RAPHAËL BELFIORE


new music composer and performer
contact: belfiore.raphael@gmail.com
(b. 11.10.1995, Geneva)

SHORT BIOGRAPHY
I am a Swiss composer currently based in Basel. My artistic practice lies between music, art and theory. Recent projects of mine have been presented in several European countries and include composed and improvised performances, ensemble pieces, video works, concert interventions a multi-media installation and recently also a book of text scores.
In my recent work I have tried to not only think about the notion and history of music but also to think with and through it in order to make works that function as models of different realities while being "about" or "from" reflections on musical phenomena.
I believe that beauty can be found in the rigorous cohesion between thought and action and I aim to apply this to my musical practice as much as possible. This hopefully results in works in which theory and practice are in deep interaction and cannot be dissociated.

CURRICULUM VITAE
academic background

2022 – 2024 : Certificate in Art and Curatorial Practice at The New Centre for Research & Practice

2022 – 2024 : B.A. in Music Performance (Voice) with Marcel Boone at the Hochschule für Musik Basel

2019 – 2022 : M.A. in Music Composition with Isabel Mundry at the Zürcher Hochschule de Künste; Minor subject: Composition with Johannes Kreidler at the Hochschule für Musik Basel.

2015 – 2019: B.A. in humanities (musicology, philosophy and art history), Geneva University.

2016 – 2019: auditor at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève (harmony, counterpoint, analysis, orchestration and ear-training).

2016 – 2019: student at the CPMDT Geneva in composition, electronic music, piano, voice and improvisation.



selections, scholarships and grants

2022: Phoenix Satellite 2022/2023, Ensemble Phoenix Basel

2022: Partial Scolarship for a Certificate in Art and Curatorial Practice at The New Centre for Research and Practice

2022: Grants from the Memento foundation and the Graf-Fonds for the printing of the text-score book Contents

2022 23: Protonwerk N°12: true participation, Ensemble Proton, Bern

2021 – 22: Scholarship Fondation Nicati-De Luze

2021: International Young Composers Academy: Full Scholarship

2020: IGNM Zürich’s "Fast Forward" call for projects


lectures and writings

Interview of Hannes Seidl on his and Daniel Kötter’s radio play STADT [LAND FLUSS] for recordedness.org.

Program notes for Ensemble Contrechamps' concert "Infrarouge", February 2020

Redaction of labels for the exhibition "Video Archivia" in Geneva during the Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement 2018.

Lecture "4'33'' de John Cage, une musique au-delà du son ?" at the Lausanne University, May 2018

Program notes for Ensemble Contrechamps' concert "Gelidi Mostri", December 2017

Review for Ensemble Contrechamps' concert "By the way" in Dissonance No 40.

Lecture "Problèmes contemporains pour une définition intensionnelle de la musique" at the Lausanne University, March 2017


visited festivals (+ collaborating ensembles and tutors met)

Donaueschinger Musiktage 2022, Next Generation Program

IMPULS 2021 (Graz), with PPCM Ensemble, Peter Ablinger, Dimitrios Polisoidis and Klaus Lang

International Young Composers Academy 2021 (Lugano), with ICTUS ensemble, Mauro Lanza, Oscar Bianchi and Juste Janulyte

Forum Wallis 2019 (Leuk) with Ums n'Jip, Zafraan Ensemble and Fabian Panisello

Mixtur 2019 (Barcelona) with Aleph Gitarrenquartet and Michael Obst

Ferienkürse für neue Musik Darmstadt 2018 with Marko Ciciliani, Milica Djordjevic, Martin Iddon, Isabel Mundry and Rebecca Saunders.

