Eric Gaudibert

President of the Artistic Commission
 

Eric Gaudibert has been president of the Artistic Commission of the Geneva International Music Competition since 2001 and as such, in collaboration with the Secretary General, he is responsible for the successful organisation of the artistic aspects of the contest: choice of musical programmes, choice of members of the jury, or the preselection of candidates. 

Eric Gaudibert was born in Vevey (Switzerland) on the 21 December 1936. After studying at the Lausanne Conservatoire (piano with D. Bidal and composition with H. Haug) he continued his apprenticeship at the Paris Music School, where he studied piano with Alfred Cortot, and composition with Nadia Boulanger and Henri Dutilleux. The encounter with Cortot was decisive, and encouraged Eric Gaudibert to pursue his search for a synthesis between interpretation, composition and analysis. Other encounters (with Emile Leipp / acoustics and Max Deutsch / analysis) further enriched this apprenticeship. 

Eric Gaudibert continued his career as pianist and composer in France until the end of the sixties. On the one hand, he collaborated with certain Cultural Centres (in Bourges, Chalon  s/ Saône...) and on the other, with Swiss Radio-Television for introductory music programmes as well as for the creation of electro-acoustic music. From 1972 to 1975 he was in charge of the musical activity of the Orleans Cultural Centre. 

Since then, Eric Gaudibert has lived in the Geneva region. After teaching piano, analysis, applied harmony and composition at the Public Conservatoire of this city and analysis at the Neuchatel Conservatoire, from 1999 to 2004 he headed the composition class at the Geneva Conservatoire. Since then, he has been appointed honorary professor of this institution. Among his many pupils, the following can be cited:  Michael Jarrell, Jean-Claude Schlaepfer, Jorge Pepi, Xavier Dayer, Andreas Stauder, Biao Chen. 

The catalogue of his works covers an extremely wide spectrum, ranging from solo to symphonic orchestra, not to mention opera, choir, diverse chamber music arrangements, and electro-acoustic music. 

Eric Gaudibert, who was prizewinner of the Prix Italia in 1976 for a piece of ballet music, also received the Prize for Composition of the Swiss Musicians' Association in 1989 in recognition of his entire work, as well as the Quadrennial Music Prize of the City of Geneva in 1995.