Igor Wakhévitch

Igor Wakhévitch (born 12 May 1948) is an avant-garde French composer. He released a series of studio albums in the 1970s and collaborated with Salvador Dalí in 1974.

Igor Wakhévitch
Born (1948-05-12) May 12, 1948
Gassin, France
Occupation(s)Composer
Years active1970s-present
Websiteigorwakhevitch.com

Wakhevitch was born in Gassin, a small village on the French Riviera. His father is Russian-born French art director Georges Wakhévitch; his mother is the actress Marica Wakhévitch. Wakhevitch was a musical prodigy as a child, and studied piano under French composer Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris and classical pianist Marguerite Long.[1][2]

His compositions are heavily influenced by avant-garde music including Igor Stravinsky and psychedelic rock bands such as Soft Machine and Pink Floyd. He was one of the first composers to use electronic keyboards.[2]

In 1974, he composed the music for Salvador Dali's opera-poem Etre Dieu (To Be God), which included a libretto by Spanish writer Manuel Vazquez Montalban.[3]

Influence

Wakhévitch is one of the musicians named on the Nurse with Wound list of outsider and avant-garde music, which has come to be an important touchstone for those interested in the genre. His composition "Materia-Prima" is included on the compilation album Strain Crack & Break: Music from the Nurse With Wound List.[4]

Selected discography
  • Logos (1970, Warner Bros.)
  • Dr. Faust (1971, Parlophone)
  • Hathor (1973, Parlophone)
  • Nagual (1977, Warner Bros.)
  • Kshatrya: The Eye of the Bird (2019, Transversales Disques)[5][6]

Notes
  1. Fractal Records artist page (in French, but parts of site in English). See also Jean-Claude Pennetier, la confidence au bout des doigts (French language site).
  2. Breznikar, Klemen (May 18, 2018). "Igor Wakhevitch interview". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  3. Ades, Dawn (2022). Dali (Third) (World of Art). Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-77630-8. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  4. Gotrich, Lars (September 17, 2019). "Viking's Choice: Cracked Music From The Nurse With Wound List, Hypercolor Rave, More". NPR. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  5. "Igor Wakhevitch". Allmusic. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  6. "Igor Wakhevitch". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-06-01.


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