BIOGRAPHY
As composer, pianist and musical director, Carl Ragonese is an active member of Montreal’s music scene. His artistic versatility has allowed him to compose works for the stage, the concert hall as well as pop music.
Carl’s Neo Romantic roots (exemplified by his Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra from 2003), have in recent years developed into a compositional style which draws inspiration from traditional Minimalist ideals and techniques.
Some of the most interesting developments in Carl’s musical language since 2008 have been related to his unique use of cyclical musical patterns. Another distinctive aspect of Carl’s music can be found in the way he creates melody and texture, through the layering of autonomous musical structures.
His harmonic language, which relies strongly on Mirror Harmonies, comes as a result of theoretical ideas he developed during his Masters studies in composition at Université de Montreal, where he benefited from the tutelage of composers Denis Gougeon and Michel Longtin. These ideas which were first realized musically in his piece for symphony orchestra entitled Image Miroir (2007) are continually being developed by the composer to this day.
In Carl Ragonese’s debut album entitled SENSATIONS (released in February 2014), the composer has created a musical universe in which simplicity and complexity coexist in a delicate balance. The result of thse efforts is a body of work that bridges the gap between the avant-garde and the accessible.
* See Extended Bio Below
BIOGRAPHIE
En tant que compositeur, interprète et directeur musical, Carl Ragonese est un membre actif dans la communauté musicale de la ville de Montréal. Sa polyvalence artistique lui permet de composer des œuvres musicales variées, incluant la musique de scène, la musique classique ainsi que la musique pop.
Au cours des dernières années, ses racines néoromantiques que l’on trouve dans la pièce Scherzo pour piano et orchestre (2003), se sont transformées dans un style qui s’inspire des techniques de la musique minimaliste.
Plus tard, nous pouvons observer des aspects intéressants dans le développement de son style qui tend vers l’utilisation de motifs musicaux cycliques, ainsi que la création de mélodies et textures par lasuperposition de structures musicales autonomes.
Le langage musical de Carl est fortement fondé sur des harmonies miroir, développé au cours de ses études à l’Université de Montréal où il y a bénéficié de la tutelle des Compositeurs Denis Gougeon et Michel Longtin. Ses idées théoriques, ayant pris naissance dans l’écriture de sa thèse de Maîtrise et pièce pour orchestre intitulée Image Miroir (2007), sont encore endéveloppement par le compositeur à ce jour.
La pièce intitulée Nine Changes For Large Chamber Ensemble(2008) est inspirée par des notions de temporalité progressives en musique. Cette notion a été réalisée musicalement par le fait que la pièce a été composée pour deux ensembles jouant simultanément à différentes vitesses, avec comme résultat est un son synchronisé et mélodieux.
Découvrez dans son nouvel album intitulé SENSATIONS, un univers musical où complexité et simplicité coexistent dans un équilibre délicat, faisant le pont entrele moderne et l’accessible (Disponible dès février 2014).
* Carl Ragonese (Extended Bio)
As composer, pianist and musical director, Carl Ragonese is an active member of Montreal’s music scene. His artistic versatility has allowed him to compose works for the stage, the concert hall as well as pop music.
Carl studied the piano as a child and his precocious talent for the arts persuaded his parents to enroll him at the prestigious Montreal Children’s Theatre. A theatre school who’s most famous alumni includes the iconic Canadian actor, William Shatner.
It was while playing with his high school band that the budding composer got to experiment with new instruments such as the trumpet and the clarinet. It was also at this time that he learned to play the drums, which he taught himself to play throughout his high school years.
Carl’s formal training in classical composition began in 1997 when he entered the music program at Concordia University. The sound theoretical training he received at this period from composers like Kevin Austin, Allan Crossman and Wolfgang Bottenberg would form the basis for future advanced studies in music theory and composition. It was during the last year of his Bachelor’s degree studies at Concordia that he composed the music for the musical theatre adaption of the play by Lise Vaillancourt, Marie Antoine opus 1.
As co-writer, drummer and keyboardist for the Montreal rock band JADED (2003 to 2007), Carl played alongside world renowned musical acts while opening for such bands as MOBILE and SIMPLE PLAN. Carl’s rare ability to play both instruments at the same time prompted this reaction from a Montreal Music Scene reviewer, “a new drummer that plays keyboard intros while holding a steady beat…you heard me folks, the drummer plays the keyboards! ”
Carl’s Neo Classical roots (exemplified by his Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra from 2003), have in recent years developed into a compositional style which draws inspiration from traditional Minimalist ideals and techniques.
His harmonic language, which relies strongly on Mirror Harmonies, comes as a result of theoretical ideas he developed during his Masters studies in composition at Université de Montreal, where he benefited from the tutelage of composers Denis Gougeon and Michel Longtin. These ideas which were first realized musically in his piece for symphony orchestra entitled Image Miroir (2007) are continually being developed by the composer to this day.
The 2008 work entitled Nine Changes, for Large Chamber Ensemble, represents Carl's first successful synthesis of the above mentioned ideals, techniques and musical processes. Furthermore, the work also plays with the notion of progressive temporality in music, as it is composed for two separate ensembles each playing at different tempos, yet being heard as a cohesive whole.
Some of the most interesting developments in Carl’s musical language since 2008 have been related to his unique use of cyclical musical patterns. Another distinctive aspect of Carl’s music can be found in the way he creates melody and texture, through the layering of autonomous musical structures.
In Carl’s debut album entitled SENSATIONS (released in February 2014); the composer has created a musical universe in which simplicity and complexity coexist in a delicate balance. The result of these efforts is a body of work that bridges the gap between the avant-garde and the accessible.
In 2012, the composer formed a music ensemble featuring a unique instrumentation of piano, flute, violin, cello, guitar and bass guitar. With the composer at the keyboard, the ensemble performs the music of its founder as well as unique musical arrangements of modern and classical music.
In 2014 the Carl Ragonese Ensemble made several important appearances as they were invited to perform at Montreal’s Italian Week festival. Later that year the ensemble was included in the Chamber Music Without Borders concert series, where they performed music from the SENSATIONS album in the beautiful Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Montreal.
More recently In August 2015, the Carl Ragonese Ensemble was invited to perform at Centennial Park in Dollard des Ormeaux (QC), as part of a Province wide special event commemorating the life of the great French singer Edith Piaf.