GWENDAL
PIANO
GIGUELAY

Musician of Breton origin, Gwendal Giguelay studied piano, chamber music and accompaniment in conservatory in Rennes, as well as letters in preparatory classes before devoting himself exclusively to music by integrating CNSMD Lyon, where he obtained his degree in the class of Florent Boffard, then the CNSMD of Paris where he obtained his master's degree of piano from Michel Béroff, Claire Desert and Romano Pallotini. He followed the valuable advice of many recognized pedagogues such as Jean-Claude Pennetier or Menahem Pressler.

 

Gwendal is passionate about the many facets that musician life offers him, starting with solo concerts, in a variety of repertoires ranging from baroque to contemporary music; in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Israel, the West Indies and Cameroon, in various events such as Arièle Butaux's Ideal Salon at the Sunset-Sunside or the Colonne Room in Paris, the Venice Biennale, the contemporary music festival Ebruitez-vous en Bretagne or the Jeunes Talents festival in Paris. He won the Scaramuzza prize of the international competition Les Corts in Barcelona in 2008. His concerts are regularly broadcast on France Musique, FIP, etc.

 

He also has a great affection for chamber music. He performs regularly with various duet, trio, quartet and quintet performers and has received the "Musicians between War and Peace" award from the Ravel Academy in 2010. He collaborates with numerous ensembles such as Le Balcon and Symblêma Percussions. He was between 2009 and 2013 the pianist of the Trio Norma, in which he studied in the Ysaÿe Quartet class at the CRR in Paris and was invited to the Roque d'Anthéron Piano Festival. His first CD with cellist Louis Rodde, dedicated to the Sonatas for cello and piano by Gabriel Fauré and Joseph-Guy Ropartz, was released on the NoMadMusic label in November 2016.

 

For many years, Gwendal has had a special relationship with the world of dance, whether it is to accompany the courses of eminent educators in prestigious institutions such as the CNSMDP and in summer academies abroad. (Ateneo della danza in Siena), and to play for famous companies such as the ballet of the Opéra National de Paris or the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater during his visits to Paris. He is also conductor, notably for the Musical Academy of Villecroze and collaborates with the soprano Mélissa Petit.

 

Since his childhood, Gwendal has devoted himself to the art of musical improvisation, which he studied at the CNSMDP, and diversified this activity in areas such as the accompaniment of silent films (notably as part of "My first festival" In Paris and in partnership with Le Méliès cinema in Montreuil, among others): he likes to approach and share eclectic repertoires in unusual places, and endeavors to remind everyone of the music that lies in each of them .

 

Author of the book "Improvising the Piano for Dummies" released in September 2017, pedagogy has a great importance in the life of Gwendal, which has been awarded by the Chambre Syndicale des Editeurs de Musique de France the Teaching Prize musical in the category "show for young performers" (autumn 2016). He teaches piano, chamber music and improvisation at the CRR Rueil-Malmaison and CRD Montreuil and is a trainer at the National Dance Center to obtain dance teacher degrees. He also participates in the workshops of the Poche Concerts, and raises awareness of the young suburban middle and high school students to classical music and opera. Finally, he is invited to teach in Cameroon as part of the Aguimucla association.

 

The cinema also appealed to him in the film Noces by Philippe Béziat, released in February 2011, where he performed Stravinsky's Noces with Mirella Giardelli, Dominique Reymond, musicians from CNSMD Lyon and the Choirs and Soloists of Lyon-Bernard Têtu.

 

Gwendal would like to thank the Société Générale Patronage, the Musical Academy of Villecroze and the Meyer Foundation for the support provided.