Croatian-born French composer Ivo Malec studied with Milo Cipra and Friedrich Zaun at the Zagreb Academy of Music and then with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire. He is one of the only contemporary classical composers to successfully combine working in both acoustic and electro-acoustic fields. Extremely interested in the use of colour in music, his composition 'Models' (1956) is written for 17 solo instrumentalists each associated with a different colour. In his early years as a composer he visited Paris often, meeting Pierre Schaeffer in 1955, whom he describes as his 'only true master'. He settled permanently in Paris in 1959 and became a member of GRM (Groupe de Recherche Musicale) in 1960, where he fostered his compositional style with their support. Malec put on many concerts with GRM, including the regular 'Cycle Acousmatique'. He became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire in 1972, a position which he held until 1990.
Malec experimented with many compositional techniques during his career, including 'Breaths II' (1961) which combined instrumental writing with breathing effects. Many of his works were composed with the use of electronics, for example 'Tutti' (1962) and 'Lumina' (1968) for orchestra and tape. He also composed other large scale orchestral works using different textures and musical techniques. Some examples are 'Sigma' (1963) for large orchestra, 'Oral' (1966) for reciter and orchestra, 'Arco 11' (1975) for eleven stringed instruments, 'Ottava Bassa' (1983) for double bass and orchestra and 'Ottava Alta' (1995) for violin and orchestra. 'Ottava Bassa' is seen as a virtuosic composition showing off the double bass player's extended instrumental techniques. He said that his composition 'Exempla' (1994) for orchestra summarised the principal elements of his personal compositional vocabulary.
Malec also composed incidental music for the theatre and cinema, ballet music and 'Pum, Pam, Pom' (1963), a pantomime. His output for chamber ensemble was prolific and extremely varied in its use of different instrumental groups. He also enjoyed composing for voice, particularly the female voice, with compositions such as 'Cantate Pour Elle' (1966) for voice, harp and tape. Malec died on the 14th August 2019, aged 94.
