French Violinist Maryvonne Le Dizès has Died

A member of Ensemble Intercontemporain for more than 20 years, Le Dizès commissioned and performed a number of new works

The French violinist Maryvonne Le Dizès, who was a member of the renowned French contemporary-music group Ensemble Intercontemporain, has passed away.

A native of France, Le Dizès studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris, where she was at the top of her class both as a soloist and as a chamber player. In the early part of her career, achieved considerable success on the competition circuit, becoming the first female musician to win the Paganini Competition in 1962.

Later, she also became the first woman and foreign national to enter the Carnegie Hall competition, having relocated to America for her husband's job.

Le Dizès took some time off playing during the period immediately after her children were born. Missing the discipline of the instrument, she then set about rehabilitating her technique — but was reluctant to take an orchestral post because she wanted to continue playing solo.

In 1979, she secured a position in the Ensemble Intercontemporain, and remained there for more than twenty years, working under Pierre Boulez for much of that period. She also played a number of works by György Ligeti and appeared as a soloist in his Violin Concerto in 1999.

A committed pedagogue, Le Dizès also taught at the Boulogne-Billancourt Regional Conservatory from 1979 onward, where she introduced many students to contemporary repertoire.

"It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Maryvonne Le Dizès, musician and accomplished educator, violinist at Ensemble Intercontemporain since 1979 and for more than twenty years," the ensemble wrote on social media. "Our thoughts today go out to her family and relatives, to whom we send our deepest sympathy at this ordeal."

"I am passionate about working with composers," Le Dizès said in a 1998 interview of why she chose to make contemporary music her life. "Being able to discuss a score with its author, seeing together what is possible or not, trying to realize it with them."

Our condolences to Le Dizès's family, friends, and colleagues.