Hugues Dufourt Recordings

Hugues Dufourt (b. 1943) has always conceived of himself as a com­ poser-philosopher. He earned his first academic degree in philosophy prior to his studies at the Conservatoire in Geneva, where he worked with pianist Louis Hiltbrand, assistant to Dinu Lipatti (1961–68), and Jacques Guyonnet, as student of Pierre Boulez (1965–70). While organiz­ing concerts of contemporary music in his native Lyon, Dufourt simultaneously pursued certificates in morality and sociology, psychology, history and philosophy, and philosophy and logic. In the 1970s, while producing concerts with the pioneering ensemble L’Itinéraire, Dufourt maintained strong ties with the people and ideas with which he engaged at the University of Lyon II. Collaborating with a host of ensembles and composing emblematic works that distilled the spectral attitude for first-generation audiences (Erewhon, Antiph­ysis, Saturne, Surgir), Dufourt continued to pursue academic projects at the Centre d’Information et de Documentation “Recherche Musicale,” the École Normale Supérieure, the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, the Sorbonne, the Min­ istries of Culture and Education, and IRCAM, as well as the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. For his compositions ranging from solo works to full orchestra, Dufourt has received numerous awards, including the Prix du Président de la République in 2000 for his body of work, awarded by the Académie Charles Cros.