Olivier Greif was born in Paris on January 3rd, 1950.
His father had studied piano in Poland before moving to France and becoming a doctor. A precocious child, Olivier discovered music at age three in a kindergarten. Admitted to the Paris National Conservatory at age ten, he studied piano with Lucette Descaves and composition with Tony Aubin. He worked with Luciano Berio in New York City and Santa Fe.
From 1961 to 1981, he composed a first series of works. His style was quite personal, unaffected by current trends. Then he stopped composing for ten years or so, as he explored a “spiritual path” with a New York-based Indian master. From 1991 on, he wrote a new series of dark and intense pieces, marked by themes he had always been familiar with: the war, his father’s stay in Auschwitz, the loss of most of his family in the death camps. He put Paul Celan’s poems to music. Having been badly ill twice, he died at home on May 13th, 2000.
Photo : © Yannick Coupannec
Concerto pour violoncelle et orchestre (1999)
cello & orchestra
Information
See the score
Éditions Salabert - On Hire
Quadruple concerto (1998)
string quartet & orchestra
Information
See the score
Éditions Salabert - On Hire
Trio (1998)
violin, cello & piano
Information
Éditions Salabert - On Sale
Livre des Saints Irlandais (1998)
voice & piano
Information
Éditions Salabert - On Sale
Les chants de l'âme (1996)
voice & piano
Information
Éditions Salabert - On Sale
Lettre de Westerbork (1993)
female voice & 2 violins
Information
Éditions Salabert - On Sale