Luc Ferrari

French avant-garde visionary Luc Ferrari was a pioneer of musique concrète and modern composition. With works ranging from atonal pieces and group improvisations to tape compositions heavily incorporating ambient and environmental sounds, his music poetically interpreted and reflected the human experience, with a subtle sense of humor and a more overt interest in sexuality and intimacy than most other experimental composers. A co-founder of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales, he taught experimental music and composed for television, in addition to creating seminal electro-acoustic works such as Hétérozygote (1964) and Presque Rien No. 1 (1970). During the 1980s and onward, Ferrari received several awards for his work, including the Grand Prix National from the French Ministry of Culture. He performed at several retrospective concerts, residencies, and installations near the end of his life, and collaborated with experimental artists like eRikm and Otomo Yoshihide, remaining active until his death in 2005.