In the news
Left to right: Henri Dutilleux, Jean Cortot, Virginie Aster
"I have discovered the work of composer Virginie Aster with great interest. As someone who has fine-tuned my expertise in contemporary music as the Director of New Music at Radio France over the last 10 years, I want to stress the undeniable qualities with which this composer’s professionalism and musical sensibility are impregnated." René BOSC, April 18, 2011
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Concert at the Paris (8th district) City Hall on December 2, 2010: extracts from La Montagne de l’Ame (Soul Mountain)
"A great success, Virginie. Please continue, I’m impatient to hear the rest."
Gao Xingjian, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of Soul Mountain.
"The 8th district City Hall is very proud to have welcomed Virginie Aster who has become the Germaine Tailleferre of the 21st century. We wish her an impressive career."
François Lebel, mayor of the 8th district of Paris
"It was a real pleasure, the sort of pleasure you keep thinking about to make it last. Bravo for all your talent, I hope one day you will get the recognition you deserve."
Jean-Claude Decalonne, CEO of Feeling Musique
"Magnificent. A revelation, such musical and technical quality!"
Marie-Claude Theuveny, concert violinist
"Hours suspended at the summit of the mountains… And the drumming of the horses’ hooves… Emotions and thrills galore! ..."
Christine Piredda, 8th district deputy mayor responsible for culture
"A concert to discover the creations of Virginie Aster, a young composer and musician of multiple talents capable of building bridges between all forms of art and means of expression: music, video, dance and literature. She has made her own the precepts of Rainer Maria Rilke who in his ‘Letters to a Young Poet’ advised any creator to ‘stick to what is difficult’.
Virginie Aster, for her part, has taken as her theme ‘Soul Mountain’ by Chinese writer Gao Xingjian, Nobel prizewinner and painter of great sensitivity, and created a musical adaptation in the form of a chamber opera. On December 2, let yourself be carried away by Virginie Aster and her musicians, walk into her world ‘subject to influence’ with its solos and duos;
in her company, climb that celebrated ‘soul mountain’ without a qualm. There’s no doubt but you’ll enjoy it!"
Paris 8e magazine N°21 - November 2010
On the subject of Sous Influences, a sonata for solo violin :
"I find the composition of Virginie Aster simply wonderful. ‘Sous influences’ for solo violin that she wrote has a nice variety of different technical aspects as well as rich melodic color and parts-it's a very well written composition and a very talented piece of music. I highly recommend this composition to be performed publicly by violinists as often as possible.
Alexander Markov, violinist, July 31 st, 2007