Interview with Jean-Claude Eloy

Abstract

Green: Can you tell us about your musical training? Eloy: Yes. I am a child of tradition, you might say. I decided to make music my profession very early. I was a pianist originally and did all my studies in music at the Paris Conservatory. I had tried to compose since childhood and, by the time I was 17, decided composing would be my profession. Green: What about your compositional studies? Eloy: I became a student of Darius Milhaud at the Conservatory. Then I had the opportunity to study with Pierre Boulez at the Academy of Music in Basel, where I spent two years. I was 20 years old and I jumped into that class with great expectations. So you could say that I am one of the oldest Boulez pupils and disciples. When I think back to this period it already seems very far away in my mind. Green: What influence did Pierre Boulez have on your music? Eloy: I had attended the Domaine Musical concerts since I was 17 and I had been analyzing the music of Boulez from his Second Sonata to Le Marteau Sans Maitre. When I came to the Basel class, I brought a score that was extremely influenced by the Mallarm6 pieces by Boulez. When I showed it to him, he laughed and said: Well, it looks to me like something I know very well! Early Compositions