BIOGRAPHY
DUO ACCORDIANO
Duo Accordiano, founded in 2013 by Bojana Antovic on the Piano and Julien Paillard on the accordion, offers a rare and original instrumentation. Bellows and hammers, reeds and strings, buttons and keys join, challenge one another and finally agree, producing a rich, powerful and unique sound. Breathing in unison, these two funambulist keyboard players invite you to follow their tightrope virtuosity and their sensitivity. These two instruments of contrasting timbres and character dance together to the movement of the music, sometimes in juxtaposition, but always complementing one another without ever disavowing their singularity.
In a broad range of styles, Duo Accordiano opens its repertoire towards pieces of J. S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, C. Franck, E. Grieg, I. Piazolla, I. Stravinsky and ventures into the contemporary music world of N. Motomatsu, J. Padros and of their own compositions.
In 2015, Duo Accordiano released its first disc " Impressions nouvelles". A second album dedicated to the Group of Six featuring the following composers: A. Honegger, D. Milhaud, F. Poulenc, E. Satie, G. Tailleferre, M. Ravel and G. Auric is coming out this summer.
Always curious and filled with energy, these young musicians contribute to the radiance of the classical stage in Switzerland.
PERFORMERS
BOJANA ANTOVIĆ
PIANO
A child of three places knowingly her fingers on the piano and tries to find the notes to the melody she heard her big brother plays. Bojana Antovic has just made her first contact with the instrument which will crystallize her life path and her passion for music.
Bojana Antovic is born in 1988 in Kotor, Montenegro and shows at a very early age a talent and an interest for studying the Piano. At the young age of 10 and until she is 18, Bojana Antovic is enrolled in an intense and demanding period where she will share her time between Montenegro and the Conservatory „Vojislav Vuckovic“ in Belgrade, Serbia. During this time, she participated in over 30 national and international competitions where she was regularly a Laureat. This brought her to travel to Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece and South Korea.
In 2006, Bojana‘s move to Switzerland to study for Bachelor‘s at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern will be a defining moment in her life. She not only learns new techniques on her instrument, but also learns a new culture along with three new languages.
In 2009, Bojana Antovic finishes her Bachelors and her time in Mr. Aleksandar Madzar‘s and Ms. Mihaela Ursuleasa‘s class. For her Master in Music Pedagogy, she receives the Albert-Berti Stifftung Prize in 2011. This Masters, as well as the following Master in Music Performance (2015) she does at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) studying in M. Homero Francesch‘s class.
Since she was 10 years old, Bojana is particularly interested in all forms of chamber music. She has played with several groups in Switzlerland, Germany, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro. In 2015, Bojana and flautist Katrin Huggler found Duo Assai. Together they play music that comes from all corners of the earth.
Bojana Antovic lives in Bern and teaches since 2011 at the Musikschule Region Thun (MSRT)
Born in Geneva in 1986, Julien Paillard has, since a very early age, a profound and creative link to music. He started the accordion at the age of 6 and since then this instrument has been the anchor to his musical universe. This anchorage however does not limit his curiosity to new sounds and new musical approaches. It has lead to the learning of several other instruments and to singing. His curiosity also has brought him to participate in jazz, pop and classical ateliers and to pursue art of composing.
In 2006, Julien Paillard started at the Hochschule der Kunst in Bern (HKB) in Mr. Teodoro Anzellotti‘s class. After 3 years of hard work, he received his Bachelors and the Friedl-Wald Foundation Prize (2009). He then continued his studies at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU), in Mr. Stéphane Chapuis‘ class. In 2011, he received his Master’s of Musical Pedagogy.
Parallel to his studies, Julien Paillard remained an active chamber musician and soloist. He played an eclectic range of styles, ranging from Klezmer music to musicals. In the contemporary classical world, he participates as a composer in a variety of projects, founded several groups and regularly arranged other composer’s music.
In 2014, he and violinist Nicolas Penel joined their musical creativity to found the Duo OPTS‘A. Together they perform several of their own arrangements. Julien also plays with organist Antonio Garcia. For this ensemble he composed Pieuvre et Immersion. Since 2014, with the soprano Florence Renaut, Julien Paillard explores the Lied world.
Alongside these chamber music groups, Julien Paillard plays mainly in Switzerland, but also in France, Serbia, Slovenia and Montenegro.
JULIEN PAILLARD
ACCORDION
