Pierre EVEN

Luxembourger, born 4 December 1946. Descendant of the Even Family from Beaufort (Luxembourg) and Metz (France). Studied 1959-66 piano and composition at the "Wiesbadener Konservatorium" in Wiesbaden with Karl Wilhelm Bruehl and Heinrich Steuernagel. Studied law, music and history from 1966-73 at the Universities of Frankfurt, Wuerzburg and Mainz; history of music with Prof. Lothar Hoffmann-Erbrecht, esthetic of music with Prof. Theodor W. Adorno, and sacred music with Prof. Diethard Hellmann. First Juridical State Diploma in 1973, Great Juridical State Diploma (qualification for judgeship) in 1976. Later, he studied orchestration with Prof. Siegfried Koehler.

Pierre Even began composing in 1964. His early works for string orchestra, for various ensembles and organ are influenced by the music of Paul Hindemith, the Second Viennese School and Hans-Werner Henze. They were performed between 1966 and 1974. During thirty years, Pierre Even then intensified its research and publications include numerous articles and books on the history of Nassau and Luxembourg. After a few creations of chamber and sacred music during this period, he started again with composing in 2003. Since then, public performances of his works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, vocals, piano and organ have taken place in Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, the U.S.A., Brazil, and China.

The performances of his works have taken place by the "Luxembourg Sinfonietta", the Chamber Orchestra of Luxembourg "Les Musiciens", the "Johann-Strauss-Orchester Wiesbaden", the "Musikkorps Blau-Orange" Frickhofen, the Sopranos Byung-Lyul Lee, Diana Gamet, Patricia Freres, Monique Fages an Christina Schmid, the Tenor Donald George, the Baritones Frank Günther, Jean Delobel and Marc Saint-Raymond, the Violinists Hao-Xing Liang, Bing Qi-Bartha and Daniel Chapron, the Viola Player Andrea Roldán-Cativa, the Cellists Stephan Breith, Marie-Jeanne Baudot and Annick Leveau, the Pianists Pierre Alzin, Susanne Duch, Kristi Becker, Francois Germain, Kae Shiraki, Lucy Mauro, Maria Sofianska, Elodie Vignon, Nicolas Horvath, Claudine Renou-Fages, Jean-Michel Gourlain, Christian Fages an Thomas Teske; Luciana Camara (Harpsichord), Sabine Ambos (Soprano-Recorder/Csakan), Dagmar Wilgo (Recorder), Mirjana Petercol (Accordion), the members of the Orchestra of the State Opera of Wiesbaden; the "Ensemble Metafora" Luxembourg; the String Quartet "Quatuor Koch" Luxembourg; the String Quartet of the Wiesbaden Music Academy, the Violin-Duo Dora Entcheva-Heinen and Marie-Denise Heinen; the Brass Quartet of the State Opera of Saarbruecken, the Clarinet Quartet of the "Conservatoire de Musique de la Ville de Luxembourg", the Soloists of the "Luxembourg Sinfonietta", the Woodwind-Trio of the "Wiesbadener Musikakademie", the Woodwind-Quartet of the "Wiesbadener Musikakademie", the "Wiesbaden Woodwind-Quartet", the Trombone Quartet of the "Wiesbadener Musikakademie", the Saxophone Quartet of the "Wiesbadener Musikakademie", the Recorder Ensemble of the Wiesbaden Music School, the "Block Fatale" Recorder Ensemble of the Neuss Music School, the Ensemble Wolfgang Groth, the "Kantorei der Lutherkirche", Wiesbaden, the "Katholischer Kirchenchor Wiesbaden-Sonnenberg", the Organists Thomas J. Frank, Carlo Hommel, Doris Hagel, Walter Haacke, Reinhold Barbeler, Silvia Toth, Wolfgang Kehr and Andreas Karthaeuser, and the Orchestra of the Oranienschule Wiesbaden (cond. Pierre Even).

During 2004 the following performances have taken place: 23 April in Griesheim (D), "Agnus Dei, para las victimas del 11 de marzo de 2004 en Madrid" (Carlo Hommel, organ and baritone); 13 June in Luxembourg (L), parts 1-6 from "9 caracteres pour violon et piano" op. 29 (Hao-Xing Liang, violin, and Pierre Alzin, piano); 27 June in Koenigstein im Taunus (D), "Pensees" for Clarinet Quartet (Clarinet Quartet of the "Conservatoire de Musique de la Ville de Luxembourg"); 18 September in Wiesbaden (D), "Meditation for Organ" op. 24a (Silvia Toth, organ); 19 September in the State Museum of Wiesbaden (D), "Sonata for Cello and Piano" op. 28 (Stephan Breith, cello, and Kristi Becker, piano).

