Olivier Greif, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Olivier Greif

French composer

Date of Birth: 13-Jan-1950

Place of Birth: Paris, Île-de-France, France

Date of Death: 13-May-2000

Profession: composer, pianist

Nationality: France

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Olivier Greif (3 January 1950, Paris – 13 May 2000, Paris) was a French composer of Polish-Jewish parentage.
His father was an Auschwitz survivor, a fact which affected Greif deeply and led him to compose a number of Holocaust-themed works, notably Todesfuge, and Lettres de Westerbork, a song cycle which uses letters written by Etty Hillesum [1].
(The composer wanted to use Paul Celan's poem "Todesfuge" in his third string quartet, but found it difficult to set, so kept the title but used Dylan Thomas's "Elegy" instead.) Greif began composing at the age of 9, and studied at the Paris Conservatoire and the Juilliard School.
He is best known for his solo piano music and songs for voice.
He left over 360 works completed at his death, along with several still in progress.
He was interred at the Montparnasse cemetery. His career was spent teaching composition and directing music festivals such as the Académie-Festival des Arcs.