# Gilbert Amy

Gilbert Amy (born 29 August 1936) is a French composer and conductor.

## Career

Born in Paris, Amy entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1954, where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade. His first composition (Œil de fumée) dates from 1955. In 1957 he met Pierre Boulez, under whose direction he composed his Piano Sonata. A year later Boulez commissioned from him a work called Mouvements, which was performed in Darmstadt by the Orchestre du Domaine musical. From 1958 to 1961 he attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse given by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and developed a style highly influenced by the trend of serialism.
In 1962 Jean-Louis Barrault named him adjunct music director of the Odéon Theater in Paris. At the same time he undertook a career as conductor in Europe and Argentina. Between 1967 and 1973 he was the director of the Domaine Musical, succeeding Pierre Boulez. From 1973 to 1975 he was music advisor to ORTF and worked to "reform" the music heard on the radio. From 1976 to 1981, he was music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France. In 1984, Amy succeeded Pierre Cochereau as Director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique at Lyon, while continuing to compose music. His notable students include Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux and Jeffrey Brooks.
Amy's talent as a composer has won him a number of awards including the Grand Prix National de la Musique in 1979, the Grand Prix of SACEM in 1983, the Grand Prix Musical of the City of Paris in 1986 and the Prix of the President of the Republic from the Academy Charles Cros in 1987.

## List of works

| Title | Medium | Date of composition | Publisher |
| Variations | Flute, clarinet, cello, and piano | 1956 | unpublished (Éditions Durand-Salabert, for hire) |
| Inventions I et II | Flute, marimba/vibraphone, harp, and piano/celesta | 1961 | Heugel |
| Relais | Brass quintet | 1969 | Heugel |
| Trois Interludes | Violin and two percussionists | 1984 | Amphion |
| En trio | Clarinet, violin, and piano | 1985 | Amphion |
| Posaunen | Four trombones | 1987 | Amphion |
| Mémoire | Cello and piano | 1989 | Universal Edition |
| String quartet No. 1 | String quartet | 1990–92 | Amphion |
| Brèves – String quartet No. 2 | String quartet | 1995 | Amphion |
| Le Temps du souffle (I) | Two clarinets | 1993–96 | Amphion |
| Le Temps du souffle (II) | Violin, saxophone, and trombone | 1993 | Amphion |
| Symphonies pour cinq cuivres | Brass quintet | 1992 | Amphion |
| Trio Alto | Clarinet, percussion, and viola | 1994 | unpublished |
| Après Ein... Es Praeludium | Cello quartet | 2006 | unpublished |
| String quartet No. 3 | String quartet | 2009 | Éditions Durand-Salabert |
| Épigrammes | Solo piano | 1961 | Heugel |
| Cahiers d'Épigrammes | Solo piano | 1964 | Heugel |
| Obliques I | Solo piano | 1987 | Amphion |
| Obliques II | Solo piano | 1990 | Amphion |
| Obliques III | Solo piano | 1989 | Amphion |
| Etude-Variation | Solo piano | 2001 | unpublished |
| Hai Ku | Solo piano | 1997–2005 | Éditions Henry Lemoine |
| Sept Bagatelles | Solo organ | 1976 | Amphion |
| Quasi una toccata | Solo organ | 1981 | Universal Editions |
| Trois Inventions | Solo organ | 1993–2001 | Éditions Musicales transatlantiques |
| En-Harmonies | Solo harp | 1995 | Amphion |
| Quasi scherzando | Solo cello | 1981 | Universal Editions |
| Petit thèma varié | Violin | 2002 | Éditions Henry Lemoine |
| 6 Duos, for 2 violins | Two violins | 2002 | Éditions Henry Lemoine |
| D'ombre et lumière | Solo viola | 2002 | unpublished |
| D'ombre et lumière | Version for two violas | 2003 | unpublished |
| Trois Études | Solo flute | 1977 | Éditions Musicales transatlantiques |
| 5/16 | Flute and one wooden percussion | 1986 | Éditions Billaudot |
| Jeux | One or four oboes | 1970 | Universal Editions |
| La Stravinskienne | Solo marimba | 1996 | François Dhalmann Editions |
| Cycle | Percussion sextet | 1966 | Heugel |
| Seven Sites | Chamber ensemble | 1975 | Universal Editions |
| Echos XIII | French horn, trombone, harp, piano, and ensemble | 1976 | Universal Editions |
| Écrits sur toiles | Narrator and ensemble | 1983 | Amphion |
| La Variation ajoutée | Tape and 17 instruments | 1984 | Amphion |
| La temps du souffle III | French horn and ensemble | 2001 | Amphion |
| Cors et Cris | Ensemble and electronics | 2011 | Éditions Durand-Salabert (for hire) |
| Trajectoires | Violin and orchestra | 1966 | Heugel |
| Chant | Orchestra | 1968 | Heugel |
| Refrains | Orchestra | 1972 | Universal Editions |
| Adagio et stretto | Orchestra | 1978 | Universal Editions |
| Orchestrahl | Orchestra | 1985–89 | Amphion |
| Trois Scènes | Orchestra | 1994–95 | Amphion |
| Concerto | Cello and orchestra | 1999–2000 | Amphion |
| Concerto | Piano and orchestra | 2003–05 | Éditions Durand-Salabert (for hire) |
| L'espace du souffle | Orchestra | 2007 | Éditions Durand-Salabert (for hire) |
| Après...Ein 'Es praeludium' | Two horns and string orchestra | 2008 | Éditions Durand-Salabert (for hire) |
| Oeil de fumée | Voice and piano | 1955 | Amphion |
| Oeil de fumée | Voice and orchestra | 1957 | Amphion |
| Strophe | Soprano and orchestra | 1965–66 | Amphion |
| Cette étoile enseigne à s'incliner | Men's voices, two pianos, instruments, and tape | 1970 | Heugel |
| Recitatif, air et variation | Twelve voices | 1970 | Universal Editions |
| D'un désastre obscur | Mezzo-soprano and clarinet | 1971 | Universal Editions |
| D'un espace déployé | Soprano, two pianos, and two orchestral groups | 1972–73 | Universal Editions |
| Après... D'un désastre obscur | Mezzo-soprano and ensemble | 1976 | Universal Editions |
| Shin'Anim Sha'Ananim | Mezzo-soprano, cello, clarinet, and ensemble | 1979 | Universal Editions |
| Une Saison en enfer | Soprano, piano, percussion, and tape | 1980 | Éditions Durand-Salabert (for hire) |
| Missa cum jubilo | Vocal quartet, children's choir, mixed choir, and orchestra | 1981–83 | Universal Editions |
| Choros | Contra-tenor, tenor, bass, grand mixed choir, and orchestra | 1989 | Amphion |
| Quatre Mélodies | Soprano and orchestra | 2003–05 | Éditions Durand-Salabert |
| Trois Mélodies | Soprano and piano | 2003–04 | unpublished |
| Dessin animé | Baritone and cello | 2003 | unpublished |
| Litanies pour Ronchamp | Two male singers, vocal ensemble, percussion, and string quartet | 2004–05 | unpublished |
| Le Premier Cercle | Opera in four acts | 1996–99 | Éditions Durand-Salabert |