Christian Lauba (born 26 July 1952) is a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n born French composer and teacher, especially noted for his compositions for

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

.Umble, James; Gingras, Michèle; Corbé, Hervé; Street, William Henry; Londeix, Jean-Mari
''Jean-Marie Londeix: Master of the Modern Saxophone''
Roncorp Publications (2000) p. 104. His compositions often incorporate the music of his native

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

as well as Japanese influences. He sometimes composes under the name of Jean Matitia, particularly for jazz and rag music.

Biography

Lauba was born in

Sfax, Tunisia Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berbers, Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Medit ...

. His family later settled in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, France, where he studied languages at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Ta ...

and music at the Conservatory of Bordeaux with composer Michel Fusté-Lambezat. Early in his compositional career, he also worked with saxophonist

Jean-Marie Londeix Jean-Marie Londeix (20 September 1932) is a French saxophonist born in Libourne who studied saxophone, piano, harmony and chamber music.Ingham, Richard (ed.)''The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone'' Cambridge University Press (1998) p. 169. Umb ...

. In 1993, he was appointed professor of analysis at the Conservatory. It was here that he composed pieces that had extended techniques for the saxophone including

slap tonguing In music, the term ''slap tonguing'' refers to a musician playing a single-reed instrument such as a clarinet or a saxophone employing a technique to produce a popping sound along with the note. The technique The sound is created as a result of ...

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

multiphonics A multiphonic is an extended technique on a monophonic musical instrument (one that generally produces only one note at a time) in which several notes are produced at once. This includes wind, reed, and brass instruments, as well as the human voice ...

, and the

altissimo Altissimo (Italian for ''very high'') is the uppermost register on woodwind instruments. For clarinets, which overblow on odd harmonics, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the a ...

register.Maguelone Records
Liner Notes: Joël Versavaud, Lauba: ''Neuf études pour saxophones'' MAG111 123
(2000). Retrieved 6 December 2010. He has also composed literature for other solo instruments as well as ensembles. He has given master classes in composition and lectured at many universities including Bowling-Green in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in Canada, and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

as well as at several European conservatories including those of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Lisbon (Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa), and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. He chaired the jury of the

Gaudeamus International Composers Award The Gaudeamus International Composers Award is made by the Gaudeamus Foundation. The prize is awarded yearly, to a young composer at Dutch music concert, ''Gaudeamus Muziekweek''. The Gaudeamus Foundation had held an annual music week of Dutch co ...

in 1996. From 2004 to 2007, Lauba was artistic director of the

Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine The ''Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine'' (ONBA) is a French symphony orchestra based in Bordeaux. Its principal concert venue is the ''Palais des sports''. In addition to its regular symphony concerts, the ONBA serves as the accompanying orches ...

and from 2004 to 2006, also its music director.Mairie de Bordeaux
"Christian Lauba en quelques mots"
. Retrieved 5 December 2010. In the 2007/2008 season he was composer in residence with the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse, where his'' New York Concerto'' (a triple

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for saxophone, cello and piano) received its world premiere.

Awards and commissions

Lauba won First Prize for composition in the class of Michel Fuste-Lambezat and the Medal of Honor of the City of Bordeaux. In 1994 he won first prize in the Berlin International Composition Competition (Institut für Neue Musik), and his ''Neuf études pour saxophones'' (Nine

étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidl ...

s for saxophones), commissioned by Jean-Marie Londeix and composed between 1992 and 1994, won the SACEM prize in composition. He has received commissions both from the French state and from a variety of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

ensembles (Diotima Quartet, Cuarteto Casals, Percussion de Strasbourg,

Belcea Quartet The Belcea Quartet is a string quartet, formed in 1994, under the leadership of violinist Corina Belcea. History The quartet was formed while its members were studying at the Royal College of Music in London. Whilst there, they were coached by t ...

, Ensemble Court-Circuit,

Ictus Ensemble ICTUS is a Belgian orchestra, founded by in 1994, specialising in contemporary classical music. It is based in Brussels where it is involved in frequent collaborations with the contemporary dance choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. The o ...

, and the

Netherlands Wind Ensemble The Netherlands Wind Ensemble ( nl, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, NBE) comprises musicians from all the major Dutch symphony orchestras. The NBE is regularly featured in special concert series at Amsterdam’s main venues: the Concertgebouw, Para ...

) as well as from larger orchestras, including the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, Orchestre Poitou-Charentes, Orchestre Régional de Cannes,

Orchestre Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead a ...

MDR Symphony Orchestra MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian Diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...

, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, and the

Opéra National de Bordeaux This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

Compositions

* ''Adria'' for 2 alto saxophones (1985) * ''Blue Rai'' for solo cello (5 studies for contemporary solo) * ''Blue Stream'' for piano (2000) * ''Brasil sem fim'' for piano (1990) * ''The Devil's Rag'' (by his alias Jean Matitia) * ''Dies Irae'' for soprano saxophone and organ (1990) * ''Dream in A Bar'' for baritone saxophone and percussion * ''Erg'' for wind ensemble, harp, piano, and bass (1990) * ''Hard'' for tenor saxophone solo (1988) * ''Hoggar'' for orchestra (1995) * ''Kwintus'' for violin (2000) * ''The Lose Forest'' for ensemble of 12 saxophones (1983) * ''Massaï'' for alto saxophone and bass clarinet or tenor saxophone (2010) * ''Morphing'' for string quartet (1999) * ''Neuf études pour saxophone'' (Nine

s for saxophone)(1996) #Balafon #Savane #Sanza #Jungle #Tadj #Gyn #Vir #Ars #Bat * ''Reflets'' for saxophone ensemble * "Stan" (a tribute to

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

) for baritone saxophone and synthesizer (2001) * ''Steady Study on the Boogie'' (1995) * ''Sud'' for saxophone and piano

Recordings

* ''Hard'' (performed by Richard Ducros), CD Label: Adria, 2010 * ''Au Bonheur des Dames – Musiques de

Rudy Wiedoeft Rudolph Cornelius Wiedoeft (January 3, 1893 – February 18, 1940) was an American saxophonist. Biography Born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of German immigrants, at a young age Wiedoeft started playing with his family orchestra, first using a ...

et Jean Matitia'' (performed by Richard Ducros, Sophie Teboul, Christian Lauba, and Stéphane Rougier), CD Label: Richard Ducros, 2010 * ''Neuf études pour saxophones,cahier 1: Balfon/Savane/Sanza/Jungle'' (performed by Randall Hall), ''The Passage Between'', CD Label: Innova Records, 2009 * ''Christian Lauba: Neuf études pour saxophones'' (performed by Joël Versavaud), CD Label: Maguelone, 2008 *''Lauba: Morphing'' (live performances of Lauba's works by Cuarteto Casals, Richard Ducros, Benjamin Kreith, and Ivo Janssen), CD Label: Accord/

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

, 2000Ozipko, Jerry
"CD Reviews: ''Morphing''"
, ''The Alberta New Music & Arts Review'' Vol. III/IV, No. 4/5, pp. 149-152. * ''Christian Lauba: Ôsmos'' (performed by Marie Bernadette Charrier, Christophe Havel, Richard Rimbert, Patrice Goudin, Joël Versavaud, ''et al''.), CD Label: Alba Musica, 1995

References

External links

Extracts audio archive of works by Christian Lauba
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauba, Christian 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers French jazz composers Male jazz composers People from Sfax French saxophonists Tunisian emigrants to France 1952 births Living people Conservatoire de Bordeaux alumni French classical composers French male classical composers 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists 20th-century Tunisian people 20th-century French composers 21st-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers