Patrick Moutal

Patrick Moutal is a French sitarist and musicologist. He has been teaching north Indian classical music at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) since 1984 (Jazz & Improvised Musics and Pedagogy dpts).

Biography Born in Lyon in 1951, he went to India at age 18 in order to study Hindustani classical music. He learned Hindi and settled in Banaras (Varanasi), where he stayed for 14 years. In 1970, he was admitted as a sitar student at the Faculty of Performing Arts of Banaras Hindu University. Under the guidance of Dr K.C. Gangrade and Pt Lalmani Misra, he completed the following degrees : - Diploma 1973 - Bachelor's Degree with Gold Medal in 1976 - Master's Degree with Omkarnath Thakur Prize in 1978 - Master's Degree in French language in 1979 - Doctorate of Performance & Compositions in 1983 The year of his doctorate, he wrote two books in English about ragas (cf Bibliography).

From 1977 to 1983, he performed regularly at All India Radio.

On Maurice Fleuret's initiative, he went back to France in 1983 and started teaching at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris the following year. Since then, he has been dedicated to promoting Indian musical culture.

In 2000, he developed a website, Hindustani Raga Sangeet Online, devoted to Indian vocalists and instrumentalists through rare archives (cylinders, 78t, etc.).

Honour In 1983, Patrick Moutal was honored with the award of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France.