Yusef Greiss
Yusef Greiss (Arabic: يوسف جريس; (b. Cairo, Egypt, December 13, 1899; d. Venice, Italy, April 7, 1961) was an Egyptian composer of classical music, part of that nation's first generation of such composers.
Greiss was of Coptic heritage. He composed orchestral works and chamber music. His patriotic work for orchestra entitled Masr (1932) is considered the first orchestral piece composed by an Egyptian.
As of 2008, the Egyptian musicologist Haig Avakian is editing and preparing Greiss's complete works for publication.
Performance
Solo violin and piano compositions are major parts in Greise’s compositions.
He wrote 23 solo piano compositions,
14 solo violin three solo flute,
six lyrical compositions with piano
and 10 orchestra compositions.
His Works
First: Solo piano compositions
- The Sudanese, 1932
- Nile Boatman, 1932
- La Galerien, 1932
- Good Luck, 1932
- A Boat Burns, 1932
- How Are You,1932
- Truth, 1932
- Little Palestinian, 1932
- Happiness, 1932
- A Night in the Boat,1945
Second: Solo violin compositions
- The Bedouin No. 1931 of 1932
- The Egyptian Village, No. 22 of 1932
- Dance of the Palm Valley
- Souvenir, No. 25 of 1932.
- Son of the Valley, 1943
- Bedouin Singing, 1944
- Company of the Nile 1944,
- Desert Songs, 1944
- Sphinx and Violin, 1947
- Daughter of Pyramids, 1961
Third: Violin and piano compositions
- We Dance, 1928
- Forest, 1929
- On Bank of the Nile, 1931
- The Carrier of Water, 1931
- Greetings to Vienna, 1931
- Dance of Palm Trees, 1932
- In the Desert, 1932
- Murrmering Scarabee, 1944
- Romance, 1945
- The Nile Sings, 1950
Fourth: Solo flute compositions
- Echo of the Desert, 1944
- Echo of the Valley, 1944
- Echo of the Nile, 1944
Fifth : Solo cello compositions
- The Man Peasant, 1922
Sixth : Cello and piano compositions
- The Woman Peasant, 1923
Seventh : Lyrical compositions with piano
- Song of the Valley, 1943.
- Boat of Fate, 1944
- Dance of the Nile, 1944
- Song of the Shepherd, 1944
- The Nile’s Song and Call, 1944
- Dance of the Village, 1944
Eighth : Orchestral compositions
- Egypt, Symphony, 1932
- The Carrier of Water, 1932
- Toward Desert Monastery, Symphony, 1934
- The Nile and Rose, Symphony, 1943
- Pharos’ Pyramids, Symphony, 1960
Most of his compositions remained unpublished up to now.
On the Day of Art in 1981, the state honored and listed him in the Record of Immortals in the Arts Academy.