(b. 27 February 1959, Paris).
French composer of mostly orchestral, chamber and vocal works that have been performed throughout the world.
Prof. Durieux studied analysis with Betsy Jolas and composition with Ivo Malec at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris from 1982–86 and earned premier prix in both subjects. He also studied analysis privately with Alain Poirier in Paris from 1981–84 and composition privately with André Boucourechliev in Paris from 1988–91.
Among his honours are a scholarship to stay at the Villa Medici in Rome (1987–89) and the Prix Prince-Pierre-de-Monaco (2005, for Traverse 1 and Traverses 2 & 3). He has received commissions from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Ensemble Alternance, Ensemble 2e2m, Ensemble Intercontemporain/the Fondation Crédit Lyonnais, Ensemble Remix, the government of France, IRCAM, the ensemble L'Itinéraire, pianist Ichiro Nodaira, and Radio France, among other ensembles, organisations and soloists. He is the subject of the book Frédéric Durieux – Les Cahiers de l'IRCAM/Compositeurs d'aujourd'hui no. 7 (1995, IRCAM/Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou).
He taught analysis as a professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris from 1990–2001 and has taught as Professeur de Composition there since 2001.
His publishers are Éditions Henry Lemoine, Impronta Edition and Rai Trade.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
3 pour 2 (ballet music, choreography by Giuseppe Frigeni), small orchestra (17 players), 2005–06 (also longer version as a concert work)
ORCHESTRAL:
Macle, large orchestra (75 players), 1985–86
Seuil déployé, small orchestra (flute, alto flute, clarinet, basset horn, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, synthesizer, 3 percussion, 3 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos), 1988–89
Là, au-delà, small orchestra (8 winds, 2 trumpets, 2 tenor-bass trombones, harp, piano, synthesizer, 3 percussion, 8 strings), 1990–91, revised 1992
Traverse 1, large orchestra (81 players), 1995
Werden – Devenir II, clarinet, small orchestra (15 players), 2001 (expanded version of Devenir I)
Traverses 2 & 3, large orchestra (81 players), 2002–03
3 pour 2, small orchestra (17 players), 2006–07, revised 2009–10 (longer concert version of stage work)
Theater of Shadows I – In memoriam Christian Boltanski, small orchestra (13 players), 2021–22
Theater of Shadows II – In memoriam Christian Boltanski, small orchestra (20 players), 2023–24
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Parcours pluriel, amplified ensemble (alto flute, English horn, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, harp, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, piano, 2 synthesizers, 2 percussion), live electronics, 1987
Marges I, harpsichord, percussion, 1989, revised 2010
Là, clarinet, 1989
Marges II, piano, ensemble (flute, clarinet, French horn, harp, violin, viola, cello, vibraphone, marimba), 1989
Marges III, oboe, ensemble (flute, clarinet, basset horn, harp, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, celesta, vibraphone, marimba), 1989–90
Devenir I, clarinet, computer, live electronics, 1993 (also expanded version as Werden – Devenir II; version as Initial – Devenir III, clarinet/A-clarinet/bass clarinet, 2002)
Alliances, flute, clarinet, 1994
Départ (in memoriam Dominique Troncin), clarinet/A-clarinet, 1995 (also version for clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, 1999)
Incidences, percussion, 1996
Quatuor à cordes, string quartet, 1998–99 (unfinished)
Septem, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, 1999 (unfinished)
Marges IV, piano, percussion, 2001–02 (unfinished)
Étude en Alternance – Regarder Cy Twombly, bass flute, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, 2004
Alexis Gesang, cello, 2007
Gradiva, soprano saxophone, 2007
Übersicht Ia, baritone saxophone, 2008 (also version as Übersicht Ib, tenor saxophone, 2009)
Here, not there – a tribute to Barnett Newman (Quatuor I), string quartet, live electronics, 2006–09
Ouvrir, violin, 2009
Ritt, violin, 2009
Placer / Déplacer, violin, piano, 2009
Souffler / Frapper 1, bassoon, percussion, 2009 (also version as Souffler / Frapper 2, bass clarinet, percussion, 2020–21)
