Mantovani, Bruno

Born in 1974, he graduated from the Paris Conservatoire in analysis, aesthetics, instrumentation, music history, and composition, winning a Premier Prix (1996). Simultaneously he studied musicology at the University of Rouen and took part in compositional masterclasses at Royaumont (1995) and the computer cursus at IRCAM (1998–99). He has held fellowships from the Académie des Beaux-Arts (1997) and Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation (1999). He has received distinctions from international competitions (Stuttgart 1999, International Rostrum of Composers 2001), the Hervé Dugardin and Georges Enesco prizes as well as the Grand Prix from the French authors’ association SACEM (2000, 2005, 2009), Belmont Prize at the Musiktage Hitzacker Festival (2007), Victoire de la Musique for Composer of the Year (2009), Claudio Abbado Prize from the Berlin Philharmonic, and the International Music Press Prize in 2010. He became Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2010. The Musica Festival in Strasbourg dedicated a portrait to him in 2006, featuring the premieres of his Cantate no. 1, Quelques e ervescences, and the opera L’Autre côté. He was artist-in-residence at the Herrenhaus Edenkoben (1999), Automne en Normandie Festival (2001), Rome’s Villa Medici (2003), French Institute in Florence (2003), French Academy in Rome (2004–5), and the Besançon Festival (2006–8). In 2008–10 he was resident composer at the National Orchestra of Lille. 

His works have been performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Cologne Philharmonic, KKL in Lucerne, La Scala in Milan, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre in New York, Cité de la Musique and Salle Pleyel in Paris. Faithful to his preferred performers, he collaborates with prestigious soloists such as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Alain Billard, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Antoine Tamestit, Tabea Zimmermann, conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Andrew Davis, Peter Eötvös, Laurence Equilbey, Gunter Herbig, Emmanuel Krivine, Susanna Mälkki, Jonathan Nott, Pascal Rophé, François-Xavier Roth, ensembles such as Accentus, Intercontemporain, TM+, and orchestras such as Bamberg Symphony, BBC Cardiff, Chicago Symphony, WDR Cologne, La Chambre Philharmonique, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Liège Philharmonic, BBC London, Lucerne Academy, Orchestre de Paris, Paris Opera Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, Saarbrücken Radio Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, NHK Tokyo, RAI Turin, Sinfonia Varsovia, and RSO Vienna. Starting in 2010 he began an extended collaboration with the Paris Opera, which has given life to the ballet Siddharta, an opera based on the life of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova in 2011, and Jeux d’eau, a violin concerto for Renaud Capuçon and Philippe Jordan in 2012. 

Inspired by the relationships linking music with other forms of artistic expression, he has collaborated with novelists Hubert Nyssen and Eric Reinhardt, librettists Christophe Ghristi and François Regnault, chef Ferran Adrià, choreographers Jean-Christophe Maillot and Angelin Preljoçaj, and filmmaker Pierre Coulibeuf. His work is often a reflection on the history of Western music (Bach, Gesualdo, Rameau, Schubert, Schumann) or popular forms (jazz, Asian music).

Bruno Mantovani is also a conductor, and regularly conducts contemporary music ensembles including Accentus, Alternance, Cepheus, Intercontemporain, Sospeso, TM+ as well as the National Orchestra of Lille and Lyon, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse and Orchestre de Paris. His works are published by Henry Lemoine, Paris. 

Selected works: Jazz Connotation for piano (1998), Moi, jeu... for marimba (1999), Bug for clarinet (1999), Série noire for 14 instruments (2000), Art d’écho for orchestra (2000), Früh for flute (2001), Un mois d’octobre for bassoon and piano (2001), Appel d’air for flute and piano (2001), Le sette chiese for large ensemble (2002), Par la suite for flute and ensemble (2002), Mit Ausdruck for bass clarinet and orchestra (2003), East Side, West Side for five instruments (2003), Zapping for flute and orchestra (2004), Little Italy for viola (2005), Blue Girl with Red Wagon for string quartet and piano (2005), Da Roma for clarinet, viola and piano (2005), Un souffle for flute and four percussionists (2005), Happy B. for flute and string trio (2005), Poèmes de Janos Pilinsky (5) for choir (2005), Con leggerezza for ensemble (2005), Cello Concerto (2005), Le Cycle des gris for orchestra (2005), Suonare for piano (2006), Streets for ensemble (2006), Éclair de lune for three ensembles and electronics (2006), Quelques effervescences for viola and piano (2006), Si près, si loin (d’une fantaisie) for two pianos and two ensembles (2006), L’Autre côté, opera (2006), Time Stretch (on Gesualdo) for orchestra (2006), chrono for accordion (2007), Happy Hours for violin (2007), Tocar for harp (2007), Finalefor orchestra (2007), Contrepoints de l’Art de la Fugue (2) for seven cellos (2007), Quintette pour Bertolt Brecht for harp and string quartet (2007), D’une seule voix for piano and cello (2007), Trait d’union for clarinet (2008), L’Enterrement de Mozart for five voices and ensemble (2008), Cantata no. 2 (sur G. Leopardi) for soprano and clarinet (2008), Dédale for piano (2009), Icare for two pianos (2009), Concerto for Two Violas and Orchestra (2009), Le Livre des illusionsfor orchestra (2009), ...273... for ensemble (2010), Fantasy for piano and orchestra (2010), Siddharta for orchestra (2010), Postlude for orchestra (2010), Smartroll (Le Lutin) for orchestra (2010), Akhmatova, opera (2010), Chamber Concerto no. 1–2 (2010), Upon One Note for orchestra (2011), Cantata no. 3 for choir and orchestra (2012), Cantata no. 4 for cello, accordion and choir (2012), Spirit of Alberti for ensemble (2013), Quintet for two violins, two violas and cellos (2013), The Worst Of for piano (2013), Schlemihl for orchestra (2014), L’œuffor saxophone, cello and piano (2014), String Quartet no. 2 (2014), Autoportrait de Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo for piano (2014), Perpetuum mobile for violin (2014), In and out, concerto for timpani and orchestra (2015), Symphony no. 1 L’Idée fixe for orchestra (2015), String Quartet no. 3 (2015), Tourbillon for two pianos (2015), B for seven cellos (2015), Entrechoc for orchestra (2016), Love Songs, concerto for flute and orchestra (2016), Once Upon A Time for cello and orchestra (2016), Chamber Concerto no. 3 for 14 instruments (2016), C... for cello (2016), Papillons for piano (2016), Quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos (2016), Abstract, ballet for cello and orchestra (2017), Danse libre, concerto for harp and chamber orchestra (2017), O Salutaris Hostia for seven cellos (2017), Etude no. 5 pour les octaves for piano (2017), Quasi lento for clarinet and orchestra (2018), Threnosfor orchestra (2018), Cadenza no. 1 for percussion and ensemble (2018), Cadenza no. 2 for accordion and ensemble (2018), Waitingfor clarinet and piano (2018), Bug for alto saxophone (2019).