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Claudi Arimany

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Claudi Arimany
Background information
Born (1955-12-29) December 29, 1955 (age 68)
Granollers, Catalonia
GenresClassic
Instrumentflute
LabelsDelos Saphyr and Sony Classical
Websitehttp://www.claudiarimany.com

Claudi Arimany i Barceló (born in Granollers, Catalonia, December 29, 1955) is an international flautist, considered the direct heir, both in interpretative style and in musical concept, of Jean-Pierre Rampal, his mentor and colleague in many concerts.[1] Since the 1980s he has performed with leading international orchestras as a guest soloist, as well as teaching and working to study and revive pieces for flute.[2]

Biography

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Claudi Arimany started his business studies at ESADE while learning to play the flute as a hobby. Back then,[when?] he was more interested in jazz than in classical music and did not expect to pursue a professional musical career. He took lessons from pianist and composer Josep Maria Ruera in Arimany's home city and from Salvador Gratacós in Barcelona. Gratacós sought to foster a keen interest in the instrument and its repertoire among his students and to create an environment geared towards continuous improvement. Gratacós also invited two masters of that time, Alain Marion and Jean-Pierre Rampal, to participate in the classes when they visited Barcelona to perform. This was how Arimany met master Rampal, but it was not until Arimany saw him act at the Palau de la Música Catalana that he decided to change tack and continue his musical studies in Nice and Paris with masters such as Georgy Sebok, Alain Marion and Raymond Guiot. In 1982 he obtained his diploma in Paris, with a first prize awarded unanimously by the jury.[3][4]

He lives close to his native region, in Llerona (Les Franqueses del Vallès), whose municipal music school is named after him,[5] and teaches at the "Josep Maria Ruera" Granollers Music School.[6]

Professional career

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Arimany has always performed as a soloist artist, but he has shared the stage with leading figures, such as Jean-Pierre Rampal, Maxence Larrieu, Aurèle Nicolet Constantine Orbeliani, Victor Pikaisen, Janos Rolla, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Nicanor Zabaleta, Marielle Nordmann, Mischa Maisky Victoria de los Angeles, Roland Pidoux and Claudio Scimone.

His work as a performer of international stature has led him to play in major concert halls, such as the Chicago Symphony Center, the Washington Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall in New York Boston Symphony Hall, the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Beethoven House in Bonn, the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, the Palais Auersperg in Vienna, the Beijing Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Rudolfinum and Smetana Theatre in Prague, the Gasteig in Munich, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Salle Pleyel and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Suntory Hall and Bunka Kaykan in Tokyo, and the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

Arimany has also travelled around the world and been invited by leading international groups, such as the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Bach Orchestra Stuttgart, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, European Union Chamber Orchestra, I Virtuosi Italiani, Czech Philharmonic Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra[7] Philharmonia Virtuosi New York,[8] New American Chamber Orchestra,[9] Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia,[10] Virtuosi di Praga Chamber Orchestra,[11] Franz Liszt Orchestra Budapest, Arthur Rubinstein Chamber Orchestra Polonia,[12] Israel Sinfonietta, Ensemble Orchestral of Paris,[13] Zagreb Soloists, English Chamber Orchestra Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and Berliner Kammerorchester.

Relationship with Jean-Pierre Rampal

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Rampal's quote on Arimany

In addition to his career as a flautist, Jean-Pierre Rampal embarked on a paedagogical quest to recover and spread the flute repertoire, becoming the teacher of an entire generation.[citation needed] Arimany, who had studied with him, began to work with him in the late 1980s. The perfect understanding between them led Rampal to state: "He is the perfect continuation of the French school of flute and my style of play to such extent that even if I listen carefully to the record we created together I cannot tell whether it is he or I who is playing."[1]

The last album they recorded together was dedicated to Mozart and Hoffmeister and released in 1999. Shortly before, Rampal had written his opinion on the art of his pupil and tour companion, which can be considered his artistic will.

Claudi Arimany is, in my opinion, one of the greatest flautists of his generation. He is one of those virtuosi who put technique, sonority and the colours of phrasing at the service of musicality and sensitivity, something not within the grasp of many.

— Jean-Pierre Rampal, 1998

As well as his artistic legacy, Arimany kept much of Rampal's music library[14] and his flutes.[15] The one with the greatest emotional value, which he uses in concerts, is the iconic WS Haynes gold flute.[16]

He has been a member of the jury at the International JP Rampal Flute Competition, held in Paris.[17]

Musical research

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Beyond his extensive work as an interpreter, Arimany has devoted much of his activity to study, recover and spread the work of great forgotten composers. The popularity of the great masters often casts talented disciples and contemporary artists into obscurity. In the words of Arimany, "I am still very interested in the music of the great composers who worked 'around' those who are now better known".[18]

