Nicolas Tzortzis

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Nicolas Tzortzis was born in May 1978 in Athens and has been living in Paris, France since 2002. His music is characterized by great vivacity, a musical and visual polyphony, the organic incorporation of extra-musical elements and the controlled presence of technology. Awarded and played throughout the world, Nicolas Tzortzis has been following an autonomous path for years, constantly experimenting, questioning mainstream ideas and practices, while avoiding belonging to any particular “school”. He finds inspiration in his philosophical and political readings (Castoriadis, Delphy, Kondylis, Rumsfeld), pop culture (television series, rock music, documentaries), but also sports and 1920’s surrealism.
He studied instrumental and electronic composition with Philippe Leroux at the CRD de Blanc Mesnil and at the University of Montreal (PhD, April 2013), musical theatre composition with Georges Aperghis at the Hochschule der Kunste in Bern, Switzerland and Computer Aided Composition at the University of Paris 8 under the direction of Horacio Vaggione and José Manuel Lopez-Lopez. In 2009-2010 he attended the CURSUS 1 of composition and computer music at the IRCAM and was later selected for the CURSUS 2 for the years 2010-2012, where he presented “Incompatible(s) V” for silent piano and live electronics, premiered by Pavlos Antoniadis.
He has taken part in master classes with Karlheinz Stockhausen, Brian Ferneyhough, Beat Furrer and François Paris, as well as computer music seminars at the IRCAM. In 2010, he was selected for the 6th New Composers Forum of the Ensemble Aleph.
His music has been performed in France, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Argentina, Peru, Japan, South Korea and Australia, and has been selected and awarded in competitions worldwide (USA, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Austria, Greece, Italy, Great Britain, Argentina).
He has worked with ensembles such as Divertimento Ensemble, Proxima Centauri, Linea, Arditti Quartet, Tokyo Simfonietta, Arsenale, ECCE, Earplay, ACME, NOISE, Nouvel Ensemble Modern, Binoculaire, Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Kairos Quartet, Mantegna Quartet, EnAccord Strijkkwartet, Aleph, Klang, Cairn, Ergon, Dissonart, Trio IAMA, Texture and Vertixe Sonora and soloists Aleksander Gabrys, Quentin Darricau, Lisa Cella, Krista Martynes, Lorna Windsor, Julian Boutin and Spyros Thomas.
Selected by Peter Eötvös, he was composer-in-residence at the Herrenhaus Edenkoben for the second semester of 2013, he was resident at the Villa Ruffieux in Sierre, Switzerland, from February to April 2014. In 2015, he was a Fulbright visiting scholar at the CNMAT in UC Berkeley, working on a new piece for the Ensemble Earplay, and had a two-month residency at the Akademia Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart.
His recent works include a multimedia work for the ensemble Artéfacts commissioned by the Onassis Foundation, a sound and video installation with German artist Sascha Hahn and a piano concerto for the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. Future projects include the premiere of his violin chamber concerto for Alexandra Greffin-Klein with the French Ensemble Court-Circuit, a new work for voice and ensemble with the ensemble TM+ for France Musique's "La Création Musicale", and a portrait CD with Das Neue Ensemble from Germany.
Website:
Ordered by year. Most recent works appears first

Solo Instrument


Sur Gaïda for piano (2022)
After they’d fled from their duty to fight for bass flute (2021)
(Running a) Business, Hommage à Tony Soprano for solo double bass (2016)
Apolesi Laoutou Erota for solo guitar (2014)
Incompatible(s) III / III b For Solo Flutist (2009)
L'accordage du menteur (2007)
Immune (2004)
Sama (2003)

Chamber Ensemble (5 - 9 instruments)


Croquis Strideurs for eight instruments (2022)
Gravitationnel pour huit instruments hommage à Karl Schwarzschild (2021)
...à une main, hommage à Roger Federer for solo violin and six musicians (2018)
Treillis pour six musiciens (2017)
Les mystères du château du Dé for five musicians, video projection and a plate of cheese (2016)
Emak Bakia for five musicians, video projection and a man in a suit (2015)
Sobre o amor perdido do laude for flute, saxophone, violin, percussion, harp and piano (2015)
...de ce qui est en lutte for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2015)
My condition exempts me, hommage à Rahsaan Roland Kirk for tenor saxophone, electronics and chamber ensemble (2014)
Incompatible(s) VII for six musicians and an actress (2013)
L'étoile de mer for five musicians and video projection (2013)
Digression for six percussionists (2012)
Court métrage for seven musicians (2012)
Incompatible(s) II (2008)
What the wave meant (2007)
Senza Memoria (2005)

Voices and Instruments


Vents Contraires for baritone and ensemble (2021)
Immobilités for female voice and five instruments (2019)
Rop (2009)
Occid (2008)

Instrumental Music


Sur Gaïda for piano (2022)
Croquis Strideurs for eight instruments (2022)
After they’d fled from their duty to fight for bass flute (2021)
Gravitationnel pour huit instruments hommage à Karl Schwarzschild (2021)
Forgé sous la forme que tu portes for three pianists on a piano (2020)
Identités for cello and piano (2020)
No one new around you for clarinet, saxophone and percussion (2020)
Contre Tous, hommage à Nikos Gkalis for piano and orchestra (2017)
(Running a) Business, Hommage à Tony Soprano for solo double bass (2016)
Tâtonnement pour violin, cello and piano (2015)
...de ce qui est en lutte for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2015)
Apolesi Laoutou Erota for solo guitar (2014)
Incompatible(s) VI for bass clarinet, violin, cello and a harpist (2013)
L'accrochage du menteur pour piano seul (2013)
Incompatible(s) III / III b For Solo Flutist (2009)
L'accordage du menteur (2007)
Four Flash Fear (2007)
Désaxé (2007)
Amenable for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2006)
Immune (2004)
Fictif (2004)
Sama (2003)

Chamber Group ( 2 - 4 instruments )


No one new around you for clarinet, saxophone and percussion (2020)
Identités for cello and piano (2020)
Tâtonnement pour violin, cello and piano (2015)
Incompatible(s) VI for bass clarinet, violin, cello and a harpist (2013)
Four Flash Fear (2007)
Amenable for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2006)
Fictif (2004)

Instruments and Electronics


...à une main, hommage à Roger Federer for solo violin and six musicians (2018)
Treillis pour six musiciens (2017)
Les mystères du château du Dé for five musicians, video projection and a plate of cheese (2016)
Emak Bakia for five musicians, video projection and a man in a suit (2015)
Sobre o amor perdido do laude for flute, saxophone, violin, percussion, harp and piano (2015)
My condition exempts me, hommage à Rahsaan Roland Kirk for tenor saxophone, electronics and chamber ensemble (2014)
Incompatible(s) VII for six musicians and an actress (2013)
L'étoile de mer for five musicians and video projection (2013)
Court métrage for seven musicians (2012)
Incompatible(s) IV Bass Clarinet and live electronics IRCAM Cursus 1 project (2010)
Selon Elle (2006)

Concerto


Contre Tous, hommage à Nikos Gkalis for piano and orchestra (2017)

Percussion Ensemble


Digression for six percussionists (2012)

Soloist (Instrument or Voice) and Real Time Electronics


Incompatible(s) IV Bass Clarinet and live electronics IRCAM Cursus 1 project (2010)

Music Theater


Incompatible(s) I (2008)

String Quartet


Four Flash Fear (2007)

Ensemble (10 - 19 instruments)


Désaxé (2007)

Soloist (Instrument or Voice) and Fixed Electronic Media


Selon Elle (2006)
(Running a) Business, Hommage à Tony Soprano for solo double bass (2016)
...à une main, hommage à Roger Federer for solo violin and six musicians (2018)
...de ce qui est en lutte for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2015)
After they’d fled from their duty to fight for bass flute (2021)
Amenable for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2006)
Apolesi Laoutou Erota for solo guitar (2014)
Contre Tous, hommage à Nikos Gkalis for piano and orchestra (2017)
Court métrage for seven musicians (2012)
Croquis Strideurs for eight instruments (2022)
Désaxé (2007)
Digression for six percussionists (2012)
Emak Bakia for five musicians, video projection and a man in a suit (2015)
Fictif (2004)
Forgé sous la forme que tu portes for three pianists on a piano (2020)
Four Flash Fear (2007)
Gravitationnel pour huit instruments hommage à Karl Schwarzschild (2021)
Identités for cello and piano (2020)
Immobilités for female voice and five instruments (2019)
Immune (2004)
Incompatible(s) I (2008)
Incompatible(s) II (2008)
Incompatible(s) III / III b For Solo Flutist (2009)
Incompatible(s) IV Bass Clarinet and live electronics IRCAM Cursus 1 project (2010)
Incompatible(s) VI for bass clarinet, violin, cello and a harpist (2013)
Incompatible(s) VII for six musicians and an actress (2013)
L'accordage du menteur (2007)
L'accrochage du menteur pour piano seul (2013)
L'étoile de mer for five musicians and video projection (2013)
Les mystères du château du Dé for five musicians, video projection and a plate of cheese (2016)
My condition exempts me, hommage à Rahsaan Roland Kirk for tenor saxophone, electronics and chamber ensemble (2014)
No one new around you for clarinet, saxophone and percussion (2020)
Occid (2008)
Rop (2009)
Sama (2003)
Selon Elle (2006)
Senza Memoria (2005)
Sobre o amor perdido do laude for flute, saxophone, violin, percussion, harp and piano (2015)
Sur Gaïda for piano (2022)
Tâtonnement pour violin, cello and piano (2015)
Treillis pour six musiciens (2017)
Vents Contraires for baritone and ensemble (2021)
What the wave meant (2007)