Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach

A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach is a prizewinner in several national and international competitions, and the winner of the SYLFF Leadership Initiative Award of the Tokyo Foundation.

Born to a bicultural French-South American artistic family, Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach has consistently sought to explore and expand the saxophone’s repertoire.

Above and beyond the more traditional works he performs as a soloist (Auvergne Orchestra, Ekaterinburg Philharmonic, Lamoureux Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador), within duos and quartets (Denisov and Azar Duos, the Neva and Module Quartets), he collaborates regularly with composers (Régis Campo, Bernard Cavanna, Frédéric Durieux, Christian Lauba, Bruno Mantovani, Luis Naón, Gérard Pesson, François Rossé, Juan Arroyo…) and ensembles (Ensemble Intercontemporain, Red Note Ensemble).

He is a member of the "Futurs composés" network dedicated to new music.

Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach regularly gives concerts in France (in Paris, the Grand Salon des Invalides, the Orsay, the Louvre and the Orangerie museums, the Cité de la Musique, the Cent Quatre, the Centre Pompidou, the Salle Gaveau, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) and abroad.

At the beginning of his career, in 2005, he became a member of the Spivakov Russian Foundation, thanks to which he gave concerts in Moscow (Kremlin, Moscow International house of Music). In 2006 and 2007, he was invited to play as a soloist with orchestra in Yekaterinburg and gave several masterclasses at the city Conservatory. In 2006, he played with his saxophone quartet in Ljubljana (Slovenia) for the 14th World Saxophone Congress event.

In 2008, he went on a tour across the United-States to perform with the Saxophone Ensemble of the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP). In 2010, he premiered a concerto entitled Voiceless Letters by Japanese composer Yumiko Yokoi at theRadio Suisse Romande in Geneva. In 2011, he performed Troisième Round by Bruno Mantovani conducted by the composer himself, at the Paris Conservatoire.

The 2012-2013 season led him to Wales, Japan, Germany, Peru, Russia, Austria (Vienna Saxfest), etc. In 2013, he played the concerto entitled Le Chant des Ténèbres by Thierry Escaich, with the Orchestre d’Auvergne, conducted by Roberto Forés Veses. In May 2014, he premiered the concerto Quale by Daniel Fígols Cuevas, in Glasgow, with the Red Note Ensemble, conducted by Garry Walker (Plug Festival). In March 2018, he performs the Concerto, Op. 109 by Aleksandr Glazunov with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, in Quito.

Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach integrates transcriptions into his repertoire, including tango. This open and eclectic approach has led to invitations to perform in international festivals and prestigious venues (Flâneries musicales de Reims, Ars Musica in Brussels, Archipel Festival  in Geneva, International Contemporary Music Festival in Lima, Yilan-Taiwan Art Festival, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the 1905 Re-Creative Space Shenyang, the Suntory Hall Tokyo, the Teatro de Santa-Fe, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Konzerte auf Henkellsfeld, the Kongress im Park Augsburg…).

His recordings feature Hispanic repertoire (Duo Azar, PAI Records, 2011) and new works for saxophone and cello (Bestiaire, Denisov Duo, Meyer Foundation, 2014). A CD for saxophone and percussion with original arrangements by Piazzolla and new works is released in 2016 (Tango Continuo, Paraty–Harmonia Mundi). Duo Azar releases another CD in 2019, featuring special guest Pierre Lenert, Viola Soloist of the Paris National Opera Orchestra (Bach & Hindemith, Paraty - PIAS Harmonia Mundi).

Very much engaged with society and willing to be an artist-citizen of the world, Carl-Emmanuel Fisbach collaborated with NGO ERART during the 2014-2016 season in order to develop music teaching in Peru.

Photo credit: Romain Daudet Jahan