August 5, Birthday of Betsy Jolas (b. 1928)
August 5, 2017 Leave a comment
Born in Paris between WWI and WWII, Betsy Jolas grew up in an enviable milieu. Her mother was a well-known translator and her father founded the literary magazine, “transition,” which published James Joyce’ Finnegan’s Wake as a “Work in Progress.” Her studies at the Paris Conservatory were interrupted by WWII and she and her family decamped to the US, where she completed her studies at Bennington. After the War, in 1946, her family returned to Paris, where Jolas continued her studies at the conservatoire with Darius Milhaud, Simone Plé-Caussade and Olivier Messiaen. She replaced Olivier Messiaen at the conservatory and has been on the faculty there since 1975. She has won many prizes and is both a Chevalier in the French Légion d’Honneurand and is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Points d’aube
String Quartet No. 3
D’un opéra de voyage (1967)
Quatuor II for soprano, violin, viola & cello
Enfantillages
POINTS D`OR concerto for saxophone(s) & 15 instruments