Yves Prin

Yves Prin (b. 1933) is a French composer and conductor. He studied piano with Yves Nat and conducting with Louis Fourestier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he won several first prizes. He started his career as a pianist, but upon meeting Bruno Maderna (assistant at the Mozarteum, Salzburg from 1968 to 1969), decided to turn towards conducting. This association with the Italian maestro was the reason for his final decision to dedicate his work mostly to contemporary music. Prin was subsequently guest conductor of the orchestras of the Residentie (The Hague) and of Haarlem in the Netherlands (1968–1973), then music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (1981–1982). He worked at Ircam of Pierre Boulez in Paris for the composer's cursus in 1978. He has recorded more than a dozen records (Etcetera, REM, Adès, Salabert Actuel, MFA, Accord) and conducted many pieces by Iannis Xenakis, Mauricio Kagel, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Bruno Maderna. He has premiered operas by Georges Aperghis, François-Bernard Mâche, Ahmed Essyad, Michaël Levinas, Paul Méfano, Philippe Hersant, Henri Pousseur, Maurice Ohana, Claude Prey, André Boucourechliev and has led revivals of many others. From 1983 to 1999, Prin was the producer at Radio France for the contemporary music concert series. In addition, from 1992 to 1999, he was acting producer of Radio France's Festival Présences, which features first performances. Prin pursues a parallel career as composer (published in particular by Editions Durand). He developed his own dramatic language and has a special lyrical vision of music. His catalogue includes today forty works including 5 concertos and 41 melodies divided into several cycles. Since 1999, Prin has dedicated himself to his own music and to his performing activities as a pianist and a conductor. He has received the Prix Florent-Schmitt de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts (1997).