When, in 1986, he submitted a project to edit Bach's pieces for flute to a German label, it was received without interest, since many recordings of this author existed already. Arimany's response to this rejection was to team up with soloists Alexander Schmoller (cello) and Michael Gruber (harpsichord) to review and select virtually unknown pieces practically by German disciples of the Thuringian master. The challenging recovery project culminated in the 1986 release of the album Virtuose Flötenmusik - Schüler der Bach by the German Motette record label (Wiesbaden).[3]

Recording Pla concerts with the English Chamber Orchestra

His special interest in finding Catalan composers who had written for the flute led him to highlight the work of Joan Baptista Pla (Balaguer, 1720–1762), a contemporary of Mozart who travelled throughout Europe, few works of whom have survived. In early 1990, the musicologist Joseph Dolcet found original sheet music by Pla in Germany, which Arimany incorporated into his repertoire together with other material by Pla and his brother Manuel Pla. He later recorded two CDs, one with Jean-Pierre Rampal and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra with works by Joan Plan, and another with three concerts with the English Chamber Orchestra.[18]

The trail of little-known authors took him to the work of François Devienne, a composer and performer who had been popular in his time, earning the moniker "the French Mozart", and had founded the Conservatoire de Paris. However, he had been forgotten until the late 1970s, when his works were reprised. In the mid-1990s, Arimany found the 18th-century edition of all Devienne's concerts. The continuous recovery of works by this author allowed for concerts to be performed in many venues, including the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, together with the Paris Orchestral Ensemble in November 1994. Arimany has recorded four CDs with the fourteen concertos for flute and orchestra by Devienne, a type of music which Arimany considers "natural, clear, elegant and melancholic, and requires great technical skill".[13]

At the end of 2020 he published a compilation of all the work for flute by the brothers Albert Franz Doppler and Karl Doppler, the result of his research for conservatories and libraries in Europe started in 2007. The result is 12 CDs with 97 pieces, 64 of which are first recordings. Arimany had performed Doppler music at his concerts with Rampal in the 1990s,[19] and once the research began he released two CDs with pieces for two flutes in 2010 and 2012.[20]

Discography

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Year Album Author Interpreters Record
2010 The Brothers Doppler of flute music
Music for 2 Flutes & Piano. Vol. 1[20]
Albert Franz Doppler & Karl Doppler Claude Arimany Shigenori Kudo and Alan Branch Saphir Productions - B0064TM7VG
2012 Franz & Karl Doppler
Music for 2 Flutes & Piano. Vol. 2 & 3
Albert Franz Doppler & Karl Doppler Claudi Arimany, John Steele Ritter, Alan Branch, Marta Gulyás and Michel Wagemans Saphir Productions - LVC1178
2010 Mozart Flute Concerts[21] Mozart Claudi Arimany and Moscow Chamber Orchestra Ensayo Digital - CD9935
1999 (2006) W. Amadeus Mozart : FÜR Flote Und Neue quartet Streichtrio ; Hoffmeister Trio Cello Und fleet FÜR 2[20] Mozart and Franz Anton Hoffmeister Jean-Pierre Rampal Claude Pasquier Trio and Arimany Querstand Records
2011 Complete Flute Concertos Vol. IV François Devienne Claude Arimany Symphonic Orchestra and Kishinev Aurophon - CD
2006 W. Amadeus Mozart : Trios for 2 Flutes and Piano Mozart Shigenori Kudo Claudi Arimany and John Steele Ritter Epson
2006 Une Vie Pour La Musique[20] François Devienne Claude Arimany, Alain Marion et al. Analekta - B000E0VO0Q
2005 Empúries environments ; Meditation CD [20] Josep Maria Ruera Jordi Maso and Claudi Arimany Columna Musica - B00008S81J
2005 Elegy [22] Carlota Garriga Carlota Garriga and Claudi Arimany Columna Musica - B0013IOG4O
1997 Romantic Music for 2 Flutes & Piano [19] Albert Franz Doppler, Friedrich Kuhlau, Mozart, Theobald Böhm, Paul Creston, Friedrich Kuhlau Jean-Pierre Rampal Claudi Arimany and John Steele Ritter Delos - DDD3212
2003 Magic Flutes [19] Mozart, François Devienne, Georg Philipp Telemann and Michel Blavet Jean-Pierre Rampal and Claudi Arimany Delos DE3226 -
2003 Flute Concert : Mozart and His Friends [19] Mozart, Pavel Vranicky and Franz Anton Hoffmeister Claudi Arimany and Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Novalis
2003 J. J. Quantz: Konzerte FÜR Eine Und Zwei Flöten[20] Johann Joachim Quantz Claudi Arimany, Joseph F. Palou and Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra Columna Musica
2003 French [20] Flute Favourites Philippe Gaubert and Hector Berlioz Arimany, Claudi et al. Naxos
2002 The Flute In Mozart 'S Time In Paris. Three flute concertos[19] Mozart, Ignaz Pleyel and Anton Stamitz Navy and Claudi Arimany Paccagnella harp - Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra "Leopoldinum" Papa Music - CD1002
2000 Concerti for flute[19] Joan Baptista Pla Claudi Arimany - English Chamber Orchestra Ensayo Digital - CD9925
1999 Baby Needs More Mozart (The Magic Flute K.620)[20] Mozart Claudi Arimany, Jean-Pierre Rampal Delos
1998 Baby Needs Mozart (K.448 Piano Sonata 2)[20] Mozart Claudi Arimany, Jean-Pierre Rampal and John Steele Ritter Delos
1998 Baby Needs Baroque (Sonata for 2 flutes N.4)[20] Georg Philipp Telemann Claudi Arimany and Jean-Pierre Rampal Delos
1997 Conferenza Musicale Mediterranea[23] Salvador Brotons Claudi Arimany and Orchestra da Camera Gli Armonici CIMS/004 Regione Siciliana
1996 Mozart : Flute Concertos [20] Mozart Claudi Arimany, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra Prodigital Records - CD2419
1996 Six Trios Pour 3 Flutes François Devienne Jean-Pierre Rampal, Claudi Arimany and Alain Marion Traversieres Flute Collection - CD 210/259
1995 Catalan Flute Music of the 18th Century [20] Joan Baptista Pla Claudi Arimany, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Sony Classical - SK- CD- 58918
1995 Six Trios pour Basson et 2 Flutes [19] François Devienne Jean-Pierre Rampal Arimany Claude Gilbert Audin Traversieres Flute Collection
1994 Le Rossignol Opera[24] Music of the French Belle Epoque Claudi Arimany, Marc Grauwels and Orchestre de Chambre de Waterloo Syrinx Records - CD 93102
1993 European Flute Festival, Frankfurt am Main[19] François Devienne Arimany, Claudi et al. DGFF001
1993 Complete Flute Concertos Vol. III [19] François Devienne Claudi Arimany and Russian Chamber Orchestra Aurophon - CD 32172
1993 Complete Flute Concertos Vol. II [19] François Devienne Claudi Arimany and Russian Chamber Orchestra Aurophon - CD 32162
1990 Complete Flute Concertos Vol. I[19] François Devienne Claude Arimany Symphonic Orchestra and Gdansk Aurophon - CD 32002
1986 Virtuose der Flötenmusik Bach-Schüler[25] Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Gottfried Müthel, Karl Friedrich Abel and Johann Philipp Kirnberger Claude Arimany, Alexander Schmoller and Michael Gruber Motette Ursina - CD 30141

