Guillem VEGA GONZALES
Guillem began studying the cello at the age of seven at the professional conservatory in Catarroja (Valencia), Spain. He continued at the same conservatory until he obtained his professional studies diploma with unanimous congratulations from the jury in 2019. He was then admitted to the Conservatorio Real Superior de Música de Madrid in the class of Fernando Arias, where he was unanimously awarded 1st prize for cello. He has been admitted to the CNSMDP for the start of the 2020 academic year.
At the same time, he trained with Adrian Van Dongen, and since 2016 with Maria de Macedo in Madrid. Since 2017, he has been working regularly with Marc Coppey and Lluís Claret at the Fundaçao Franz Schubert (Oporto, Portugal).
Guillem has participated́ in several international academies and master classes with Marc Coppey, Gary Hoffman, Claudio Bohorquez, Philippe Müller, Sung-Won Yang, Jeroen Reuling, Adrian Brendel and José E. Bouché, among others. Since 2017, he has won several national and international prizes: the most recent is the 2019 Victoria y Joaquin Rodrigo Foundation Prize.
His three favourite composers
Bach, Schubert, Schumann
His musical project
At the moment, I’m working on mastering my instrument and discovering the whole repertoire, for solo cello, chamber music and orchestra.
An outstanding musical memory
His first course abroad with the cellist Lluís Claret in the magnificent setting of Fontfroide Abbey. He was 12 at the time. At the end of the session, all the participants and their teacher played Pablo Casals’ « Song of the Birds » together… a truly magical and touching moment that made him decide to become a cellist.
What the cello has changed for him
« This beautiful instrument allows me to discover a whole new variety of colours and timbres that were previously inaccessible to me. It responds magnificently, and the more time passes, the more comfortable I feel with it. It gives me the chance to explore different sounds and expand my expressive resources, to overcome instrumental difficulties and grow artistically. I can tackle any kind of repertoire. Whether in a large or small hall, the sound travels, projects, and the timbre becomes
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.
Biography of Delphine Bardin
Born in Tours, Delphine Bardin began studying the piano at the age of five. After being a student of Paule Grimaldi then of Marie-Claude Equoy, she entered the CNSM in Paris where she obtained four First Prizes: Piano, Chamber music, Vocal accompaniment, Piano accompaniment, in the classes of Théodore Paraschivesco, Christian Ivaldi , Anne Grappotte and Jean Koerner.
Continuing her studies in an advanced cycle, she benefited from the advice of Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
Winner of the Yvonne Lefébure scholarship at the Orléans International Competition (20th century piano), then of the Natexis Banque Populaire Foundation, in 1997 she won the Clara Haskil Prize in Vevey, Switzerland.
Alongside her activities as a soloist or chamber musician, Delphine Bardin has worked since 2013 on the innovative Pro Musicis project in the field of musical initiation and artistic expression for children with disabilities, through « Children’s » classes. by Bach »
Since 2022, Delphine Bardin has taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris.
His discography includes several titles: -Mozart-Schumann with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Jesus Lopez Cobos (Claves 1998);
-Sung tunes, French and Canadian melodies with soprano Hélène Guilmette (Ambroisie 2008)
-Fauré, the Douze Barcarolles (Alpha), Diapason d’Or 2010
-Liszt, works for cello and piano, with cellist Ophélie Gaillard (Aparte 2012)
– Trios by Mendelssohn, with the Pilgrim trio (Triton 2014)
-Brahms with cellist Béatrice Reibel-Petit (Proclam’Art 2019)
-Chabrier-Séverac piano solo (Galaxie Y, Cabinet of curiosities collection, June 2024)
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.