“1801, Goethe wrote to Felix Mendelssohn that “where nothing new is actually produced, an art cannot make itself vividly felt.” Innovation and impact are ideas Canadian composer Claude Vivier took to heart.
Born in 1948 to unknown parents,Vivier studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal before departing for Europe in 1971, where, for three years, he studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen. Through working with the German composer (who initially dis-liked the French Canadian for his irreverent manner and slovenly appearance), Vivier largely discovered his distinct creative voice, one which he continued to develop outside the aegis of officially-sanctioned contemporary musicdom…”
