Didier Pateau won a First Prize in oboe at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) in 1978 and joined the Ensemble Intercontemporain in the same year.
His repertoire includes many 20th-century solo pieces by composers such as Luciano Berio, Heinz Holliger, Gilbert Amy, and Brian Ferneyhough, for whom he premiered “Algebrah” (for oboe and string ensemble) under the direction of David Robertson.
Didier Pateau has recorded “Congruences” by Michael Jarrell (for flute, oboe, and small ensemble), under the direction of Peter Eötvös, “Five Distances” by Harrison Birtwistle, and, with the Nielsen Wind Quintet, an eclectic program featuring Berio, Mozart, Reich, and Bizet.
Didier Pateau is also dedicated to teaching. In addition to his teaching at the National School of Music in Aulnay-sous-Bois, he regularly participates in meetings with composition students, such as those in Michael Jarrell’s class at the Musikhochschule in Vienna, and gives masterclasses in Oslo, Halifax, and Santiago in Chile.
In 2008 and 2009, he was invited to perform as a soloist for the Pollini Project at Salle Pleyel in Paris and at La Scala in Milan. In 2013, he participated in the Folle Journées in Tokyo.
Didier Pateau has been playing Lorée instruments for twenty-five years.