Founded in 1962, Les Percussions de Strasbourg is France’s oldest contemporary music ensemble and one of the best-known around the world. Its repertoire attaches equal importance to masterpieces of the 20th century as well as new works it has commissioned. In doing so, it sees its task as keeping the legacy of contemporary music alive, continuing to present it in a new light and to renew it repeatedly in a spirit of artistic plurality.
Since their foundation, Les Percussions de Strasbourg have played a key role in creating contemporary art through their close collaboration with living composers. The ensemble’s almost boundless range of potential musical forms and line-ups is unique: from duos to octets, from acoustic to electronic music, from concerts through opera to dance, the group is capable of working in a wide range of combinations. In addition to this, Les Percussions have almost 500 instruments at their disposal.
Over 350 works have been dedicated to Les Percussions de Strasbourg. Their repertoire includes works by composers including Olivier Messiaen, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. The ensemble can be heard on numerous recordings and has received some 30 international awards, including a Victoire de la musique classique, which was presented to the ensemble’s own record label for its debut release, “Burning Bright” von Hugues Dufourt.
Alongside their own work as artists, the musicians of Les Percussions de Strasbourg are engaged in a series of activities to encourage young musicians, especially at home in the Hautepierre district of Strasbourg.
www.percussionsdestrasbourg.com
As of January 2022