Michel Tabachnik

Michel Tabachnik
Michel Tabachnik
Background information
Born	1942
Origin	Swiss
Occupations	Conductor
Website	www.micheltabachnik.com

Michel Tabachnik (born November 10, 1942) is a Swiss conductor and composer.

Early years

Michel Tabachnik was born in Geneva, where he studied piano, composition and conducting. As a young conductor he was a protégé of Igor Markevitch, Herbert von Karajan and Pierre Boulez, acting as the latter's assistant for four years, mainly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London. This led him to become closely involved with conducting and to perform many world premieres, particularly those of Iannis Xenakis.

Career

International

He has held the position of Chief Conductor of the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra in Lisbon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Lorraine and the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris. His roster of orchestras includes the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, Tokyo NHK, Orchestre de Paris, and festivals such as Lucerne, Salzburg and Aix en Provence.

In the operatic field Michel Tabachnik has conducted in the opera houses of Paris, Geneva, Zürich, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Rome and Montreal. He has been a regular guest with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, where he led, among other works, Lohengrin, Madama Butterfly, Carmen and The Rake's Progress.

Pedagogue

Michel Tabachnik works with several youth orchestras. He was Artistic Director of l'Orchestre des Jeunes du Québec (1985–1989) and, over a twelve-year period, l'Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée, which he founded in 1984.

He is also a pedagogue. In addition to leading Master Classes in Amsterdam (NOS), Lisbon (the Gulbenkian Foundation), Paris Conservatoire, Stockholm Conservatory, and others, he has also held the position of Professor of Conducting at both the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto (1984–1991), and the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen (1993–2001).

Composer

In addition to his work as a conductor, Michel Tabachnik is also a composer. He has been honored with many commissions including "La Légende de Haïsha" for the anniversary of the Bicentenaire de la Révoltion Française, "Le Cri de Mohim" for the 700th Year of Switzerland, and "Le Pacte des Onze" for I.R.C.A.M. Paris.

Michel Tabachnik records for Erato and Lyrinx, with whom he has been associated since 1991. His discography ranges from Beethoven through Wagner to Honegger and Xenakis, amongst others. His recording of the Schumann Piano Concerto (with Catherine Collard as soloist) was voted Best Performance of the work by the international jury at the Radio Suisse Romande.

In 1995, Michel Tabachnik was named Artist of the Year by the Italian "Centro Internazionale di Arte e Cultura" in Rome.^[1]

OST

Between 1994 and 2004, he has been implicated in the dramatic events of the Order of the Solar Temple. In 2001 and 2006, Swiss and French judiciary cleared him of all participation in collective suicides in Salvan and Cheiry (Switzerland, October 1994) then Vercors (France, December 1995).^[2]

Rebirth

Since September 2005, Michel Tabachnik is chief-conductor of the Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO).^[3]

In 2008, Michel Tabachnik became the new chief conductor/artistic director of the Brussels Philharmonic.^[4]

Publications

• "De la musique avant toute chose", Preface of Régis Debray, Trial, Buchet-Chastel Editions, 2008
• "Il était une fois un enfant", Novel, de l'Aire Editions, 1999
• "Bouc émissaire", Preface of Pierre Boulez, Michel Lafon Editions, 1997

Compositions

• Dyptique écho, violin concerto 2008
• Nord pour orchestre 2006
• Concerto pour piano et orchestre de chambre 2003
• La Légende de Haïsha 1989
• Évocation 1994
• Le Cri de Mohim 1991
• Prélude à la Légende 1989
• Élévation 1990
• Pacte des onze (Evangile selon Thomas) 1985
• 7 Rituels Atlantes 1984
• l'Arch 1982
• Cosmogonie 1981
• Les Perséïdes 1981
• Trois Impressions 1975
• Argile 1974
• Éclipses 1974
• Movimenti 1973
• D'autres Sillages 1972
• Sillages 1972
• Mondes 1972
• Invention à 16 voix 1972
• Fresque 1969
• Frise 1968
• Supernovae 1967

He has been invited to perform with orchestras such as:

• The Orchestre National de France (Paris)
• L'Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris
• The Berliner Philharmoniker
• The BBC Symphony Orchestra (Londres)
• l'Opera di Roma, le Stockholm Filharmoniska Orkester
• l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Genève)
• The NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), etc.

References

1. ^ Profile on Tivoli & Crescendi
2. ^ Conductor cleared of cult deaths, BBC, june 25 2001
3. ^ Welcome to the NNO: past conductors
4. ^ (French)Gilles Macassar, La Mer, Nocturnes...Claude Debussy - Brussels Philharmonic, dir. Michel Tabachnik, Telerama, april 23 2011

External links

• Home page
• (French)Blog
• Biography

Persondata
Name	Tabachnik, Michel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 10, 1942
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death