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Olivier Greif (1950 – 2000)
Three piano sonatas

These three sonatas represent the fruit of a long personal exploration. I had the privilege of knowing Olivier Greif during the last four years of his life, and he left a profound mark on my time as a student at the CNSM in Paris, leaving an indelible impression on my musical development. His fervor, passion, and fire greatly influenced my work as a performer but also inspired the composer that was emerging within me. The expressive, ecstatic, and mystical power of his music led me to discover possibilities as whimsical as they were rigorous. His treatment of counterpoint, rich with an excess of life yet always questioning death, reflects what a composer nourished by the history of the 20th century and having Mahler and Shostakovich as musical fathers could express. I am happy to offer to the public, to admirers of Olivier Greif, three works recorded in a studio for the very first time. Three sonatas belonging to three distinct periods of his life and his quests, from youth to maturity. At times bordering on dodecaphony, he never abandons tonality. His humor and gravity often intertwine to reach a frenzy of discourse that is both pianistic and symphonic, pushing the instrument’s resources to their extreme limits. I dedicate this album to his memory to mark the 25th anniversary of his passing. Jonathan Benichou