:: Composer ::
Bertrand Chavarria-Aldrete - Composer
© Tommaso Tuzj
Bertrand Chavarria-Aldrete is a composer with two international composition prizes: "International Competition Quatuor Molinari" (2019) in Canada and Neue Musik Baden-Württemberg e.V. "ad libitum" (2021) competition in Germany.
His music has been commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain, Fondation Banque Populaire, Maison de la Musique Contemporaine, SACEM, Kulturrådet, Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse, Festival Encontarte and performed by Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Itinéraire, Trio Zukan, Juliana Steinbach, Tibi Cziger, Amia Janicki, Romain Descharmes, Mayuko Yasuda, Naoko Hirata, Orchestre Française de Flûtes, Zoran Dukic, Enrique Salmerón, Éric-Maria Couturier or himself.
His music has been performed at: Philarmonie de Paris, Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris, Festival Musique en Charolais-Brionnais (France), Palladium, Skissernas Museum (Sweden), Centro de las Artes, Festival Internacional de Guitarra de México (Mexico), HilbertRaum (Germany), Midnight Radio 7.1 (Japan), Klang Festival (Denmark), National Concert Hall (Ireland), Casa de vacas (Spain), Festival Encontrarte (Portugal).
He has been resident composer at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation and Festival Musiques en Charolais-Brionnais.
Deeply interested to learn from different audiences and social marginalised sectors, he dedicates an important part of his life to compose inclusive music works and performances with special needs: (de)cor(o), the elderly: forassa, or children: sc(herz)o infinito, while conducting research and inclusive music workshops all over Europe.
Bertrand Chavarria-Aldrete holds a PhD from Lund University in Music Performance.
Chamber Music
All scores are edited by BCA and available on demand
Sauvage soleil [2025]
for bassoon, trombone, violin and cello
Premiered the 10 of July 2025 at Klang Festival by Ensemble Intercontemporain in Denmark
The piece was commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain
Performance by Ensemble Intercontemporain. Hae-Sun Kang (violoin), Éric-Maria Couturier (cello), Marceau Lefèvre (bassoon) and Lucas Ounissi (trombone) at Klang Festival (Copenhaguen) in June 2025
serehaganades [2024]
for percussion, micro-tonal accordion and txistu - Basque traditional wind instrument - and electronics
Premiered the 2nd of November 2024 at Sound Spaces Palladium, Malmö (Sweden)
A commission of Trio Zukan (Spain) and Kulturrådet (Sweden)
Performance by Trio Zukan: Jon Ansorena (txistu), Maria Zubimendi (accordion) and Gorka Catediano (percussion) at Sound Spaces concert series, at Palladium, Malmö in November 2024
forassa [2024]
for speaker (electronics), clarinet, piano and cello
Premiered the 27th of July 2024 at Festival Musique en Charolais-Brionnais by Tibi Cziger (clarinet), Éric-Maria Couturier (cello) and Juliana Steinbach (piano) in France.
The piece was conceived through a series of music and poetry workshops at a special needs center, a center for the elder and a section of Alzheimer elders. Where I had the opportunity to interact, listen, accompany and record collective and individual experiences with the residents of the three institutions. The workshops were held at Établissement d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes Champrouge in Mazille, Association Bien Vieillir in Val de Joux and Maison d’Accueil Spécialisé Le Replat, in Bergesserin.
This heterogeneous and complex material, in the form of a sound archive of testimonies and experiences, allowed create the soundtrack of the quartet forassa, for soundtrack, clarinet, cello and piano.
A commission from Fondation Banque Populaire, Maison de la Musique Contemporaine, the Saison UnisSons and Festival Musique en Charolais-Brionnais in France.
Performance by Tibi Cziger (clarinet), Éric-Maria Couturier (cello) and Juliana Steinbach (piano) at Festival Musiques Charolais-Brionnais in July 2024
koromi [2022]
for guitar+sirimcho, flute and string trio
Premiered in July 2022 at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de México by ensemble Itinéraire and Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete as soloist, in Saltillo (Mexico).
