Pascal Moragues

"A world-class clarinetist", (Daniel Barenboim). "I'm adding a special recommendation for Pascal Moraguès, who is a superb soloist", (Pierre Boulez). Born in 1963, Pascal Moraguès obtained a place at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in 1976, where he immediately won first prizes in clarinet and chamber music.

At the age of 18, he was invited by Daniel Barenboim to become principal clarinet with the Orchestre de Paris. In 1995, he started teaching at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. As a member of both the Quintette Moraguès and the Ensemble de Mulhouse, Pascal Moraguès enjoys a brilliant concert career.

As a soloist, he has shared the stage with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Serge Baudo, Semyon Bychkov, Carlo-Maria Giulini, Pierre Boulez, and Emmanuel Krivine. In chamber music, he has played alongside the likes of Sviatoslav Richter, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christian Zacharias, Christian Ivaldi, Georges Pludemacher, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Victoria Mullova, Schlomo Mintz and Gary Hoffman, as well as with the Borodine, Sine Nomine, Lindsay, Isaye, Parisii and Manfred quartets. His recording of the Brahms quintet with the Talich Quartet is now considered somewhat of a benchmark.

Pascal Moraguès is a frequent guest player at festivals such as Montreux, La Roque d'Antheron, Divonne, La Grange de Meslay, and Périgord Noir. He is also invited to perform for the Paris chamber music season. He gives numerous concerts and master classes abroad, notably in Japan, the US, Australia and across Europe. Pascal Moraguès has produced a series of recordings that have received various awards from both French and international critics. When Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter produced his complete works (Philips. 1995), he chose the Moraguès Quintet to record Beethoven's quintet for piano and woodwinds.

In 1980, five award winners of Paris' Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse founded the Quintette Moraguès. It was not long before the group demonstrated great tonal richness and complexity. However, it was not always easy to unite five such different sounds. Yet, Quintette Moraguès clearly rose to the challenge. The group was able to expand its repertoire, notably thanks to David Watter. Bearing in mind that, with the exception of 20th century pieces, existing pieces for quintet are relatively rare, David Watter successfully adapted works originally intended for other group sizes to enable the quintet to play works from the 18-20th century.

Three members of the Quintette Moraguès are now soloists with the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris, and the Orchestre de Paris. Two others teach at both the Conservatoire National de Châlon sur Saône, and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris.

The Quintette Moraguès has already performed in a number of major Parisian theaters: Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Gaveau, Musée d'Orsay, and Théâtre du Châtelet. The quintet are frequent guests at festivals such as Radio France Montpellier, La Roque d'Anthéron, Périgord Noir, and La Baule. They have also toured abroad, notably in Japan (1997), Germany (1995), the US, Switzerland, Holland and Eastern Europe. In all, they have performed over 350 concerts since their formation. He has partnered with Christian Zacharias, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Michel Dalberto, Alain Planès, and Pascal Rogé.

In 1992, the Quintette Moraguès made a triumphant tour with pianist Sviatoslav Richter, starting in France and ending at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. A recording of one of these concerts is featured in a Philips box set dedicated to this great artist. The Quintette Moraguès has made several recordings, and their 20th-century music renderings of Mendelssohn and Mozart were enthusiastically received by the press. Their Mozart recordings won the Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque. Pascal is one of Buffet Crampon's official representatives.