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Paul Riveaux

Bassoon

Paul Riveaux, born in 1959, studied flute at the Mulhouse Conservatory and received top honors before opting for bassoon. After studies at the Strasbourg Conservatory, then unanimous top honors in bassoon at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) under Maurice Allard, Paul Riveaux won several international competitions (Toulon 1980, Martigny 1983, Fondation Cziffra 1988 and Vierzon 1988). He joined the Philharmonic Orchestra of Strasbourg before becoming a soloist with the symphonic and lyrical Orchestra of Nancy, then the National Theatre of the Paris Opéra Orchestra.

A member of the Ensemble Intercontemporain since 1990, Paul Riveaux premiered the concerto for bassoon Crier vers l’horizon by Suzanne Giraud directed by David Robertson, La conquête de l’espace by François Evans (for bassoon, harp, percussion and electroacoustic), Five Distances for wind quintet by Harrison Birtwistle (recorded with DG), and Dead Elvis by Michael Daugherty for solo bassoon and ensemble directed by Jonathan Nott, as well as Volubilis by Philippe Schœller for bassoon and harp. With Ircam, he also created Unendlichkeit by Frédéric Kahn for bassoon and electronics and played Conical Intersect by Roque Rivas.

A member of the Ensemble Intercontemporain’s wind quintet, he has played key works in the contemporary repertoire (Ligeti, Berio, Stockhausen, Kurtág, Cage, etc.) and teaches regularly at the Lucerne Festival Academy. Among other recent experiences, he gave a solo cinema-concert with composition and improvisation to short films.