About Louis Sauter

Louis Sauter is a French musician, born on 18 September 1955 in Rome, New York. Before his retirement, he also worked as an electrical engineer, and began his scientific career performing research in speech processing and multimedia, before evolving towards management and consulting. He was the project manager of the Planck HFI Ground Segment, part of an astrophysics mission the spectacular results of which have enriched our understanding of the universe. His engineering work has at times been involved with music, most notably in a project with IRCAM and as a consultant for a national Opera House.

A mostly self-taught musician, he nevertheless benefited from the advice of great masters. He met Olivier Messiaen several times, and sharply remembers attending his musical analysis class on the Rite of Spring. He more recently improved his composition and orchestration skills with Ricardo Nillni.

As a pianist, he specially enjoys playing chamber music and accompanying singers. As a tenor in the Pasdeloup and Orchestre Colonne Choirs, he sang in Salle Pleyel, the Chartres Cathedral and the Palais Omnisports de Bercy (an audience of over 13,000 people) as well as for French Television and for the recording of several CDs.

He has composed over a hundred works for solo instruments, voice, chamber ensembles and symphonic orchestra. His compositions have been recorded and performed by professional musicians in concert halls as well as by students in music schools, throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as in Nigeria, South Africa, Israel, Australia, China, Korea and Japan. His arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was performed at Carnegie Hall in September 2018. His trio Las bodas de Helena features in the soundtrack of the short film Argentina which was released in Brazil in 2017. 

His Suite carpatique was an official selection of the 5th edition of the Coups de Vents International Wind Ensemble Composition Competition. His Suite pour harpe was a finalist of the 2016 Solo Harp Composition Competition organized by the Future Blend Project and was recorded.

His work Tristan im Mondschein, part of the 250 piano pieces for Beethoven project, was premiered by pianist Susanne Kessel and was published by Musica Ferrum in 2018 ; the score is included in the January 2020 issue of international Piano. His suite for solo flute Noël dans le Comté de Nice was published by Canticus Verlag.

Numerous recordings of Sauter's works have been released under various labels including Phasma Music, Sarton Records and Universal Music. Several albums including his works have won prestigious awards:  One Minute, which includes his Trois miniatures pour flûte, won a double Silver medal at the Global Music Awards 2017 (contemporary classical and album). Gimel, including Laissez-moi mes rêves for flute and harp, and Daleth, including Las bodas de Helena for solo flute, both won double silver medals at the Global Music Awards 2018.  Two Minutes,  including µMesse for flute and bass flute,  won a triple silver medal at the Global Music Awards 2019. Louis won the Spring 2021 Clouzine Best Contemporary Classical Piano Album award for the album Les noces de Chounette. Lamedh, which includes Sauter's Umbriel for flute and bass clarinet, won the Clouzine award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in Fall 2021. Lviv 1, including his Concertino for flute and string orchestra, won the Fall 2023 Clouzine Award for Best Classical Recording. Multiple Views from a Window, which includes Louis' Trois fleuves, was reviewed in the March 2023 edition of The Strad, where David Kettle wrote "A musical journey underpinned by compelling performances". 

Louis Sauter was a member of the jury of the international composition competition KWIDZYN CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD 2020.