Ferienkürse für neue Musik Darmstadt 2016 (electronic ateliers) with Sebastian Berweck, Susanne Kirchmayr, Hanno Leichtmann, Philipp Sollman and Mario De Vega

SELECTED DATES
upcoming dates:

26.05.2023
New Piece  / Gare du Nord, Basel / Ensemble Proton

25.04.2023
New Piece / Dampfzentrale, Bern / Ensemble Proton


past dates:

14.12.2022
Timecode studies / Gare du Nord, Basel / Ensemble Lemniscate

13.12.2022
Timecode studies / Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zürich / Ensemble Lemniscate

12.12.2022
Timecode studies / PROGR Aula, Bern / Ensemble Lemniscate

23.11.2022
Ends as the sound from their own means / Phonos, Barcelona / Delirium Ensemble

29.10.2022
Ends as the sound from their own means / Grosse Halle, Bern / Delirium Ensemble

22.10.2022
Reading of excerpts of CONTENTS / Theater Basel, Kleine Bühne

13.09.2022
Ends as the sound from their own means / Don Bosco, Basel / Delirium Ensemble

03.09.2022
Performance with Maxine Yolanda / Rathaus, Zürich (Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen)
02.07.2022
CONTENTSwp (film) / ZHdK-Kino, Zürich

15.06.2022
CONTENTSwp (lecture-performance) / ZHdK-Probebühne 1.D05, Zürich.

02.12.2021
Ends as the sound from their own meanswp / Don Bosco, Basel / Delirium Ensemble

01.11.2021
Edgar Varèse and the Jazzmenwp (large ensemble + sampler version) / ZHdK-Konzertsaal 3, Zürich / Arc-en-Ciel Ensemble, Lars Mlekusch (cond.)

25.09.2021
Edgar Varèse and the Jazzmen (quintet + fixed media version) / Wild Gallery, Brussels / ICTUS Ensemble, Tom de Cock (cond.)

11.09.2021
Postproductionswp / Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zürich / Raphaël Belfiore, Killian Perret-Gentil & Benjamin Jaton (performance)
22.08.2021
4-082221-TIPwp / Theater im Palais, Graz / PPCM Ensemble

29.07.2021
Edgar Varèse and the Jazzmenwp (quintet version) / Onlin / ICTUS Ensemble, Tom de Cock (cond.)

03.07.2021
Piano Reduction I, II, IIIwp / ZHdK-Konzertsaal 3, Zürich / Ranko Markovic (piano)

13.06.2021

28.10.2020
Means with the sound from their own endswp / Musik-Akademie Basel-Grosser Saal, Basel / Delirium Ensemble, Wiktor Kociuban (cond.)
29.09.2020
Sub Speciewp / ZHdK-Kaskadenhalle, Zürich

07.03.2020
Seven instantiation studieswp / Tonhalle Maag (foyer), Zürich / Jens Bracher (trumpet), Stephen Menotti (trombone)
25.01.2020
Study for moved loudspeaker in open spaceswp (moving electronic apparatus + ambisonic sound system) / ZHdK-Konzertsaal 1, Zürich / Raphaël Belfiore (performance)
13.12.2019
Metal plates and objectswp (concert-installation for solo performer) / ZHdK-Kunstraum, Zürich / Raphaël Belfiore (performance)
29.05.2019
NJwp / CPMDT-Studio D’Agostini, Geneva / Nelson Javet (guitar)

26.07.2018
Flexibility Studywp (solo flügelhorn) / Lichtenbergschule (Mensa), Darmstadt / Chloë Abbott (flügelhorn)

21.04.2018
Room for roomwp (site-specific sound installation) / Cessouest, Nyon

19.03.2018
Gap-induced time stretchingwp (string ensemble) / CPMDT-Studio D’Agostini, Geneva / United Strings of Europe, Franck Fontcouberte (cond.)

17 + 18.02.2017
Sharawadjiwp (8-channel sound installation) / Eeeeh!, Nyon

17.03.2016
Musique Casuelle (live solo performance) / Les Wagons, Sierre

wp = world premiere
upcoming:       21 - 24.03.2024, Druckereihalle im Ackermannshof, Basel / Contents: exhibition              21.03.2024, Druckereihalle im Ackermannshof, Basel / Contents: performance evening with Frantz Loriot                –