Melba Recordings

In half a century the Ensemble vocal de Lausanne has conquered five continents. And Michel Corboz, worried that his “enfant terrible – well, not so terrible actually – that I cherish” should survive him, has chosen his successor: Guillaume Tourniaire, momentarily styled as Principal Guest Conductor. Since his studies with Michel Corboz this 48 year old man from Provence has achieved his own path to success. An excellent pianist, he is an opera conductor (Assistant Conductor at La Fenice, Guest Conductor at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and also at the Paris National Opera, as well as Music Director at the Prague State Opera) and orchestral conductor, witness two remarkable world-premiere discs released on the Melba label: Ballet music of Saint-Saëns; and poems for voice and orchestra by Louis Vierne, coupled with a very symbolist version of Poème de l’amour et de la mer by Chausson. In the first part of 2012, Parisians will have the opportunity to discover this very talented conductor when he directs two productions for the L’Atelier Lyrique of the Paris National Opera.
Frank Langlois, Resmusica (France), 28 November 2011