Pierre Villette
1926 - 1998
French
Biography
French composer Pierre Villette was born into a musical family on February 7th 1926 in Duclair, Normandy. Before he attended the Paris Conservatory, he studied with Maurice Duruflé. Whilst at Paris, he was a fellow student of Pierre Boulez although their careers followed rather different paths. Whilst Boulez and his circle decided to develop the avant-garde styles, Villette drew his influences from more eclectic places, such as Gregorian Chant, medieval music, jazz and Stravinsky. There are 81 opus numbers in his catalogue consisting of chamber and orchestral works and a range of choral works; it is for these choral works that he remains well known today.