Soirées Musicales de Grimaud - Luc Antonini and Petra Ahlander

Concert by Luc Antonini (organ), unanimously awarded first prize in harmony, counterpoint, fugue, orchestration, analysis and organ at the Paris Conservatoire, and Petra Ahlander (soprano).

Friday 5 September between 9 pm and 11 pm.

Born in 1961 in Avignon, LUC ANTONINI began his musical studies in his home town before entering the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he won six prizes: harmony, counterpoint, fugue, orchestration, analysis and organ. He then embarked on a career as a concert artist, which has taken him to the major cities of Europe and to the most prestigious festivals. He teaches organ at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Montpellier-Métropole. He is titular of the Barker and Verschneider organ at the Collégiale Saint-Agricol in Avignon, and co-titular of the Italian golden organ at the Métropole Notre-Dame des Doms in Avignon.
Founder of the Association Orgue en Avignon, he is now a member of the management team of the new merged association Musique Sacrée and Orgue en Avignon. In this way, he contributes to the enhancement and promotion of the historical organ heritage of Avignon and the surrounding region. His vast repertoire covers a wide range of music from the 17th century to the present day. He has also recorded several CDs to unanimous critical acclaim. Luc Antonini is also a composer.
He has written several masses for organ and instrumental ensemble, pieces for solo organ, Dialogus, Prélude, Interlude and Postlude based on the Lux et Origo mass, published by Doblinger in the collection Nuovi Fiori Musicali, and Trois Interlude based on the Veni Creator by Jehan Titelouze, as well as chamber music, including four pieces for wind quintet, string quintet and piano commissioned in 2018 by SACEM, premiered as part of the 26th Automnales de l'Orgue under the direction of Jean-Pierre Lecaudey.
He orchestrated Jehan Alain's Trois Danses pour orgue, premiered by the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse as part of the 2007 Toulouse les Orgues Festival. A new version of this orchestration was premiered in March 2011 by the Orchestre National d'Ile de France as part of the National Commemoration of the birth of Jehan Alain in Saint-Germain- en-Laye. A final revised version of this orchestration was performed in October 2011 by the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse conducted by Tugan Sokhiev and in December 2011 by the Orchestre Lyrique de Région Avignon-Provence conducted by Benjamin Ellin. The Association des Amis de l'Orgue du Vigan commissioned him to write a work for great organ, which was premiered in June 2019 by Thomas Ospital, titular organist of the Great Organs of Saint Eustache in Paris. In April 2023, he won a prize in the ‘composition for solo organ’ series at the Kaija Saariaho International Organ Composition Competition, organised in honour of the new Rieger organ built in the concert hall of the Helsinki Music Centre.

PETRA AHLANDER ANTONINI studied piano and flute in her native Sweden. After studying singing, chamber music, musical analysis, harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatoire National de Région de Montpellier, she entered the C.N.I.P.A.L. in Marseille, where she studied early music with the group A Sei Voci under Bernard Fabre-Garrus, before joining the choir of the Montpellier Opera as part of a professional integration programme. She then worked there as an additional chorister. She sings as a soloist with various groups in France and Europe, performing a repertoire ranging from the 17th century to contemporary music. She takes part in numerous festivals of sacred music, but also devotes a great deal of time to defending Lied and Mélodie. A regular guest at the Festival d'Avignon, she often takes part in musical creations by contemporary composers. Petra Ahlander Antonini holds a D.E.M.-option pedagogy, and teaches singing at the municipal music school in Clermont l'Hérault and at the Assas music school. She directs the women's vocal ensemble ‘Minerva’ and a mixed choir, the ‘Chœur d'Assas’.