As a cellist, member of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, teacher and then director of the Geneva Conservatoire, he led the AEC from 1972 to 1988 – a period during which our association, born during the Cold War in 1953 in Salzburg, was representing a link of particular importance between East and West, symbolised in the establishment of its headquarters in Switzerland (before the move to France, to The Netherlands and finally to Belgium). In this context, Claude Viala played an instrumental role in the harmonization of professional music studies and in the exchange of good practices across our continent, preparing in this way what would later become the Bologna reform and working tirelessly to build up the friendly collaborative spirit which constitutes one of the most precious distinctive marks of the AEC.
He was a man of great integrity and vast culture with a demanding attitude towards arts. He was also attentive to the role of music within society as well as to the emergence of contemporary creation. Claude Viala did also serve as President of the Concours de Genève and always stayed close to our institution; he had devoted a study to its early history. We will keep a vibrant memory of him and we would like to express to all his close relatives our heartfelt sympathy.
Philippe Dinkel, Director of the Haute école de musique de Genève.
