composer and conductor
Biography:
The composer and conductor William Blank was born in Montreux (Switzerland) in 1957. His works are performed throughout Europe, Japan and the USA (in halls such as Victoria Hall in Geneva, KKL Luzern, Tonhalle Zürich, Stadtcasino Basel, Philharmonie de Paris, Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp, Wigmore Hall in London, Jacqueline du Pré Music Building in Oxford, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Wiener Musikverein, Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Kulturpalast Dresden, Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Avery Fisher Hall in New York, Philharmonie in Shanghai or Suntory Hall in Tokyo) - by conductors such as Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Dennis Russell Davies, Jean Deroyer, Heinz Holliger, Armin Jordan, Fabio Luisi, Bruno Mantovani, Kent Nagano, Zsolt Nagy, Pascal Rophé, Pinchas Steinberg and Antony Wit.
As a conductor and composer, he works with numerous ensembles and performers: e.g. Orchester de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Bern, MDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble Contrechamps, Collegium Novum Zürich, Swiss Chambers Soloists, pre-art soloists, Quatuor Sine Nominees, Amar Quartet, Boris Previšić, Matthias Arter, Daniel Ottensamer, Alison Balsom, David Lively, Sergej Tchirkov, Luigi Attademo, Mira Wang, Geneviève Strosser, Jan Vogler, Martina Schucan, Rosemary Hardy, Natalia Zagorinskaja, Hélène Fauchère and Barbara Zanichelli.
In 2001, William Blank received the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Lifetime Achievement Award. As part of a residency with the Orchester de la Suisse Romande, he wrote the work dedicated to Kofi Annan Exodes, which premiered in October 2003 on the occasion of United Nations World Day in New York. In 2005 he received a grant from the Fondation Leenards. He has given numerous master classes in Zurich, Bern, Paris, Lyon, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, Shanghai, São Paulo, as well as at the Juilliard School of Music in New York and Stony Brook University. Leading the Lemanic Modern Ensemble, of which he has been musical and artistic director since 2007, he has premiered numerous works by composers such as Dayer, Gervasoni, Fedele, Kyburz, Mantovani, Murail, Naon, Solbiati and many young composers. Since 2001 he has been teaching composition and analysis at the Lausanne Music Academy (HEMU) and directs the Ensemble Contemporain there, which he founded in 2003.
Flow ∙ OPHRYS ∙ Refrain II ∙ (a)round:
