Michel Decoust (born

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 19 November 1936) is a French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor. Decoust studied from 1956 to 1965 with

Jean Rivier Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including musi ...

and

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

at the Paris Conservatoire, as well as at the Cologne Courses for New Music in 1964–65, with

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

and

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

. He also studied orchestral conducting in 1965 with Boulez in

Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

. In 1967 he taught composition at the Dartington College Summer Courses. He served as regional musical organizer for the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire from 1967 to 1970, and from 1970 to 1972 directed musical activities at the Maison de la Culture of Rennes and Nevers. He founded and directed the Pantin Conservatoire Municipal de Musique from 1972 to 1976, and was director of education at

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...

from 1976 to 1979. He was vice-chair of the symphonic music committee of the French composer's union SACEM from 1979 to 1992. He has been awarded the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, the Ambron International Composition Prize, and a Besançon International Competition conducting prize.

Compositions (selective list)

*''Horizon remarquable'' (

René Char René Émile Char (; 14 June 1907 – 19 February 1988) was a French poet and member of the French Resistance. Biography Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of the four children of Emile ...

), for soprano and orchestra (1964) *''Distorsion'', for 3 flutes (1965) *''Mobile'', for percussion (1965) *''Polymorphie'', for orchestra (1967) *''Et/ou'', for from 1–44 pianos (1972) *''7.854.693.286'', for 8-track tape (1972) *''L'application des lectrices aux champs'', for soprano and orchestra (1977) *''Onde'', for brass quintet (1982) *''Olos'', for tenor saxophone and electronics (1983) *''Les galeries de pierres'', for solo viola (1984) *''Sun'' for solo viola (or violin) and 12 string instruments (1971) *''Symétrie'', for winds and percussion (1986) *''Marbres'', for 4-track tape (1986) *''Sept chansons érotiques'', for soprano and piano (1986) *''Le temps d'écrite'', for piano (1988–92) *''A jamais d'ombre'', for voice and string quartet (1996) *''Cent phrases pour éventail'' (

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

), for six voices and instrumental ensemble (1996)

Compositions (selective list)

References

Further reading