Native to Saint-Jean d'Angély (Charente Maritime), Jacques Lenot claims an atypical course. Self-educated person (even if his road crossed those of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gyorgy Ligeti and Mauricio Kagel in Darmstadt, from Sylvano Bussotti to Rome, of Franco Donatoni in Sienne); devoted to the only creative process («neither instrumentalist or conductor»); independent of musical institutions (his only official post was - shortly - that of teacher).
Since the creation very pointed out, in 1967, of its first orchestra work in the Festival of Royan - offered by Olivier Messiaen - he imposes a complex, tormented, very captious writing in the detail of nuance, of attack, of rhythm. Of serial origin, he tries to enlarge this system in a world which is peculiar to it. Instrumental virtuosity plays it a central role and, more and more, Jacques Lenot collaborates with the creators of his music to still push back borders. However, whatever is their degree of abstraction, its writings reveal a poetic world of a rare intensity.
He accomplished an important pianistic corpus that Winston Choi (laureate of the “Concours International d’Orléans” 2002) recorded completely for Intrada, and was worth him a "Shock" of the World of Music as well as Grand prix of the disc of the Academy Charles Cros. It also receives the “Prix de Printemps” of SACEM and is made “Chevalier des Arts et Lettres”.
Its “J’étais dans ma maison et j’attendais que la pluie vienne” of Jean-Luke Lagarce, is ordered and created by “Grand-Théâtre de Genève” at the end of January, 2007.
Since there is, according to Emmanuel Levinas - sound installation co-ordered by the Autumn festival in Paris and IRCAM, with the support of SACEM for the church Saint-Eustace in Paris on September 29th, 2009 - Jacques Lenot answered a choreographic order of the Festival Spring the Arts of Monte Carlo, wrote Effigies, the work imposed for the final test of the International Competition of piano of Orléans 2012, with the Quartet Diotima.
It accomplishes in 2014 a new mixed sound installation - Isis and Osiris - order of IRCAM for an instrumental septet chosen among the musicians of group Multilateral. Together with whom he created in November, 2010 three Erinnern als Abwesenheit according to Paul Celan and who made the object of a recording for a CD INTRADA. Jacques Lenot collaborates moreover with this group as «compositor in residence» for seasons 2013 and on 2014.
Jean-Christophe Revel also recorded for Intrada its last work for organ, Petitions, at the end of October, 2011, on the instrument of the cathedral “Saint-François de Sales” of Chambéry
Solicited to memorialise the two hundredth birthday of the birth of Richard Wagner in October, 2013 in Geneva by a festival especially created for event, it composes “D‘autres Murmures” for trumpet player and very big band.
Jacques Lenot is ranked “Officier des Arts et des Lettres” in 2011.
Source: http://www.jacqueslenot.net