Claude Vivier
Born in Montréal in 1948 of unknown parents, Vivier was adopted at the age of three. He studied at the Conservatoire de Musique in Montréal, where his teachers included Gilles Tremblay (composition) and Irving Heller (piano). In 1971, Vivier left Canada for Europe, studying electroacoustic music with Gottfried Michael Koenig in Utrecht, and composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne. Although Vivier was influenced by the latter, he nonetheless developed a highly personal language. „Chants“, composed during this period, represented for him "the first moment of my existence as a composer."
In the fall of 1976, Vivier took a long trip through Asia. A visit to Bali caused him to reevaluate his ideas concerning the role of the artist in society, initiating a new period in his stylistic evolution. In the wake of this journey he wrote „Shiraz“ for piano, „Orion“ for orchestra, and his opera „Kopernikus“. Above all, it was in his cycle of pieces for voice and instrumental ensemble, particularly „Lonely Child „(1980) and „Prologue pour un Marco Polo“ (1981) that Vivier's unique style crystallized. During this period, Vivier began to create texts in an invented language, mirroring the singularity of his musical idiom.
Vivier spent the last months of his life in Paris. On March 12, 1983, Vivier was found stabbed to death in his apartment. His murderer, a 19-year-old man who may have been a prospective lover, was later caught and sentenced.
In the fall of 1976, Vivier took a long trip through Asia. A visit to Bali caused him to reevaluate his ideas concerning the role of the artist in society, initiating a new period in his stylistic evolution. In the wake of this journey he wrote „Shiraz“ for piano, „Orion“ for orchestra, and his opera „Kopernikus“. Above all, it was in his cycle of pieces for voice and instrumental ensemble, particularly „Lonely Child „(1980) and „Prologue pour un Marco Polo“ (1981) that Vivier's unique style crystallized. During this period, Vivier began to create texts in an invented language, mirroring the singularity of his musical idiom.
Vivier spent the last months of his life in Paris. On March 12, 1983, Vivier was found stabbed to death in his apartment. His murderer, a 19-year-old man who may have been a prospective lover, was later caught and sentenced.