Sarah Lavaud
Winner of the 2008 Musician Grant - Special Award
AWARD-WINNING PROJECT: to record the works of Charles Koechlin in a quintet with AR RE-SE label managed by Lydia JARDON.
Sarah Lavaud discovered music at a very young age. At home, in a corner of a room stood an upright piano. Her family enjoyed music but did not play any instruments. Her parents were simply music lovers. She is often reminded: she was the one, at the age of four, who wanted to learn how to play the piano. A teacher was found for her. At nine, Sarah tried the violin. She liked that too. It was as simple as that. Suddenly, without any warning, music took over her life. It was something that she could not ignore: it was obvious that one day she would become a professional musician. But as she was only 11, she stayed at school, entered competitions, won prizes, entered a music conservatory, took her baccalauréat and, finally, dedicated herself to music. Sarah does not talk about a vocation, rather a "need". She has her feet firmly on the ground. When congratulated on her numerous awards, she dodges the question by stating that the classification system is meaningless. "In competitions, only strength and power are measured. The most powerful and fastest person wins." This goes against her view of what a musician's career should be. Turning her back on the competitions, Sarah focused on her work. She is a hard-worker. She dedicates time to her instrument. She says that it is important "to use the instrument in such a way as to tame music". She works a lot, sometimes too much. Fortunately, she met two people her senior who would play a decisive role in her life: François-René Duchâble and Jean-Claude Pennetier protect her from disappointment and provide encouragement and advice. "Jean-Claude Pennetier taught me that piano practice could become part of my life." Sarah took a step back and understood that music must also draw on experience. She got a better view on life and let herself live. Being a musician means transforming what we see, feel and perceive into music. "It's something that we don't even realise!" she jokes. She travels across Europe performing in chamber music concerts. She enjoys serving the music that she plays. "We are here to shape this sound", she specifies. She is aware that on each occasion she will have to begin again. "We swing between the despair of not being able to set anything in stone and the chance of being able once again to recreate something on stage", she concludes cheerfully.
Three questions to Sarah Lavaud
Which piece of music has affected you most?
Janacek's works, without a doubt. It had a massive impact on me; I became obsessed with it; I couldn't sleep. I had to accept that I had to play it and appropriate the music to get it out of my system. It still haunts me.
Has a rendition ever blown your mind?
Yes, those by two pianists: Claudio Arrau and Dinu Lipatti. But if I had to choose only one: Lipatti's last recital at the Besançon festival. Pure joy. Especially as Lipatti was seriously ill and died a few weeks later.
What does the grant mean to you?
The grant will let us record works by Charles Koechlin - a composer who is too little known today - with a high quality recording label which focuses on producing repertoires which have never been previously recorded.
A word from the jury chairman Marc Thonon, chairman of Atmosperiques Label
"With the Special Prize we decided to support a dual cause: first, to allow an artist to make a record and secondly, to bring an outstanding composer who is unfortunately largely unknown into the limelight."