Work commissioned by SACEM and Ensemble Itinéraire
Performance by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete (guitar+sirimcho) and Ensemble Itinéraire: Julie Brunet Jailly (flute), Mathilde Lauridon (violin), Lucía Peralta (alto) and Florian Lauridon (cello) at Centro de las Artes in Monterrey, Mexico, in July 2022
peråava [2022]
for voice and piano
Premiered in 11th of July 2021 at Chateau de Bellegarde (France). Performance by Mayuko Yasuda (soprano) and Romain Descharmes (piano) at Festival Musiques Charolais-Brionnais in August 2024.
Performance by Mayuko Yasuda (soprano) and Romain Descharmes (piano) at Festival Musiques Charolais-Brionnais in August 2024
douleur exquise [2015]
for string quartet
Second prize at the 7ème Concours International de Composition Quatuor Molinari - 2019 (Montréal, Canada).
Premiered by Quatuor Molinari the 1 February 2019 at Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal (Canada)
Performance by Quatuor Molinari in February 2019 at Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal (Canada)
comme nef sur l'onde [2014]
for violin and piano
Premiered the 29th of July of 2024 at Festival Musique en Charolais-Brionnais by Amia Janicki (violin) and Juliana Steinbach (piano) in France.
Performance by Amia Janicki (violin) and Juliana Steinbach (piano) at Festival Musiques Charolais-Brionnais in July 2024
Solo
All scores are edited by BCA and available on demand
ocquina [2023]
for piano
Premiered the 29th May by Juliana Steinbach at MAS (Maison d’accueil spécialisé) Bergesserin in Bourgogne, (France). For the workshop “Triggering sounds and words [Memory]” a music project with special needs and senior participants.
Work commissioned by UnisSons and SACEM
gréhela [2023]
for clarinet in Sib
Premiered the 28th May by Elio Moreau at MAS (Maison d’accueil spécialisé) Bergesserin in Bourgogne, (France). For the workshop “Triggering sounds and words [Memory]” a music project with special needs and senior participants.
Work commissioned by UnisSons and SACEM
eriîn [2023]
for cello
Premiered the 27th May by 27th May by Vinicius Eliezer Lins at MAS (Maison d’accueil spécialisé) Bergesserin in Bourgogne, (France). For the workshop “Triggering sounds and words [Memory]” a music project with special needs and senior participants.
Work commissioned by UnisSons and SACEM
kinamárabâfrena [Rika Usami] [2022]
for cello
Premiered by Eric-Maria Couturier at Inter Feral Arts Festival, the 26th October in Malmö (Sweden)
Performance by Éric-Maria Couturier at Festival DME (Lisbon, Portugal) in July 2023
Stupid mechanical monkeys [2007]
for piano and electronics
Premiered by Natalia Baquero at Conservatoire XXème Arr. the 24 May in Paris (France)
Experimental
All scores are edited by BCA and available on demand
alanamisara [2024]
installation for clarinet, cello and piano
Premiered the 27th of July 2024 at Festival Musique en Charolais-Brionnais by Tibi Cziger (clarinet), Éric-Maria Couturier (cello) and Juliana Steinbach (piano) in France.
sc(herz)o infinito [2022]
70 Tableaux vivants from Brueghel's painting "Children's games"
Pre-premiered at “Sommer in Stuttgart 2022” in July 23rd in Stuttgart (Germany)
Prize winner at the Winfried Böhler Kulturstiftung-Netzwerk Neue Musik Baden-Württemberg e.V. “ad libitum” composition competition in Germany.
sc(herz)o infinito is a Tableau vivant of Pieter Brueghel’s painting “Children’s games”. The performance is made by 70 different pieces recreating musically and acoustically the games on the painting; all to be recorded on their phones by the children. These little pieces-performances (from 30 seconds up to 8 minutes) recreate the actions of each game with rhythmic and/or musical instructions: from vocal noises to singing, from playing musical instruments to using objects on the scene as instruments, from choreographic actions to creating simple sound objects that serve too, as musical instruments.
