Oiseaux exotiques d olivier messiaen biography

Olivier Messiaen (December 10, &#;April 27, ) was a Frenchcomposer, organist, and ornithologist.

Biography

Messiaen was born in Avignon into a literary family: his mother was the poetC�cile Sauvage, while his father was a translator who worked on an edition of Shakespeare in French.

He began composing at a young age, and at the age of eleven, entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he had a traditional music education under Marcel Dupr� and Paul Dukas among others.

He secured a post as organist of La Sainte Trinit� church, Paris, in He retained this position into his eighties, and the music he composed for the organ throughout his life was informed by his interest in theological subjects.

In , with the outbreak of World War II, he was called up for military service.

He was captured by the Germans, and in wrote one of his most famous pieces, the Quatuor pour la fin du temps as a prisoner of war.

Later the same year, he was released, and in took u