A French composer born February 26, 1975 in Nice.
A pianist by training, Raphaël Cendo performed with a hardcore rap group before institutionalising his training at the École Normale de Musdique and then at the Paris Conservatory (2000-2003). He then completed his apprenticeship, notably with the composition and computer muisc course of Ircam (2005-2006). Influenced by the teaching of Allain Gaussin, Brian Ferneyhough, Fausto Romitelli and Philippe Manoury, but also by spectral musicand by current and traditional music, Raphaël Cendo composes music marked by the æsthetic of sound saturation based on tonecolour. His research deals with composition from a single material and explores the limits of instrumental capabilities, particularly the limits of speed. His works are played by performers and ensembles of international renown such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Itinéraire, the Orchestre National de France, and at prestigious festivals: Présences, Musica, Donaueschingen and Ars Musica in Brussels. A laureate of the Pierre Cardin Prize of the Académie des Beaux-arts, Cendo was in residence at the Villa Medici in 2009-2010. His works include Scratch data (2002), Action painting (2005), Tract (2007), Introduction aux ténèbres (2009), Furia (2009).