Born in Perpignan in 1960, Bruno Giner began his musical studies in Toulouse, then in his hometown and in Barcelona. In Paris, he regularly attended Pierre Boulez classes at the Collège de France and studied electro-acoustic and instrumental composition, successively with Luis de Pablo, Ivo Malec, and Brian Ferneyhough. Today, his work is played in numerous French and international festivals and by various contemporary music ensembles (Ensemble Hope, Aleph, Sic, Fa, L’instant donné, Grame, Nomos, Motus, Intercontemporain, Arditti Quartet, Klangheimlich, Frullato, Xasax, Ars Nova Nürnberg, Ixtla, Slowind).
His catalogue includes pieces for soloists, chamber, vocal and orchestral music, didactic pieces, etc. His music is carnal, occasionally virtuoso, and reveals an energy harnessed by the formalization of rigorous composition which does not exclude more empirical work on morphology and tonal material.
In 1998, Bruno Giner was awarded the Hervé Dugardin Price by the SACEM for his overall achievement. In 2014, he was awarded the Paul-Louis Weiller Price by the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France.
Among his most recent compositions:
- Charlie, a chamber opera based on Franck Pavloff's short story Matin brun (2007)
- Extra for 8 cellos (2008)
- Mémoires de peaux for 6 drums (2011)
- Impacts for piano and percussion (2012)
- Pion prend tour en D 9, chamber opera (2012)
- Sternchenlied for 2 Cristals, voice, and sound sculpture (2012-2013)
- Ambos for 2 frenchhorns (2013)
- Trois silences déchirés (in memoriam Pavel Haas) for oboe (2014)
- DIY for 2 baritone saxophones (2015)
- Glas : 13 novembre for piano (2 players), clarinet and oboe (2015)
- Aïn for accordion (2O16)
- Doppio for two recorder (2017)
- Stèles oubliées for wind quinttet and orchestra (2017)
- Commedia for piano (2018)
- Se hace camino for mandole (2019)
As a writer, Bruno Giner also contributed to musical periodicals, encyclopaedias and recording labels (The New Grove, La Lettre du Musicien, Les cahiers du CIREM, Musica falsa, Motus, Gallo, etc). In addition, he wrote various books: Musique contemporaine: le second vingtième siècle (Durand, 2000), Toute la musique ? (Autrement Junior, 2003), De Weimar à Térézine 1933-1945: l’épuration musicale (Van de Velde, 2006), Survivre et mourir en musique dans les camps nazis (Berg International, 2011), Le crin et le fusain (Istesso Tempo, 2012), Erik Satie. Parade. Chronique épistolaire d'une création (Berg International, 2013), Entartete Musik. Musiques interdites sous le IIIe Reich (with Elise Petit, Bleu Nuit, collection "Horizons", 2015), Les Musiques pendant la guerre d'Espagne (with François Porcile, Berg International, 2015), Erik Satie (Bleu Nuit, collection "Horizons", 2016), Kurt Weill (Bleu Nuit, 2018).£
His music is published bu Durand / Universal Classical Music.
Photo : © Guy Vivien