Complete video of the pre-premiere at Sommer in Stuttgart 2022 and individual videos only on demand.
Extract of sc(herz)o infinito performance at Sommer in Stuttgart 2022
(de)cor(o) [2019]
Performance for special needs participants, instruments and electronics
Premiered the 17 July 2019 at CAO (Special needs residency) at Festival Encontrarte in Amares (Portugal)
A mixed musical electroacoustic work for choir, percussion, objects and wind instruments made to interact with the residents of the CAO (Centro de Atividades Ocupacionais) a Special needs residency in Amares, Portugal.
Performance by CAO residents in Amares, Portugal
La nef des fous [2017]
Tableau vivant/Theatre play
Premiered the 15th September 2017 at Teatro Rivoli, Porto (Portugal), at Vinte Minutos theatre cycle
A piece for 16 actors, 6 live musicians, video and electronics with a staging mainly inspired by La nef des fous of Hyeronimus Bosch and Corral de locos by Francisco de Goya in the form of a double Tableau vivant. Script inspired by the homonymous book Das Narrenschiff by Sebastian Brant and many other literary references (Foucault, Depardon, Rabelais, Artaud…) the piece is a hybrid object interacting sound, image, gestures and technology (sound, video and LIVE electronics) to create a performative theatrical object, with a slight farce character and Balinese theatre.
Learn more about the piece
Video of the premiere only on demand.
Orchestra
All scores are edited by BCA and available on demand
t[ô]ba nalai [2022-23]
for solo guitar and flute orchestra
Premiered the 5th February 2023 by Marc Hajjar conducting the OFF Orchestre de Flûtes Français and Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete as soloist at Forum Léopold Sédar Senghor in Montfermeil (France)
Guitar and/or sirimcho
All scores are edited by BCA and available on demand
erinamarine [2022]
for sirimcho and 3 channel video installation
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Ciclo Musikagileak the 17 December 2022 at Museo San Telmo in San Sebastián/Donostia (Spain)
Work commissioned by Musikagileak and Museo San Telmo
bô[·]bori [2022]
for electric guitar, electronics and 3 channel video Installation
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Ciclo Musikagileak the 17 December 2022 at Museo San Telmo in San Sebastián/Donostia (Spain)
Work commissioned by Musikagileak and Museo San Telmo
rêhe [2022]
for guitar, electronics and 3 channel video Installation
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Ciclo Musikagileak the 17 December 2022 at Museo San Telmo in San Sebastián/Donostia (Spain)
Work commissioned by Musikagileak and Museo San Telmo
te(h)irib [2022]
for guitar+sirimcho, electronics and 3 channel video Installation
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Ciclo Musikagileak the 17 December 2022 at Museo San Telmo in San Sebastián/Donostia (Spain)
Work commissioned by Musikagileak and Museo San Telmo
[côrÄ«o]·étilá [2021]
for guitar+sirimcho
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at The Civitella Ranieri Foundation the 21 August 202, in Umbertide (Italy).
Performance by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete
maeseniå [2021]
for electric guitar
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Sound Spaces Festival 2021, the 3 of July at Inter Arts Center in Malmö (Sweden)
Performance by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete
fomio [2019]
for sirimcho and loop pedal
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Fabrica da Criatividade, the 29 October 2019 in Castelo Branco (Portugal)
Performance by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete
pômrô [2019]
for guitar+sirimcho and electronics
Premiered by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete at Lisboa Incomun, the 13 February 2019 in Lisbon (Portugal)
Performance by Bertrand Chavarría-Aldrete
Quatre épigraphes [2007]
for guitar
Premiered by Zoran Dukic the 23 April at Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Monterrey (Mexico)
Performance by Zoran Dukic