An Interview with Philippe Leroux

Abstract

Among the most respected French contemporary artists of his generation, Philippe Leroux (see Figure 1 ) is a widely performed and commissioned composer, as well as one of the most sought-out composition teachers in Paris. Born on 24 September 1959 in Boulogne sur Seine, France, Mr. Leroux graduated from Paris Conservatoire Superieur, where he studied with Ivo Malec, Claude Ballif, Pierre Schaeffer, and Guy Reibel. In parallel, he also studied with Olivier Messiaen, Franco Donatoni, Betsy Jolas, Jean-Claude Eloy, and Iannis Xenakis. In 1993, he was awarded the Prix de Rome, a two-year residency at the Villa Medici in Italy. His oeuvre of over 40 works encompasses several genres: symphonic, electroacoustic, electronic, and vocal and chamber music. (See Tables 1 and 2.) These works have been commissioned by such prestigious institutions as the French Ministry of Culture, IRCAM, the Koussevitsky Foundation, the Radio France Symphony Orchestra, the Siidwestfunk Baden-Baden, INA-GRM, Ensemble Intercontemporain, BIT 20, Icare and Ictus, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Les Percussions du Strasbourg, and several other French and foreign institutions. His music has been featured in international festivals, including the Festival Donaueschingen, Presences de Radio France, Bath, Agora, Roma-Europa, Nuove Synchronie (Milan), Musica, Stockholm ISCM, Barcelona, Musiques en Scene (Lyon, France), Manca, Bergen, Tempo (Berkeley), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and others. He has received numerous awards, including the Herve Dugardin Prize (1994), the SACEM award (2003), and most recently the Arthur Honegger Prize 2007 for his contribution to French contemporary music.