Gilbert Amy
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Amy is a French
composer
and conductor
. In 1954 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris
where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen
and Darius Milhaud
and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade
. His first compositions (Œil de fumée) date from 1955. In 1957 he met Pierre Boulez
, under whose direction he composed his Piano Sonata. 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. From 1958 to 1961 he attended the courses given by Karlheinz Stockhausen
in Darmstadt.
named him adjunct music director of the Odéon
Theater in Paris. At the same time he undertook a career as conductor in Europe and Argentina. Between 1967 and 1973 he succeeded Pierre Boulez as the Director of the Domaine Musical. From 1973 to 1975 he was music advisor to ORTF and worked to "reform" the music heard on the radio. From 1976 to 1981, he was music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France
. In 1984, Gilbert Amy succeeded Pierre Cochereau
as Director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique at Lyon, while continuing to compose music. One of his notable students is composer Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux
.
Amy's 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.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. In 1954 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
and Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer 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 are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade
Simone Plé-Caussade
Simone Plé-Caussade was a French music pedagogue, composer and pianist. She wrote mainly works for solo piano and organ in addition to choral works, songs, chamber music, and sacred music...
. His first compositions (Œil de fumée) date from 1955. In 1957 he met Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, under whose direction he composed his Piano Sonata. A year later Boulez commissioned from him a work called Mouvements which was performed in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
by the Orchestre du Domaine Musical, an ensemble whose goal was to promote new music. From 1958 to 1961 he attended the courses given by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen 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. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
in Darmstadt.
Career
In 1962 Jean-Louis BarraultJean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
named him adjunct music director of the Odéon
Odéon
The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe is one of France's six national theatres.It is located at 2 rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, next to the Luxembourg Garden...
Theater in Paris. At the same time he undertook a career as conductor in Europe and Argentina. Between 1967 and 1973 he succeeded Pierre Boulez as the Director of the Domaine Musical. From 1973 to 1975 he was music advisor to ORTF and worked to "reform" the music heard on the radio. From 1976 to 1981, he was music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France
Radio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
. In 1984, Gilbert Amy succeeded Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau , was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue.- Biography :Pierre Cochereau was born on July 9, 1924 in Saint-Mandé, near Paris. In 1929, after a few months of violin instruction, he began to take piano lessons with Marius-François Gaillard...
as Director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique at Lyon, while continuing to compose music. One of his notable students is composer Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux
Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux
Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux was a Canadian composer and music educator who played an important role in the contemporary classical music scene of Canada and France from the late 1960s through the mid 1980s...
.
Amy's 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.