André Boucourechliev

Who was André Boucourechliev?

André Boucourechliev was a French composer of Bulgarian origin.

Born in Sofia, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently he studied in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he later taught piano. His first attempts at composition date from 1954, when he was engaged in the famous contemporary music sessions at Darmstadt. He honed his compositional technique by seeking out Berio and Maderna in Milan. Following the success of works such as the Piano Sonata, performed at the Domaine musical, and works involving choice and chance, he spent a period in America during which he encountered avant-garde figures such as Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Rauschenberg. The summit of his exploration of choice and freedom on the part of the performer was reached in Archipels. Many of his later works have gone on to refine or extend these principles. Boucourechliev died in Paris in 1997 at the age of 72.