Powered by artgenève, Firmenich, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Scentrealm.
What is the sound of scent? What does it look like? This January 25th, we invite you to a one-of-a-kind experience that will awaken and engage your senses. artgenève, in collaboration with Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, ScentRealm and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande present “The Art and Sound of Scents” – a multi-sensorial performance that combines scent, sound and sight.
Similar to visual arts and music, perfumery is a form of artistic expression able to evoke deep emotions and memories. Since the very beginning of civilizations, fragrances were used in rituals and ceremonies to connect people with their spirituality, purify the mind and body, awaken the senses and elevate the soul. “The Art and Sound of Scents” is an exceptional collaboration that will allow the audience to “hear fragrances”, “see sounds” and “smell visual stories”.
ScentRealm, a leading digital scent technology pioneer based in China and a partner of Firmenich, has created state-of-the-art collar devices where 14 scents by Firmenich Perfumer Loïc Bisceglie will be diffused in harmony with a 24-minute video by visual artist Pascal Matthey, and live music played by the orchestra. The sounds and fragrance molecules will flow in the air, binding them with memorable images, in an experience that will awaken the senses.
SCENTREALM
Founded in 2015 by Jian Wei HUANG, ScentRealm is the first Chinese company engaging in digital scent technology and digital scent solutions. ScentRealm explores breakthrough technologies to offer an enhanced scent experience for the end user. It is the official vendor of The Hangzhou Asian Games and opened “Scent Metaverse”, an offline experience center in Hangzhou, China in April 2022.
In its unique collaboration with Firmenich, it brings together the knowhow of a fragrance house and a sense experience explorer. It will enable Firmenich to enhance the fragrance and aroma experience for its customers and for consumers through jointly developed digital devices, and to explore the digital future of scent.
ABOUT FIRMENICH
Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science, and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 4.7 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2022. More information about Firmenich is available at www.firmenich.com
Eric Saracchi – Sponsor Digital
Odile Pelissier – Sponsor Perfumery
Monica Sanchez Pozzo – Project Direction and Perfume Development
Loic Bisceglie – Olfactive Scenario and Perfume creation
Christelle Perron – Marketing, Legal & Communication
Steven Guo-Sheng TANG – ScentRealm Leader
Donato Cereghetti – ScentRealm Deployment
Carlos Lopez, Mike Touchard, Ludovic Damon – ScentRealm IT Support
Benjamin Robin – Logistics et Laboratory coordination
Special thanks:
François Rohrbach, Silvia de Meo, Mirja Françon, Anne Giraud, Laure Monjal, Mariana-Mimi Allaman, Mimount Laaroussi, Nadine Gaudreau, Sauvane Carpentier et Séverine Cartier
LOÏC BISCEGLIE
Originally from Avignon, Loïc BISCEGLIE has been a perfumer for the Firmenich group since 2017.
Passionate about culinary creation from an early age, he predestined himself for a career in the restaurant industry until he met an independent perfumer in 2000. He discovered a universe that suited him and became obvious to him.
After university studies in chemistry, he joined ISIPCA in Versailles and was hired by a Japanese company. He began his training as a perfumer in quality control, an important step in learning raw materials, then trained for 4 years with Philippe Bousseton before joining the team of perfumers in Shanghai in 2012. These three years of immersion in the heart of Asian culture have allowed him to get closer to the values of excellence and refinement, which drive his daily work.
Perfumer, classical guitarist and dancer at international level, Loïc uses all his senses to express his freedom and put his sensitivity at the service of creating emotions. He finds inspiration in the smallest detail of everyday life, from a simple object, a book, an advertisement and by listening to music…
What characterizes his creations:
Emotion, Addiction, Signature
ORCHESTRE DE LA SUISSE ROMANDE
Philippe Béran, Conductor
Bogdan Zvoristeanu, first violin solo
Caroline Baeriswyl, violin
Verena Schweizer, alto
Hilmar Schweizer, substitute soloist cello
Loïc Schneider, first flute soloist
Sylvain Lombard, oboe
Dmitry Rasul-Kareyev, first clarinet soloist
Julia Heirich, first soloist horn
Alexandre Mastrangelo, arranger
Charlotte de Senarclens, President
Jonathan Nott, Musical and artistic Director
Steve Roger, General Director
Guillaume Bachellier, Production delegate
Marc Sapin, supervisor & technical coordinator
Catherine Bézieau, librarian
Marine Dandelot, presse relations
Guillaume Poupin, project coordinator
Note of intent by Alexandre Mastrangelo
The music heard during this olfactory concert aims to create associations of the senses. Synesthetic music! The sensory journey follows the course of a normal day, from the agitated morning to the calm evening. The music tries to translate the sensations felt through the different stages of the day. Rather than specifically describing a situation or a smell, it translates a more general feeling, easily identifiable but resonating differently in each of us. The musical program is deliberately eclectic and varied, so that each episode has its own identity.