References

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  1. ^ a b Rodriguez, Marino (1995-05-03). "Rampal: "Claudi Arimany es un perfecto continuador de mi estilo de interpretar"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  2. ^ "Els intèrprets catalans" (in Catalan). Government of Catalonia. 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  3. ^ a b Fancelli, Augustine (1986-11-05). "Claudi Arimany. Un concertista español al que se le abren las puertas del éxito en la República Federal de Alemania". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  4. ^ Arimany family Biographies
  5. ^ "Escola Municipal de Música Claudi Arimany" (in Catalan). Les Franqueses del Vallès, city hall. 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  6. ^ "Claustre de professors" (in Catalan). Music " Jose Ma. Ruera ". Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  7. ^ "Festival Review International Music Ayamonte". ABC: 73. 2004-08-18. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  8. ^ La Vanguardia. 1995-11-28 Concert in the Palace of Music
  9. ^ La Vanguardia. 1989-8-2. Announcement of the concert.
  10. ^ La Vanguardia, 25-1-2000. Announcement of the concert
  11. ^ La Vanguardia, 2003-8-17 Festival Castillo de Santa Florentina
  12. ^ La Vanguardia. 2007-6-9 News of the concert.
  13. ^ a b Rodriguez, Marino (1994-11-08). "Claudi Arimany: "Mucha buena música sufre un olvido injusto"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  14. ^ "Claudi Arimany interview". Peter John Bacchus. 2004. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  15. ^ "Claudi Arimany" (in Spanish). la flauta travesera desde la barrera. 2009. Archived from the original on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  16. ^ Wulff, June (2010-10-23). "Magic Flute". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  17. ^ "Concours Jean-Pierre Rampal Flute" (in French). Mairie de Paris. 2008. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  18. ^ a b "Claudi Arimany descubre la obra de los hermanos Pla, compositores del siglo XVIII". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 1993-10-13. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Discography Amazon
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l CD Universe
  21. ^ Amazon. MP3 Downloads
  22. ^ Carlota Garriga at Allmusic
  23. ^ Memo conference
  24. ^ File CD from Amazon
  25. ^ Catalonia Music

Notes

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  • Benito, Roberto (2003). "Claudi Arimany. La flauta, objecte de vocació concertística". Catalunya música: Revista musical catalana (in Catalan): 36–39. ISSN 1136-7458.
  • Trullén, Louis (2004). "Claudi Arimany amb l'Orquestra de Cambra Franz Liszt, Robert King, Grigorij Sokolov, Eiji Oue, Till Ferner". Catalunya música: Revista musical catalana (in Catalan): 38–39. ISSN 1136-7458.
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