Joseph-François Kremer

Joseph-François Kremer (1954 -) is a French composer, conductor and musicologist.

Biography

Joseph-François Kremer was born in Lyon (France) in 1954. Currently director of the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud of the City of Antony (Île-de-France). He is associated with an original movement in Post-modernim, cited in the ‘‘Larousse de la musique’’ (see "Histoire de la musique" published by Larousse, 2000, p. 1137). His compositional style is situated between the formal conception of a theorised musical heritage and the research of new freely referenced musical climates. He is very sensitive to the sound qualities of contemporary music as well as the human role in the context of musical interpretation. As a cellist, he studied with Robert Cordier, Maurice Gendron and Claude Burgos. He studied orchestral conducting with J.C. Hartmann and Pierre Dervaux. As a composer, he was principally the disciple of Claude Ballif.

Kremer is the author of a "Suite Lyrique" for Orchestra (1986), four symphonies (1990, 1991, 2002, 2005), an Opera, "La rencontre au point du jour" (1988), the "Messe pour une âme retrouvée" (1995-2000), pedagogical works (1981-2002), and many works for piano, solo instruments, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets and dixtets, as well as works for voice (1976-2002), as well as theatre music (TEP, FR3 and French National Theaters). His music is principally published by Musik Fabrik : www.classicalmusicnow.com/musikfabrikfr.htm

He has written several books which deal with musical phenomenology, especially on the symbolic forms of music (1984), on the great musical topics (1994), on musical aesthetics (2000), as well as on musical theory, among them the first French reissue of Rameau’s "Traité d'Harmonie" of 1722, a project supported by the Fondation Singer-Polignac in 1986, and in 1996 Rameau’s "Nouveau Système de musique Théorique" of 1726. Must be also mentioned several works of comparative aesthectics (see Bibliography).

His reflection on the music of the past in the light of the post-modernist aesthetics has led Joseph-François Kremer to compose works which are at once deeply rooted in the French tradition and resolutely pointed towards the future. His "Symphonie de Chambre" is a fine example of this inspiration, using both aleatoric and extended tonal techniques next to sections which are clearly inspired by Debussy and Berg. Kremer’s works are almost always poetically inspired and use changes of musical climate as an organizing principal, much in the way of the doctrine of affectations during Bach’s time. His works range from works for solo instrument, chamber music, to orchestral works and operas.

From 1987 to 1994, he directed the "Contemporary Music Ensemble Intervalles" and performed premières, as a conductor, of works by J.Y. Bosseur, C. Ballif, M. Mathias, E. Gismonti, as well as his own works in international festivals : in Czech Republic, Germany, France, with retransmisions on Radio-France and the Radio-Suisse- Romande. He directed the Conservatory of the city of Sevran from 1985 to 1996, where he invited Claude Ballif to take a Composition class in 1990 as well as Marcel Bitsch, for teaching a Theory course open to composers.

Kremer's "Symphonie à quatre" was programmed in November 2004 and played by the Ensemble "Ciel Bleu" for the 7th Festival of New Music for Wind Instruments in London (UK). 26 March 2005: "Dixtuor for Ten Flutes New Version", Symposium "Autour de la Flûte" at the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud (Antony, France).His "Klavierstück 2" has been played in Pittsburgh, PA (USA), on 8th of June 2005, at the Carnegie Mellon University.27 June 2005: Saxophonie I and Saxophonie II for Solo Saxophone, Conservatoire Darius Milhaud (Antony, France). 11-17 July 2005 "Dio Vi Salvi Regina" - Hymnus - World Première of New Work for Five Vocal soloists for L'Ensemble des Oréades (Carole Ségura Kremer - Soprano, Christophe Grapperon, Naoco Kaceta-Soprano, Christophe Carré-Counter Tenor, Christophe Ferveur-Tenor, Christophe Grapperon-Bass) for the "Festival A tempo", Caracas, Venezuela. On 3rd of December 2005, Kremer's "Symphonie à quatre" will be played in Pittsburgh (USA).

Kremer is president of several musical organizations : including "Musiques à Vivario" from 2002 to 2005 for the promotion of classical music in Corsica as well as the Association of the "Vocal Ensemble Les Oréades", creating a repertory of baroque and contemporary music.

