Vladimir Cosma


Vladimir Cosma is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States.
He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother Carola Pimper a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and conductor, and one of his grandmothers, pianist, a student of Ferruccio Busoni.

Career

After receiving first prizes for violin and composition at the Bucharest Conservatory, he arrived in Paris in 1963 and continued his studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, working with Nadia Boulanger. As well as for classical music, he discovered early on a passion for jazz, film music and all forms of popular music.
From 1964 he made a number of international tours as a concert violinist and began to devote himself more and more to composing. He wrote various compositions including: Trois mouvements d'été for symphony orchestra, Oblique for violoncello and string orchestra, music for theatre and ballet.
In 1968, Yves Robert entrusted him with his first film music for Alexandre le Bienheureux.
Vladimir Cosma has since composed more than three hundred scores for feature films and TV series. His numerous successes in the cinema have notably been in collaboration with Yves Robert, Gérard Oury, Francis Veber, Claude Pinoteau, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Claude Zidi, Ettore Scola, Pascal Thomas, Pierre Richard, Yves Boisset, André Cayatte, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Edouard Molinaro, Jean-Marie Poiré, etc. Films he composed the score for include: Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, Diva, Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, La Boum, Le Bal, L'As des as, La Chèvre, Les Fugitifs, ', ', Dupont Lajoie, Un éléphant ça trompe énormément, La Dérobade, Le Père Noël est une ordure, L'Étudiante, La Gloire de mon père, Le Château de ma mère, Le dîner de cons, etc.
Vladimir Cosma has also been featured in major French and American television productions:
Michel Strogoff, Kidnapped, Mistral's Daughter, Châteauvallon, Les Mystères de Paris, Les Coeurs brûlés, etc.
Film music allowed him to approach and develop many different musical styles: jazz ; and original compositions inspired by folk music, as well as classical music
In 2006 Cosma himself conducted the world premiere of his composition Eh bien ! Dansez maintenant, a divertissement for narrator and symphony orchestra, adapting eleven of La Fontaine's Fables. The work's title refers to the ant's rejoinder to the grasshopper when it comes begging for food in the first of the fables: “You sang all summer? Now go and dance!” In Cosma's interpretation, the recitation of the story is unaccompanied, but each of the fables is illustrated in a different dance measure – from polka to pasodoble, from gavotte to foxtrot. The first performance of many that followed took place at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Lambert Wilson as narrator. Conducting the Orchestre National de France, he gave a first performance in Paris of this work in December 2010 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, featuring of the Comédie Française.
Vladimir Cosma went on to write the opera Marius et Fanny, adapted from Marcel Pagnol, for which the first production took place in September 2007 at the Opéra de Marseille with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu in the title roles, as well as Jean-Philippe Lafont in the role of César. The performances were repeated several times on television on the channels Arte and France 3.
In 2008 he composed the music for the musical comedy performed at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, with, Marianne James, Spike, Julie Victor, among others.
In June 2009, Vladimir Cosma conducted the world premiere, in the Eglise Sainte-Madeleine de Béziers, of his cantata 1209, for soprano, narrator, children's choir and orchestra, written especially for the 8th centenary of the Sac de Béziers.
He is dedicated to re-writing his film music with the intention of conducting performances in symphonic concerts, thus approaching a wider audience than at the cinema. Among others, he gave a concert in Geneva in 2003 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, a series of concerts in 2003 with the Orchestre National de Lyon, three concerts in 2005 in Paris at the Grand Rex, and a concert in 2010 with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
He has also appeared in many countries with major symphony orchestras and such prestigious soloists as Ivry Gitlis, Vadim Repin, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Patrice Fontanarosa, Jean-Luc Ponty, Didier Lockwood, Stanciu Simion, Philip Catherine and others.
A book of interviews with Vincent Perrot entitled Vladimir Cosma comme au cinéma was published in 2009 in the Editions Hors Collection and an anthology of his film music regrouping 91 complete original soundtracks in two volumes has just come out.
Two evenings were devoted to him by the French TV channel, France 3 in 2010, airing his concert at the Théâtre du Châtelet and a documentary Vladimir Cosma intime.
Vladimir Cosma received two Césars for the best movie score, for Diva and Le Bal, two Golden Sevens for the best music for television, as well as a number of prizes and awards in France and other countries.
He has also obtained numerous gold and platinum records all over the world.
Vladimir Cosma is Chevalier de l'ordre National la Légion d'Honneur, as well as Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. He has also been awarded the Romanian Ordinul "Meritul cultural" în grad de Cavaler.

