2019

JAN GRIČAR, saxophone
NICOLAS ARSENIJEVIC, saxophone
SAE LEE, piano
NEŽA KOŽELJ, piano

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Tracking Time

The theme of the concert programme entitled Tracking Time is the relationship between the performer of the music and its author. In addition to the works originally written for saxophone and piano, you will also be able to hear the composition entitled Nocturne, by the French composer Jean Baptiste Doulcet, written especially for the French saxophonist Nicolas Arsenijevic. The saxophonist Jan Gričar will perform for the first time Merengue by the French composer Christian Lauba, famous for his large musical opus written for saxophone. The highlight of the evening will certainly be the adaptation of Pierre Boulez's composition Dialogue de l'ombre double, originally written for clarinet and electronic music. Later on, following the composer's approval, it received a version for saxophone and electronic music. The saxophonists Jan Gričar and Nicolas Arsenijevic slightly rearranged the piece in Paris in 2017 and performed it live, adding a new dimension and other possible directions for its execution in the future. We will be able to witness this impressive musical composition in June in Nova Gorica.

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Programme:

Christian Lauba: Worksong 
Nicolas Arsenijevic, saxophone

Pierre Sancan: Lamento et Rondo 
Nicolas Arsenijevic, saxophone 
Neža Koželj, piano

Florent Schmitt: Légende, Op. 66 
Jan Gričar, saxophone 
Sae Lee, piano

Pierre Boulez: Dialogue de l'ombre double 
Jan Gričar, soprano in alto saxophone
Nicolas Arsenijevic, soprano, alto in tenor saxophone

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Jean Baptiste Doulcet: Nocturne 
Nicolas Arsenijevic, saxophone
Neža Koželj, piano

Manuell de Falla: Suite populaire espagnole 
Nicolas Arsenijevic, saxophone
Neža Koželj, piano

René Corniot: Églogue et Danse Pastorale 
Jan Gričar, saxophone
Sae Lee, piano

Christian Lauba: Merengue (premiere)
Jan Gričar, saxophone

 

Jan Gričar (1992) is part of the younger generation of successful Slovenian musicians. He graduated with the highest honours, from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the supervision of Professors Matjaž Drevenšek and Miha Rogina. He continued his music career in France, where he studied at the Regional Conservatory of Versailles with Professor Vincent David, and obtained a masters’ degree at the prestigious Paris Music Conservatory under the supervision of Professor Claude Delangle.  Moreover, he obtained a bachelors’ degree in chamber music with Professor Laszlo Hadady.  He regularly performs all over Slovenia, Europe and in Japan. As a soloist, he performed with the Vienna Symphonic orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphonic Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. In his career, he has worked with with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and renowned conductors such as En Shao, Matthias Pintscher, Anton Nanut and Marko Letonja. Gričar placed first in many national and international competitions such as TEMSIG – Slovenian Music Competition for Youth, Fiorindo International Music Competition, SVIREL – International Music Competition, International saxophone competition in Nova Gorica, etc. He was presented with the Škerjanc Award for special achievements in the music field by the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana and two other significant awards given by the University of Ljubljana, the Prešeren Award and the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. He was also a scholarship holder of the Ministry of culture Slovenia for many years. He received the Zois Scholarship for gifted students and was a scholarship holder of the Slovene Ministry of Culture. He works as a pedagogue at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, where he teaches saxophone and chamber music.

Nicolas Arsenijevic (FR/SRB) is one of the most talented saxophonists of his generation. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM) in Claude Delangle's class in 2016. For several years, he has dedicated himself to contemporary creations, original as well as transcribed compositions, traditional music, and even musical theatre. He has won several prizes in numerous international competitions, such as The Gap European Saxophone Competition (France, 2008), the Nova Gorica International Saxophone Competition (Slovenia, 2011), the Chieri International Competition (Italy, 2011), the Flaine Academy (France, 2012), the Andorra Sax Fest International Competition (2015), and the prestigious Adolphe Sax International Competition (Dinant, Belgium, 2014). He regularly performs in Paris (Musée Jacquemard-André, Salle Cortot, Théâtre du Châtelet) and throughout Europe (The Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, Italy, Serbia, and Montenegro). Moreover, he teaches a number of masterclasses in the above-mentioned countries as well. He is a member of several chamber ensembles (Quatuor Laloy, the Saxback Ensemble, the Kosmopolitevitch Orkestar and The Oct'opus Ensemble). His work with young composers at the IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) and CNSMDP (the Paris Conservatoire) has produced original compositions like ‘Four Bodies in Search of an Author’ that was created in Paris in 2014. Nicolas Arsenijevic is a Selmer artist and has been a laureate of the Cziffra Foundation since 2013.

Sae Lee (Japan) graduated cum laude in piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in 2007 and 2008, with Professors Michel Beroff, Eric Le Sage and Laszlo Hadady. She won nine first prizes at various international competitions, among there are the first prize at the Padova International Music Competition (Italy) and the first prize at the Albert Roussel International Piano Competition (Bulgaria). As an active chamber musician, she collaborates with the saxophonist Miha Rogina, with whom she performs worldwide as the Duo Kalypso. The duo won the first prize at the International Competitions for Music of Ensembles Fnapec (Paris) and Carlo Soliva International Chamber Music Competition (Italy). Sae Lee is a member of the Academy of Music at the University of Ljubljana.

Neža Koželj, born in 1992 in Ljubljana, began playing piano at the age of six. In 2017, she graduated from the Ljubljana Academy of Music, in the class of Professor Hinko Haas. She works as an accompanist at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, and is finishing her second Master's degree in piano duo in Graz. Together with the pianist Nadja Rus she won several international competitions since 2011. She is a recipient of the Prešeren Award given by the Ljubljana Academy of Music. She performed Francis Poulenc’s concert for two pianos and orchestra with the SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra, and W. A. ​​Mozart’s concert for two pianos and orchestra with the EUYO Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko. In her career, she performed many chamber concerts, and she studied with several Slovene and foreign professors.