jean-louis agobet

French composer Jean-Louis Agobet, born in 1968, began studying composition in 1983. He first trained at the Aix-en-Provence Conservatory with Michel Pascal before continuing his studies in analysis, composition, and orchestration with Jacques Charpentier in Nice. He later entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Lyon, where he studied with Philippe Manoury. He also took part in the Centre Acanthes workshops with Luigi Nono and attended the IRCAM composition and computer music course, studying with Tristan Murail and Emmanuel Nunes.

Commissions from prestigious institutions such as Radio France, the French Ministry of Culture, and IRCAM helped launch his career in the early 1990s. This early success led to a two-year residency at the Villa Medici – Académie de France in Rome (1996–1998).

A new chapter began with major orchestral projects and increasing international recognition. Agobet has served as Composer-in-Residence with the Orchestre National de Montpellier (1999–2001), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (2001–2005), and the Orchestre National de Lorraine (2013–2015). These collaborations produced a significant body of orchestral work, including Phonal (1999), Ritratto Concertante (2000), Exo (2007), Cello Concerto(2009), Violin Concerto (2013), and Cantate (2014).

His 2002 work Génération, a concerto grosso for three clarinets and large orchestra, co-commissioned by Radio France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, firmly established Agobet as one of the leading French composers of his generation. A recording of the piece was released by Timpani (1C1094) in 2005 and received the Victoire de la Musique award for Best Recording of the Year in 2006.

Agobet has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Special Prize at the Prix Italia (1995, Bologna), the Prix Pierre Cardin (2003, Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris), an award from the Académie Charles Cros (2005), and the Prix Claude Arrieu (2006, SACEM). In December 2021, he was awarded the SACEM Grand Prix for his career achievements.

His works have been commissioned and performed internationally by major ensembles, orchestras, and festivals, including Ensemble InterContemporain, L’Itinéraire, Accroche-note, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Festival Musica, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, the Academy for Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra (Hong Kong), Orquestra Gulbenkian, the Royal Northern College of Music Orchestra (Manchester), the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Schleswig-Holsteinisches Sinfonie Orchester, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Sinfonietta, San Antonio Symphony, and NAT 28.

Agobet’s catalogue includes orchestral and ensemble works, concertos, chamber and vocal music. His works are published by Éditions Jobert (Paris), Peermusic Classical (Hamburg, New York), and, since 2018, by Artchipel. His music has been recorded by Triton, Harmonia Mundi, Timpani, and Actes Sud.

As a pedagogue, Agobet has been invited to teach at institutions such as the Academy for Performing Arts in Hong Kong, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, City University of New York, Tufts University (USA), and universities in Fukuoka, Doshisha, and Tokyo (Japan), as well as the CNSMDP (Paris).

Since 2011, he has held a permanent teaching position as Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire National in Bordeaux. In September 2022, he was also appointed Professor of Composition at the Pôle d'Enseignement Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Bordeaux (PESMD).