Legendary synth composer Éliane Radigue has died aged 94

Legendary French electronic musician and synth composer Éliane Radigue has died at the age of 94, Parisian recording studio and research institute INA GRM has confirmed.

Radigue passed away on Monday, February 23, though no cause of death was confirmed. In an Instagram post, INA GRM called her a “major figure in musical creation”.

“It is with immense sadness that we learn of the passing of Éliane Radigue at the age of 94,” the statement reads. “Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and collaborators.”

Éliane Radigue began pursuing a career in music in the late ‘50s after meeting musique concrète founder Pierre Schaeffer, first under his guidance as a student, and later working at his acclaimed Studio d'Essai.

In the early ‘60s, Radigue assisted foundational musique concrète musician Pierre Henry, with her own work later featuring in his compositions.

Radigue formatively explored electroacoustic feedback and experimented with tape music, later finding a deep fascination with the ARP 2500 modular system, an analog synthesiser that she continued to work with through the ‘70s and beyond.

“Éliane Radigue went on to carve out her own path with unparalleled freedom and vision. She pursued an exciting musical life,” INA GRM said. “[She] finally reinvented herself through fruitful collaborations with numerous instrumentalists, notably around the OCCAM OCEAN cycle.”

Throughout her career, Radigue worked alongside the likes of Terry Riley, Philip Glass, and Laurie Spiegel, making her last ever electronic work in 2000, ‘L'Ile Re-sonante’, which she later won a Golden Nica Award for.

Read some more tributes below.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Associate Digital Editor, follow her on X