Karol Beffa

Karol Beffa, born on 27 October 1973 in Paris, is a French and Swiss composer and pianist. Beffa is the son of French-Swiss linguist and ethnologist Marie-Lise Beffa and French linguist Richard Zuber, 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, Chœur de l'Orchestre de Paris, 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, Anneleen Lenaerts, 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.