Philippe Fenelon

Born in 1952, French composer Philippe Fénelon began his music studies at the age of eight and went on to continue his training at the conservatory of Orléans. Two of his piano professors were to have a profound influence on his budding musi­cal identity. Janine Coste, a student of Cortot, Nat and Messiaen, passed on her knowledge of classical technique and historical perspective to the young Fénelon. Claude Ardent in turn taught him an awareness of the bonds between music and literature. Fénelon took an early interest in the voice and by the age of seventeen was already an accomplished accompanist working with numerous singers. It was then that he took his first trip to the Bayreuth Festival and, while listening to Noces by Stravinsky directed by Pierre Boulez, decided to become a composer.