Founded in 1977 by the composer Pierre Boulez at the behest of President Georges Pompidou , the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique(IRCAM), is a research centre for new music and its associated technologies. Three decades on, Tom Service discovers what goes on at IRCAM today and considers its relevance as an institution in the context of 21st-century art music, and French culture generally. With contributions from Pierre Boulez , Georgina Born and Roger Nichols , and Jonathan Harvey. Producer Emma Bloxham