BIOGRAPHY
Agnès Pyka – Artistic Director / violin
One of the most distinctive and talented violinists of her generation, Agnès Pyka has dedicated most of her life to chamber music.
After studying in France and abroad with the greatest masters (Franco Gulli, Mariana Sirbu, Giuliano Carminoglia, Ferenc Rados, Lorand Fenyves…), she created the flexibly sized ensemble and creative laboratory “Des Equilibres” in 2006. She then collaborated with the biggest names in music, notably for the opening of Marseille Capital of Culture in 2013, with Fazil Say on Turkish art music, the recording of Bartok duets with Jan Talich and the creation of the concert “Still Point” with Ray Lema, a quintet with piano.
Always keen to explore present-day repertoires, Agnès has worked with many contemporary composers, as in the creation of “Mukae” with François Rossé and traditional dancer No Shiro Daimon, or the development of the educational project “Jeux de Cordes” around Graciane Finzi’s music. She commissioned works revolving around Brahms’ sonatas from composers Nicolas Bacri, Philippe Hersant and Graciane Finzi, composed during a residency at the Scène Nationale “La Ferme du Buisson” in January 2019. Agnès also coordinated the multidisciplinary project Une Nuit Transfigurée around painted art, video and music, which premiered in January 2022. Additionally, in 2022, she will propose the complete chamber music for strings of César Franck during four different concerts.
Des Équilibres also opened the way to new horizons for Agnès: a collaboration with Thierry De Mey and his sister Michèle Anne De Mey as part of a dance performance, a collaboration with Algerian oud player Nour Eddine Saoudi and his musicians, a performance at the Angkor Vat Temple alongside the National Ballet of Cambodia. Agnès has consistently increased the scope of possibilities for classical music over the course of her encounters and her numerous tours abroad (Poland, Switzerland, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Malta, Myanmar, Cambodia, Israel, Albania, Italy, Spain, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia). 2022 will be the occasion to encounter the famous Fado singer Cristina Branco and to set up a cross-disciplinary creation of contemporary art and traditional music. This project was selected to be part of the season France-Portugal by the Institut Français (French institute).
Her discography has been largely acclaimed by national and international critics: “Quartets et trios” by Sándor Veress (4 **** Classica), “44 duos” by Bartok on Indesens Records, “Des Cordes Marines”: string trios by Cras, Roussel and Bonnal as well as the first part of the Weinberg Sonatas, with pianist Laurent Wagschal, released in May 2018 by Arion (3 *** Classica and 3 diapasons). The second part, with pianist Dimitri Vassilakis, released in November 2019 to celebrate the centenary of the composer’s birth.
The sense of isolation, caused by the various quarantine periods, would become the driving force of the recording of the three brand new pieces by Philippe Hersant, Nicolas Bacri and Graciane Finzi. These compositions, part of the project Brahms Aujourd’hui (Brahms Today), were released under the label of Klarthe in February 2021, and received already: five stars by Classica, YYYY by Diapason, FFF by Télérama, the Supersonic label by Pizzicato. Additionally, the record was nominated for the ICMA International Classical Music Award 2022. Brahms Aujourd’hui would be followed by the recording of Voyage avec un violon seul (Journey with a Solo Violin), a trip through four centuries of music figuring J.S. Bach, A. Khatchatourian and T. de Mey (digital release in autumn 2021, physical release in February 2022) under the label of Klarthe. In 2022, she will record the complete chamber music for strings of César Franck, in collaboration with Klarthe label and studio Stephen Paulello. The record release is planned at the beginning of 2023 and will include four different records gathered in one single box.
