Michel Petrossian's work stands at the crossroads of Western contemporary music and ancient modal traditions, notably those stemming from Armenian, Mesopotamian, and medieval cultures. His writing, rooted in European modernity and post-spectralism, is characterized by a rigorous organization of intervals, an exploration of microtonality, and a strong attention to timbre.
His approach consists in analyzing the deep structures of ancient musical systems in order to reinvent them within a contemporary language. Each work functions as a generative system in which the relationships between pitch, tension, and density shape the musical form.
Through this scholarly and transcultural synthesis, Michel Petrossian's music explores a stratified sense of time and carries a spiritual dimension, inviting listening to become a space of memory, depth, and contemplation.
for large ensemble
For 6 Solo Voices and Orchestra
For 12 Voices
Commissioned by the Petit Palais and the Musicatreize Ensemble
For 12 Voices and Ethiopian Sistra
Commissioned by the Petit Palais and the Musicatreize Ensemble
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
Lysanxia for Voice and 9 Instruments
(Text by René Char)
for solo
For solo cello (excerpt from the ballet)
Award-winning work of the 2023 Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs
For Solo Violin
Commissioned by the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition
for piano
For Violin, Piano, and Cello
Commissioned by J. and H. Schlichting for the Dilijan Series, Los Angeles
String Quartet
Commissioned by J. and H. Schlichting for the Dilijan Series, Los Angeles
Chamber opera in a prologue and eight scenes
for solo
Chamber opera in a prologue and eight scenes
for large ensemble
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
Six art songs for Bass-barytone and Piano on poems by Sir Michael Edwards (Paris Aubaine, Editions de Corlevour, 2013)
For solo cello (excerpt from the ballet)
Award-winning work of the 2023 Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs
Lysanxia for Voice and 9 Instruments
(Text by René Char)
For Solo Violin
Commissioned by the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition
String Quartet
Commissioned by J. and H. Schlichting for the Dilijan Series, Los Angeles
For 12 Voices
Commissioned by the Petit Palais and the Musicatreize Ensemble
For 12 Voices and Ethiopian Sistra
Commissioned by the Petit Palais and the Musicatreize Ensemble
For Violin, Piano, and Cello
Commissioned by J. and H. Schlichting for the Dilijan Series, Los Angeles
for piano
For 6 Solo Voices and Orchestra
Edition Gravis
Artchipel