French-Swiss composer and pianist Michel Runtz was born in Paris and lives mainly in Switzerland.

 He is a former professor and dean of piano classes at the Music Conservatory of Regions (Switzerland).

 He is the founding president of the International Piano Competition of Fribourg (Switzerland) and co-founder of the International Sino-Swiss Piano Competition of Shanghai, both competitions dedicated to the repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries, for young pianists.

 Michel Runtz composes to communicate emotion when presented not only with a film, a play or a text but also the aesthetic sense of certain painters, the contrast of the material, to the beauty it contains. This response being in echo to other creations, the composer provides a musical language which seeks not to mislead but to rouse the listener toward clarity and simplicity.

 His works immerse the listener in a harmonic universe that is situated in a kind of "in-between" that reveals a crossbred music.

Mixed backgrounds in training: after a classical degree at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, Michel Runtz furthered his skills with Xenakis, Takemitsu, Heiffer and Aimard.

This diversity converges into his professional activities as well. Michel Runtz is often heard in concert, interprets Satie at the theatre, directs the Association Jeune Musique and sets up new forms of collaboration with Chinese artists.

The interweaving of his compositions can be seen in his piano works, film and stage music, chamber music, choirs and brass bands.

 Michel Runtz has already performed his works in China, France, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Russia and Switzerland. His compositions are increasingly featured in international competitions and in the programmes of renowned performers such as such as Irina Kataeva, Fanny Clamagirand, Vanya Cohen, Jay Gottlieb, William Chen, Simone Keller, Boris Baraz...

 The new creation Notes and Light, a Michel Runtz concert emphasizing a new concept of a performance with lights was presented in Düdingen, during the Festival Murten Classics 2009 (Switzerland) as well as in China (Shanghai, Shenyang).

 In the year dedicated to France/Russia, Michel Runtz composed the imposed works for the Competition Festival 2010 of piano ensemble Concertino of Nizhny Novgorod (Russia). These consist of pieces for piano(s) for 4, 6 and 8 hands.

The duo Molisova Schreider recorded the pieces for piano 4 hands.

 Michel Runtz has been invited several times by the composition department of the Shanghai Conservatory to give lectures on his writing and his works. A concert of his compositions was presented by various Chinese chamber musicians and soloists.

 In 2018, Michel Runtz was awarded the Claude Blancpain Foundation Prize (Switzerland) for the foundation of the Jeune Musique Association, for the continuation of the Fribourg International Piano Competition and the International influence of Fribourg through its Fribourg - Shanghai innovative project. This project took shape in 2019 with the 1st Sino-Swiss International Competition of Shanghai and the creation of an exchange network between China and Switzerland, activated by the 1st Prize winners who have become ambassadors for the contemporary musical heritage of both countries.

The 2nd edition of this Shanghai competition has just been held in March 2024.

 Michel Runtz has just finalised the composition of an opera based on Yasmina Khadra's work, Cousine K.

 In 2025, Michel Runtz will be the guest composer at the Iitti Music Festival in Finland.

 The works of Michel Runtz are published by Runtz Music Edition.

https://michelruntz.com/biographie/