Karol Beffa, born on in Paris, is a French and Swiss composer and pianist.
Biography
Beffa is the son of French-Swiss linguist and ethnologist Marie-Lise Beffa and French linguist , and the nephew of industrialist Jean-Louis Beffa. He studied at École normale supérieure, then economics at ENSAE Paris and at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Beffa studied harmony, counterpoint, fugue, music theory, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris, France's premier higher musical education institution, where he won eight first prizes. He taught at Paris-Sorbonne University and at École polytechnique. He wrote his PhD (2003) on György Ligeti's Etudes for piano. Since 2004, he has been an associate professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
As a composer, his catalogue consists of several hundred works which have been performed in countries including China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States by ensembles that include the Maîtrise de Radio France, , Cambridge Voices, Ensemble Notabu, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. His practice as a pianist has influenced his work as a composer.
Beffa's works are also part of the repertoire of individual musicians that include Gautier Capuçon, Renaud Capuçon, Emmanuel Ceysson, Bertrand Chamayou, Karine Deshayes, Kristjan Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Nathan Laube, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, , Paul Meyer, Edgar Moreau, Andreas Ottensamer, Akiko Suwanai, the Ébène Quartet, and the Modigliani Quartet. He has been composer in residence with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse from 2006 to 2009.
Musical work
As a performer
2008 : Improvisations, Intrada
2008 : Masques, Mirages, with Johan Farjot, Triton
2011 : Songs, Ensemble Contraste, Contraste/Naïve
2013 : Bach transcriptions, Ensemble Contraste, La dolce volta
2013 : Alcools, Le Bestiaire, improvisations by Karol Beffa (Apollinaire read by Bernard Métraux), Gallimard 2014 : Miroir(s), by Karol Beffa, Johan Farjot, Raphaël Imbert and Arnaud Thorette, Naïve arrangements de Purcell, Bach, Mozart, Erik Satie, Karol Beffa, Johan Farjot, Raphaël Imbert 2015 : Libres, by Karol Beffa and Raphaël Imbert, JazzVillage/Harmonia Mundi 2015 : Into the Dark : Concerto pour alto, Concerto pour harpe, Nuit obscure, Dédale, with Johan Farjot, Arnaud Thorette, Karine Deshayes, Emmanuel Ceysson, Aparte 2016 : Tous en cœur, ensemble Contraste 2016 : Blow Up, musique de chambre avec vents, Indesens 2017 : Le Roi qui n'aimait pas la musique : text by Mathieu Laine, with Patrick Bruel (reader), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Edgar Moreau (cello), Paul Meyer (clarinet) and Karol Beffa (piano), livre-disque Gallimard jeunesse 2018 : En Blanc et Noir, Indesens : piano improvisations 2019 : De l'autre côté du miroir, Indesens : piano improvisations 2020 : Tohu Bohu, Blow in, Indesens : by Karol Beffa (piano), Saxo Voce 2020 : Talisman, Destroy, Klarthe : by Karol Beffa (piano), Quatuor Renoir
As a composer
Is written first the name of the music record, then the name of the compositions by Karol Beffa which appear on the music record.