Michel Tabachnik

Tabachnik was born in Geneva, Switzerland on 10 November 1942.{{Cite web |last=Bataille |first=Stéphanie |date=2009-02-04 |title=Michel Tabachnik: Autour du Sacre du printemps (Stravinsky) Paris, Cité de la musique. Jeudi 26 février 2009 à 20h |url=https://www.classiquenews.com/michel-tabachnik-autour-du-sacre-du-printemps-stravinskyparis-cit-de-la-musique-jeudi-26-fvrier-2009-20h/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=ClassiqueNews}} His father was a trombonist. In 1976, the French Minister of Culture {{Ill|Michel Guy|fr}} gave him creative control over the direction of two new orchestras.{{Cite news |last=Vallery |first=Serge |date=1976-02-18 |title=Interview de Michel Tabachnik: Création de 2 nouveaux orchestres en France |trans-title=Interview with Michel Tabachnik: Creation of 2 new orchestras in France |url=https://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=MIG19760218-01.2.17.1.1 |access-date=2024-12-21 |work=Construire |location=Zurich |page=6 |issue=7 |issn=0010-7034}} He got his degree in music theory.

As a young conductor he was a protégé of Igor Markevitch, Herbert von Karajan and Pierre Boulez, acting as the latter's assistant for four years, mainly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London. This led him to become closely involved with conducting and to perform many world premieres, particularly those of Iannis Xenakis.{{Cite web |date=2017-08-01 |title=TABACHNIK Michel (1942) |url=http://www.cdmc.asso.fr/en/ressources/compositeurs/biographies/tabachnik-michel-1942 |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine |language=en}}

In June 1977, having an interest in esotericism, Tabachnik met Joseph Di Mambro, one of the two future leaders of the Order of the Solar Temple, a group notorious for mass suicides and murders in the 1990s.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=220}} He had been introduced with his wife Christiane Meylan to {{Lang|fr|La Pyramide}}, a precursor group, by Nicole Koymans; he joined the next year.{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|p=144}} He had two children with Meylan.{{sfn|Bédat|Bouleau|Nicolas|2000|p=407}} In 1981, he became the president of the Golden Way Foundation that Di Mambro created.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=220}}

Within the framework of the OTS, Tabachnik wrote the Archées, esoteric texts that circulated within the OTS.{{Cite news |last=Chrisafis |first=Angelique |date=2006-10-25 |title=Conductor on trial over cult killings in France, Switzerland and Canada |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/oct/25/france.angeliquechrisafis |access-date=2023-08-20 |work=The Guardian |location=London |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Borloz |first=Emmanuel |date=2022-07-09 |title=Rencontre avec Michel Tabachnik – "Je rêve qu'on me parle de musique mais on en revient toujours au Temple Solaire" |trans-title=Interview with Michel Tabachnik – "I dream that I get approached about music but it's always about the Solar Temple" |url=https://www.tdg.ch/je-reve-quon-me-parle-de-musique-mais-on-en-revient-toujours-au-temple-solaire-190123587949 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-10-03 |work=Tribune de Genève |language=fr-CH |issn=1010-2248}} In 1981, he switched wives with Christian Pechot, also a member of the OTS, with Pechot marrying to Meylan and Tabachnik marrying Pechot's wife Sabine Reuter, who was a student of Di Mambro.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=220}}{{sfn|Bédat|Bouleau|Nicolas|2000|p=406}} He and Sabine moved to Toronto in 1984, as he found conductor work there, which Di Mambro used as a reason to move the group to Canada.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=222}} Within the group, his son David was considered one of the "cosmic children", who would form an elite population following the end of the world.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=221}}

He was Artistic Director of l'Orchestre des Jeunes du Québec (1985–1989) and, over a twelve-year period, l'{{Ill|Orchestre des jeunes de la Méditerranée|fr}} which he founded in 1984. He has held the position of Chief Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the {{Ill|Orchestre national de Lorraine|fr}}, the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris and the Northern Netherlands Orchestra (Groningen).{{Cite web |date=February 2020 |title=Biography of Michel Tabachnik |url=https://www.tabachnik.org/index.php/fr/17-biographies/12-biography-of-michel-tabachnik |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Michel Tabachnik |language=en}}

