COMPOSER - PERCUSSIONIST
Valentin is a freelance musician and composer who graduated with a Master’s degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP).
An accomplished percussionist, he has performed with prestigious ensembles including the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Orchestre National de France.
Through these engagements, he has worked under the baton of renowned conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Mikko Franck, Matthias Pintscher, Alain Altinoglu, and Cristian Măcelaru.
Parallel to his performing career, Valentin has always cultivated a strong passion for composition. His catalogue ranges from string quartets to large brass ensembles, with a special affinity for piano and percussion.
Fusing jazz, electronics, and minimalism with a deep classical foundation, his work creates a unique sonic landscape. He is currently expanding his focus to include scoring for film, audiovisual projects, and video games.
Recent highlights include a 2023 arrangement of Maurice Ravel recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, as well as the publication of the works Eternity and Kosmos: Anaximander by Editions Svitzer.
He is supported by the Fondation Société Générale and the Fondation Meyer.
LATEST RELEASES
About music
My work is driven by a sense of curiosity, instinct, and a desire to explore the many textures of sound. To shape this exploration, I draw from a wide range of musical languages that have inspired me over time, including minimalism, jazz, and electronic music.
Rather than following predetermined conceptual paths, I approach each piece as a living space, a personal laboratory, where different influences and ideas can meet, interact, and evolve freely.
I aim for my work to be guided by inspiration rather than dogma. It is conceived in service of the listener, with the intention of creating something both refined and immediately engaging. I seek a balance in which sophistication never interferes with the direct emotional impact of sound.
A central element of this approach is the idea of "crystallization of sound": a search for clarity and sonic purity, where sound is presented in its most natural state rather than being heavily processed or transformed. This focus on clarity opens up a particular kind of freedom. Just as I allow myself to move fluidly between styles, I aim to leave space for performers to bring their own intuition to the work, through emotion, phrasing, and personal expression.
Throughout my work, there is a recurring fascination with the intersection of nature, space, myth, and memory. I seek to balance these expansive, elemental themes with moments of raw energy and intimate stillness. Rather than imposing a strict formal structure, I prefer to let imagination lead, allowing each piece to develop its own rhythm, atmosphere, and inner life.