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande – Saison 2022-23
Since its creation by Ernest Ansermet in 1918, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande has seen over 700 musicians contribute to its history. Currently led by Musical and Artistic Director Jonathan Nott, the OSR is made up of 112 permanent musicians represented by 16 different nationalities. It performs over 80 concerts every year, including 20 abroad. In addition to subscription concerts in Geneva and Lausanne, it performs symphonic programmes for the City of Geneva and the annual United Nations Day concert and accompanies operatic performances at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva.
Jonathan Nott serves as the OSR’s Music and Artistic Director and continues the OSR’s active contribution to the history of music through the discovery and support of contemporary composers. Well-known for his support for young musicians, Nott led the creation of the new assistant conductor position within the orchestra, to which Columbian conductor Ana María Patiño-Osorio has been appointed to for the 2022-23 season.
The launch of the artist in residence programme in 2019 promotes the artistic development of the orchestra. Previous holders of the position include composer Yann Robin, pianist Francesco Piemontesi, and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. Jazz pianist Marc Perrenoud has been appointed for the 2022-23 season, and Daniel Harding commences his second season as conductor in residence.
The OSR’s international tours have taken it to the leading concert halls in Europe and Asia, as well as key cities in the Americas. The orchestra is highly sought after by the most prestigious festivals, including the Festival de Pâques, Lucerne Festival, les Chorégies d’Orange, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Septembre Musical (Montreux), Amsterdam’s Robeco ZomerConcerten, the Grafenegg Festival and the BBC Proms.
In close collaboration with Radio-Television Switzerland since its creation, the OSR has broadcast over the airwaves since its early days, to the benefit of millions of listeners throughout the world. The orchestra has made prize-winning recordings for around a dozen international labels and is currently in partnership with PENTATONE.
Philippe Béran
Born in Geneva in 1962, Philippe Béran has a Scientific and Musical educational background. He holds a degree in theoretical physics from the University of Geneva for science. In addition, he received the first prize from the Geneva Conservatory (clarinet and conducting) and the Paris Conservatory (clarinet).
He has an international career and conducts about a hundred concerts and performances each season with prestigious institutions. In addition to a very vast repertoire, ranging from the 18th to the 21st century, in all musical genres, he has four primary areas of expertise: ballet, film concerts, guided concerts for young audiences and families, and new works.
He has always succeeded in creating rich and long-lasting relationships with the institutions he works for. These include the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande since 1992 (30 years!), the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) (1996-2010), the Opéra National de Bordeaux (the Bordeaux National Opera) (1997-2007), the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève (the Geneva Chamber Orchestra) (since 2001), the Grand Théâtre de Genève (since 2002), the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (since 2003), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra)(2003-2012), Royal Swedish Opera(2009-present), Capitole de Toulouse (2010-present), The Finnish National Opera and Ballet (2012-present), Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (2014-present), Orchestre National de France (2016-present). He has also worked with the New York City Ballet and the Ballet National de l’Opéra de Paris (the Paris Opera Ballet).
Philippe Béran was appointed as a Chevalier de l’ordre du Mérite Culturel de la Principauté de Monaco (Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit in the Principality of Monaco) in November 2019.
Alexandre Mastrangelo
Born in 1989 in Geneva, Alexandre has studied trombone under Jacques Mauger at the Haute Ecole de musique de Genève (2009-2012), Ian Bousfield at the Hochschule der Künste Bern (2012-2015) and David Bruchez at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (2018-2020). He ended up his studies with a Master of Arts in music Pedagogics and a Specialized Master in Orchestral Performance. Next to his instrumental studies, he follows composition’s lessons of Xavier Dayer at the Hochschule der Künste Bern and Michael Jarrell at the Haute Ecole de musique de Genève. He has written for the Geneva Brass Quintet, the Geneva Wind Orchestra, the International Trombone Festival or the Swiss Bulgarian Association for Culture. His music is played in Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, the USA and Brazil. In 2020, his work « Two pieces for brass and percussion ensemble » has been performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the baton of Jonathan Nott. In 2021, his work
« Visions » has been recorded by the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, under the baton of Baldur Bronnimann. Some of his compositions are published by Difem Music Publishers (CH) and International Music Diffusion (FR). Upcoming projects for the 2022/2023 season are a collaboration as an arranger with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and a new trombone concerto for the Geneva Camerata.
As a trombone player, Alexandre was a member of prestigious orchestral academies (Verbier and Lucerne Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival), and served apprenticeships in different Swiss orchestras (Sinfonieorchester Biel, Berner Sinfonieorchester, Sinfonieorchester Basel). For many years Alexandre has played in professional ensembles in Swiss and abroad (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Ensemble Intercontemporain…), under the baton of maestros such as Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Matthias Pintscher or Christoph Eschenbach. He won the second prize at the Concours International de Trombone d’Alsace in 2017 and the Fritz Gerber Award in 2016, which rewards the performance of a contemporary work. He founded in 2013 the trombone quartet « Swiss Slide Quartet » whose goal is to promote the original repertoire written for this formation. He also regularly plays in pop music bands (jazz, salsa, ska, etc. ) and is a member of the « Big up band », a big band based in Geneva. He obtained in 2010 a certificate of jazz delivered by the Jazz School in Lausanne. He is the trombone teacher of the « Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre » of Geneva.