{{Main article|Trial of Michel Tabachnik}}

The Solar Temple committed mass suicide and murder in 1994, killing 53 people.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=38}} Among the dead were Meylan and Pechot, and Pechot and Meylan's son.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=220}}{{sfn|Bédat|Bouleau|Nicolas|2000|p=407}} Prior to the mass suicide Tabachnik had announced the end of the OTS.{{Cite news |date=2001-04-17 |title=L'Ordre du Temple Solaire |trans-title=The Order of the Solar Temple |url=https://www.la-croix.com/Archives/2001-04-17/L-Ordre-du-Temple-Solaire-_NP_-2001-04-17-131203 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-12-16 |work=La Croix |location=Paris |language=fr-FR |issn=0242-6056}} He largely escaped negative attention following the first deaths, but following the second mass suicide in December 1995, his name made headline news. His stated defense at the time was that he had little to do with the OTS, which backfired when more evidence came out and this was found to be untrue.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=48}}

Despite a lack of evidence implicating him in any crime, there was a need by the French justice system to put someone on trial and Tabachnik was investigated.{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=233}}{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=48}} This resulted in two trials in 2001 and 2006. On 25 June 2001, the court acquitted Tabachnik, on the basis that there had been no conclusive proof found of any involvement, and his writings accused of influencing the members into death were deemed unlikely to have influenced them.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=49}} The appeals court upheld the lower court's ruling, and he was acquitted a second time in December 2006.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=49}}

As a result of the investigation related to the OTS, Tabachnik had lost most of his work as a conductor and had to pause his career.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|p=49}} Following his acquittal, Tabachnik returned to being a conductor.{{Cite news |last=Demagny |first=Xavier |date=2018-08-25 |title=VIDÉO - Histoires criminelles : l'Ordre du temple solaire, 16 membres d'une secte retrouvés morts en Isère |trans-title=VIDEO - Crime stories: the Order of the Solar Temple, 16 cult members found dead in Isère |url=https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/video-histoires-criminelles-l-ordre-du-temple-solaire-16-membres-d-un-secte-retrouves-morts-en-isere-1534266532 |access-date=2020-07-29 |work=France Bleu |language=fr-FR}}

Since September 2005, Tabachnik is chief-conductor of the Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO).{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the NNO: Past Conductors |url=http://www.nno.nu/en/engels |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316083513/http://www.nno.nu/en/engels |archive-date=2012-03-16 |access-date=2011-06-07 |website=Noord Nederlands Orkest |language=en}} From 2008 until 2015, Tabachnik was the music director and chief-conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic.{{Cite web |title=Michel Tabachnik: Music Director |url=http://www.brusselsphilharmonic.be/en/orchestra/michel-tabachnik/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060526/http://www.brusselsphilharmonic.be/en/orchestra/michel-tabachnik/ |archive-date=2013-10-23 |access-date=2013-09-23 |website=brussels philharmonic |language=en}}{{Cite web |last1=Macassar |first1=Gilles |date=2011-04-23 |title=La Mer, Nocturnes...Claude Debussy - Brussels Philharmonic, dir. Michel Tabachnik |url=http://www.telerama.fr/musiques/la-mer-nocturnes-claude-debussy,67981.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212145617/http://www.telerama.fr/musiques/la-mer-nocturnes-claude-debussy,67981.php |archive-date=2013-12-12 |access-date=2011-06-07 |work=Télérama |place=Paris |language=fr-FR |issn=0040-2699}}{{Cite web |date=2018-03-19 |title=Quelle est la meilleure version de La Mer de Claude Debussy ? |trans-title=What's the best version of Claude Debussy's La Mer? |url=https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/quelle-est-la-meilleure-version-de-la-mer-de-claude-debussy-1702713 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Radio France |language=fr-FR}}{{Cite web |date=2014-05-12 |title=La Mer de Debussy : l'écoute en aveugle |trans-title=Debussy's La Mer: blind listening |url=http://www.radioclassique.fr/lactu-du-classique/dossiers/dossiers-detail/la-mer-de-debussy-lecoute-en-aveugle.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220029/http://www.radioclassique.fr/lactu-du-classique/dossiers/dossiers-detail/la-mer-de-debussy-lecoute-en-aveugle.html |archive-date=2014-05-12 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Radio Classique |language=fr-FR}}

