Hosted by artist and composer Byron Westbrook, Chromatic Fields explores threads of overlap between ideas in contemporary art practice and music making. The program features new and historical avant-garde music ranging from minimalism to maximalism, including intermedia works, sound sculpture, electro-acoustic music, deep listening and sound artists operating in a conceptual field.

This special episode of Chromatic Fields pays tribute to visionary French composer Éliane Radigue, following her recent passing at the age of 94. 

The only French composer of her generation that may be considered a pioneer of music for synthesiser, Éliane Radigue created an aesthetic in which acoustic beating between frequencies replaces rhythm and other, more traditional means of organising sounds. Radigue's compositional process, which, for the most part, consisted of recording and mixing sounds produced by synthesisers on magnetic tape, was meticulous, with each work taking up to three years to complete. Nonetheless, her catalogue of electronic works comprises more than 20 hours of music, making her one of the most prolific artists in the field.

Since 2001, after some 40 years of working with the ARP 2500, Radigue has only collaborated with instrumentalists, applying a process of composition which resembles the means of oral transmission of traditional music. Projects in this vein included the three Naldjorlak works, as well as the monumental Occam Océan, performed by some of the most esteemed musicians of our time. This cycle comprises more than 70 pieces for instrumental forces ranging from solo to orchestral.

Radigue's music has been programmed in numerous prestigious festivals, and continues to be premiered throughout Europe and the United States in a wide range of settings, from loft spaces to major concert halls, galleries, and museums.

(Bio courtesy of IRCAM)