Gérard Grisey first studied in Grossingen, Germany, from 1963 till 1965, before he went to the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique, where he won several prizes in Messiaen’s class. He also studied with Dutilleux at the Ecole normale de Musique, and he followed summer courses in Darmstadt and in Siena. From 1972 to 1974 he was in Rome on a scholarship from the Villa Medici. Together with Tristan Murail, Roger Tessier and Michaël Lévinas he founded a group called Ensemble L’Itinéraire. Grisey also spent time at the IRCAM, in Berlin, and Berkeley, USA (1982–1986). After that period he taught composition in Paris (Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique).