A French composer born January 24, 1932 in Paris.
A pupil of Pierre Schaeffer at the RTF, assistant of Pierre Henry at the Studio Apsome, Eliane Radigue has composed, since 1968, electroacoustic works with tape recorders, using, notably, the Larsen effects.
She subsequently worked at the University of New York where she discovered the Arp 2500 synthesiser, which until 2006 was her companion in composition. Working on minute details, at the crossroads of minimalist, electronics and spectral trends, she uses continuous often low sounds, dilates time, and effects minuscule variations of the sound components. Close to Buddhism, to which she converted, she has composed a cycle of works based on the life of the Tibetan master Milarepa and numerous works on this theme, including the three-hour long Trilogie de la mort.
In 2002 she renewed her creative method. Enriching her music with tone-colours and resonances, she has since collaborated with the performers of acoustic instruments, for whom she composes, without any score, according to the principle of oral transmission. She has also worked with Kasper Toeplitz (Elemental II for electric bass, 2004), Charles Curtis (cycle Naldjorlak, 2004-2009), Rhodri Davies (Occam I for harp, 2011) and the ensemble ONCEIM, Orchestra of New Creations, Experiments and Musical Improvisations (Occam ocean, 2015).
For her output as a whole, she received in 2019 the Giga Hertz Prize from the Karlsruhe Center for Art and Media (ZKM) and SWR experimental studio.
