Philippe Leroux: Composing heterogeneity: Gestural models and energetic phrasing

ABSTRACT: 

Are we composing in the same way as before? Are the semantic elements present in musical discourse the same as those in the mid-20th century? These are the questions that we'll try to answer by exploring certain notions such as continuum, sound gesture and gestural substitutes, in the midst of the experiential area that is the musical work, and by attempting a reappropriation of the concept of phrasing as an energetic link between sound events.

ABOUT PHILIPPE LEROUX:

Philippe Leroux was born in Boulogne Billancourt (France) on September 24th, 1959.

In 1978 he entered the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique), studied with Ivo Malec, Claude Ballif, Pierre Schäeffer and Guy Reibel and obtained three first prizes. Meanwhile, he followed classes with Olivier Messiaen, Franco Donatoni, Betsy Jolas, Jean-Claude Eloy and Iannis Xénakis. In 1993 he was selected to enter the Villa Medicis in Rome for two years, where he remained until 1995.

His compositional output (about sixty works to date) includes symphonic, vocal, electronic, acousmatic and chamber music. His works are the result of various commissionners, with among them the French Ministry of Culture, Radio-France Philharmonic Orchestra, Südwestfunk Baden Baden, IRCAM, Percussions de Strasbourg, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble 2e2m, Ensemble Court-Circuit, INA-GRM, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne de Montreal, Ensemble Ictus, Festival Musica, Ensemble BIT 20, Koussevitsky Foundation, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Ensemble Athelas, Orchestre National de Lorraine, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, CIRM, INTEGRA, and several other institutions of international standard.

His music is widely performed in various European festivals and International orchestras such as Donaueschingen, Radio-France Présences (Paris), Agora (Paris), Venice Biennale, Ba th Festival, Festival Musica (Strasbourg), Stockholm ISCM, Barcelona Festival, Musiques en Scènes (Lyon), Festival Manca (Nice), Bergen Festival, Ultima (Oslo) Festival, Tage für Neue Musik (Zürich), BBC Symphony Orchestra (London), Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (Glasgow), Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Czech Philharmony, etc…

He has received many prizes and awards: Prix Hervé Dugardin, Best contemporary musical creation Award 1996 for (d')ALLER, SACEM Prize, André Caplet and Nadia and Lili Boulanger Prizes from the Academy of Fine Arts (Institut de France), Salabert Prize for his piece Apocalypsis and Arthur Honegger Prize (Fondation de France) for his overhall production. In addition, Philippe Leroux writes articles on contemporary music, gives lectures and teaches composition at Berkeley University (California), Harvard, Grieg Academy (Bergen), Columbia University (New-York), Royal conservatory of Copenhage, Toronto University, Fondation Royaumont, IRCAM, American Conservatoire at Fontainebleau, Paris and Lyon Conservatoires Nationaux Supérieurs, Domaine Forget (Quebec) , Georgia Institute of Technology at Atlanta...