Residency

Proust Questionnaire [revisited] by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber

By 2 November 2026November 10th, 2026No Comments

Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, resident composer at the Festival since September 2026, took part in the [revised] Proust questionnaire.

An original way to get to know the composer and gain an insight into her artistic world.

  • My main character trait?
    Stubbornness
  • The flaw that drives those around me up the wall?
    My stubbornness
  • My favourite fictional heroes?
    The cat from Soseki’s novel “I Am a Cat”
  • My favourite pastime?
    Listening and writing – one doesn’t go without the other.
  • The first record I ever bought?
    Not a record, but a Michael Jackson cassette, Thriller, in 1982.
  • The concert/book/film that changed my life?
    Concert – Ligeti at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1999 with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, featuring the piano concertos (Pierre Laurent Aimard) and the cello concerto. The concert also featured guest appearances by Pygmy musicians and the ethnomusicologist Simha Arom; I was so moved that on my way out I stumbled and nearly fell (literally) over… Pierre Boulez.
    Book – La recherche du temps perdu by Proust
    Film – Good Morning by Ozu.
  • My favourite way to listen to music?
    A live concert. Or a pocket radio, with batteries!
  • The composer who inspires me?
    Ravel
  • If I could learn an instrument overnight, which one would it be?
    The Japanese shō
  • A work I wish I’d created?
    L’enfant et les sortilèges by Colette and Ravel
  • The city where I feel at home?
    Paris, Rome, Kyoto.
  • My favourite place to create?
    A bright, quiet room with a view
  • My favourite painter?
    Piero della Francesca
  • My most memorable artistic encounter?
    My silent encounter with the work of Pascal Quignard.
    My encounter with Sergio Ortega, my first composition teacher: a radiant personality, a teacher, a man of the theatre, whose work lies halfway between the spoken and the written word.
  • Which of my creations or works best represents me? And why?
    Les roses héroïques. The circular form, the clarity. The incandescence.
  • What do I dream of doing in Besançon?
    Getting to know the city, its people, its neighbourhoods; being able, in two years’ time, to close my eyes and feel the city living within me. And visiting the Lip watch-making workshops. As a musician and lover of automata, this art form fascinates me. The first thing I did on arriving in the city was to visit the Musée du Temps.
    And finally: to become friends with Tigrou, Besançon’s ginger cat!
Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber's residence