Henri Dutilleux
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The nonagenarian French composer Henri Dutilleux has been awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, one of the most prestigious honours in classical music.
Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier presented Dutilleux with the medal on Wednesday 2 April 2008 in front of a capacity audience at the Wigmore Hall. The presentation followed a concert by the Nash Ensemble which included the world premiere of a revised version of Dutilleux's atmospheric cycle of instrumental ‘snapshots’ Mystère de l’instant, written for the conductor Paul Sacher, his Diptyque for four players incorporating ‘quotations’ from Benjamin Britten and Jehan Alain, and the poetic string quartet Ainsi la nuit.
Reading the Council citation, Graham Sheffield Chairman of the RPS said:
”Henri Dutilleux has consistently produced work at the very highest level throughout his long composing career, holding steadfastly to his compositional principals and resisting the merely fashionable to create a distinctive and powerful language that is never simplistic. His music deals with the issues of our day, but remains timeless, and its gentle sincerity makes it communicate at every level. His example has become a role model for a new generation of young composers who have found in his music an open-mindedness that engages them by its warmth and individuality. Henri Dutilleux stands for lucidity, sincerity and clarity of utterance, and these are qualities that the Royal Philharmonic Society recognizes and salutes.”
The RPS Gold Medal was initiated in 1870 to celebrate the Beethoven centenary. It has been awarded fewer thean 100 times. The previous recipient was Daniel Barenboim.