Pascale Criton

Pascale Criton was born in Paris in 1954. She studied composition with Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Gérard Grisey and Jean-Etienne Marie. She participated in the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1980/88, took electro-acoustic training at CIRM (International Centre for Musical Research, Nice), as well as a musical computing course for composers at IRCAM (Paris) in 1986. She also developed an interest in ethnomusicology and participated in activities of the Research Group on Oral Tradition in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1979. 

From 1975 to 1980, Pascale Criton was a member of the Musical Theatre Company of Les Ulis, with Michel Puig, Michaël Lonsdale, Catherine Dasté and Edith Scob, and would pursue her stage experience with Transcenic: dance, theatre, music and audiovisual, first performed in 1982. 

Since the early 1980s, Pascale Criton’s musical research has focused on exploring micro-intervals and their organisation, including quarter-, eighth-, twelfth- and sixteenth-tone intervals. Her writing uses scordatura (specific tuning of stringed instruments, guitars and piano), combined with orchestral instruments and digital synthesis. 

Fascinated by working on the sound continuum, Pascale met Gilles Deleuze and took a university degree course in musicological research. She completed a master with Daniel Charles at University of Paris VIII, a post-graduate degree with Hugues Dufourt, and doctoral training in Music and Musicology of the 20th Century at IRCAM (1993), which she completeted with her PhD Total chromatique et continuums sonores, une problématique de la pensée musicale du XXe siècle. 

She has directed various creative workshops at the University of Paris, the Avignon Festival and the Pantin Conservatory. Her research has resulted in state commissions and lectures on musical aesthetics. As a consulting composer at IRCAM (Department of Musical Research, 1989-91), she has collaborated with the Waves and Acoustics Laboratory at the School of Physics and Industrial Chemistry in Paris since 1993. 

In 1999, the Ensemble 2e2m dedicated a portrait concert as well as a recording of her work: Pascale Criton, les univers microtempérés. Her works are published by Jobert and have been played in France as well as abroad: Georges Pompidou Centre, IRCAM, MANCA Festival (Nice), Midem (Cannes), Intermusica, Ars Electronica, Darmstadt, Ijsbreker Institute (Amsterdam), Archipel Festival, 3rd Pianoforum (Heilbronn), the American Festival of Microtonal Music in New York and Radio-France. 

Her works, published by Jobert (Lemoine), are performed both in France and abroad: Centre Georges Pompidou, IRCAM, MANCA, MIDEM, Intermusica, Ars Electronica, Darmstadt, Institut Ijsbreker, Festival Archipel, Huddersfield Spring, III° Pianoforum (Heilbronn), American Festival of Microtonal Music (New York), Radio-France. 

Her works include Artefact (2001) for instrumental ensemble (commissioned by the French government); Objectiles (2002), commissioned by Radio-France; and Scordatura (2003) for guitar quartet, commissioned by the Centre international de recherches musicales; Gaïa (2004) for soprano, contrabass clarinet, percussion, live electronics with real-time video (commissioned by the French government) and Plis (2005-2006), cycle for instrumental ensemble and live electronics (in situ recordings) (commissioned by the French government). 

As of October 2025