Habilited Doctor of the Universities Paris I and Strasbourg II, with a Diploma of High Studies in Social Sciences, Joseph-François Kremer was Professor of Philosophy of Music and Aesthetics at the Schola Cantorum in Paris ; he is regularly invited in France and in other countries as a guest professor (towns of Caracas, Baku, Imatra). He currently works with the "Fesnojiv Foundation" of Venezuela, after having published a book on the musical and social educational system (2003). He is co-author with F. B. Mâche of the Chart of the compositional and musicological teaching at the University of Caracas, where he teaches as well as Professor director of studies of Aesthetic and Analysis since 2004. He has contributed to the publication of more than thirty musicological works as acting as director of several collections for the parisian publishers Méridiens- Klincksieck, Kimé and L'Harmattan.

elected works

*"Le chant de la nuit 5 pièces pour violoncelle seul".
*"Symphonie à 4 pour flûte, clarinette, violoncelle et piano".
*"Poussière d'oubli pour clarinette, violon, alto et violoncelle".
*"Klaviersätze n°1,2,3,4,5,6,7...
*"Konzertstück pour violon et orchestre à cordes
*"Aria I pour soprano, flûte, violoncelle et piano".
*"Aria II pour soprano, violoncelle et piano".
*"Aria III pour soprano et piano"
*"Symphonie de chambre pour solistes instrumentaux et soprano.
*"Symphonie n°III
*"Suite lyrique pour grand orchestre
*"Anamorphose pour orchestre
*"Naturalia pour grand ensemble de cuivres
*"Dixtuor pour flûtes traversières
*"Petite messe des morts"pour une âme retrouvée"
*"Dio vi salvi regina, hymnus pour 5 voix solistes
*"Saxophonie pour saxophone seul
*"Petite pièce pour harpe
*"Saxazeriphonie pour saxophone seul
*"Contre chocs pour deux accordéons
*"Permitted games pour quatuor de guitares
*"Petite marche pour sextuor de cuivres
*"adagio pour un film muet pour accordéon et piano (1975)
*"Symphonie n°4 (2005)
*"Dialogue pour double quintette à vents (1977)
*"Summer song 1 pour quatuor vocal et trio à vents (1994)
*"Summer song 2 pour 3 sopranos, flûte en sol, perc.et cordes (1995)

Bibliography

* "Les formes symboliques de la musique", Paris, Méridiens Klincksieck, Collection de Musicologie, 1984.
*"Réédition et analyse du "Traité d’Harmonie" (1722) de J. P. Rameau, précédé d’une Introduction « Rameau, l’harmonie et les méprises de la tradition », Paris, Méridiens Klincksieck, Collection de Musicologie, 1986 ; 2nd edition 1992.
* "Les grandes topiques musicales", Paris, Méridiens Klincksieck, Collection de Musicologie, 1994.
* "L’Offrande musicale de Jean-Sébastien Bach", Introduction et analyse musicale de Marcel Bitsch, Paris, Éditions Kimé, Collection « Musica », 1994.
* " _fr. Les Préludes pour piano de Claude Debussy en correspondance avec À la recherche du temps perdu de Marcel Proust", Introduction et analyse musicale de Marcel Bitsch, Paris, Éditions Kimé, Collection Musica, 1996.
* Réédition et introduction du "Nouveau système de musique théorique"(1726)de Jean-Philippe Rameau, Paris, Éditions Aug. Zurfluh, 1996.
* "Esthétique musicale. La recherche des dieux enfuis", Paris, L’Harmattan, 2000.
* « Le rôle de la méthode dans l’analogie », in "Méthodes nouvelles. Musiques nouvelles. Musicologie et création", sous le direction de Marta Grabocz, Strasbourg, Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2000, 171-198.
* « Entre découverte et reconnaissance. Pour une compréhension valide du signe », in "Approches herméneutiques de la musique", sous la direction de Jacques Viret, Strasbourg, Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2001, 123-138.
* "Une expérience musicale et sociale au Venezuela. Vue de l’Ancien Monde", Paris, L’Harmattan, 2003.
* "Les formes symboliques de la musique", Paris, L'Harmattan, 2006.

References