Awarded the Prix de Rome in 1955, René Maillard achieved fame as a young French composer with works such as the virtuosic, Baroque-inspired Concerto Grosso and the Concerto da Camera No. 2, which combines classical and folk elements, before taking up an executive career outside the world of music. Returning to composition in 2000, Maillard has continued to create new works of power and beauty such as Surviving after Hiroshima, based on the dramatic true story of Kyoko Hama.