Music: Better with age

Legendary French chanson singer and actress Juliette Gréco is coming to Poland for a single performance next week. The 80-year-old singer is famous as a symbol of the existentialism period from her early days as a singer in Parisian bohemian bars in the 1940s. She later went on to inspire such greats as American jazz musician Miles Davis and French filmmaker Jean Cocteau.

Existentialist philosopher and dramatist Jean-Paul Sartre wrote some lyrics to Gréco's songs while most of the music was composed by Hungarian Joseph Kosma.

Gréco also became famous for her movie roles, first in France and later in Hollywood where film producer Darryl Zanuck was keen to cast her in his movies. She also starred in Henry King's The Sun Also Rises and John Huston's The Roots of Heaven.

Gréco's talent is defined by the unique tone of her contralto voice, her beauty and grace, but primarily by her poetic and nostalgic repertoire. Despite her age, Gréco is still active. Throughout her life she has recorded dozens of albums. Her most recent, Le Temps d'Une Chanson and Beware of Paris, recorded in 2006 and 2007 respectively, are a testament to her lasting talent.

Her music is known for its empathy and feeling. She is said to be able to make a beautiful piece of music out of even the most cliche song. "[Gréco] has a precious jewel - her heart, which beats under her black sweater," Jean Cocteau famously once said.

During the two-hour concert in Warsaw, Gréco will present songs both from her latest albums and her greatest hits. The likes of "La Rue des Blancs-Monteaux," "L'éternel féminin," "La fęte est lá" or "Ca va le diable" are most likely to be billed. She will be accompanied by just two musicians throughout the entire concert - a pianist and an accordionist.

The concert will take place in Sala Kongresowa in Warsaw, on Wednesday, January 16, at

8 pm. For more information log on www.newmusicart.pl