Raphaele Kennedy - Aubes (2023)

Pianist Wilhem Latchoumia has been equally successful in traditional repertory and in contemporary music. He offers unusual programs that incorporate the two in fresh ways, and he has recorded for RCA, Dux, and La Dolce Volta, among other labels.

Latchoumia was born in Lyon, France, in 1974, and much of his musical education took place in that city. He attended the Conservatoire de Lyon (Conservatoire Régional de Lyon), earning a gold medal, and went on to the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse in Lyon, where he studied with Eric Heidsieck and Géry Moutier, and earned a unanimous first prize. Latchoumia continued his studies with Moutier at the postgraduate level and also took master classes with Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. He earned a bachelor's degree in musicology as well. Latchoumia won a Musicians of Tomorrow Award from the Hewlett-Packard Foundation in 2004 and placed highly at the Montsalvagje International Contemporary Music Competition in Girona, Spain. In 2006, he won six prizes in total at France's Orléans International Piano Competition. Two years later, Latchoumia made his recording debut on the RCA Red Seal label with Impressões, a recital of Brazilian works.

Latchoumia has performed as a soloist at leading venues in France and abroad, including the Salle Cortot, Musée d’Orsay, and Cité de la Musique in Paris. He has appeared in a variety of important festivals oriented toward contemporary music, such as the 2007 Beijing Modern Music Festival in China, the Festival Why Note in Dijon, and the Festival of Besançon; he has also performed at the New York Institute for Contemporary Performance at Mannes College. Latchoumia's playing has earned the favor of contemporary composers, including Pierre Boulez, Gilbert Amy, and Gérard Pesson. He moved to the La Dolce Volta label for the album Wagner, joining the ensemble Extase Maxima; the program included not only works by Wagner but other music inspired by him or commenting on the works. Latchoumia recorded several more albums for La Dolce Volta, including This Is America: Adams, Bernstein, Glass, Monk, with pianist Vanessa Wagner in 2021. That year, he was also heard on the Sub Rosa album Julius Eastman: Three Extended Pieces for Four Pianos. ~ James Manheim