André Boucourechliev (28 July 1925 – 13 November 1997) was a French composer of Bulgarian origin. Born in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, Île-de-France, France. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot, Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (Eng ...

, where he later taught piano. His first attempts at composition date from 1954, when he was engaged in the famous contemporary music sessions at Darmstadt. He honed his compositional technique by seeking out Berio and Maderna in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. Following the success of his ''Piano Sonata'' (1959), which was performed at the

Domaine musical The Domaine musical was a concert society established by Pierre Boulez in Paris, which was active from 1954 to 1973. Composers represented at its concerts included Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, John Cage, Sylva ...

, and works involving choice and chance, he spent a period in America, during which he met

Cage A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

, and

Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954–1964), a ...

. The summit of his exploration of choice and freedom on the part of the performer was reached in ''Archipels'' (1967–1971). Many of his later works have gone on to refine or extend these principles. Boucourechliev died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1997 at the age of 72.

Honours

* Grand Prix Musical de la Ville de Paris, 1976 * Grand Prix National de la Musique, 1984 * Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres *

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

Works

Writings

* ''Schumann'', 1956 (French), 1959 (English), 2010 (Bulgarian) * ''Chopin: eine Bildbiographie'', 1962 (German), 1963 (English) * ''Beethoven'', 1963 (French) * ''Stravinsky'', 1982 (French), 1987 (English) * ''Essai sur Beethoven'', 1991 * ''Le langage musical'', 1993 * ''Dire la musique'', 1995 * ''Regards sur Chopin'', 1996 (French), 2010 (Bulgarian) * ''Debussy. La révolution subtile'', 1998 (French),

External links

www.boucourechliev.com
Official site of the contemporary music composer, the André Boucourechliev Foundation, and the Association "Les Amis d'André Boucourechliev".

Orange Factory psychoacoustic arts – the Bulgarian publisher of André Boucourechliev's books. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucourechliev, Andre 1925 births 1997 deaths 20th-century classical composers French classical composers French male classical composers École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Musicians from Sofia Bulgarian emigrants to France Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century French composers Twelve-tone and serial composers 20th-century French male musicians