Program :
Divertimento en ré Majeur K.136 de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Quatuor en mi bémol Majeur de Fanny Mendelssohn
Quatuor en fa mineur, Op.80 de Félix Mendelssohn
Biography of the Armingaud Quartet
The Quatuor Armingaud was born of the complicity of four musicians whose friendship matured over many years before circumstances finally allowed them to come together musically to form a string quartet.
The ensemble draws on the diversity of each musician’s background. It forges its musical identity by drawing on years of experience playing with national orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States, and with chamber music ensembles that have won numerous international competitions. The teaching received from the greatest artists in the field guides its aesthetic approach.
The ensemble has chosen a name that reflects its professional roots in the Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine regions, as well as the particular instrumental characteristics of its members: three of them, violinists by training, alternate the roles of violinist and violist in the quartet, depending on the works and their preferences.
Jules Armingaud, a leading figure in nineteenth-century chamber music, was an ideal mentor for them. Born in Bayonne, and noticed and adopted by the Parisian music scene, Jules Armingaud founded a quartet bearing his name in 1855, with Édouard Lalo, another famous violinist and great personal friend, as viola player before taking over as second violinist a few years later. For many years, this first Armingaud Quartet distinguished itself as one of the leading chamber music ensembles of the day, being chosen by the renowned pianist Clara Schumann to accompany her on her Paris tours. Its members’ commitment to the great Germanic repertoire (Mendelssohn, Beethoven) and their involvement in showcasing the French repertoire of the time were particularly remarkable.
So it was with humility and respect that Fanny Spangaro, Jean-Louis Constant, Jean-Baptiste Jourdin and Tristan Liehr decided to adopt the name ‘Quatuor Armingaud’ as a tribute to this brilliant 19th-century ensemble.
Program
– J. Haydn , Sonate HOB XVI: 34
– F.Poulenc , Thème varié FP151
Mendelssohn: Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, Op. 35, No. 4
Mozart Sonate No.4 KV 282
~ Pause ~
– R.Schumann, Kreisleriana Op.16
Honoka KOBAYASHI, Piano
Originally from Japan, Honoka Kobayashi is a solo pianist, chamber musician, accompanist and vocal leader.
She studies at the Tokyo Conservatory (Tokyo College of Music) in Solo Piano and Master in Piano Accompaniment.
She then continued her studies at the CNSMDP (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris) in piano accompaniment, chamber music and vocal direction classes. She has the opportunity to study with Jennifer Fichet, Guillaume Sigier, Claire Désert, Érika Guiomar, Nathalie Dang, Jean-Fréderic Neuburger and Yumi Otsu.
She also perfected her skills at the HEM in Geneva with Louis Schwizgebel in Master piano concert.
As a solo pianist, she won numerous awards in Japan, such as the Grand Prize of the Asian International Music Competition, the Grand Prize of the Tateshina International Music Competition and the second prize of the Osaka International Music Competition.
Also as a chamber musician, she won the Grand Prix with the unanimity of 17 juries as well as five other prizes at the International Melody Competition in Gordes (France) in 2022. She will also participate in the Aix-en-Provence festival as as singing director as part of the Voix 2024 residency.
She also supports internships, masterclasses, international competitions, in France and abroad.
She taught as an accompanist pianist at the Pôle supérieur d’enseignement artistic and at the CRR (Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional) in Boulogne-Billancourt in 2022-2023.
Program :
François Borne (1840-1920) Fantaisie brillante sur Carmen
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) Le Barbier de Séville pour deux flûtes
Paul Taffanel (1844-1908) Fantaisie sur Le Freischütz
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) / Jean-Christophe Maltot (1978-)
Fantaisie sur Madame Butterfly pour deux flûtes et piano
Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovsky (1840-1893) (arr. Mihi Kim)
« Aria de Lenski » (extrait d’Eugène Onéguine)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) / Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
La mort d’Isolde pour piano
Léo Delibes (1836-1891) / Jean-Christophe Maltot (1978-)
Fantaisie sur Lakmé pour deux flûtes et piano
Mihi Kim, flute
Born in Korea, Mihi Kim began studying the flute at a young age. She was noticed at ten years old by Alain Marion and she traveled to Europe to continue her studies with him, as well as Jean-Pierre Rampal, Andras Adorjan, Aurèle Nicolet, Paul Meisen and Pierre-Yves Artaud at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. , at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich (Master), and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (Doctorate) where she also obtained the Certificate of Aptitude (CA) as a national teacher for his instrument, followed by the recent distinction of Professor of Artistic Education (PEA) Hors Classe (tenure).