During 2005 the following performances have taken place: 20 June in Schlangenbad (D), pieces 8-9 from "9 caracteres pour violoncelle et piano" op. 29a (Stephan Breith, cello, and Susanne Duch, piano); 5 October in the "Philharmonie" in Luxembourg (L), "Tango para los oidos" for Orchestra op. 33a (Luxembourg Sinfonietta, cond. Marcel Wengler); 17 November in Weilburg/Lahn (D), Paraphrase sur le "Wilhelmus" for Organ, op. 40/2 (Doris Hagel, organ); 19 November in Weilburg/Lahn (D), "Nassauer Marsch" by Franz Scheibelreiter, for Orchestra op. 38 (Chamber Orchestra of Luxembourg "Les musiciens", cond. Nicolas Brochot).

During 2006 the following performances have taken place: 1 January and 8 January in Wiesbaden (D), "Nassauer Marsch" by Franz Scheibelreiter arranged for Orchestra op. 38 (Johann-Strauss-Orchestra, cond. Herbert Siebert and Wladislaw Brunner); 18 June in Weilburg/Lahn (D), parts 1-3 from "9 caracteres pour violon et piano" op. 29, and "Allegro in C", fragment by W. A. Mozart, completed and arranged for Violin and Piano op. 42a (Hao-Xing Liang, violin, and Pierre Alzin, piano); 25 June in Wiesbaden (D) "Nassauer Marsch" by Franz Scheibelreiter, arranged for Saxophone Quartet op. 38b (Saxophone Quartet of the "Wiesbadener Musikakademie"); 8 December in Wiesbaden (D), "Allegro in C", fragment by W. A. Mozart, completed by Pierre Even op. 42, and "Geburtstags-Polka" op. 41 for Piano (Susanne Duch, piano).

During 2007 the following performances have taken place: 7 July in Bertrange (L) and 8 July in Mondorf-les-Bains (L), "Heimatlos", Six Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Chamber-Orchestra (Nr. 2 and 5), after poems by Anise Koltz (Byung-Lyul Lee, soprano, and the "Luxembourg Sinfonietta", cond. Marcel Wengler).

During 2008 the following performances have taken place: 18 January in the Concert Hall of the Music Conservatory of Luxembourg (L) "Tango Bravo" (Luxembourg Sinfonietta, cond. Marcel Wengler); 15 June in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D) String-Quartet Nr. 1 (3rd mouv.) (Quatuor Koch, Luxembourg; Laurence Koch, 1st violin); 4 September in the State Library of Wiesbaden (D) "Nassau oblige", 12 pieces dedicated to the sovereigns of the Dynasty Luxembourg-Nassau, for Woodwind Quartet (Woodwind Quartet of the Wiesbaden Music Academy).

During 2009 the following performances have taken place: 19 March in Wakefield Hall, Crane School of Music, Potsdam NY (USA), Du bist wie eine Blume, Song after a poem by Heinrich Heine op. 47/1 (Diane Gamet, soprano, and Francois Germain, piano); 21 June in Weilburg/Lahn (D), Three Songs for Soprano and Piano, after poems by Heinrich Heine: Du bist wie eine Blume - Aus meinen Traenen spriessen - Ich hab mir lang den Kopf zerbrochen, op. 47 (Patricia Freres, soprano, and Kae Shiraki, piano); 26 September in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D) "Nassau oblige", 4 pieces dedicated to the sovereigns of the Dynasty Luxembourg-Nassau, for Woodwind Quartet, "Nassauer Marsch" by Franz Scheibelreiter, arranged for Woodwind Quartet, and "Souvenir of Biebrich", March for Woodwind Quartet (Woodwind Quartet of the Wiesbaden Music Academy); 24 October in Lloyd Center, Portland OR (USA), Du bist wie eine Blume, Song after a poem by Heinrich Heine, op. 47/1 (Donald George, tenor, and Lucy Mauro, piano).

