STEPPES BY STEP de VADROT Laurent

Article sur la partition STEPPES BY STEP de Laurent VADROT

1- What is your background as a musician?

I was born in a family of musicians. My musical training started at the age of 4 with choral singing, then with the piano at the age of 8 and the bass saxhorn at the age of 14 at the conservatory of Chalon-sur-Saône. Later I took writing courses in harmony and conducting. While learning the piano, I was introduced to composition and improvisation, which contributed to develop my interest in contemporary music. After graduating in 1992 from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, I was asked to play the bass saxhorn in various ensembles and orchestras in many repertoires (Berlioz, Stravinsky, Moussorgski, R. Strauss, Holtz, Janáček, etc.). In 1995, I became interested in the solo repertoire of the ophicleid and I have since undertaken to disseminate old concertante pieces after having, if necessary, reconstituted them or composed the missing parts. At the same time, I also pursue other projects in the field of contemporary music by performing creations in small groups or as a soloist at festivals. In 2013 the Stockhausen Foundation in Germany awarded me an interpretation prize in the euphonium solo adaptation of "In Freundschaft". I have also recorded three CDs: "Le désir", "KinNtanZ" and "Triekreis Zodiaque".

 

2- Can you describe your style as a composer? What are your musical inspirations and influences?

As a composer, I seek my inspiration in the different currents of music with a preference for contemporary music while trying to make it accessible to all. I think that it is necessary to propose contemporary pieces whose listening allows everyone to gradually become familiar with this current and to appreciate it. To this end, I use modal and atonal colors and draw inspiration from jazz.-

 


3- Introduce us to your latest music title STEPPES BY STEP.

In love with mountainous spaces and beautiful landscapes, I composed "Steppes by step" to pay tribute to the nature which surrounds us. It is with my 2 daughters that this writing project began following a commission from a festival in Savoie. The choice of two euphoniums and a tuba for instrumentation was made naturally, these instruments offering a large tessitura as well as different timbres. However, it is also possible to play the piece on the trombone, especially for the ease with which the glissando can be realized.

"Steppes by step" describes the expedition of a traveler in the wilderness and his discoveries. The piece has five parts representing the components of this excursion, from the preparations and the departure, the first efforts and the physical fatigue, the questioning and the contemplation of the beauty of the places, the dangers of nature and, notwithstanding, the need for discoveries, always.