French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue Jean Guillou died on January 26 at the age of 88. Born in Angers in 1930 he became organist at the church St. Serge in his home town at the age of 12. He studied then at the Paris Conservatoire under Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé and Olivier Messiaen. In 1955, he accepted a position as professor of organ and composition at the Institute of Sacred Music in Lisbon. In 1958 he moved to Berlin, where he lived for the following five years, during which he composed and premiered his first works. In 1963 he returned to Paris, having been appointed Titular Organist at Saint Eustache church. He remained in this position until 2014.
He played recitals around the world, taught and was a counsel for many new organs. He has composed over 90 works – for organ, chamber and orchestral music – as well as numerous transcriptions for organ.