Übersicht II, tenor saxophone, 2009–10
The Possibilities – to Howard Barker, 8 cellos, 2009–10
Frontales, 2 harps, 2011 (unfinished)
Études en Alternance, flute, A-clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, 2002–14 (each of its three sections may be performed separately: partir, 2002–03; bercer [in memoriam Gérard Grisey], 2002–03; filer, 2014)
Étude No. 1, «Wir schaufeln [...] in den Lüften» – in memoriam Ursula Holliger, alto saxophone, 2013–14 (also longer version as In den Lüften, oboe, 2016)
Poursuivre, violin, cello, accordion, 2013–14
Entscheiden, cello, 2014–15
Longue distance, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), erhu (violin from China), 2016
Veränderung für Divertimento (after no. 28 of the 33 Veränderungen über einen Walzer von A. Diabelli, Op. 120 by Ludwig van Beethoven), clarinet, bassoon, French horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, 2016
Enkin, piccolo, percussion, 2017
Flèches d'eau, 12 flutes, 4 percussion, 2018
Canto – pour un Festin, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, accordion, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 2019
À Laurent, violin, 2019
Journal du Tigre éphémère, flute, harp, viola, 2020
Diario Ellittico, string quartet, 2019–21
Übersicht III (in memoriam Paul Méfano), saxophone, piano, percussion, 2020–21
Impronta (Miniatur), violin, 2021
À l'Air Libre – pour la libération de Maria Kalesnikava – Séquence 1 : Respirer-Explorer, bass flute, 2021
À l'Air Libre – pour la libération de Maria Kalesnikava – Séquence 2 : Schrei als Raum, piccolo, 2021–22
Dig in the Air, soprano saxophone, 2023, revised 2024
CHORAL:
Cristal et Corps (text by Emmanuel Hocquard), 7 mixed voices, small orchestra (23 players), 1994–95
L'Eau éclairée (text by Yves Bonnefoy), soprano, mixed chorus, large orchestra (78 players), 1996–98
Sammlung (texts by Friedrich Ernst Liebe, Mary Knox Tisdal, Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Artur F. Becker, Max Zierl [all from the collection of Hans Prinzhorn]), 6 mixed voices, flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano, MIDI-keyboard, percussion, violin, viola, cello, live electronics, 2024–25
VOCAL:
Exil II (text by Yves Bonnefoy), soprano, alto, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, harp, violin, viola, cello, piano, 3 percussion, 1983, revised 1984
So schnell, zu früh (in memoriam Dominique Bagouet, text by Michael Franck), soprano, amplified small orchestra (18 players), computer, live electronics, 1993
Viridaria (text by Emmanuel Hocquard), soprano, large orchestra (62 players), 1994 (unfinished)
Verticales Rouges (texts by Yves Bonnefoy, Paul Celan, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Psalm 77), female speaker, organ, 3 spatial groups (trumpet, trombone, percussion each), small orchestra (18 players), 2014–15
Attan'Datte I (text by Nobuo Ayukawa), female noh voice, string quartet, 2020 (also version as Attan'Datte II, female noh voice, string quartet, 2021)
PIANO:
Marges IV, 1989–92
Trois petites pièces pour piano, 1997–2004 (each of its three sections may be performed separately: Pour tous ceux qui tombent, 1997; Empreinte [pedagogical piece], 2004; Saint Igor [pedagogical piece], 2004)
Échappée – hommage à Claude Debussy, 2011–12
Counting out Time, 2015–16
Passage – Hommage à Claude Debussy, 2017–18
ORGAN:
Gemme, 1984
DISCOGRAPHY
Seuil déployé. Mark Foster/Ensemble Forum de Lyon (Éditions Salabert: SCD 9002, 1990)
Marges III. Jean-Pierre Arnaud, oboe; Fabrice Bollon/Ensemble Alternance (Adès: 202282, 1992)
Départ (original version). Dominique Vidal, A-clarinet (Harmonia Mundi: HM 73/Radio France: MFA 216007, 1995)
So schnell, zu früh; Devenir I; Là, au-delà. Sharon Cooper, soprano; André Trouttet, clarinet; David Robertson/Ensemble Intercontemporain (Adès: 204552, 1995 [reissued as Universal Music/Accord: 465 312-2])
So schnell, zu früh. Sharon Cooper, soprano; David Robertson/Ensemble Intercontemporain (Universal Music/Accord: 461 892-2, 2000)
3 pour 2 (concert version). Tito Ceccherini/Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire (CREC, 2010)
Übersicht II. Alexandre Souillart, tenor saxophone (CREC, 2011)