he is when we listen to this amazing disc of French music. The sureness of the staccato, the legato, the homogeneity, reflect already the mastery of a professional. The subtlety and the enchanting musicality reflect the maturity of a real artist. The future is bright for this prodigy.

Coups de cœur musique classique et jazz : The young clarinet prodigy Raphael Severe is barely 13 years old. He is endowed with an incredible technique and musicality, and performs works by Poulenc, Pierné, Debussy and Saint-Saëns with gusto. A great delight for the ears. Absolutely unmissable.

Classique Info Disque : With such a great talent, Raphael Severe’s career is already mapped out. A real discovery! Don’t forget this name!

Ouest France : There remains a veil of mystery, inexpressible, this secret which arouses curiosity and grows when we listen to the young prodigy in concert.

Times on line : Young and brilliant.

Le Monde : Make way for the young masters of classical music !

Jubii TV : Raphaël, 13 years old and so talented.

Presse Océan : The Harry Potter of the clarinet.

Nantes passion : Incredibly precocious.

Le courrier de l'Ouest : A dazzling career.

Classica Répertoire : The discovery.

Ouest France : All classical music fans must discover this phenomenon .

Discography

Recital de musique française - Editions Hortus.

Works by Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Chausson, Pierné.
Concert held on the 23rd of June 2007 in Cholet (France) with [http://www.musica-stnazaire.com/enm/prof/hajdu.htm#anglais Tünde Hajdu] , pianist.

External links

[http://www.raphael-severe.com/en/ Official website] .

[http://www.delage.at/index_html?language=en Laurent Delage Artists Management.]

[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk:80/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/proms/article4648843.ece Times online.]

[http://www.cc-loire-nohain.fr/PDF/coup_de_coeur_sic_aout_2008.pdf Coups de coeur musique classique et jazz.]

[http://classiqueinfo-disque.com/spip/spip.php?article229 Classique Info Disque.]

[http://tv.jubii.fr/search/?q=raphael+s%C3%A9v%C3%A8re TV jubi.]