Speaking on his involvement with the OTS, Tabachnik appeared in two 2022 documentary series on the case, {{Lang|fr|Temple Solaire: l'enquête impossible}} and {{Lang|fr|La Fraternité}}.{{Cite news |last=Dufour |first=Nicolas |date=2023-01-21 |title="La Fraternité", l’horreur de l’Ordre du Temple solaire par des survivants |trans-title="La Fraternité", the horror of the Order of the Solar Temple by the survivors |url=https://www.letemps.ch/culture/ecrans/fraternite-lhorreur-lordre-temple-solaire-survivants |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230920172347/https://www.letemps.ch/culture/ecrans/fraternite-lhorreur-lordre-temple-solaire-survivants |archive-date=2023-09-20 |access-date=2024-06-29 |work=Le Temps |location=Geneva |language=fr-CH |issn=1423-3967}}{{Cite news |last=Papaux |first=Sven |date=2023-02-08 |title=Le pire massacre sectaire de Suisse au cœur d'un docu RTS |trans-title=Switzerland's worst cult massacre at the heart of an RTS documentary |url=https://www.watson.ch/fr/!983271360 |access-date=2024-06-28 |work=Watson |language=fr-CH}} Temple Solaire: l'enquête impossible also featured journalists Gilles Bouleau and Arnaud Bédat, both who had accused of him of being involved in the deaths.{{Cite news |last=Vermelin |first=Jérôme |date=2022-06-17 |title="Temple Solaire, l'enquête impossible" : Gilles Bouleau raconte l'affaire qui a bouleversé sa carrière |trans-title="Temple Solaire, l'enquête impossible": Gilles Bouleau recounts the case that turned his career upside down |url=https://www.tf1info.fr/culture/programme-tv-tmc-temple-solaire-l-enquete-impossible-gilles-bouleau-se-souvient-de-l-affaire-qui-a-bouleverse-sa-carriere-2223522.html |access-date=2024-03-23 |work=TF1 INFO |language=fr}}{{Cite news |last=Teynier |first=Marc |date=2022-06-17 |title="Temple Solaire : l'enquête impossible" : Gilles Bouleau raconte «l'horreur indicible» sur TMC |trans-title="Temple Solaire: l'enquête impossible": Gilles Bouleau recounts the "unspeakable horror" on TMC |url=https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/tv/temple-solaire-lenquete-impossible-gilles-bouleau-raconte-lhorreur-indicible-sur-tmc-17-06-2022-6OB5ISRPBJGA7BBDUNK76LQA4Q.php |access-date=2024-03-23 |work=Le Parisien |language=fr-FR |issn=0767-3558}} During an interview for the promotion of the series, Bédat stated he had changed his mind and no longer believed that Tabachnik had planned the deaths, and that him being away in concert had perhaps stopped him from being killed as well.{{Cite news |last=Schnarrenberger |first=Adrien |date=2022-06-17 |title="C'est le documentaire ultime sur l'Ordre du Temple solaire" |trans-title="This is the ultimate documentary on the Order of the Solar Temple" |url=https://www.blick.ch/fr/news/suisse/le-jurassien-arnaud-bedat-sur-tmc-cest-le-documentaire-ultime-sur-lordre-du-temple-solaire-id17585917.html |access-date=2024-07-24 |work=Blick |location=Zurich |language=fr-CH |issn=1013-0667}}

• {{Lang|fr|Bouc émissaire: Dans le piège du Temple Solaire}}
• Il était une fois un enfant, novel, publisher de l'Aire, 1999.
• De la Musique avant toute chose, essay, préface by Régis Debray, Essai, éd. Buchet/Chastel, 2008.
• L’Homme sauvage, novel, publisher Ring, 2013.
• Ma Rhapsodie, essay, publisher Buchet/Chastel, 2016.
• Le Libraire de Saint-Sulpice, novel, publisher Otago 2017.
• L’Enlèvement au Sinaï, novel, publisher Otago, 2019.
• Demain au Marmara Taskim, novel, publisher L'Harmattan, 2022.
• La Pierre de Siloé, novel, publisher L'Harmattan, 2022.

