54 CATALUÑA LLIVIA... DISTANT PRESENCE Wilhem Latchoumia - a pathfinding pianist He is drawn both to music rooted in the soil as well as the music of his own time. He has fashioned a distinctive repertoire, nurtured as much by his travels as by his encounters with some of today’s leading artists and creators. His success at the Orléans International Piano Competition in 2006 propelled him into the spotlight, although he was already in his thirties. Two years earlier, he had attracted attention by winning the Montsalvatge Competition in Girona, likewise devoted to contemporary music. From the moment he entered the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon, in Éric Heidsieck's class, he showed a keen interest in the composers of his own time, notably joining the 20th-century workshop directed by Fabrice Pierre. He also studied there with Géry Moutier. Having followed an unconventional path that began in a Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture (MJC), hesitating some time before committing to a professional career; waiting until the age of twenty to enter the conservatoire. It was therefore natural for him to pursue his own path and move beyond well-trodden ground. Along the way, he would come into contact with Pierre Boulez, Péter Eötvös, Pierre Jodlowski, Jonathan Harvey, and György Kurtág, collaborating with them and performing their works worldwide. Alongside creation, folklore is one of his principal sources of inspiration. From the outset, he was fascinated by the example of Bartók, which led him to explore a repertoire directly inspired by rural traditions as well as medieval legends.
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