During 2010 the following performances have taken place: 27 June in Koenigstein/Taunus (D), Trio for Flute, Violin and Cello op. 26a (Ensemble Metafora: Nadine Eder, flute, Jehanne Strepenne, violin, and Borbala Janitsek, cello); 29, 30 and 31 October 2010 in Shanghai (PR of China), Luxembourg Pavilion of the World Exhibition, "Fanfare Sino-Lux" op. 51 for Brass Trio (The Soloists of the Luxembourg Sinfonietta).

During 2011 the following performance have taken place: 19 June in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D), "Consolatio" for two Violins op. 50 (Dora Entcheva-Heinen, violin, and Marie-Denise Heinen, violin).

During 2012 the following performances have taken place: 20 May in the Kurhaus of Wiesbaden (D) and 4 November in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D), "Nassau oblige", 2 pieces dedicated to the sovereigns of the Dynasty Luxembourg-Nassau, for Woodwind Quartet , "Eine musikalische Zeitreise durch das Nassauer Land", 4 pieces for Woodwind Quartet, and "Souvenir of Biebrich", March for Woodwind Quartet (The Wiesbaden Woodwind Quartet). 7 September in the "Versoehnungskirche" of Wiesbaden (D), "Miniatur Nr. 8" op. 43 Nr. 8 (Mirjana Petercol, accordion). 4 November in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D), "Selige Sehnsucht", Song after a Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe op. 53 (Frank Günther, baritone, and Maria Sofianska, piano), and Kéler Béla "Die letzten Gluecksstunden", Arrangement for Piano (Azusa Tomimoto, piano). 27 November in the "Kulturforum" of Wiesbaden (D), Kéler Béla "Die letzten Gluecksstunden", Arrangement for Piano (Azusa Tomimoto, piano).

During 2013 the following performances have taken place: 24 January in the Kurhaus of Wiesbaden (D), Three Birthday-Minute-Waltzes for String Quartet op. 54 (String Quartet of the Wiesbaden Music Academy, Hwoayeong Lee and Clara Holzapfel, violin, Miriam Settelmeier, viola, Laura Horvath, cello). 16 June in the Biebrich Castle of Wiesbaden (D), Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano op. 55 (The Soloists of the "Luxembourg Sinfonietta", Cornelia Gudea, violin, Borbála Janitsek, cello, Sarah Briganti, piano). 30 August in the "Kulturforum" of Wiesbaden (D), Siegfried Köhler "Extrakt a la Richard Wagner", Arrangement for Clarinet Quartet (Clarinet Quartet of the Wiesbaden Music Academy). 31 August in the Schlosskirche of Weilburg/Lahn (D), "Nassauer Marsch" arranged for Concert Band (Musikkorps Blau-Orange Frickhofen, cond. Marc Leonardi). 15 November in the "Nebbiensches Gartenhaus" of Frankfurt/Main (D), "Cantus Alaudae" for Recorder/Csakan and Accordion op. 56 (Sabine Ambos, recorder/csakan, Mirjana Petercol, accordion).

During 2014 the following performances have taken place: 27 April in the MIM of Brussels (B), Festival "L'Europe en Musique", "Selige Sehnsucht", Song after a Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe op. 53 (Jean Delobel, baritone, Elodie Vignon, piano). 13 Mai in the "Cité internationale des Arts" in Paris (F), "Sonata for Cello and Piano" op. 28, 1st mouv. (Marie-Jeanne Baudot, cello, Claudine Renou-Fages, piano). 5 July in Le Castellet/Var (F), "Sonata for Cello and Piano" op. 28, 1st mouv. (Marie-Jeanne Baudot, cello, Claudine Renou-Fages, piano).

During 2015 the following performance have taken place: 28 June in Bertrange (L), "Tarjana-mudra" for Chamber Orchestra op. 44 (Luxembourg Sinfonietta, cond. Marcel Wengler), first performance supported by SACEM-Luxembourg.

During 2016 the following performances have taken place: 9 July in Le Castellet/Var (F), in the concert "3e Weekend Musical de Musique et Partage", Sonata for Cello and Piano op. 28 (Marie-Jeanne Baudot, cello, Jean-Michel Gourlain, piano), and "Elegie" op. 1 (Jean-Michel Gourlain, piano); 17 November in Weilburg/Lahn (D), Paraphrase sur le "Wilhelmus" for Organ, op. 40/2a (Doris Hagel, organ).