His distinctions in international competitions include prizes at the Bayreuth International Music Competition and the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Flute Competition in Paris. Ms. Kim continues her career as an international soloist in Europe, America (North and South) and Asia, and regularly gives masterclasses in France and abroad. She is currently a professor at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot for the flute and holds a professorship at the Conservatoire National (CRD) of Issy-Vanves in the Paris region.
An explorer of musical genres, she moved from a fervent interest in contemporary music to a passion for jazz. Cultivating her roots, her connection to Korea continues to shape her artistic journey, fostering a strong affiliation with the Hallyu (Korean Wave) movement. In this context, she remains actively engaged in the development of innovative concepts in performance and teaching.
Mihi Kim has been an international Miyazawa artist since 2003, playing a solid 900/000 platinum flute, and proud owner of a brand new Miyazawa CRESTA Platinum flute released in 2022 (unique piece).
Jennifer Fichet, piano
An enthusiastic pioneer of numerous repertoires, Jennifer Fichet seeks to serve music with depth and integrity.
Alongside the piano, she obtained her first prizes at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional (CRR) in Lille in accompaniment, chamber music, analysis, writing, musical culture, harpsichord and early music. She continued at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in piano, chamber music, accompaniment and analysis.
Winner of national competitions as well as the international Chopin competitions in Brest and Mérignac, she was selected in 2005 by Kun Woo-Paik to close the Dinard Young Talent Festival.
She performs regularly in France or abroad (Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Nigeria, Türkiye, etc.).
A chamber musician of choice, she has performed with the most prestigious French and foreign partners. With choir or orchestra, she has notably played under the direction of Lionel Sow, Mark Foster, Philippe Caillard and Ricardo Muti and collaborated with numerous composers, willingly creating their works.
After a brilliant career as an accompanist, she currently devotes herself to teaching piano at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental (CRD) in Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Furthermore, she has worked with the cinematographic world as a coach and pianist for various films including At the End of Fingers by Ludovic Bernard.
A disc of music with clarinet by Johannes Brahms recorded with Jean-Marc Fessard and Diana Ligeti will soon be released under the Soond label, and his first solo album dedicated to the composer Amy Beach has just been published under the Hortus label.
Laëtitia Brault, flute
A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (CNSM) in Paris in the flute class of Philippe Bernold and holder of the Certificate of Aptitude, the French Laëtitia Brault leads a triple career.
After ten years spent in Belgium, as co-solo flautist of the Royal Opera of Wallonia-Liège, during which she shared the stage with world-renowned singers such as Jodie Devos, Marc Laho, Lionel Lhote and even the American diva Nadine Sierra, Laëtitia Brault now teaches flute at the Argenteuil Conservatory and gives masterclasses.
While continuing her various collaborations within orchestras such as the Royal Opera-Ballet Vlaanderen and the Orchester Philharmonique du Luxembourg, she founded and directs a new publishing house, the Rencontre Littéraire du Flûtiste whose editorial activity focuses on the works of her husband, the flautist and arranger Jean-Christophe Maltot. Together, they arrange, compose, write the prefaces, produce and perform in concert numerous fantasies on operas, which have also won various international prizes, allowing them to acquire international recognition. In 2022, the Fantasy on Tosca was awarded a Golden Prize in the composition category as well as a Grand Prize at the World Classical Music Awards in London, while the Paraphrase on Eugene Onegin, the Fantasy on Lakmé and the Fantasy on La Bohème were distinguished during the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Newly Published Competition (National Flute Association, USA). La Fantaisie sur La Bohème was also chosen as the 2024 competition piece at the CNSM in Lyon.
The specialized press (La Traversière Magazine, Nederlands Fluit Genootschap, Flute Space) regularly devotes articles and interviews to these two artists whose fantasies have already won the hearts of famous flautists: Julien Beaudiment, Hélène Boulègue, Joséphine Olech, Mihi Kim or Nicole Esposito again…