Contributors

Olivier Korber stands out as a distinctive voice among the new generation of French composers. Published by Éditions Billaudot, his music is the focus of a first album on the Arion Music label, entirely devoted to his work. His compositions have been performed by the Quatuor Akilone, the Quatuor Magenta, the Orchestre Colonne, and violinist Emmanuel Coppey, conducted by Marc Korovitch, Alizé Léhon, and Rémi Durupt.

Korber writes for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and voice. Free from stylistic schools, his music asserts a clear dramaturgical logic, where irony, lyricism, fragility, and instinctive energy coexist, leaving room for strangeness, wonder, and intensity.

For Korber, composing begins with an inner jolt: a persistent impression crystallizes into motives, harmonies, and timbres. Once this musical material asserts itself, a larger vision emerges, in which ideas and form feed and shape each other. It is then subjected to a patient process of development, refinement, and instrumental exploration.

Among his key works are Gargantua’s Day, an ensemble cycle inspired by Rabelais and the engravings of Gustave Doré, also staged for young audiences, and the Sonata for Solo Violin, dedicated to Emmanuel Coppey, which explores the tension between outward vitality and the tribulations of a hidden world. His String Quartet No. 1, awarded the Crédit Agricole / Freshly Composed Prize, and Korriground, commissioned by the Orchestre des Jeunes de Haute Bretagne and performed in France and Germany, further reflect his growing international presence.

A composer since childhood, Korber first developed his voice outside formal institutions, before refining his craft in harmony, counterpoint, and fugue with Isabelle Duha. A pianist, he graduated from the Paris CRR in Billy Eidi’s class and later studied with the renowned pedagogue Rena Shereshevskaya. He is also a laureate of the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation. His Chopin recording (label 1001 Notes), received critical acclaim (4 Diapasons, 5 Pizzicato Croches).

Invited to perform at festivals including La Folle Journée de Nantes and the Nohant Chopin Festival, Korber draws on his concert experience in his compositions, with a particular focus on instrumental command and stage presence. His piano works, such as Cracklings and The Air of the Heights (for the left hand), offer both performers and audiences exhilarating experiences.

Korber maintains a perspective rooted in the twenty-first century, nourished by literature, painting, and the sciences. A former lecturer in financial mathematics at Université Paris-Dauphine, with a keen interest in theoretical physics and artificial intelligence, he brings a cross-disciplinary vision to his work—sharpening structural rigor while sustaining the vital impulse at the heart of his music and a constant sense of wonder.