The 24-year-old composer and cellist Cyprien Lengagne from French-speaking Switzerland has won the first ‘Fonds Jacques Cerf’ incentive prize for new compositions with his work ‘Éclipses’. In addition to a cash prize, the young composer has seen his work performed for the first time in Lausanne at the beginning of December 2024.
The jury was convinced of the “great artistic potential of this young composer” and saw in his work the fulfilment of the desire of the Fonds Jacques Cerf’s founder to support talented young composers so that they can present themselves to a wide audience in a symphony concert.
Concert of the winning work «Éclipses»
The work ‘Éclipses’ was performed for the first time on Thursday 5 December 2024 by the orchestra of the Haute École de Musique (HEMU) in the Salle Métropole in Lausanne as part of a joint concert with the Sinfonietta de Lausanne: Richard Strauss, ‘Ein Heldenleben’, conducted by the brilliant conductor Ruth Reinhardt.
«With Éclipses by Cyprien Lengagne, the music takes us on a cosmic adventure inspired by the stars’.»
Mrs Colette Cerf, who was present at the concert, was keen to present the young prize-winner Cyprien Langagne with the conductor’s baton that belonged to her late husband, the musician and composer Jacques Cerf. A lovely, emotional moment…
Éclipses: a musical work at the heart of the cosmos
article published on 1 May 2025 in the Swiss Music Review
Cyprien Lengagne, a young Franco-Swiss composer and cellist, invites us to think about space-time, the relationship between nature and man, nature and cosmos, musicians and performers.
The 5 December 2024 concert by the HEMU orchestra and the Sinfonietta, conducted by Ruth Reinhard – in pictures:
See also the press release of 8 October 2024:
The «Fonds Jacques Cerf» and its incentive prize
The “Fonds Jacques Cerf” was founded in 2020 by Colette Cerf in fulfilment of the wish of her late husband Jacques Cerf (1932–2019), a musician and composer of classical works from the canton of Vaud.
The «New compositions Fonds Jacques Cerf» incentive prize is a joint initiative of FONDATION SUISA, the HEMU and the Sinfonietta de Lausanne. It is part of composer Jacques Cerf’s desire to promote young talent after their studies, the aim being to encourage and support these alumni’s first steps in their professional musical lives.
The selection panel for the «Fonds Jacques Cerf» incentive prize
- Laurent Mettraux (president, composer)
- Guillaume Bourgogne (lecturer at HEMU, conductor)
- Benedikt Hayoz (vice-director and lecturer HEMU Fribourg, composer, conductor)
- Kevin Juillerat (Sinfonietta Lausanne, composer, saxophonist)
- Ezko Kikoutchi (organist, composer)
- Helena Winkelman (freelance composer, violonist)
A joint initiative of FONDATION SUISA, the HEMU und the Sinfonietta de Lausanne:
