A French composer born in 1936 in Paris.
Born into a family of musicians, Michel Decoust followed a classical training at the Paris Conservatory (1956-1965) that was completed at Cologne with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Henri Pousseur. He also trained as a conductor in Basel with Pierre Boulez. Laureate of the Prix de Rome in 1963, his interests subsequently turned towards perception and spatialisation, a period illustrated by Polymorphie (1967). His manner of exploiting sound extended to total serialisation before returning in 1984 to a more classical conception of writing. Michel Decoust also took on many administrative and artistic responsibilities: cofounder of the Orchestre des Pays de la Loire (1967), cofounder of the Pantin Conservatory (1973), head of Ircam’s pedagogical department (1975-1979), Inspector General for music education (1979-1991), then Inspector General for artistic creation and teachings in higher education (1994-2001). As a conductor, he took part in many first performances until 1983, when he left this activity in favour of composing in all genres. Among his works are Les Rois mages (1964), Et/ou (1972), Relevé d'esquisse (1982), Hommage à Maurice Ravel (1987), Concerto for violin and orchestra (1990), Cent phrases pour éventails (1995), Cinq sonnets de Louise Labé (2001), Concerto for horn (2007).
