The French composer Gérard Grisey (*1946, Belfort; †1998, Paris) is one of the main exponents of spectral music, an approach that explores new compositional strategies based on overtones. In the 1960s he studied at the Trossingen University of Music (GER), before entering the Paris Conservatory. He studied with Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux and attended summer courses with Ligeti, Stockhausen and Xenakis. In 1973 Grisey together with Tristan Murail, Roger Tessier und Michaël Levinas founded the ensemble L’Itinéraire, enlisting Hugues Dufourt later. His compositions Dérives, Périodes and Partiels, which were among the first pieces of spectral music, date from that period. In the 1980s he had an internship at IRCAM and taught music theory and composition at Berkley and at the Paris Conservatory.