SOS Talents Foundation
Since 2001, the Dassault Group has been an unwavering supporter of SOS Talents, founded by the pianist and composer, Michel Sogny. This collaboration, initiated by Nicole Dassault, reflects deep appreciation for Michel Sogny’s work and its significant impact on contemporary classical music.
From the Hôtel Marcel Dassault’s Salons to the World’s Greatest Stages
The story of this partnership began with Nicole Dassault, a passionate admirer of music and opera, placing her trust in Michel Sogny to showcase the first students of SOS Talents.
Since this meeting with the composer, the Dassault family has closely followed the progress made by these young talents. Their success, including numerous international awards, has been spectacular. Many students, such as Tamar Beraia, Elisso Bolkvadze, Khatia Buniatishvili, Anna Fedorova, Ana Kipiani, and Alexandra Massaleva began their careers performing in the Hôtel Marcel Dassault’s salons before reaching the world’s greatest stages.
A Unique Pedagogy
Created in 2000 by Michel Sogny, the SOS Talents Foundation’s mission is to train and encourage the most gifted young pianists of their generation. Through a unique pedagogical method, the foundation offers innovative teaching that combines musical aesthetics with technical expertise.
The “Prolégomènes à une Eidétique Musicale” (Prolegomena to the Essence of Music) series, which consists of didactic pieces composed by Michel Sogny to develop students’ creative imagination and enable them to gradually master piano technique, is at the heart of this training.
A Springboard for Young Pianists
The Foundation not only trains these young talents, it also offers them a springboard to international recognition. Scholarships and giving high-profile concerts throughout Europe offer these artists the chance to make a name for themselves. TV news pieces and programs covering the Foundation on channels such as Arte, Euronews and Mezzo TV testify to the growing importance of this initiative in the music world.
Paying Tribute to Nicole Dassault’s Passion for Music
For the Dassault family, supporting SOS Talents is a way of paying tribute to Nicole Dassault, a music enthusiast who was deeply proud of this initiative. Marie-Hélène Habert and her brothers Laurent and Thierry Dassault have taken up the torch, preserving a vision which, for over two decades, has enabled rising piano stars to flourish in the music world.
