Krzysztof Meyer

The Polish composer Krzysztof Meyer, now residing in Germany, studied among others with Krzysztof Penderecki at the Academy of Music in Krakow
• repeatedly visited legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Dmitri Shostakovich in Moscow, of whom he later wrote an important biography
• as a trained pianist, he was a member of the Polish “Ensemble for Contemporary Music MW2”, for a time, with whom he also performed his own works
• Meyer taught at the Academy of Music in Krakow until 1987, held the chair of music theory and for a period was even its vice-rector
• from 1985 to 1989 Meyer chaired the Polish Composers' Union
• from 1987 to 2008 Professor of Composition at the State University of Music Cologne
• in early works, Meyer dealt intensively with timbre technique and dodecaphony, then the focus of his work considerations of formal unity and the revival of melody became
• György Ligeti said of Meyer: “We have here a truly special composer personality, in whose talent I fully believe.”

Numbering among Krzysztof Meyer’s successful works are:

Au-delà d'une absence for string quartet (1997)
Farewell Music op. 88 for large orchestra (1997)
Caro Luigi for solo instrument(s) and orchestra (1989)
Kyberiade op. 15 (1970). Opera in 3 acts after Stanislaw Lem

Works by Krzysztof Meyer are published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski

“By nature and conviction, of course, I am a Polish composer, but at the same time I am a European. I don’t care at all whether I live in Poland or somewhere else. But when I live in Germany, I feel enriched because German musical life is incredibly wide-ranging and gives me all manner of impulses.” - Krzysztof Meyer

Looking Ahead

World premiere of Epitaph for orchestra (in memory of the children murdered in the Ukrainian war) with the Orchestra of the Podlachian Opera and Philharmonic conducted by Miroslaw Jacek Blaszczyk. (30 Sept. 2022 in Bialystok)