A soloists ensemble

In 1976, Pierre Boulez founded the Ensemble intercontemporain with the support of Michel Guy (who was Minister of Culture at the time) and the collaboration of Nicholas Snowman.

The Ensemble’s 31 soloists share a passion for 20^th-21^st century music. They are employed on permanent contracts, enabling them to fulfil the major aims of the Ensemble: performance, creation and education for young musicians and the general public. Under the artistic direction of French conductor Pierre Bleuse the musicians work in close collaboration with composers, exploring instrumental techniques and developing projects that interweave music, dance, theater, film, video and visual arts.

In collaboration with IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique), the Ensemble intercontemporain is also active in the field of synthetic sound generation. New pieces are commissioned and performed on a regular basis.

The Ensemble is renowned for its strong emphasis on music education: concerts for kids, creative workshops for students, training programs for future performers, conductors, composers, etc.

Resident at the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris since 1995, the Ensemble intercontemporain became fully integrated into the institution in 2026 and thus opened a new chapter in its history. The Ensemble also performs elsewhere in France as well as abroad, where it is a regular guest at major international venues and festivals.

The EIC from 1976 to 2026 – Download the History

Pierre Bleuse

Music director

Pierre Bleuse has built his career at the intersection of musical excellence and artistic curiosity. Trained as a violinist, he discovered early on in conducting a space for dialogue and for bringing musicians together in a shared artistic endeavour.
He studied conducting with Jorma Panula in Finland and Laurent Gay at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, developing an approach that is committed, precise and deeply attentive to the musicians with whom he works.
Within just a few years, Pierre Bleuse established himself on the international stage and has been invited to conduct many of the world’s leading orchestras across Europe, Asia and the Americas, from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the London Philharmonic Orchestra to the Orchestre National de France, as well as the symphony orchestras of Tokyo, Singapore and São Paulo, alongside major German and Scandinavian radio orchestras.
These collaborations reveal a conductor equally at home in a wide variety of artistic contexts, guided throughout by the same commitment to clarity and a shared musical experience.
Appointed Music Director of the Ensemble intercontemporain in 2023, he has found in this outstanding ensemble an ideal setting in which to deepen his commitment to new music and the music of our time. Closely engaged with contemporary repertoire, he has led the Ensemble in numerous artistic and recording projects, including an album devoted to György Ligeti, which received both a Choc Classica and a Diapason d’Or de l’Année in 2024, and, more recently, an album dedicated to Korean composer Unsuk Chin, released in February 2025.
Alongside these activities, Pierre Bleuse continues to develop long-term artistic relationships. He is Music Director of the Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark and Artistic Director of the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades, where he champions an open-minded yet rigorous vision of music, with particular attention to the connections between works, performers and audiences.
At the helm of the Ensemble intercontemporain, Pierre Bleuse thus builds on a rich artistic legacy while pursuing a dynamic vision firmly focused on the future.

A soloists ensemble

Pierre Bleuse

The soloists of the Ensemble