Works

Film and television

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Operas and stage works

  • 1970: Fantômas, chamber opera based on the work of Robert Desnos directed by Eve Griliquez
  • 1971: Volpone, stage and ballet music for the Comédie-Française, directed by Gérard Vergez
  • 1986: Alcazar de Paris, music and songs from the Alcazar cabaret revue by Frantz Salieri
  • 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004: Election Miss France, music, ballets and songs
  • 2007: Marius et Fanny, opera in two acts based on the work of Marcel Pagnol
  • 2008: Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, musical comedy by Patrick Timsit

    Symphonic works based on film soundtracks

  • L'As des As - Ouverture
  • La Boum - suite d'orchestre
  • La Gloire de mon Père, Le Château de ma mère - suite d'orchestre Habanera, Les Vacances, Isabelle, Le Parc Borelli, Massalia Rag, Valse d'Augustine
  • Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire - Danse Roumaine
  • Michel Strogoff - suite d'orchestre - Thème de Nadia, Danse Tartare
  • Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob - Danses Hassidiques
  • Le Bal, pour trompette et orchestre
  • La Course à l'échalote - suite d'orchestre
  • La Dérobade
  • Le Jaguar
  • Les Aventures de David Balfour
  • Le Placard
  • La Chèvre pour kena ou naï et orchestre
  • Les Compères
  • Les Fugitifs - suite d'orchestre
  • La Boum 2 - suite d'orchestre
  • Diva version orchestrale
  • Un Eléphant, ça trompe énormément
  • L'Eté 36 – suite d'orchestre
  • L'Amour en héritage - version orchestrale
  • Châteauvallon – version orchestrale
  • Les Cœurs brûlés - version orchestrale
  • Le Bal des casse-pieds – pour solistes de jazz et orchestre
  • Le Bal des casse-pieds – version orchestrale
  • Salut l'Artiste pour solistes de jazz et orchestre
  • L'Aile ou la Cuisse pour solistes de jazz et orchestre
  • Le Père Noël au Paradis - suite basée sur les musiques des films: Le Père Noël est une ordure, Nous irons tous au Paradis, pour solistes de jazz et orchestre
  • Le Dîner de cons, pour solistes de jazz et orchestre

    Works for soloists and orchestra

  • Oblique, pour violoncelle et orchestre à cordes
  • Concerto pour Euphonium et orchestre
  • Concerto Ibérique, pour trompette et orchestre
  • Concerto de Berlin, pour violon et orchestre
  • * version du film La 7ème Cible – env. 9'
  • * version intégrale – env.29'

    Vocal, choral and symphonic

  • Eh bien ! Dansez maintenant, divertissement d'après Les Fables de Jean de La Fontaine pour Récitant et orchestre symphonique
  • Cantate 1209, pour Récitant, Soprano, Chœurs d'enfants et orchestre
  • Reality du film La Boum, pour voix de ténor et orchestre
  • L'Amour en héritage , pour soprano et orchestre
  • Your Eyes du film La Boum 2, pour soprano et orchestre
  • Les Cœurs brûlés, pour soprano et orchestre
  • Divine du film Diva pour soprano et orchestre
  • Air de la Wally du film Diva, pour soprano et orchestre
  • You call it Love du film L'Etudiante pour soprano et orchestre
  • Eternity du film La Vouivre pour soprano et orchestre

    Military and concert band music

  • Concerto pour Euphonium et orchestre d'harmonie
  • Concerto Ibérique, pour trompette et orchestre d'harmonie
  • La Boum - suite pour orchestre d'harmonie
  • La Gloire de mon Père, Le Château de ma Mère - suite pour orchestre d'harmonie - Habanera, Les Vacances, Isabelle, Valse d'Augustine
  • Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire - Danse Roumaine
  • Michel Strogoff - suite pour orchestre d'harmonie - Thème de Nadia, Danse Tartare
  • Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob - Danses Hassidiques
  • L'Aile ou la Cuisse - Concerto gastronomique
  • Les Saxs Brothers du film Nous irons tous au Paradis pour Quintette de saxophones, Piano, Contrebasse et Batterie