On February 29, the 31st award ceremony of the coveted French classical music prize Victoires de la Musique classique took place, which was broadcast live from Montpellier on France 3 and France Musique.
Composer Florentine Mulsant received the award in the category composition
A total of four names were in the running for the composer prize: Karol Beffa (50, already awarded in 2013 and 2018) competed with Olympia for accordion and orchestra; Florentine Mulsant (61) with Le Chant du soleil; Yann Robin (50) with his Requiem Æternam – Monumenta II; and Diana Soh (39) with the opera Carmen, cour d’assises.
The actor Raphaël Personnaz, known for his role as Maurice Ravel in Anne Fontaine’s film “Boléro”, personally presented the Victoire de la Musique classique to Florentine Mulsant for her composition “Le Chant du soleil” – a sonata for piano four hands, which is available from Furore Publishing House. The Furore Publishing House is extremely delighted about the award for Florentine Mulsant and congratulates her warmly.
A resident of Suresnes since 1996 and a composer for more than thirty years, she can look back on a fruitful family environment. A music-loving father, with whom she discovered classical music when she was less than ten years old, and a big sister who plays the piano and talks to her about music. “I knew right away that this would be my life. Not as a performer, but as a composer,” she recalls. It was her mother who provided the necessary impetus. “She showed my compositions to a piano teacher, who immediately spoke of a vocation,” Florentine continues. The verdict was flattering and unambiguous: “This little girl can’t do anything yet, but I’ll take her.” Years at the conservatory followed, during which she won several prizes. With a credo that comes as no surprise with such an impressive personality: to maintain her independence from her teachers and develop her own view of the world. After a year in Boston, she went to Germany and met many people there, including the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Her career began and she learned from the music of others, especially at concerts. “You have to hear music live, then it unfolds its full power,” she confirms.
Florentine Mulsant combines talent, determination and a passion for her work.Mulsant creates her works in constant dialog with her performers. In addition, she makes use of numerous guest residencies, such as the recent one in Ouessant, receives commissions, e.g. for Radio France, and has released around ten CDs, while her works are played all over France and the world. She is a versatile artist whose most recent works are a string sextet or a piano sonata. Every year, four to six works are created and published by Furore.