{{div col}}

• Supernovae, 1967
• Frise, 1968
• Fresque, 1969
• Invention à 16 voix, 1972
• Mondes, 1972
• Sillages, 1972
• D'autres Sillages, 1972
• Movimenti, 1973
• Éclipses, 1974
• Argile, 1974
• Trois Impressions, 1975
• Les Perséïdes, 1981
• Cosmogonie, 1981
• l'Arch, 1982
• 7 Rituels Atlantes, 1984
• Pacte des onze (Évangile selon Thomas), 1985
• Élévation, 1990
• Prélude à la Légende, 1989
• Le Cri de Mohim, 1991
• Évocation, 1994
• La Légende de Haïsha, 1989
• Concerto pour piano et orchestre de chambre, 2003
• Nord pour orchestre, 2006
• Diptyque-écho, Concerto pour violon et orchestre, 2008
• Genèse, pour violon solo et orchestre, 2010
• Lumières fossiles, pour orchestre, 2011
• Benjamin, dernière nuit, opéra, 2012
• Le livre de Job, 2013
• Benjamin, dernière nuit, drame lyrique en quatorze scènes, 2016
• "Sumer", concerto pour violoncelle et orchestre, 2019
• "Genèse II", concerto pour violon et orchestre, 2021

{{end div col}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Bédat |first1=Arnaud |author-link=Arnaud Bédat |title=L'Ordre du Temple solaire: Les Secrets d'une manipulation |title-link=L'Ordre du Temple solaire: Les Secrets d'une manipulation |last2=Bouleau |first2=Gilles |author-link2=Gilles Bouleau |last3=Nicolas |first3=Bernard |publisher=Flammarion |year=2000 |isbn=978-2-08-067842-3 |location=Paris |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Clusel |first1=Shannon |title=The Mystical Geography of Quebec: Catholic Schisms and New Religious Movements |title-link=The Mystical Geography of Quebec |last2=Palmer |first2=Susan J. |author-link2=Susan J. Palmer |date=2020 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-030-33061-3 |editor-last=Palmer |editor-first=Susan J. |series=Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities |location=Cham |language=en |chapter=The Solar Temple in Quebec and the Saint-Casimir "Transit" |editor-last2=Geoffroy |editor-first2=Martin |editor-last3=Gareau |editor-first3=Paul L.}}
• {{Cite book |last=Introvigne |first=Massimo |author-link=Massimo Introvigne |title=Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8156-0599-7 |editor-last=Wessinger |editor-first=Catherine |editor-link=Catherine Wessinger |language=en |chapter=The Magic of Death: The Suicides of the Solar Temple}}
• {{Cite book |last=Mayer |first=Jean-François |author-link=Jean-François Mayer |title=Legal Cases, New Religious Movements, and Minority Faiths |publisher=Ashgate |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4724-2874-5 |editor-last=Richardson |editor-first=James T. |editor-link=James T. Richardson |series=Ashgate Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements |location=Farnham |language=en |chapter=The Order of the Solar Temple: From Apocalypse to Court |editor-last2=Bellanger |editor-first2=François}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://michel-tabachnik-livres.org/ Music & Books]

{{Order of the Solar Temple}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabachnik, Michel}}

Category:1942 births

Category:Living people

Category:Musicians from Geneva

Category:Order of the Solar Temple members

Category:Swiss composers

Category:Swiss male composers

Category:Swiss male conductors (music)

Category:20th-century Swiss conductors (music)

Category:21st-century Swiss conductors (music)

Category:20th-century Swiss male musicians

Category:21st-century Swiss male musicians