During 2017 the following performances have taken place: 22 January in Eltville/Rhein (D), "Libertas" - Sonata for Violin and Viola op. 55a (Bing Qi-Bartha, violin, Andrea Roldán-Cativa, viola); 24 September in the Zeeuwse Concertzaal in Middelburg (NL), in the Glassworlds-Concert, "Wiesengrund" pour piano, à la mémoire de T.W.A., en hommage à Philip Glass (Nicolas Horvath, piano).

During 2018 the following performances have taken place: 13 July in Campina Grande (Brazil) and 14 July in Recife (Brazil), "Cantus Alaudae" for Recorder and Harpsichord op. 56a (Dagmar Wilgo, recorder, Luciana Camara, harpsichord); 20 november in Wiesbaden (D), "Missa sine verbis" op. 58 I,IV,V for Recorder Ensemble (Annemarie Hickethier, recorder, Recorder Ensemble of the Wiesbaden Music School).

During 2019 the following performances have taken place: 30 March in the "Cité internationale des Arts" in Paris (F), "Sonata for Cello and Piano" op. 28 (Marie-Jeanne Baudot, cello, and Jean-Michel Gourlain, piano), Three Songs for Soprano and Piano, after poems by Heinrich Heine op. 47 (Monique Fages, soprano, Claudine Renou-Fages, piano), "Je suis un messager", Song for Baritone and Piano, after a poem by Anise Koltz op. 36/4 (Marc Saint-Raymond, baritone, Jean-Michel Gourlain, piano), Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano op. 55 (Daniel Chapron, violin, Annick Leveau, cello, Claudine Renou-Fages, piano), "Selige Sehnsucht", Song after a Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe op. 53 (Marc Saint-Raymond, baritone, Jean-Michel Gourlain, piano); 4 July in the "Zeughaus am Markt" in Neuss (D) and 8 July in Johannes-von-Gott Seniorenpflegeheim in Neuss (D) "Missa sine verbis" op. 58 I, II, III for Recorder Ensemble (Dagmar Wilgo, recorder, and "Block Fatale" Recorder Ensemble of the Neuss Music School); 26 August in Wiesbaden (D) "Birthday Minute Waltz" Nr 1 for Violin and Viola op. 54a (Bing Qi-Bartha, violin, Andrea Roldán-Cativa, viola).

During 2021 the following performances have taken place: 4 February in Taunusstein (D) "Meditation for Organ" op. 24a (Andreas Karthaeuser, organ); 5 March in Wiesbaden (D) "Tristesse" op. 43 III (Thomas J. Frank, organ).

During 2023 the following performances have taken place: 27 September in Olpe (D) "Meditation for Organ" op. 24a (Thomas Alfes-Zeppenfeld, organ).

During 2024 the following recordings for YouTube have taken place: in Wiesbaden (D) "Geburtstags-Polka" op. 41 for Piano (Thomas Teske, piano); in Wiesbaden "Aus meinen Traenen spriessen", Song after a poem by Heinrich Heine, op. 47/2 (Christina Schmid, soprano, and Thomas Teske, piano).

During 2025 the following performances will take place: 22 March in Paris (F), Maison du Japon, "Grande Fantaisie sur F-A-G-E-eS pour Piano à quatre mains" op. 59.

Pierre Even is retired lawyer in Wiesbaden and married to Heide H. Even in 1976. He is member of the "Luxembourg Society for Contemporary Music (LGNM)", member of the "Fédération Luxembourgeoise des Auteurs et Compositeurs (Flac)" and Honorary Member of “Musique et Partage” in Paris (France).

CD-Recordings of music by Pierre Even: Sonata for Cello and Piano op. 28, Neuf caracteres pour violoncelle et piano op. 29a (Nr. 8-9), Tango melancolico op. 33 Nr. 1 (Kristi Becker and Susanne Duch, piano, Stephan Breith, cello), published by fortepiano (Germany) Nr. 1204 (Genius loci, Koehler - Even - Kirchner, 2007), available on www.fortepiano.de – Tarjana-mudra, for Chamber Orchestra op. 44 (Luxembourg Sinfonietta, cond. Marcel Wengler), published by Editions LGNM (Luxembourg) Nr. 412 (Luxembourg Composers, 2015), available on http://lgnm.lu/html/recordings/index.html

Published Scores: Scores of Pierre Even are published by Da Vinci Editions https://davinci-edition.com