The Paris born pianist and composer Michel Runtz has French and Swiss origins, he lives and teaches in Fribourg (Switzerland).
Runtz studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. He showed an interest in composition at an early stage by setting poems to music. He continued to write chansons from 1976 to 1980 while teaching and recording his first instrumental works.
Pierre Gabaye, winner of the Grand Prix de Rome, turned out to be his first important encounter and encouraged him to pursue his own individual style.
In 1982 Michel Runtz settled in Fribourg, Switzerland. His second important encounter was with the Swiss composer and choir master Pierre Kaelin, who invited him to work with various vocal ensembles and record his work for choir and piano "Le bel age".
Between 1984 and 1992, Michel Runtz was commissioned to compose incidental music and sound tracks for advertisements, video clips and tv documentaries. He also continued his career as a pianist, playing classical and modern works as well as his own compositions. It was during this period that he met some important personalities of contemporary music in workshops at the Centre Acanthes in France including Xenakis, Takemitsu, Murail, Aperghis. He analysed their output and worked on their interpretation under the tutilage of Claude Helffer and later Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
In addition to these musical encounters there was a third, artistic influence through Paul Delvaux and his paintings. Shortly before Delvaux's death, Michel Runtz dedicated to him the work "Paul Delvaux".
Michel Runtz has performed since 1992 with a programme gradually directed towards the performance of his own works only.
In 2000 he presented his work "Scènes de la vie musicale", a suite of six pieces, for quartet of clarinets, cello and four-hand piano in the French part of Switzerland.
In 2001 he founded the Association Jeune Musique, which organises the biennial Fribourg International Piano Competition, a competition whose programme focuses exclusively on the music of the 20th and 21st century and is open to young pianists up to the age of 18.
With "Notes and Light" he created a concept in in 2006 which suggested a new form of concert by transforming the traditional piano recital with its static stage lighting into a visual concert - an unexpected dialogue between the notes of the piano and their transposition into light. This spectacle was performed in Switzerland and China.
The eclectic approach in his artistic works led him to compose music for a fashion show by designer Franck Sorbier, as well as writing a humorous and visual piece for four-hand piano as a closing night performance to an event about Eric Satie in Paris.
Runtz's instrumental works slowly appear in the programmes of various performers and competitions.
Liste des oeuvres
Osmose (1979)
Instrumentation: pour piano, flûte et contrebasse
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Exercice de style (1980)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 30" Manuscrit
Vertiges (1980)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 5' 00" Manuscrit
Aquarelle (1980)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
Le petit rag d'hôtel (1981)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 00" Manuscrit
Idylle (1981)
Instrumentation: pour violoncelle et piano
Durée: 3' 00" Manuscrit
Evasion (1981)
Instrumentation: pour piano, flûte et contrebasse
Durée: 2' 20" Manuscrit
Emergences (1983)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 6' 00" Manuscrit
B.J. 30 (1986)
Instrumentation: pour boîte à rythmes et synthétiseurs
Musique de video clip TV.
Durée: 3' 35" Manuscrit
Dopage, dégage (1987)
Instrumentation: pour orchestre
Musique de court métrage (F).
Durée: 11' 30" Manuscrit
Nîmes Objectif Sport (1991)
Instrumentation: pour orchestre
Musique de court métrage (F).
Durée: 15' 00" Manuscrit
Suite de cinq chants sur des poèmes de Victor Hugo (1994)
Instrumentation: pour chœur mixte (SATB) (a cappella ou avec piano)
A Dona Rosita Rosa
A propos de Dona Rosa
Le doigt de la femme
Je ne me mets pas en peine
En sortant du collège
Durée: 16' 00" Manuscrit
Modigliani (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Matisse (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 30" Manuscrit
Picasso (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano (main gauche seule)
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Mary Cassatt (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 00" Manuscrit
Paul Delvaux (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 5' 00" Manuscrit
Regard sur W.A. (1994)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
Hommage à Pierre Kaelin (1995)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 00" Manuscrit
Pin's rétro (1995)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 3' 00" Manuscrit
En lyre et délire (1996)
Instrumentation: pour ensemble de cuivres et percussions
Durée: 3' 15" Manuscrit
Valse intime (1997)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 2' 30" Manuscrit
Hoy, me vestiria… (1999)
Instrumentation: pour voix soprano avec accompagnement guitare
Texte: René Vasquez
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Moire (1999)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
Palimpseste (1999)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 5' 00" Manuscrit
Acuarela (1999)
Instrumentation: pour guitare
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
Clair-obscur (1999-2000)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 7' 00" Manuscrit
Rencontre (2000)
Instrumentation: pour clarinette et piano
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Affinités (2000)
Instrumentation: pour violoncelle et clarinette basse
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Complicités (2000)
Instrumentation: pour quatuor de clarinettes, violoncelle et piano à 4 mains
Durée: 8' 00" Manuscrit
Jubilation (2000)
Instrumentation: pour violoncelle et piano
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Divergences (2000)
Instrumentation: pour quatuor de clarinettes
Durée: 5' 00" Manuscrit
Obsessions (2000)
Instrumentation: pour quatuor de clarinettes, violoncelle et piano à 4 mains
Durée: 8' 00" Manuscrit
Octosyllabe (2003)
Instrumentation: pour octuor vocal (SSAATTBB)
Texte: Michel Runtz
Durée: 7' 00" Manuscrit
Amalgame (2003)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 7' 00" Manuscrit
A distance (2004)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
33ème Gymnocratie (2004)
Instrumentation: pour piano à 4 mains
Durée: 3' 30" Manuscrit
Eclats (2005)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 7' 30" Manuscrit
Fusion (2005)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 7' 30" Manuscrit
Prologue de Notes and Light (2006)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 4' 30" Manuscrit
Entre source et nuage (2007)
Instrumentation: pour alto et piano
Texte: Wang Wei
Durée: 6' 30" Manuscrit
Divergences (2008)
Instrumentation: pour clarinette, flûte et piano
Durée: 5' 00" Manuscrit
Zhuo Zheng Yuan (2008)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 9' 00" Manuscrit
Affinités (2008)
Instrumentation: pour flûte et clarinette
Durée: 4' 00" Manuscrit
Et au milieu coule la Sarine (2009)
Instrumentation: pour saxophone et piano
Musique du film documentaire d'Isabelle Dufour, Fribourg (CH).
Durée: 6' 00" Manuscrit
Nordlicht (2009)
Instrumentation: pour piano
Durée: 7' 30" Manuscrit
French Souvenir / Souvenir de France (2009)
Instrumentation: pour piano à 4 (ou 6) mains (ou 8 mains (2 pianos))
Durée: 2' 00" Manuscrit
Let's go! / C'est parti! (2009)
Instrumentation: pour piano à 4 (ou 6) mains (ou 8 mains (2 pianos))
Durée: 2' 30" Manuscrit
Spiral / Spirale (2009)
Instrumentation: pour piano à 4 (ou 6) mains (ou 8 mains (2 pianos))