Interview and solo performance with Florentin Ginot

Meet Florentin Ginot, a French double bassist who participates in a wide range of contemporary and classical music-making. We caught up with Florentin whilst he was visiting Huddersfield (UK) to perform at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival with Ensemble Musikfabrik. In this interview, we talk about Florentin's current projects, his work with Ensemble Musikfabrik, his instrument, strings and tuning, and his experience preparing for and performing a Bach Violin Partita, featured in this stunning YouTube video. Look out for his new CD recording coming out in March 2022 and don’t miss Florentin’s performance of Marin Marais’ Prélude en Harpègement at the end of the video.

Florentin Ginot is a double bassist who lives and works in Paris and Cologne and has performed as a soloist in festivals and venues around the world, including the Berliner Philharmonie, Cologne Philharmonie, and the Cité de la Musique-Paris. Since graduating from the Paris Conservatory in 2015, Florentin has been a member of Ensemble Musikfabrik, a world-leading ensemble in contemporary music. The experimental group premiers and performs a variety of new works and inter-disciplinary projects around the world. Florentin also explores classical and early music, and in 2015 he recorded his first CD for the Young Soloists collection of the Meyer Foundation with a focus on the music of Marin Marais. He has a unique approach to adapting music for the bass and his performances have included J.S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for piccolo double bass, Beethoven's Cello Sonatas, and Marin Marais' Livres de Viole.

Big thanks to the team at Bates Mill in Huddersfield who made us so welcome.

TIMECODES:

00:00 Introduction
00:50 Ensemble Musicfabrik and current projects
04:02 Where did you study?
07:15 Inspiration
08:34 Traditional and contemporary repertoire
11:04 Tuning and equipment
14:58 Instrument and resonance
17:13 Strings and bow
20:37 Preparing for the Chaconne
24:49 Performing the Chaconne
26:25 Find Florentin online
27:31 Performance of Marin Marais' 'Prélude en Harpègement'