Composers

Patrice Sciortino was born in Paris on the 26th July 1922. His father, Edouard Sciortino, a composer and student of Vincent d'Indy, taught Gregorian chant at the Schola Cantorum. His mother was a poet and also an amateur pianist.

He began to study music in the family circle at the age of six. At thirteen, he prepared both entrance to the Beaux-Arts and admission to the Schola Cantorum where he was admitted. There, he studied piano with Jules Gentil and writing with Achylle Philippe and Edouard Sciortino.

In 1942, he became head organist at Alès Cathedral and music teacher at the city high school. In 1946, he moved back to Paris and practised a wide range of musical professions : accompaniment, conducting, orchestration and commissioned compositions for the radio, television, cinema and stage.

After research on non-European music and a course at the G.R.M., he made a record of an exotic and acoustic work, Les cyclopes, with the engineer Charlin.

His partnership with the Russillo company produced four major ballets.

Meanwhile, his literary efforts led to a collection of poetry - Stigmates - twenty plays and a number of musical columns.

Having created an analysis class at the European conservatory, he directed the Paris 13th arrondissement conservatory from 1979 to 1992. In 1995, he taught orchestration and composition classes at the Schola Cantorum. He was also appointed director of music teaching by the French Ministry of Continuing Education.

His catalogue includes several hundred opuses and is made up of symphonic, choral and instrumental scores, chamber music and harmonic orchestral works, cantatas, an oratorio and even compositions for unusual instruments (ondes Martenot, accordion, harmonica). Last but not least, it includes fifteen or so lyrical works for which he wrote the books himself : Atsmeuk (O.R.T.F. commission), L'affaire F.F.O.P.P. (State commission), L'odyssée (Hauts-de-Seine district commission), Les navires du soleil (ADIAM 95 commission), Cour de fer (Ville d'Avray Workshop commission).
His foreign concerts (Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United States, Romania, Czechoslovakia, etc.) and many recordings have confirmed his creativity.

In his book, L'inventeur imaginaire (The imaginary inventor), he uses his poetic and technical style to express a new concept of musical analysis.

Bibliography:
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
France Yvonne BRIL, Cahiers de Radio France
Roland DE CANDÉ, Dictionnaire de la musique
Alain PARIS, Dictionnaire des musiciens du XXème siècle
Pascal PISTONE, Maîtrise sur l’oratorio Malédictions et Lumières
Claude ROSTAND, Dictionnaire des musiciens