Biography

Binyamin GREILSAMMER

© Grégory Maillot
atelier@point-of-views.ch

About

Binyamin Greilsammer, of French, Belgian and Israeli nationality, was born on July 15, 1990 in Jerusalem (Israel). He lives in Annecy (France).
His first musical studies, in piano, took place at the Rubin Conservatory in Jerusalem. Parallel to his secondary studies, he continued to study the piano with prestigious masters, in particular David Saudubray (student of Brigitte Engerer and Pierre-Laurent Aimard) at the Regional Conservatory of Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris, France), and considered composition and conducting with Maestro Stéphane Cardon, former associate conductor of Michel Plasson at the Orchester National du Capitole de Toulouse.
After his military service in Israel, Binyamin followed Yoav Talmi’s preparatory course in composition and orchestral conducting at the famous Buchman-Mehta School of Music at the University of Tel-Aviv. At the same time, with the aim of becoming an opera conductor, he took private lessons in conducting with Maestro Guy Feder, deputy musical director of the Tel Aviv Chamber Orchestra and director of the TY Symphony Orchestra (Denmark).
Then, personally invited by the great conductor called Maestro Daniel Oren (Arena di Verona) to come and study opera conducting with him, Binyamin left Israel for Italy. He assisted Daniel Oren in several important productions including the Opera Tosca at Covent Garden in London and La Bohème at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Largo (Italy). Alongside this work as an assistant, he continued his studies in Italian, piano, composition and conducting with Maestro Dario Lucantoni at the « Santa Cecilia » Music Conservatory in Rome and then at the Music Conservatory. from Trieste « G. Tartini”, with Maestro Antonino Fogliani, musical director of the Rossini festival in Bad Wilbad, Germany.
During his studies in Italy, Binyamin gave a large number of recitals and concerts, public and private, for example a piano recital in San Marino in front of the diplomatic staff of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or as conductor of the orchestra “Virtuosi Brunenses” in a concert in Brno, Czech Republic.

From 2015, Binyamin turned more and more towards baroque music, passionate about the transition from lute to harpsichord during the 16th-17th centuries. He learned to play the baroque lute by taking private lessons in Rome, and was introduced to the harpsichord by the famous harpsichordist Maestra Paola Erdas in Trieste (Maestra Erdas founded with Andrea Lausi the International Festival of Early Music « Wunderkammer », and is a harpsichord teacher in Messina and Trieste). She advised Binyamin to continue his harpsichord studies in the early music department of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, under the guidance of the prestigious harpsichordist Maestro Frédérick Haas. After obtaining an Erasmus scholarship to study the harpsichord in Brussels, he studied bachelor (B.A.) in harpsichord in the class of Maestro Frédérick Haas (Baroque Music Department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels). It was there that he specialized in harpsichord music from the 16th and 17th centuries: D’Anglebert, Couperin, Rameau, Purcell, Lully, etc. During his three years of harpsichord studies in Brussels, Binyamin took part in many first-rate musical projects: he notably played concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach for harpsichord at the Salle des Glaces of the Belgian parliament in Brussels, gave a concert at the Autumn Musical Festival of the « Salon Bleu » in Spa, gave the Passion of Saint Jean at the Cathedral of Valenciennes, played Frescobaldi and Robert Johnson on period harpsichords at the San Colombano-Collection Tagliavini in Bologna, and participated in the Baroque Music Festival of Famenne (Ardennes).

After obtaining his B.A. in harpsichord in Brussels, Binyamin was admitted to a Master’s degree in harpsichord at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève (Switzerland), where he studied for two years in the class of Maestro Kenneth Weiss. He is specially chosen by the management of the Haute Ecole to perform at the “Open Day” in front of future students of the HEM. With the support of the City of Geneva, he prepares the direction of the opera « Armide » by Lully, with 35 musicians he has chosen, and he conducts and plays another concert by Lully at the Temple of Saint-Gervais in Geneva. .He is selected by the Academy of Ancient Music of Vannes (France) to participate in the annual master class of harpsichord, and he receives the scholarship of excellence from the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève (Wilsdorf Foundation).
During his master’s degree in harpsichord, encouraged by Kenneth Weiss, he gave concerts in various European countries, such as a concert of works by Frescobaldi, which he played at the Church of San Cristoforo in Ascoli Piceno (Marche) on an organ 16th century baroque. In June 2021 conducts the harpsichord of the baroque orchestra that he himself formed, at the Victoria Hall in Geneva.
Then he began a second master’s degree, « Maestro al cembalo » at the HEM in Geneva, under the direction of the famous harpsichordist Maestro Leonardo Garcia Alarcon (who directs the Ensemble Cappella Mediterannea, and is musical director of the Choeur de chambre de Namur). While continuing his studies, Binyamin gave several concerts, including an educational concert on Baroque music in Annemasse (Haute-Savoie), and a concert as a soloist in the Basilica of San Sebastiano de Acireale (Sicily, where the frescoes of Paolo Vasta are located. and his school).