Thierry Pécou studied piano and additionally orchestration and composition at the Paris Conservatoire where he earned first prizes for both study courses. Scholarships for study abroad took him first to Canada from 1989 to 1993, then to Russia from 1994 to 1995 and subsequently to Spain and Latin America from 1997 to 1999.

Shaped by the influences of musical cultures from distant historical periods and locations, Pécou pursues an individual path far from the avant-garde. He was inspired by the language and intellectual world of Pre-Columbian America and Native American civilisations to compose the Symphonie du Jaguar which received its first performance to great acclaim in 2003 played by the Orchestre National d’Ile de France and conducted by HK Gruber. The cantata Passeurs d’eau dating from 2004 also draws inspiration from North American Indians. Traces of other cultures such as Ancient Greece can be found in the concert piece Les filles du feu (for oboe or clarinet and chamber orchestra composed in 1998). Other works additionally make allusions to African and Ancient Chinese music (La Barque au rêve clair for erhu and orchestra written in 2007), less as folkloristic quotations, but more in the form of tonal colouring and intimations.

Pécou composes music across a wide range of genres ranging from solo works to orchestral compositions and lieder with piano to music theatre. Pécou regularly participates in performances of his own works for piano and chamber ensembles and create new interpretations. He founded the Zellig Ensemble in 1998 and was its pianist up to 2010. Pécou is currently the artistic director of the Ensemble Variances in which he also participates as a pianist.

He has composed three operas during the last decade whose L’Amour coupable was premiered by the Opéra de Rouen in 2010 and was cited as the best world premiere of the year 2010 by the Syndicat de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse.

Thierry Pécou is the recipient of numerous prizes including the Pierre Cardin Prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts (1996), the prize for Young Composers from Sacem (2004). In 2010, the Foundation Simone et Cino del Duca from the Institut de France awarded him the Grand Prix de Composition, and in 2016, he received the Grand Prix of the SACEM for symphonic composition. The recording of his Symphonie du Jaguar with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under the direction of Francois-Xavier Roth issued by harmonia mundi received two awards: the Diapason d’or de l’année 2010 and the award Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros.

Thierry Pécou currently lives and works in Rouen.

Source : Editions Schott