Recording of the Year!

And the winner is… once again Hervé Niquet! This time it is concerning nothing less than the „Recording of the Year“ assigned by the prestigious International Classical Music Awards (ICMA), the Oscars of the classical music! Out of 15 recordings selected for the final, the jury voted for the CD „Visions“ with French Soprano Véronique Gens and the Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Hervé Niquet.

The Jury statement says: "With plenty of passion and a perfect feeling for the drama in a program of rarely performed French opera and oratorio arias, soprano Véronique Gens and conductor Hervé Niquet present a most attractive CD comprising many unfairly forgotten musical gems.“

Some months ago the CD „Visions“ was already featured as “Best Solo Recital of the Year" by the International Opera Awards 2018.

Bravissima Madame Gens, bravissimo Maestro, bravissimi tutti! Congratulations also to Alpha Classics having not only produced this recording, but also having been awarded „Label of the Year 2018“ by the ICMA.

20.04.2018

An Echo Klassik!

The award-ceremony of the Echo Klassik 2016 is going to take place in Berlin on October 9th, 2016. Hervé Niquet will receive the Echo Klassik for the best CD-recording of an opera from the 19th century (Féliciens David’s Herculanum). After Walküre from the Mariinsky (2013), Norma with Cecilia Bartoli (2014) and Two boys by Nico Muhly at the MET (2015), this is a lovely and well-deserved award for an artist whose inspiration is coequally strong as his sincerity of artistic commitment and who always remains anxious to re-discover masterpieces for us through his countless musical initiatives.

Here is Hervé Niquet’s statement:

„I am so delighted to receive such a prestigious award! This is a triple reward actually: First, the recognition concerning the - both unknown as ingenious - French heritage from the 19th century, then the proof, how essential the contribution of the Palazzetto Bru Zane is to our musical life and finally that both the Brussels Philharmonic and the Vlaams Radio Koor have found a significant place in international music scenery. Thank you very much for this award and congratulations to your curiosity“.

08.10.2016

Perfect musician and explorer

To introduce Hervé Niquet in a few lines only, is quite a challenge considering his fiery temperament and the already long and impressive career he has achieved.

First of all Hervé Niquet is a perfect musician: harpsichordist, organist, pianist, singer, composer, choirmaster, conductor, no less than all this! And on the top he is an actor too. Then Hervé Niquet stands for absolute integrity and inexhaustible curiosity, two qualities which make him search for the original intentions of the composer and comply the original musical autographs.

In 1987 he founded the Ensemble „Le Concert Spirituel“ intending to revive the great French Motet of the 17th and 18th century contributing to the rediscovery of composers like André Campra, Jean Gilles, Marc-Antoine Charpentier a. o. Le Concert Spirituel has meanwhile extended its repertoire and has won recognition in the international music-world as one of the leading ensembles performing baroque music and focussing its repertory on different styles and genres from sacred music to symphony and opera.

As a musical pioneer Hervé Niquet joined the formation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française in Venice 2009, a foundation which contributed to rediscover numerous masterworks such as most recently Herculaneum by Félicien David or Dimitri by Victorien Joncières. It would be useless to compile a list of Hervé Niquet’s extensive discography. Therefore let’s only mention the new „ Prix de Rome“ Edition that has already released CD-albums dedicated to Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy, Gustave Charpentier and Max d’Ollone.

Hervé Niquet is Music director of the Flamish Radio Choir and first guest conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also worldwide guest with opera companies and symphony orchestras.

Among his numerous upcoming commitments, we would like to draw your attention to a special event: Persée by Lully with Le Concert Spirituel in concert on April 3, 2016 at the Arsenal Metz, on April 6 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and on April 15 at the Opéra Royal in Versailles.

For Hervé Niquet's short presentation of Persée (in French only), please click here: link youtube

11.03.2016