Christophe Looten
b. 1958
French
Biography
Christophe Looten was born in 1958 in Bergues in northern France. He started composing at an early age, and his musical studies with Casterède and Stricker gained him several prizes at the Paris Conservatory.Since 1982 Looten has taught musical analysis and history at the Limoges Conervatoire as well as holding a class in aesthetics at Limoges University. In 1987 he was appointed composer-in-residence at the Casa de Velasquez, while in 1989 he won the Lavoisier bursary, allowing him to spend a year in the USA, where his work has been recognised in the form of various fellowships. He has also won several international prizes.Among his compositions are many orchestral and choral works, chamber music and instrumental music, some of which use tape or computer. He has also written several theoretical works, notably on the bi-pentaphonic system that he invented, as well as musical analyses.