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Gatien Leray, viola & Duru Erdogan, piano
: Happy Flâneries
- Thursday, March 5, 6:30 p.m.
- Villa Douce, Reims
Gatien Leray and Duru Erdogan invite us to discover a program rich in expression, in which three musical worlds—very different yet complementary—interact and illuminate one another.
Hindemith’s Sonata, Op. 11, No. 4, composed in 1919, displays a modernity that is both bold and sensitive: an introspective piece, tense yet never dry, that reveals the full range of the viola’s timbre and highlights the subtle dialogue with the piano.
With the “Arpeggione” Sonata, D 821, Schubert transports us to an entirely different world. One of the composer’s most luminous (and best-known) works, it features a deeply tender melody—one that everyone remembers and recognizes—carried by simple lyricism and great elegance, where each phrase seems to breathe naturally. It is this same melodic line—supple and pure—that highlights the rapport between the two performers.
The program concludes with Chausson’s Pièce, Op. 39, a true gem of late 19th-century French music. It features that very personal blend of harmonic delicacy, expressive warmth, and a subtly veiled romanticism that gives Chausson’s music its unique charm.
Together, Gatien Leray on the viola and Duru Erdogan on the piano invite us into their musical dialogue. With impeccable precision, beautiful tones, mutual attentiveness, and a natural, profound sense of musical storytelling—this is what awaits us at this third installment of Happy Flaneries 2026: an hour of music to gently bring our day to a close.
Biography of Gatien Leray
A violist of remarkable sensitivity, Gatien Leray possesses a natural ability to forge an emotional connection with his audience. He is passionate about both solo and chamber music repertoires, having enriched his experience through collaborations with Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, Nobuko Imai, and Antoine Tamestit, as well as through participation in academies such as Villecroze, Chigiana, and Stauffer. A guest performer at festivals including Un été en France, the Colmar International Festival, the Gstaad Music Festival, the Pablo Casals Festival, Incontri in terra di Siena, and the Festival de Pâques, he shares the stage with renowned musicians such as Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Clemens Hagen, and Daishin Kashimoto, in venues such as Geneva’s Victoria Hall, the Rosey Concert Hall in Rolle, and the Abbaye Saint-Michel de Cuxa in Codalet.
As a chamber musician, Gatien draws inspiration from Miguel da Silva, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Valentin Erben, and Bruno Giuranna. As principal violist of the HEM orchestra, he has performed under the baton of Péter Eötvös, Heinz Holliger, and Pierre Bleuse. Gatien began playing the viola at the age of seven and joined Miguel da Silva’s class at the Geneva University of Music at seventeen. He then enrolled at the Menuhin Academy in Rolle, continuing his training at both institutions. He has performed in Switzerland, France, and Italy with the Menuhin soloists and studied with Gérard Caussé and Ivan Vukcevic. In 2024, he earned his Master’s degree in Solo Performance from the HEM, receiving the Albert Lullin Special Prize. He completed his training with a diploma in performance from the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse under Françoise Gnéri and Jean Sulem. Gatien has received support from the Hirschmann Stiftung and Rahn Kulturfonds (Switzerland) foundations. In 2025, he was invited to the prestigious Verbier Academy Soloist program.
An artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, he is a laureate of the Gautier Capuçon Foundation and the Safran Foundation, and won second prize at the Tonetti Foundation International Competition (Switzerland).
Biography of Duru Erdogan
Duru Erdogan was born in Turkey in 2004. She studied at the Bilkent University Junior School of Music before receiving a full scholarship to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School in the United Kingdom, where she studied with Marcel Baudet from 2017 to 2022. During this time, she performed regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and on tour in Scotland, notably at Kings Place in London and Menuhin Hall.
She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, under the guidance of Professor Eldar Nebolsin. In 2025, she won second prize at the Robert Schumann International Competition in Düsseldorf and was selected to participate in the Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander. She is also a scholarship recipient at the Liechtenstein Music Academy, where she participated in the Intensive Music Weeks with Professor Claudio Martínez Mehner.
Duru has received several international awards, including first prize at the Franz Liszt Center Competition, the London Classical Music Competition, the Spotlight International Competition, and the Young Pianist of the North Competition, as well as second prize at the Beecham Piano Competition. In 2022, she was selected as a finalist in the BBC Young Musician category.
She has performed as a soloist with the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra and the Kölner Kammerorchester, and has participated in festivals and academies such as the PianoDuo Festival Amsterdam and the Chamber Lab Montecastelli. She has also taken part in masterclasses with pianists such as Piotr Anderszewski, Olga Pashchenko, and Milana Chernyavska
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