Gilbert Amy - Sources

Composer and conductor, born in Paris, France. He studied philosophy, then attended the Conservatoire de Paris (1956–60) under Messiaen, Milhaud, and Boulez. In 1967 he succeeded Boulez as director of the Domaine Musical, and was chief founder of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France. He became professor of analysis at Yale, USA and Director of the Conservatoire de Lyon. His works include Sophocles' Oedipe for the theatre, and Michaud's Images du monde visionnaire for the cinema. A significant mature work is Cette étoile enseigne à s'incliner (1970) whose title is borrowed from Klee and the text from Dante; the music is for the male voice, 10 instruments, and sound track. Numerous awards include the Prix de la Critique (1988) for Missa cum jubilo.

A year later Boulez commissioned from him a work called Mouvements which was performed in Darmstadt by the Orchestre du Domaine Musical, an ensemble whose goal was to promote new music. In 1962 Jean-Louis Barrault named him adjunct music director of the Odéon Theater in Paris. From 1973 to 1975 he was music advisor to ORTF and worked to "reform" the music heard on the radio. In 1984, Gilbert Amy succeeded Pierre Cochereau as Director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique at Lyon, while continuing to compose music. His talent as a composer has won him a number of awards including the Grand Prix National de la Musique in 1979, the Grand Prix of SACEM in 1983, the Grand Prix Musical of the City of Paris in 1986 and the Prix of the President of the Republic from the Academy Charles Cros in 1987.

Sources

Radio France Biography of Gilbert Amy Biography of Gilbert Amy on counter)induction

Preceded by: Charles Bruck

Music Directors, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France 1976–1981

Succeeded by: Marek Janowski