updated 2 May 2017
© Catherine-Maria Chapel / Éditions Durand

François Meïmoun

French composer born 20 April 1979 in Angers.

François Meïmoun studied at the Angers Conservatory, graduating with highest honours in piano, analysis, and chamber music. He went on to study at the Maurice Ravel Conservatory in Paris, graduating (again with highest honours) with a degree in accompaniment. Starting in 2002, he undertook further study of analysis with Michaël Levinas at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP). Finally, with a SACEM Bourse des Muses (2009; a grant awarded to francophone authors writing about 20th century music), he undertook a doctorate at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris on “The Construction of the Musical Language of Pierre Boulez (1942-48),” under the supervision of Michael Werner and Alain Poirier.

He is the Director of Musiques XX-XXIe Siècles, a book series published by Aedam Musicae Editions. His book La naissance d’un compositeur (“The Birth of a Composer”), comprising an interview with Pierre Boulez, was awarded the “Coup de Cœur” by the Charles Cros Academy in 2010.

Meïmoun’s works have been performed by ensembles such as the Ardeo, Arditti, Tana, and Voce Quartets, Percussions de Strasbourg, and the Radio France Philharmonic, as well as soloists including Alain Billard, Élise Chauvin, Marc Coppey, Christophe Desjardins, Chen Halevi, Garth Knox, Marie Kobayashi, Olivier Patey, Hélène Tysman, Marie Vermeulin, Sébastien Vichard, and Vanessa Wagner. His music has been programmed in festivals including the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Chaillol Festival, Musica, ManiFeste, Musiques sur Ciel, Musiques de Marseille, Musicales de Colmar, Zeitkunst (Berlin), and Belo Horizonte (Brazil).

In 2009, SACEM and the Cabaret Contemporain commissioned both En noir et blanc for cello and Hommage aux classiques for piano. In 2011-12, he was in residence at the Abbaye de la Prée, during which his First String Quartet was premiered. In the same year, a residence at the Chaillol Festival saw the premiere of Tara, part one in a large-scale musical portrait of Antonin Artaud. He participated in the “Opera and Creation Workshop” in the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2013, during which his Second String Quartet was premiered. His Fourth String Quartet was commissioned by Proquartet and premiered in 2014; also featuring a mezzo-soprano, it is a setting of texts by Arthur Rimbaud, Antonin Artaud, and Géraldine Aïdan. In 2016, he composed the opera Mews song, based on the life of Francis Bacon and premiered at the Bouffes du Nord Theatre in Paris. His portrait of Paul Celan, Dein gesang, commissioned by IRCAM, was premiered at ManiFeste in June 2017. In July of the same year, his work Hora for two pianos was premiered at the Messiaen Festival in the Pays de la Meije (south-eastern France).

François Meïmoun also creates transcriptions of works by composers such as Bach and Mahler, and has composed several works for children based on texts by Raymond Queneau, as well as a musical tale for children with text by Géraldine Aïdan.

His scores are published by Artchipel Editions, Aedam Musicae, and Durand/Universal Music Publishing.


© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 2017

Sources

Sites des éditions Durand et Aedam Musicae.

Catalog sources and details

Transcriptions

  • Adagiettode laCinquième Symphonie de Gustav Mahler, transcription pour violoncelle et piano (à Pascal Amoyel, éditions Aedam musicae).
  • Toccata en ré mineur pour clavecin de J.-S. Bach, transcription pour quatuor à cordes (éditions Aedam musicae, commande du festival de Chaillol/Sacem, créée par le Quatuor Ardeo le 12 août 2012 au festival de Chaillol).
  • Variations Goldberg de J.-S. Bach, transcription pour quatuor à cordes (à Olivier Mantei).

Musique de cabaret

  • L’au revoir (poème de Géraldine Aïdan), pour soprano, clarinette en si bémol et violoncelle.
  • Amour massacre (poème d’Emile Goudeau), pour soprano, piano, violoncelle et clarinette en si bémol.
  • La lune (poème de Louise Denise), pour soprano, clarinette en si bémol et violoncelle.

Catalog source(s)

Transcriptions

  • Adagiettode laCinquième Symphonie de Gustav Mahler, transcription pour violoncelle et piano (à Pascal Amoyel, éditions Aedam musicae).
  • Toccata en ré mineur pour clavecin de J.-S. Bach, transcription pour quatuor à cordes (éditions Aedam musicae, commande du festival de Chaillol/Sacem, créée par le Quatuor Ardeo le 12 août 2012 au festival de Chaillol).
  • Variations Goldberg de J.-S. Bach, transcription pour quatuor à cordes (à Olivier Mantei).

Musique de cabaret

  • L’au revoir (poème de Géraldine Aïdan), pour soprano, clarinette en si bémol et violoncelle.
  • Amour massacre (poème d’Emile Goudeau), pour soprano, piano, violoncelle et clarinette en si bémol.
  • La lune (poème de Louise Denise), pour soprano, clarinette en si bémol et violoncelle.

Documents

Bibliographie

  • François MEÏMOUN, Entretien avec Pierre Boulez, la naissance d’un compositeur, Château-Gontier, Aedam Musicae, coll. « Musiques du XX-XXIe siècle », 2010.
  • François MEÏMOUN, « Transmettre la création : l’enseignement de Michaël Levinas » dans Résonanes polyphoniques : hommage à Michaël Levinas (sous la dir. de Yves Balmer, Thomas Lacôte, Jean-Claire Vançon), Paris, CNSMDP, Centre de recherche et d’édition du Conservatoire, 2014.

Discographie

  • François MEÏMOUN, « Accolades », Sylvain Durantel, alto ; Emmanuel Christien, piano dans La cuisine à l’alto avec des œuvres de Nigel Keay, Benoît Menut, Lionel Ginoux, … et al., 1 cd Polymnie, 2015.

Liens internet

(liens vérifiés en avril 2017)